# Behold, the parasite...my first pedal PCB build...



## Stickman393 (Jul 8, 2021)

This thing is friggin weird.

It's not as clean as I'd ideally want to make it...still trying to figure out my rhythm with ribbon cables, W2B connectors, etc.  Never did a wah pedal before, so this is a first.

The biggest headache here was the 10k dual gang pot for the pinion.  I couldn't quite find one that would work off the shelf, and the only other option seemed to be to E-mail the folks who make the parachute wah...which my anti-social ass DEFINITELY wasn't going to do.

I just so happened to have an Alps 10K log potentiometer on hand...an RK27.  Thing is, It didn't fit, and the only pinion that I had on hand (cannabalized from the crybaby "broken/for parts" internals...it's hard to find a good wah enclosure these days) was designed for a D shaft and a snap ring retainer.

Meh, NBD.  Pull out the mini mill, gently shave off the pot shaft until it's a nice D shape, hog out a little bit of the wah enclosure, and bingo...works like a charm.  Ugly as hell, but it gets the job done.

As for the sound...huh.  Depending on how I have the gear set, this thing can get super low and self-oscillate down in it's lowest range.  Kinda wild.  Was not expecting that.

Oh, and it's got an LED bling plate and a blue tread.  Because F+#/ yeah.

Next wah-ish build I might fab up a wood tread...gotta be something that can stand up to my foot.  Jatoba maybe...might be too boring though.  Wenge if I have a big enough scrap piece.  I dunno.  I still need to put a stick figure on this guy...


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## fig (Jul 8, 2021)

That's slick as snot!

2 questions if you'll indulge me;

How's it sound?
Is that pee pee grease on the pot gear?


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## Stickman393 (Jul 8, 2021)

It sounds...well, I still want to tweak the pinion a touch more.  I only futzed around with it for a couple minutes before I came back downstairs to get back to work...just had a mouser package come in...

To answer your second question, pfffttt.

Erm, PTFE. So it's like Pee PLUS Tee Eff Eee.  Teflon, super lube, friggin, kinda looks like come as you are, as you were, as I wannnttttt you to be.

Yeah, don't mind me.


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## Paradox916 (Jul 8, 2021)

That LED plate is awesome! Love it!


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## Stickman393 (Jul 8, 2021)

thewintersoldier said:


> Did you make the plate light up yourself? It looks like you just wired the LEDs together and hot glued them to the plate. Brilliant!



  You're too kind, sir,

I would have fabbed it up myself, but truth be told I got it online from some dude in England that makes em.  25ish bucks...I figure after the raw materials and the time it would take for me to shape and drill that acrylic that I was coming out ahead.

The seller did, however, leave it up to the user to wire up the LED harness.  My first attempt was an abysmal failure...too much hot glue, Individual conductors, blah.  I re-did it using two conductor ribbon, looks OK now.  Kinda.

I may just end up making my own for the tear jerker wah I have in the works.  Could mill dedicated cavities for the cables & leds, and then fill the voids with pour-on epoxy...

It'd be a bit cleaner for sure.  But a ton more work.  I really need to convert that mini mill over to CNC control...

*Edit* here's a preview of the tearjerker:


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## Feral Feline (Jul 18, 2021)

Stickman393 said:


> ...
> 
> Erm, PTFE. So it's like Pee PLUS Tee Eff Eee.  Teflon, super lube, friggin, kinda looks like come as you are, as you were, as I wannnttttt you to be.
> 
> Yeah, Nevermind me.


FYP 


Wonderful wah work.


I've got two shells, 1 for the Tearjerker and 1 for an expression/vol/wah/whatever. Neither shell came assembled, neither came with instructions...


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## Stickman393 (Jul 18, 2021)

@Feral Feline did you grab those shells from overseas?  I've been curious about those...but I'm impatient and wanted to get shells like...now.

Even these aren't super great though: standard crybaby fare.  I've considered fabricating my own...but...eh...my metalworking skills are not quite that advanced.  Never tried anything that complex before.

Got one more for the list....my tearjerker Wah!

I used a Whipple that I had left over from my previous pedal building excursion...though I picked up an ME-6 that I may put in another board and swap between the two...just to compare.

Flame maple stock I got from woodcraft...makes for a purty tread that isn't exactly tread-like.

I have a six conductor ribbon cable in there now for the switch.  Too lazy to take another photo.

I may make another light plate for this one...though I might just try to mill up a solid bottom plate from aluminum.  The plates on these crybaby wahs are garbage.


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## Feral Feline (Jul 18, 2021)

Stickman393 said:


> @Feral Feline did you grab those shells from overseas?  I've been curious about those...but I'm impatient and wanted to get shells like...now.
> 
> Even these aren't super great though: standard crybaby fare.  I've considered fabricating my own...but...eh...my metalworking skills are not quite that advanced.  Never tried anything that complex before.
> 
> ...


That blue-flame is killah!

Not from overseas, got the shells from just across the border.













Not my pic, but that's how my latest one arrived — zilch put together. There was a small tear in the parts bag, so I don't even know if I've got all the tiny parts. The other one I ordered a lonnnng time ago, I don't even recall getting the rubber pad with that one and it may not even have a bottom plate or all the parts (momentarily lost in making moving arrangements, ordered the other, but I found it again).

I've got some plexi to cut a light-plate for them, though. The plates on these are metal, but only about the thickness of cardboard from a cereal box.


I'm thinking of leaving the old one raw, then adding some skateboard grip-tape instead of the rubber tread.
I don't have a lot of experience with wahs, let alone building them.


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## Stickman393 (Jul 18, 2021)

My bad - you ever notice how am American's default position is "Hey there, other person who is currently in America ....".  Seems to be a thing.

Lots of little parts there.  No doubt that long pin is the pivot, the four equally sized shorter screws are for the feet, the kinda "U" shaped metal piece...either that's for the pedal pivot or the rack gear pivot.  The plastic part is for the rack gear to ride on...shoot.  I'd just start throwing pieces together, separate the knowns from the unknowns, see what makes sense.

Then again, I'm a mechanic by trade, so a good part of my professional career has been figuring out how things fit together...


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## cooder (Jul 18, 2021)

@Feral Feline your kit looks similar to the ones that Smallbear sells and there's a instruction here that might help:
http://diy.smallbearelec.com/HowTos/SwellPedalKit/SwellPedalKit.htm


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## Feral Feline (Jul 19, 2021)

Many thanks Stickman393 and Cooder. Both your posts have helped tremendously, I should be able to try some assembly of the shell later today.

EDIT: Got both basically assembled, a couple minor bits missing that I can pick up at the hardware store (both came with rubber feet, but not the screws; 1st didn't come with a backing plate, screw missing on 2nd one...). You get what you pay for and I got these cheap! _Merci Beaucoup!_


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## Grubb (Aug 2, 2021)

Folks where can I get a decent expression pedal shell from? Smallbear are out of stock, as are other sites I've checked. I've read some bad stories about cheap Alibaba products and want to avoid those issues if possible. Banzai's enclosures look great but they're also pretty expensive. Any recommendations?


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## Stickman393 (Aug 2, 2021)

Honestly?

I just bought mine as complete, broken crybaby Wah pedals on ebay.

I gutted them, and kept the shells.


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## Grubb (Aug 3, 2021)

Any opinions on Daier enclosures? I know some of them come with unthreaded screw holes and without assembly instructions, but I don't know if they're actually ok despite that.


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## Stickman393 (Aug 3, 2021)

Seems like our host here believes that they're the same as the ones SBE sold...which is to say, they're probably workable.

I'd love to make my own one day.  I'm afraid my machining skills aren't great though.


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## fig (Aug 3, 2021)

I kept checking eBay and Reverb until some _really_ didn't want theirs anymore.


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## Feral Feline (Aug 3, 2021)

I need the Morley shell for the Mutron Flanger build from DEFX...


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