# Electrovibe (Big Monk)



## Big Monk

So, as if we didn’t already have enough Electrovibe threads, I thought I’d document mine here.











I used the Tayda drilling service and Dark Matte Gray Enclosure. I did have to widen out some holes but that was by design. I was not sure the exact dimensions of the parts I was going to use so I was conservative and left the DC jack, Output jack and LED Bezel holes a touch smaller. 

I’ll be start the board sometime this weekend. When I have a few minutes today, I’ll lay out the few places I plan to deviate from the standard design.


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## fig

I was just thinking we need _more_ ElectroVibe build reports, and pow!


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## Big Monk

fig said:


> I was just thinking we need _more_ ElectroVibe build reports, and pow!



My life is all about randomly delivering what people want.


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## Big Monk

So...

I'm not going to change much here. Mostly creature comforts. 

I'm going to bump up R4 to hit or slightly exceed unity gain. I'm using a Bi-color (Red/Blue) LED for the Speed. Rather than use a Red and Blue Knob (the red mini CH knobs were rather bright and garish), I decided to use a darker blue knob for Speed 2 and keep Speed 1 black. Obviously Red will be Speed 1 and Blue will be Speed 2.

I have to look at the schematic closer, but I think I may tie the ground for the Speed switch to the ON/OFF bypass switch so that the Speed LED does not stay on when I switch the effect off.

I contemplated a Rate LED for Speed but I do not think I am going to pursue that. Most of my changes are discreet and I'd prefer not to drill another hole or have the rate LED not function properly. If I would have been able to get a service schematic for my EHX Good Vibes, I'd have adapted that Rate LED, but alas, no dice.


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## andare

Excited about this thread. I just received my PCB and I'll be planning my build soon. 
I definitely want to have a bicolor LED for the two speeds but I think it should stay on when the effect is bypassed so i know which speed I'm gonna get when i turn it on.


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## Big Monk

andare said:


> Excited about this thread. I just received my PCB and I'll be planning my build soon.
> I definitely want to have a bicolor LED for the two speeds but I think it should stay on when the effect is bypassed so i know which speed I'm gonna get when i turn it on.



I didn’t think of it that way. 

I think my concern was that I have pedals with Rate LEDs that blink even when the pedal of bypassed. The Electrovibe will be less obnoxious so I may forego that.


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## andare

Big Monk said:


> I didn’t think of it that way.
> 
> I think my concern was that I have pedals with Rate LEDs that blink even when the pedal of bypassed. The Electrovibe will be less obnoxious so I may forego that.


I hate the always on blinking lights. Usually they are on pedals that only have one speed and I can see the setting from the knob already.

A static light won't drive me crazy


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## Big Monk

andare said:


> I hate the always on blinking lights. Usually they are on pedals that only have one speed and I can see the setting from the knob already.
> 
> A static light won't drive me crazy



Me either. I hadn’t though of it from your perspective. One less thing to plan!


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## Gordo

Being 50% Martian and 50% Muskie I don't get your lack of fascination with blinkey lights.  Darkness is the enemy.


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## Big Monk

Gordo said:


> Being 50% Martian and 50% Muskie I don't get your lack of fascination with blinkey lights.  Darkness is the enemy.



I don’t like rate LEDs blinking with the effect bypassed. Mostly just a distraction.


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## Big Monk

Alright you Freaks.

I’m doing some work on the Electrovibe and I think I’m gonna live stream it. Good music, my ugly mug and soldering. What can go wrong?

Derek Scott has invited you to join a video meeting on Google Meet.

Join the meeting: https://meet.google.com/cpx-egyg-sjb


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## andare

Big Monk said:


> Alright you Freaks.
> 
> I’m doing some work on the Electrovibe and I think I’m gonna live stream it. Good music, my ugly mug and soldering. What can go wrong?
> 
> Derek Scott has invited you to join a video meeting on Google Meet.
> 
> Join the meeting: https://meet.google.com/cpx-egyg-sjb


Missed it. Too bad.


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## Big Monk

andare said:


> Missed it. Too bad.



You didn’t miss much…😂

I tried streaming it through YouTube but apparently you need at least 1,000 subscribers to qualify.


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## Big Monk

Anyone have issues with the lamp touching the lid? I think I may need to remove the modified dust covers off the dial hang pot.


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## Big Monk

Got it all finished:













One issue I have right away is that Speed 2 does not get as fast as Speed 1. Anyone know why that would be? I had some issues trying to get thos dual pots to lay flat enough for the lid to clear the bulb. Maybe a cold or bad joint there?


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## benny_profane

Big Monk said:


> One issue I have right away is that Speed 2 does not get as fast as Speed 1. Anyone know why that would be?


Component tolerances. Pots have a lot of variability.


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## Big Monk

benny_profane said:


> Component tolerances. Pots have a lot of variability.



For those who have built the Electrovibe, have you also experienced this?


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## Robert

The only components that could cause that are the Speed pots and the footswitch, everything else is common to both speeds.


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## Big Monk

Robert said:


> The only components that could cause that are the Speed pots and the footswitch, everything else is common to both speeds.



I'll double check the Speed switch and pots in a little bit and report back.


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## Big Monk

Went in and touched up the Speed 2 pot and the Speed foot switch. Nothing. Speed 2 is noticeably slower at max. 

I wonder if I should grab a handful of C100k duals and match them but I’m afraid getting them out might damage pads.


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## Big Monk

Just did a quick side by side between my Electrovibe and my EHX Good Vibes. 

Electrovibe did not fare as well as I’d hoped. I still have some tweaking to do but I’m not sure it’s going to stay. 

The Speed issue is troubling and also it has less speed available, even on Speed 1, than my Good Vibes. 

Here is the comparison based on the 11 “ticks” on the Speed dials. Equivalent medium speed occurs as follows:

Good Vibes: 5
EV Speed 1: 7
EV Speed 2: MAX

The Good Vibes also a ton more fast speed setting in the last quarter of the dial. 

I really had high hopes for this one, and it could be builder error or component issues, so I don’t want to give the impression that anything is wrong with the project itself. 

Conversely, this could be a testament to HOW good the Good Vibes is.


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## Big Monk

In order to eliminate the possibility I messed up the pots, I ordered 10 more from Tayda. I’ll remove the ones currently installed when they get here and measure them, then measure and match a set to reinstall. 

I can’t think of anything else it might be. 

Here are two bits of good news for those building or planning to build this:

1.) I subbed the 47k R4 for 100k and it is perceptibly, but barely, just below unity. It is very close. When I swap the pots out, I think I’ll sub in a 220k. 

100k is a great starting point and provides a pretty much unity volume level. 

2.) The bi-color LED is a success. Simply cut the trace between the top and middle lugs on the Speed foot switch breakout board and:

    a.) Solder the second cathode to the top middle lug

    b.) Run a wire from the main board.                    ground pad to the middle middle lug. Leave the ground pad on the breakout board empty.


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## Big Monk

I have 2 questions for the forum members who have built the Electrovibe:

1.) Has anyone else’s experienced the Speed having different maximum speeds?

2.) Did anyone measure and match their Speed pots?

If I can sort out why I’m experiencing variance in maximum speeds, I can modify the 4.7k resistors in the Speed control network to get more maximum speed and do a true comparison to my Good Vibes.


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## Gordo

The real truth is that the Electro stays true to the original.  Which could be construed as a short-coming.  There are so many ways of doing things better these days that its really subjective as to what the "perfect" vibe would be.  Gain loss - check.  Hiss - check. Top end loss - check (depending on how the originals caps are doing).

So I don't think you can do an apples-apples comparison to ANY version of the Vibe (let alone an old original).  It captures the "spirit" of the original version in spades.  Whether or not that is as good as a newer version is always up for debate and honestly I could take both sides.  For my use, this is it.  I have a half dozen variants that might to a better or worse job depending on my mood too.

Dang, it's not supposed to be this complicated.  Imagine what the Fuzz Face freaks have to deal with  

I don't notice much speed difference so I'd chalk it up to parts variance.  Then again I'd be trying for different speeds anyway so I don't really care if they match each other.

On the plus side...an Electro into a 20w MonkWatt?  Bliss bro'


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## Big Monk

Gordo said:


> The real truth is that the Electro stays true to the original.  Which could be construed as a short-coming.  There are so many ways of doing things better these days that its really subjective as to what the "perfect" vibe would be.  Gain loss - check.  Hiss - check. Top end loss - check (depending on how the originals caps are doing).
> 
> So I don't think you can do an apples-apples comparison to ANY version of the Vibe (let alone an old original).  It captures the "spirit" of the original version in spades.  Whether or not that is as good as a newer version is always up for debate and honestly I could take both sides.  For my use, this is it.  I have a half dozen variants that might to a better or worse job depending on my mood too.
> 
> Dang, it's not supposed to be this complicated.  Imagine what the Fuzz Face freaks have to deal with
> 
> I don't notice much speed difference so I'd chalk it up to parts variance.  Then again I'd be trying for different speeds anyway so I don't really care if they match each other.
> 
> On the plus side...an Electro into a 20w MonkWatt?  Bliss bro'



My concern is not it’s originality or even how it stacks up to my Good Vibes. My concern is at maximum, Speed 2 is almost 40% slower than Speed 1.

Just wanted to see if anyone else had that big a variance.

It defInitely has a great sound but if it’s to replace my Good Vibes, I need both Speeds to have the same Range and then tweak them to be a little faster.


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## Big Monk

The more I’ve studied, the more I’ve learned my issue can only be a damaged pot. 

The fastest speed available is obviously full up on the dial and thus corresponds to the pots being shorted (zero resistance).

For a major difference in speed between controls, Speed 2 must have stray resistance when full up.


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## Gordo

Yeah, sorry I misinterpreted. They should at least be relatively close.


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## Big Monk

Gordo said:


> Yeah, sorry I misinterpreted. They should at least be relatively close.



Sorry. I was a bit short in my response. It was part frustration at my predicament.


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## Big Monk

Gordo said:


> On the plus side...an Electro into a 20w MonkWatt?  Bliss bro'



MonkWatt! I like that!

It’s coming together by the way. Also, I’ll have 4 extra sets because the JLCPCB minimum is 5. Just sayin....


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## Big Monk

Today I’m going to pull the board and components out and run some checks. I’m confident the switching on the Speed side is good, so I'm certain it’s an issue with the Speed pots. 

I’ll have to be careful not to damage the pads getting the old pots out. If I do, I believe I’ll have another go with a fresh board.


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## Big Monk

I GOT IT!

When I was trying to re-seat the Speed controls to get the lamp to clear the inside of the lid, I must have lifted the pad to the middle lug of the top gang on Speed 2. 

It basically lost its jumper connection on that gang from wiper to pin 1. I added a manual jumper and speeds are equivalent now. 

I may still play with the 4.7k resistors to get more speed but not until I thoroughly test the circuit at volume.


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## jjjimi84

Nice work! Another member just kindly reminded me that it is always the weird little issues that give us the biggest headaches.

I am with @Gordo though, it may not be crazy fast and have all the bells and whistles but to me it sounds beautiful and i can channel my inner machine gun.

What would be the perfect univibe though? That is a question I will be thinking about for a while.


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## Big Monk

jjjimi84 said:


> Nice work! Another member just kindly reminded me that it is always the weird little issues that give us the biggest headaches.
> 
> I am with @Gordo though, it may not be crazy fast and have all the bells and whistles but to me it sounds beautiful and i can channel my inner machine gun.
> 
> What would be the perfect univibe though? That is a question I will be thinking about for a while.



I’m with you. The tone of the Electrovibe is wonderful. I’m only very slightly going to increase the speed. 

The perfect Univibe? I don’t think I’m qualified to answer that but the EHX Good Vibes is very good. Now that I’ve fixed the Electrovibe, I can make a fair comparison. 

Hell, I may keep both.


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## Big Monk

Another forum question: Are we running Univibes pre-dirt and even pre-fuzz? 

I did both yesterday and generally preferred it before. My Phase 90 as well.


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## jjjimi84

Big Monk said:


> Another forum question: Are we running Univibes pre-dirt and even pre-fuzz?
> 
> I did both yesterday and generally preferred it before. My Phase 90 as well.


I swing both ways.

Sometimes before sometimes after, I think most of the time it is before


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## Big Monk

In my research, it seems the place to adjust for higher speeds would be the 4.7k resistors (R14/R15) and the 1 uf caps (C7, C8, and C9).


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## Big Monk

Can I have an extra set of eyes in confirming the 4.7k resistors in the Speed control circuit?


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## Big Monk

Today we test:


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## andare

Big Monk said:


> 2.) The bi-color LED is a success. Simply cut the trace between the top and middle lugs on the Speed foot switch breakout board and:
> 
> a.) Solder the second cathode to the top middle lug
> 
> b.) Run a wire from the main board.                    ground pad to the middle middle lug. Leave the ground pad on the breakout board empty.


I just received my PCB and will start procuring the parts. I also want to do the bi-color LED mod so I'm trying to wrap my head around this.

This is what I understand so far:


Use a bi-color LED with common anode and connect the anode and one of the cathodes to the Speed LED pads on the main PCB.
Solder the second cathode to the top middle lug of the Speed breakout board (with the pads facing the main PCB's pads).
The ground pads are those with the interrupted line around them.
I can't see the trace I'm supposed to cut on the breakout board. Do I just make a couple of slashes between the pads with an X-Acto knife?


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## Big Monk

andare said:


> I just received my PCB and will start procuring the parts. I also want to do the bi-color LED mod so I'm trying to wrap my head around this.
> 
> This is what I understand so far:
> 
> 
> Use a bi-color LED with common anode and connect the anode and one of the cathodes to the Speed LED pads on the main PCB.
> Solder the second cathode to the top middle lug of the Speed breakout board (with the pads facing the main PCB's pads).
> The ground pads are those with the interrupted line around them.
> I can't see the trace I'm supposed to cut on the breakout board. Do I just make a couple of slashes between the pads with an X-Acto knife?



1.) Yes. Since I used a Red/Blue Bi-color, I connected the red to the board and the cathode for the blue to the switch and used a blue Knob for Speed 2.

2.) Yes. Top middle lug with breakout pads aligned. 

3.) On the main board, the Speed switch ground is the fourth pad over from the left. 

4.) With the Speed switch breakout board holes line up with the main board, flip the board over and there is a trace between the top and middle lugs on the middle pole. I made 2 cuts about 1mm apart and them tested continuity to make sure that did the trick.


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## andare

Big Monk said:


> 1.) Yes. Since I used a Red/Blue Bi-color, I connected the red to the board and the cathode for the blue to the switch and used a blue Knob for Speed 2.
> 
> 2.) Yes. Top middle lug with breakout pads aligned.
> 
> 3.) On the main board, the Speed switch ground is the fourth pad over from the left.
> 
> 4.) With the Speed switch breakout board holes line up with the main board, flip the board over and there is a trace between the top and middle lugs on the middle pole. I made 2 cuts about 1mm apart and them tested continuity to make sure that did the trick.


You're always there to help me out. Thank you!


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## Big Monk

andare said:


> You're always there to help me out. Thank you!



No sweat! I’m rarely useful so I take the opportunity to help very seriously!


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## Big Monk

I had the opportunity to riff on “Breathe” earlier with the Good Vibes and the ElectroVibe. 

Firstly, the Good Vibes and the ElectroVibe have the classic Univibe layout. Where the Good Vibes has expression control for Speed, the ElectroVibe has 2 speeds. 

The Good Vibes, in general has more mods and bottom end, but not excessively so. It’s just enough so that it has a touch more oomph, and an accentuated throb (the favorite Univibe adjective of all amateur vibe reviewers). It also has more Speed on hand and more Intensity, although for an apples to apples comparison, that is irrelevant.

The ElectroVibe has, and I’m uncertain yet whether my mind is playing tricks on me, or if differences in how I have the both biased is to blame, a more organic or natural sounding overall tone. It could be that this is a result of a touch less mods and bottom need compare to the Good Vibes. 

I was able to pretty equally match them and it’s going to be tough to decide which stays. Obviously the form factor on the ElectroVibe saves me board space, as I’d need to have the Expression pedal to acces speed control on the Good Vibes. 

The Good Vibes, however, has more range on both Speed and Intensity and threat different frequency range in the mods and bottom working for it. 

I will say this: Whether I keep it or not, the Good Vibes is a sleeper Univibe pedal for sure. I’m unsure why it’s caught such a bad rap, likely because everyone thinks they like vibe but “it doesn’t throb enough”, etc., but it is really close to the vintage Univibe sound and the expression control is a life touch.


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## Big Monk




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## Harry Klippton

The good vibes seems a bit brighter overall than the electrovibe


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## Bricksnbeatles

If you prefer the sound of the good vibes but don’t dig the whole form factor of a full expression pedal, have you considered the OBNE expression ramper? It’s a 1590a sized unit that lets you switch between two expression values with an adjustable ramping time between them.


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## Big Monk

Harry Klippton said:


> The good vibes seems a bit brighter overall than the electrovibe



There’s that but in the room it also has a little more “oomph” for lack of a better term. 

With that said, it’s also much more pronounced when switched on than the Electrovibe, which means the Electrovibe blends better overall into a mix of effects. 

I still have some tweaking to do. I need to play with the bias a bit more on each.


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## Big Monk

Bricksnbeatles said:


> If you prefer the sound of the good vibes but don’t dig the whole form factor of a full expression pedal, have you considered the OBNE expression ramper? It’s a 1590a sized unit that lets you switch between two expression values with an adjustable ramping time between them.



You’ve mentioned that to me before. I have to take another look.

Since I have to build a new pedalboard anyway, I’m not too concerned about the expression pedal size.

Right now I’m just trying to decide which one to keep.

The next test will be to play the both with other effects and see how they sound.


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## Big Monk

So I ran them together in my “Breathe” chain:

Guitar -> Vibe -> Vick Audio Overdriver (Light Boost) > El Cap (Short Time - 2 repeats- Fresh Tape) -> Flint (70s mild Reverb) -> Roctary (medium blend - slow speed)

The Good Vibes has more presence when mixed with other pedals, although it’s admittedly slight. Just a little extra something given it’s brightness and more pronounced mids and bass.


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## Big Monk

A few more things today and I think I can close her up now:

1.) Changed R4 to 2.2M. Does not offer a ton past Unity but it guarantees any setup can get there;

2.) I changed the LEDR for the Bi-color, as it was noticeably brighter. Stock was 4.7k, changed it to 2.2k (my Standard value) but went back to 4.7k.

3.) I added a 3mm rate LED:





I used the values from the Madbean Harbinger 1.5. Basically a 10k in parallel with the LED, Anode In series with a 10k in series with the positive side of the 10 uf cap before the Intensity control and the Cathode tied to ground. I’ll eventually tighten that up and grab a 3mm bezel but it works fine for now. 

4.) I ended up using the Madbean Harbinger writeup to tune the lamp and I’m getting some very lush sounds. I also tuned my Good Vibes as well.


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## andare

Big Monk said:


>


The Electrovibe sounds killer, very chewy and fat. With these mods it's really going to be amazing. I'm taking notes for when I do my build, which unfortunately will have to wait a bit now due to unforeseen circumstances.
Thanks for this thread.


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## Bricksnbeatles

Big Monk said:


> A few more things today and I think I can close her up now:
> 
> 1.) Changed R4 to 2.2M. Does not offer a ton past Unity but it guarantees any setup can get there;
> 
> 2.) I changed the LEDR for the Bi-color, as it was noticeably brighter. Stock was 4.7k, changed it to 2.2k (my Standard value) but went back to 4.7k.
> 
> 3.) I added a 3mm rate LED:
> 
> View attachment 16711
> 
> I used the values from the Madbean Harbinger 1.5. Basically a 10k in parallel with the LED, Anode In series with a 10k in series with the positive side of the 10 uf cap before the Intensity control and the Cathode tied to ground. I’ll eventually tighten that up and grab a 3mm bezel but it works fine for now.
> 
> 4.) I ended up using the Madbean Harbinger writeup to tune the lamp and I’m getting some very lush sounds. I also tuned my Good Vibes as well.


Awesome! I was planning on doing the rate mod as well, but I’m doing it to the bi-color rate-knob indicator. Could you show a quick vid of how the rate led looks at some point? I saw it mentioned elsewhere that it gets considerably dimmer at slow speeds


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## Big Monk

Bricksnbeatles said:


> Awesome! I was planning on doing the rate mod as well, but I’m doing it to the bi-color rate-knob indicator. Could you show a quick vid of how the rate led looks at some point? I saw it mentioned elsewhere that it gets considerably dimmer at slow speeds



Before I drill for a bezel and finalize it, I’m going to try and lower the series 10k to see if that makes it a little brighter. At least I think that will brighten it up. 

I did the Madbean mod and put a 10k in parallel with the LED and it’s the same brightness all the way down.


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## Big Monk

I’m still playing around with the gain and offset trying to find that perfect balance.


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## Big Monk

@Bricksnbeatles 

I went in tonight and drilled a hole for a 5mm LED bezel and redid the rate LED. 

What I found is that the parallel resistor matters little so long as it’s there. I kept 10k. In an effort to get the rate LED brighter, I set up the breadboard to do some trial and error with the resistor:





I stepped down from 10k all the way to 680 ohm. What I found is that the lower you go, the LED gets marginally brighter but also starts to lose distinction with the rate pulses. 680 ohm was pretty bright (still not as bright as the main LEDs) but lack almost all definition with respect to the pulsing. 

I tested a number of values in between and found that 6.2k had the best balance of brightness and full pulses. I then set up the rate LED itself and prepped for install:





Here are my rough draft and final videos showing the rate LED:











And finally, here it is re-assembled:





I think tomorrow I’ll go in and redo the main LEDs off board so I can get them seated better in the bezels. While I’m in I’ll adjust the LEDR values for those to get the brightness of all three matched.


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## Bricksnbeatles

Very cool! Thanks for sharing


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## Big Monk

I went it today and made some changes to the LEDR values. I ended up with 47k on the bi-color and the bypass LED. The bi-color fared well but the bypass LED is still a bit bright compare to the others. I'll probably just leave it. Anymore soldering and I'm bound to break something.


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## pi.cast

Big Monk said:


> @Bricksnbeatles
> 
> I went in tonight and drilled a hole for a 5mm LED bezel and redid the rate LED.
> 
> What I found is that the parallel resistor matters little so long as it’s there. I kept 10k. In an effort to get the rate LED brighter, I set up the breadboard to do some trial and error with the resistor:
> 
> View attachment 16725
> 
> I stepped down from 10k all the way to 680 ohm. What I found is that the lower you go, the LED gets marginally brighter but also starts to lose distinction with the rate pulses. 680 ohm was pretty bright (still not as bright as the main LEDs) but lack almost all definition with respect to the pulsing.
> 
> I tested a number of values in between and found that 6.2k had the best balance of brightness and full pulses. I then set up the rate LED itself and prepped for install:
> 
> View attachment 16726
> 
> Here are my rough draft and final videos showing the rate LED:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And finally, here it is re-assembled:
> 
> View attachment 16727
> 
> I think tomorrow I’ll go in and redo the main LEDs off board so I can get them seated better in the bezels. While I’m in I’ll adjust the LEDR values for those to get the brightness of all three matched.



Looks terrific!
I'm very interested in your experiments with the rate LED. Did you use 6.2K for both resistors of the LED?
Also, would you be so kind to point me to the location of C14?

Thanks a lot!


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## Big Monk

pi.cast said:


> Looks terrific!
> I'm very interested in your experiments with the rate LED. Did you use 6.2K for both resistors of the LED?
> Also, would you be so kind to point me to the location of C14?
> 
> Thanks a lot!



Check out the mods thread:






						ElectroVibe Modifications Thread
					

I thought it might be a good idea to document some ElectroVibe mods while they are fresh in my mind:




					forum.pedalpcb.com
				




I updated the screenshot with the C14 location.


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## pi.cast

Big Monk said:


> Check out the mods thread:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ElectroVibe Modifications Thread
> 
> 
> I thought it might be a good idea to document some ElectroVibe mods while they are fresh in my mind:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> forum.pedalpcb.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I updated the screenshot with the C14 location.



Thanks!
Checked it before and wasn't updated yet.
So If I got it right you kept the parallel resistor at 10k and you decreased the series resistor to 6.2K. Correct?


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## Big Monk

pi.cast said:


> Thanks!
> Checked it before and wasn't updated yet.
> So If I got it right you kept the parallel resistor at 10k and you decreased the series resistor to 6.2K. Correct?



Yup. Here is the problem: The Rate LED is naturally, by nature of how it's connected, not going to be as bright, ever, as the normal LEDs. Dropping the series resistor too low makes the pulses less robust and distinct and maximum brightness is very low to begin with. I played around with a number of values and found 6.2k to be the brightest and have the most distinct pulses.

I then went back and changed the LEDR values for my main LEDs. The bi-color is fine but if I were to go back in, I'd change the bypass LED to something even higher.

A good thing to do might be to tack in the Rate LED first, with the circuit operational and leave the speed and bypass LEDs until last. Take a breadboard and set up all three in a row and tweak the LEDR values until they match to your desired output.


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## pi.cast

Big Monk said:


> Yup. Here is the problem: The Rate LED is naturally, by nature of how it's connected, not going to be as bright, ever, as the normal LEDs. Dropping the series resistor too low makes the pulses less robust and distinct and maximum brightness is very low to begin with. I played around with a number of values and found 6.2k to be the brightest and have the most distinct pulses.
> 
> I then went back and changed the LEDR values for my main LEDs. The bi-color is fine but if I were to go back in, I'd change the bypass LED to something even higher.
> 
> A good thing to do might be to tack in the Rate LED first, with the circuit operational and leave the speed and bypass LEDs until last. Take a breadboard and set up all three in a row and tweak the LEDR values until they match to your desired output.



Thanks a lot!


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## Big Monk

I just finished tweaking my Electrovibe trimmers. I’m going to put a video up later in the hopes I can get some constructive criticism from the forum on how it sounds. 

It would be great to get comments about whether gain and/or offset need to be adjusted up/down, etc.


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## Big Monk

Ok Gents. 

Don’t hold back. Give me an honest critique. I noticed it gets a bit “wompy” above 50%.


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## andare

It sounds a bit choppy with the intensity up. I remember getting similar sounds when adjusting the trimmers in my Photon Vibe then settling on a mellower transition. Maybe you can reduce the variation in the lamp's intensity? Like in this video by a well-known member here, sorry I don't remember his name.


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## Big Monk

andare said:


> It sounds a bit choppy with the intensity up. I remember getting similar sounds when adjusting the trimmers in my Photon Vibe then settling on a mellower transition. Maybe you can reduce the variation in the lamp's intensity? Like in this video by a well-known member here, sorry I don't remember his name.



@jjjimi84 for the win! I’ll try that setting later.


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## Harry Klippton

andare said:


> It sounds a bit choppy with the intensity up. I remember getting similar sounds when adjusting the trimmers in my Photon Vibe then settling on a mellower transition. Maybe you can reduce the variation in the lamp's intensity? Like in this video by a well-known member here, sorry I don't remember his name.


It's Dan


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## Big Monk

I djust don’t have much time to adjust tonight between the kids showers but here were my observations:

1.) Following the Madbean instructions, I get very wompy and choppy vibes when the intensity is up, but great moderate intensity vibes.

2.) Using Dan’s video, I get excellent full intensity vibes but weak low/medium intensity vibes. 

How is the range on everyone’s units? I may just need to tweak some more and more intently than the couple of minutes I’ve had over the last few days.


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## Big Monk

So, In the end, this turns out to be a matter of taste and intensity. I have it set the way it sounds best to me. 

In the hopes that this will help someone else, I'll document what I've found:

1.) *Dan's (*@jjjimi84*) Method* - The 50%-100% Intensity tones were excellent but less than 50% the "swirl", "throb", what have you, were not as strong. This is not a huge deal as, realistically at least, I think you can only expect to get about 2/3 range of good Intensity tones with any method. 

*Pros* - _Dan's method is by far the most intuitive and easy to setup._
*Cons*_ - To my ear, Intensity less than 50% was a bit weak._

2.) *Forum Vibe Method (*


			https://musikding.de/docs/web/univibe-ForumVibe-final.pdf
		

*) *- This method moved the usable range down a little more than Dan's but overall lacked the definition of the best tones from Dan's Method. < 50% vibes tone were improved but the "swirl" and "throb" were less intense. 

*Pros* - _This method extended the useable range of the Intensity knob._
*Cons* - _"Swirl" and "Throb" were not as intense._

3.) Madbean Harbinger Method - This proved, to me at least, to be the most versatile when used in the Electrovibe. High Intensity tones were a bit wompy with the Speed controls low so to compensate I increased speed for when Intensity is> 75%. The lower Intensity tones are the best I could muster and really reminiscent of the tones I had in my head.  

*Pros* - _This method gave the lushest, most vintage, "swirliest" and "throbiest" tones on the lower range of the Intensity knob._
*Cons* - Higher Intensity settings are wompy and require the use of higher speeds to be usable.


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## jjjimi84

Big Monk said:


> So, In the end, this turns out to be a matter of taste and intensity. I have it set the way it sounds best to me.
> 
> In the hopes that this will help someone else, I'll document what I've found:
> 
> 1.) *Dan's (*@jjjimi84*) Method* - The 50%-100% Intensity tones were excellent but less than 50% the "swirl", "throb", what have you, were not as strong. This is not a huge deal as, realistically at least, I think you can only expect to get about 2/3 range of good Intensity tones with any method.
> 
> *Pros* - _Dan's method is by far the most intuitive and easy to setup._
> *Cons*_ - To my ear, Intensity less than 50% was a bit weak._
> 
> 2.) *Forum Vibe Method (*
> 
> 
> https://musikding.de/docs/web/univibe-ForumVibe-final.pdf
> 
> 
> *) *- This method moved the usable range down a little more than Dan's but overall lacked the definition of the best tones from Dan's Method. < 50% vibes tone were improved but the "swirl" and "throb" were less intense.
> 
> *Pros* - _This method extended the useable range of the Intensity knob._
> *Cons* - _"Swirl" and "Throb" were not as intense._
> 
> 3.) Madbean Harbinger Method - This proved, to me at least, to be the most versatile when used in the Electrovibe. High Intensity tones were a bit wompy with the Speed controls low so to compensate I increased speed for when Intensity is> 75%. The lower Intensity tones are the best I could muster and really reminiscent of the tones I had in my head.
> 
> *Pros* - _This method gave the lushest, most vintage, "swirliest" and "throbiest" tones on the lower range of the Intensity knob._
> *Cons* - Higher Intensity settings are wompy and require the use of higher speeds to be usable.


Dude I cant even believe I am being mentioned in a post with these legends! Woot Woot. Hopefully this entire thread has helped everyone and certainly thank @Big Monk for taking us along for the ride


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## Big Monk

jjjimi84 said:


> Dude I cant even believe I am being mentioned in a post with these legends! Woot Woot. Hopefully this entire thread has helped everyone and certainly thank @Big Monk for taking us along for the ride



You deserve it! Your method is the easiest and most intuitive.

I'll put a video up later showing my final settings.


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## Big Monk

Here we are.
I’m going to leave it for a bit and play it. I have a feeling if I keep tweaking I’ll forget what I like!


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## Big Monk

The Electrovibe is really growing on me. I’m still doing some pretty intense comparisons between the Good Vibes and the ElectroVibe, as I’m only going to have room for one once I get my Hydra started. 

I’m going to tweak both a little more over the next few weeks and once the FV-1 chips are back in stock, I’ll put the one I’m not keeping up for sale.


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## orangetones

Big Monk said:


> For those who have built the Electrovibe, have you also experienced this?


I just finished building this.  I get different speed ranges with the 2 speed settings.  In my case, they both seem to get to the same speed, but the slow speed is different for them.  Different range for sure.  I have another issue, but will post in a new thread.


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## orangetones

Big Monk said:


> In order to eliminate the possibility I messed up the pots, I ordered 10 more from Tayda. I’ll remove the ones currently installed when they get here and measure them, then measure and match a set to reinstall.
> 
> I can’t think of anything else it might be.
> 
> Here are two bits of good news for those building or planning to build this:
> 
> 1.) I subbed the 47k R4 for 100k and it is perceptibly, but barely, just below unity. It is very close. When I swap the pots out, I think I’ll sub in a 220k.
> 
> 100k is a great starting point and provides a pretty much unity volume level.



What was the issue here?  I have noticed that in chorus mode, I still have a significant volume drop even when the volume is maxed out.  Is this the issue you were having?  

I also notice that in Vibrato mode, the volume is significantly louder.


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## Kroars

Big Monk said:


> So, as if we didn’t already have enough Electrovibe threads, I thought I’d document mine here.
> 
> View attachment 16339
> View attachment 16340
> View attachment 16341
> 
> I used the Tayda drilling service and Dark Matte Gray Enclosure. I did have to widen out some holes but that was by design. I was not sure the exact dimensions of the parts I was going to use so I was conservative and left the DC jack, Output jack and LED Bezel holes a touch smaller.
> 
> I’ll be start the board sometime this weekend. When I have a few minutes today, I’ll lay out the few places I plan to deviate from the standard design.


I like your idea of using a couple nuts on the outside of your dc jack to push it out a little when you need more room.  Not sure why, but I just don’t like the smaller dc jacks and on a couple builds I’ve had to get clever fitting the jack in (Low Tide is a perfect example).  Yours looks great!


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## Big Monk

Went in last night and made the internal trim pots external. 

There are a few different vibe tones I like from this things and did not want to have to open it up to tweak. Also, I wanted to tweak for a good, strong vibrato tone as well.


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## zachlovescoffee

I'm telling you I like the Electrovibe better than the Good Vibes. Something about it sounds a little more 'organic' either solo or with all of the other layered effects. It's like it's not trying as hard to be what it is. Where the Good Vibes feels like it's trying  To me they sound different enough that you could use them for totally different kinds of songs.They are different pedals, different circuits, different components so duh Zach


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## Paradox916

Nice job!  So sounds like making the gain and bias external controls is worth it if you like to dial in the effects going from  one to the other?


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## Big Monk

zachlovescoffee said:


> I'm telling you I like the Electrovibe better than the Good Vibes. Something about it sounds a little more 'organic' either solo or with all of the other layered effects. It's like it's not trying as hard to be what it is. Where the Good Vibes feels like it's trying  To me they sound different enough that you could use them for totally different kinds of songs.They are different pedals, different circuits, different components so duh Zach



The Good Vibes was way more versatile but also more phasery. It just couldn’t do the classic vibe sound fully. 

I am looking for another Good Vibes on the cheap though. I miss it.


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## Big Monk

Paradox916 said:


> Nice job!  So sounds like making the gain and bias external controls is worth it if you like to dial in the effects going from  one to the other?



It helps dialing in the Chorus side from different intensities to others and also for quick changes for workable vibrato tones.


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