# Pitch Witch with extra weird mods



## p_wats (Jan 15, 2021)

Another weird delay is low on the list of things i need, but high on the list of fun, so here we are.

I figured I'd mess with this one a bit and see if I could go even weirder. Some notes on the stock build:

I had some ticking with the 4558s I tried, so I went with a TL062, which cured that
I found the modulation worked with a tayda LDR + LED, but the wave knob had the most variation with a vactrol, so I'm using that for now
For mods, I like my delays to have runaway repeats as an option, so I added an expression jack to let me use an external switch/expression pedal to turn that on. The "Exp." knob is an a10k pot to dial this in a little more carefully, so the repeats don't get too crazy (unless I want them to). This is all just in parallel with lugs 2 & 3 of the feedback pot. Very easy to do and requires no real board mods.

The second footswitch is a momentary stomp wired to the corresponding knob (with the same wavy symbol), which basically jumpers the delay time, to make for weird blips from fast to slow. It's wired to an a250k pot (this value is probably overkill, but seemed to give a good range of fun sounds), all in parallel with lugs 1&2 of the delay knob. Works well when the repeats are running away.

The enclosure is salvaged and beat up, so I wasn't too careful with the spray (though I never am). Lots of fun with this one. Hoping to do a video or something soon!











Lots of room in there if I decide to add a relay board, but for some reason I still bunched everything up on the one side in my excitement. Oops.


----------



## p_wats (Jan 16, 2021)

Been having some fun with this on both guitar and synth. Very lo-fi, which isn't unexpected.

For what it's worth, after playing around and comparing it to my other PT2399 delays, I added a 2n2 cap in across pins 13 & 14, in parallel with C11, to increase the filtering on the repeats. Makes it darker sounding, but removes a bunch of the noise.

I may make it switchable if I feel it kills to much of the lo-fi charm.


----------



## dawson (Jan 16, 2021)

This is super.  Super duper.
I dig that momentary mod- super useful for delay.  Your panel is really great also- the layout and painting are top-notch!


----------



## p_wats (Jan 16, 2021)

dawson said:


> This is super.  Super duper.
> I dig that momentary mod- super useful for delay.  Your panel is really great also- the layout and painting are top-notch!


Thanks! I'm happy with how this came together, as it was always on the precipice of being too sloppy. Ha. But it fits the lo-fi, zany nature of the circuit.


----------



## p_wats (Jan 18, 2021)

There's a brief video attached to this Instagram post if you're curious.


----------



## giovanni (Jan 18, 2021)

Very cool art! How did you paint it? Acrylic?


----------



## p_wats (Jan 18, 2021)

giovanni said:


> Very cool art! How did you paint it? Acrylic?



Thanks! The skeleton/pirate and labels are just paint pens (Molotow brand, mostly, I think) and the splatter/background is spray paint (I sprayed/splattered first, and taped off certain areas then drew the other elements after).


----------



## giovanni (Jan 18, 2021)

Did you add a clear coat to seal the art or something? I’ve been wondering how to make some hand drawn pedals for a while. Or even use some masks and spray paint, but I heard that the results are not durable.


----------



## p_wats (Jan 18, 2021)

giovanni said:


> Did you add a clear coat to seal the art or something? I’ve been wondering how to make some hand drawn pedals for a while. Or even use some masks and spray paint, but I heard that the results are not durable.



I did a coat or two of clear semi-gloss over top, which I find to be enough, unless you actively try to remove the paint, but the areas where the drawings are shouldn't really be touched much anyway.

I use powder-coated enclosures as a base, so I'm not worried about the base colour. The only times I've had issues are when I've used a bare enclosure and used spray cans to paint the whole thing. The corners, etc. will invariably chip.


----------

