One difference here is that I added RF filter (low-pass filter) on the input formed by R1 and C1. Cut-off frequency for it would be around 16MHz, but in reality, because if either there is a guitar directly plugged into the effect, or there is a preceding pedal, they would have their own output resistance added to the equation so the cut-off frequency would be lower.

Very subtle volume push, until you reach closely full pot, but instead adds gain frequencies and overdriving your signal. It is a nice transparent push when you like more of your Class A amp without messing on volumes, or having an overdriven setup and cleaning the signal with the guitar pot.Reference voltage is achieved by way of a simple voltage divider using R7 and R8, C4 is there to filter out any ripple coming from power supply. This is necessary for single supply op-amp circuit otherwise negative portion of the input signal would be clipped. R7 and R8 have the same value so reference voltage is half of the power supply voltage, so 4.5V. Coupling Capacitors R1 and R10 are draining resistors for C1 and C5. When the pedal is disengaged and if input and output are left floating, due to leakage, voltage can build up on C1 and C5 that would lead to loud thumps when pedal gets engaged. R1 and R10 are draining capacitors to help with the thump. Stability

The most basic boost pedal is just an amplifier stage, so the only variable there would be how much amplification (or gain) it delivers. Most of the time this will be listed as a decibel or dB value, and most dedicated boosts offer around 20dB.I called my design … wait for it … Thunder. OK, slightly uninspiring name, but still, it should be a great circuit (oh wait, I already revealed it in the heading … doh). MXR is a New York–based manufacturer of effects pedals from Rochester. The company was co-founded in 1972 by Keith Barr and Terry Sherwood [1] [2] and incorporated as MXR Innovations, Inc. in 1974. The MXR trademark is now owned by Jim Dunlop.

Op amps, as most integrated circuits, suffer performance degradation of some type if there is a ripple and/or noise on power supply pins. To remove high frequency noise usually a 100nF cap is used like I did with C7. It should be ceramic capacitor and placed as close as possible to the chip. If there’s more issues with high frequency noise, another smaller cap could be used to help, but at this stage I might be just overthinking it. Some extra reading I forgot to give some more details on parameters for the pedals. Normally I do it after the analysis, so here it is before I dive into breadboarding stuff: Parameter I didn’t have 22M resistor, so I used 10M for R1. This won’t make a difference in sound, it will lower the input impedance just a bit, but nothing significant. Trying it out Now, truth be told, I like to prepare everything in advance so it looks good on the videos and photos. I do clip the leads to a more appropriate size and I cut wires to size from a spool I have etc. But when it comes to rapid prototyping, I sometimes just go directly from the schematic and just plug in components and wires as I go along without much consideration for aesthetics. Bill of Material TL072 it is very, very commonly used dual op-amp chip in pedal builds (and all sorts of other audio equipment). It is a dual op-amp and it has a different pin-out so there’s a bit of a difference, it is not a drop in replacement. Other than that, it should be slightly less noisy than TL061 and it uses slightly more current (so maybe battery won’t last as long if you use battery) but other than that, it is pretty much the same for what I’m going to use it for.

Warranty Info

MXR was bought by Jim Dunlop in 1987 and since then MXR has seen faithful reissues of classic designs as well as continuing to innovate with new designs that uphold the legendary MXR name. They are all built with reliable quality that can be expected from Dunlop products. Today you can find classic and new pedals alongside reliable power supplies, and professional grade instrument cables. Why Should I Choose MXR? Highlighted in blue is Vref connection. It’s a bit harder to follow because in schematic, even though the blue parts are not connected, the connection is named Vref on both parts of the schematic. That means that they are connected in reality, naming them just simplifies the schematic so I don’t need to run connections all over the place. The second thing you'll see on many of the best boost pedals is some kind of EQ. On some it may be a simple treble cut, while others will go as far as a two or even three-band EQ. Even without an EQ control, a boost will change the EQ profile of your guitar, and the extra gain will add compression. It's mainly this that makes boosted signals sound 'punchier'. Firstly, a ‘clean’ boost is a boost pedal that doesn’t introduce any sort of limiting to the signal; it responds linearly to its input. With a clean boost, you double the input volume, and the output volume is also doubled. With a limiting boost, that’s not necessarily the case. I used pen and paper before discovering the tool, and that is such a tedious job. With the tool it is really easy to move things around to your liking.

Looking at the highlighted part on the breadboard (going from right to left) R9 is connected to R8, connected to positive lead of C6. Then, there’s a jumper wire going to R3. The connection goes underneath R2 and it’s not connected to it. The MXR Series 2000 sported six models. These original pedals in the series included the Dyna Comp, Distortion +, Phaser, Stereo Chorus, Stereo Flanger and Time Delay. In late 1983 MXR announced a digital sound effects pedal generator simply known as the Junior. The Junior was released in early 1984 and was added to the other six pedals in the Series 2000 line. The Junior boasted four sound effects: a laser, a clap, a snare and a high hat. The effects were samples stored on a replaceable 24-pin ROM chip that was produced by MXR. MXR continued to manufacture most of the Reference, Commande and 2000 Series pedals until they closed down in 1984. The Series 2000 was a complete rework of the Reference and Commande lines of pedals. They were higher quality pedals, with electronic FET switching and dual LED indicators. They had a contoured, all-metal chassis and an easily removable battery. They had a fully rubberized bottom and were remote-controllable. Most of the pedals had dual outputs with distinctly different sounds. I like to use DIY Layout Creator to prepare for breadboarding. This step is not strictly necessary, but I prefer to have it done this way. Makes my life easier when it comes to planning, and it looks way more professional for my posts. All of this adds up to a pretty simple set of options when finding the best boost pedal option for you, and which will largely depend on your amplifier. With a decent tube amp, you're likely to EQ at the amp, and prefer the amp gain, meaning that a more simple boost with lots of gain on tap would do the job. On the other hand, with a solid-state amp, you're likely to want something a little bit hairier and more characterful, perhaps even with some clipping. Just don't call it an overdrive, ok?

Xotic EP Booster

For this, I just go straight from the schematic, I place the breadboard and the most important components first (in this case the op-amp chip). After that, I place all the other components next to the board. Front end clean channel: incredible amount of volume boost while gradually pushing the preamp tube into clipping. It's fun to find that sweet spot where you have a little bite/grit. Great for RHCP-like cleans. Even at lower gain settings, it adds a sort of fullness to the sound.