STUTTER TREMOLO BUILD INSTRUCTIONS

By FF_Pedals 2011 Layout by Culturejam 2011

There are two ways to build this effect. The JFET can be used in series or shunt. The board was designed for series connection (original youtube demo). I tried modding it for a shunt connection and it sounds even better (signal based noise occurs in series mode as signal builds charge on C2). I will give the instructions for the shunt version. I highly recommend you build it like this. It sounds very good. See Appendix for original schematic and bill of materials. In the shunt version you do not need a switch for smooth mode, just a 100kB pot. You will also need a 1M resistor, 2 x 47k and a 330k resistor (compared to original BOM). Follow these instructions carefully. This is a SQUARE WAVE tremolo, make sure you twist all your offboard wiring for best noise performance. How it works: Q4 is the LFO from the EA Tremolo. Q5 is a BJT inverter that creates a square wave. R15, R21 and the Cycle pot set the DC bias on the base of Q5 which adjust the threshold voltage of the inverter to vary the duty cycle (off/on time of pulses). Q1 is an amplifier with a pre-gain cut volume pot. You could increase the gain by decreasing R4. You could eliminate the pre-gain volume and put a volume on the output (R23) if you prefer. R5, R6 and C3 set the signal ground and DC bias for the JFET. Q3 is an output buffer. In shunt mode the JFET dumps the signal between C2 and C4 to the signal

ground (4.5V DC) through the low impedance path to ground of C3. When the depth pot is cranked (0 ohms) it is in full stutter mode. Increasing the resistance between the JFET source and the signal ground increases the off volume and gives a smoother more normal sounding trem, even though it is hard switching between two volumes. By adjusting the duty cycle in smooth mode some great trem sounds can be made. Compared to series mode, in shunt mode there is a little signal bleed through during the off cycle which is combated by adding in the 100k resistor in series with C2. SHUNT Schematic:

There are MANY ways to mod this effect. These values are just my suggestions to get you going. Experiment and have fun.

Parts list:
C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 100n 100n 100u 10n 39n 100n 100u 100u 1u 1u 1u 10u 1M B (linear)

CYCLE D1 D2 D3 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

1N914 or 1N4148 4001 LED 2N3904 J201 2N3904 2N5088 or other 1N400x Standard red diffused

Q5 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15 R16 R17 R18 R19 R20 R21 R23 RATE VOL

2N3904 1M 470K 10K 2K7 47k 47k 1M 100k B Depth pot 1M 1M 1M 10K 100R 10K 1M 10K 2M2 100K 1K 15K 330K 1M 100K C Rev. log 500K A log

Shunt Build Instructions (highly suggested)

1. Locate the trace from the bottom of C4 to the source (middle pin) of the JFET. Cut it with a utility blade right under R11 so its hidden. Should be very easy. Check with multimeter to make sure you have broken the connection:

2. Install all of the resistors and diodes EXCEPT R8 and R22. Put a 100k resistor standing up where the switch SW1 was supposed to go. (ignore my 330k resistor standing up, I had to use a 1/2W...)

3. Install C2 from the top hole of C2 to the left hole where R22 was supposed to go. Make sure the lead does not short against the bottom hole of C2. Steps 2 and 3 let us install that 100k resistor between C2 and the JFET drain...

4. Install C4 but DO NOT CLIP THE LOWER LEAD. Bend the lower lead of C4 towards the drain of the JFET (top hole) do not solder it to anything yet.

5. Install the rest of the caps.

6. Put the JFET in and wrap that lower lead of C4 around the drain before soldering.

7. Solder in the transistors or transistor sockets, whatever you feel comfortable with. 8. Wire the pots, they are all variable resistors and you can just use lugs 2 and 3 if you want, they are all the same configuration. The depth pot goes where R8 was. Twist the wires and put them in where R8 was supposed to go, the order does not matter. Wire the volume, and rate to the appropriate holes (Volume 2 and 3, Rate 2 and 3...). In shunt mode the duty cycle works backwards so you have to connect lug 3 where lug 1 was supposed to go. 9. Install the LED on the board. 10. Do your offboard wiring, available online elsewhere. For a bypass indicator, solder a current limiting resistor and length of wire to the longer leg of an LED and heat-shrink it. Solder a length of lead to the shorter end of the LED and heat-shrink. Connect the side with the resistor to the 9V lug of the DC jack (center lug) and the other lead goes to the 3PDT (see offboard wiring diagrams online).

Heres how I drilled and built my Stutter Trem:

Appendix
Original schematic. JFET is used in series. Small signal based charge builds on C2 and gives a little bit of ticking. Not always noticeable but annoying when it happens.

Original Bill Of Materials:

-Enclosure -3PDT stomp switch -SPST toggle (Smooth mode) -DC Jack -9V Battery clip -9V Battery -1 1/4" Stereo Jack -1 1/4" Mono Jack -1 Red diffused LED (Rate indicator) -1 LED of your choice with appropriate resistor (Bypass indicator) -1 1N914 or 1N4148 Diode -1 1N4001 or equivalent 1N400x series Diode

-2 1M B Linear Potentiometer (one for optional smooth depth control) -1 500k A Log Potentiometer -1 100k C Reverse Log Potentiometer (50k C optional faster speed)

-1 2N5088 BJT Transistor -3 2N3904 BJT Transistor -1 J201 JFET Transistor

RESISTORS:

-1 100ohm -1 1kohm -1 2.7kohm -1 4.7kohm (optional faster speed mod) -4 10kohm -1 15kohm -3 100kohm -3 470kohm -6 1Mohm -3 2.2Mohm (2 of these were changed to 47kohms R5 and R6)

CAPACITORS:

-1 0.039uF (0.033uF could be substituted) -1 0.01uF -3 0.1uF -3 1uF 16V Electrolytic Radial -1 10uF 16V Electrolytic Radial -3 100uF 16V Electrolytic Radial