The Honey Bee Challenge

[briggs]

I guess I'll get building some up then. 3 pedals I think, maybe a fourth if I get the design polished off before I finish the other 3! I'll not think about selling any until I get some feedback and find out if these make some tones that people are interested in, if peeps do like 'em then I'll be very chuffed

[Donner]

... sounds like a plan then --- we can get you some feedback from some fairly discriminating ears that dont know that much about the actual circuits --- so you should have a good idea where you stand pretty quick

[jfromel]

If Briggs is ok with this I could design the PCB and we could do a group build similar to the Folk Fuzz and upcoming Folk pFaze.

[briggs]

That sounds fun too! What I will say is that the Hummingbird De'luxe uses all sorts of crazy components which would make organising a "group" build of it a bit of a nightmare as you'd have to source all of the "exotic" parts before you could set off, and most of them come from eastern Europe! The "Silver Orchid" would be a much better project (It's component count is a quarter of the Hummingbird and it uses easy to source parts too, the rarest part is the charge pump!). When I finalise a design for the "Hummingbird Standard" (using a regular "off the shelf" op amp chip rather than the discrete concoction I'm using in the De'Luxe) maybe we could do that as well? So many ideas! It would be great to get a least one project up and running if not more!

I'll have the three finished in a couple of weeks (It takes the paint an unbelievable amount of time to set on these things before I can build into the boxes).

Here are some pictures of the first completed Hummingbird De'Luxe, components soldered point to point, wired up and secured. Any loose components epoxied in place for extra durability:

[Bobby D]

this is a really great thread. welcome to soulsonic and briggs, you are both great builders, and i have appreciated your work on FSB.

very interested to hear some honeybee-inspired pedals, for sure! i love that box......

[briggs]

Hi Slim, cheers for the kind words. I'm glad you like the stuff we've been producing. Expect more in the near future - I know I've got a few more circuits "in the pipeline" and I can bet Soul has about 10!

I have the Hummingbird "Standard" circuit finalised now, opamp selected and component values tuned up, I'm just waiting for the damn paint to dry on the case before I start building it in - we wouldn't want my mucky finger prints all over a nice box! It's the same situation on the Silver Orchid front - when the paint dries the building begins...

[Donner]

Hi Slim, cheers for the kind words. I'm glad you like the stuff we've been producing. Expect more in the near future - I know I've got a few more circuits "in the pipeline" and I can bet Soul has about 10!

I have the Hummingbird "Standard" circuit finalised now, opamp selected and component values tuned up, I'm just waiting for the damn paint to dry on the case before I start building it in - we wouldn't want my mucky finger prints all over a nice box! It's the same situation on the Silver Orchid front - when the paint dries the building begins...

Hey Briggs, do you ever bake you paint so it dries faster/ harder?

[jfromel]

Hi Slim, cheers for the kind words. I'm glad you like the stuff we've been producing. Expect more in the near future - I know I've got a few more circuits "in the pipeline" and I can bet Soul has about 10!

I have the Hummingbird "Standard" circuit finalised now, opamp selected and component values tuned up, I'm just waiting for the damn paint to dry on the case before I start building it in - we wouldn't want my mucky finger prints all over a nice box! It's the same situation on the Silver Orchid front - when the paint dries the building begins...

Hey Briggs, do you ever bake you paint so it dries faster/ harder?

FWIW I have started using automotive paint and clearcoat on my pedals, as you know I am not going for any kind of super pristine look but man is that paint hard as a rock and cures solid in a day. The mixture is clear coat, thinner, and hardner, it's a lacquer so when it's cured it it pretty solid and lays down smooth. I finished a batch of EQ's yesterday, was bringing them up to the shop from the garage this evening and dropped every single one on a concrete floor - not one scratch or chip but it woke both the kids up:).

[briggs]

Hi Slim, cheers for the kind words. I'm glad you like the stuff we've been producing. Expect more in the near future - I know I've got a few more circuits "in the pipeline" and I can bet Soul has about 10!

I have the Hummingbird "Standard" circuit finalised now, opamp selected and component values tuned up, I'm just waiting for the damn paint to dry on the case before I start building it in - we wouldn't want my mucky finger prints all over a nice box! It's the same situation on the Silver Orchid front - when the paint dries the building begins...

Hey Briggs, do you ever bake you paint so it dries faster/ harder?

I've found that when baking my paint it "wrinkles" up, I think it could be to do with the very thick consistency of the splatter marks, I've tried cooling the oven down, and different brands of paint but it still makes the splatter lines crinkle up. The only decent way I've found to cure these things is to let them do it natuarally Which takes a very long time!

The base coat is Hammerite (Hand painted, not spray) the splatter lines are Plasticoat enamel and the clear coat is automotive lacquer (you're right fromel, this stuff does dry tough as f**k!). I've had ideas of letting them set resting on a two bar heater, but I've not got one to test with at the moment. Any other ideas? Maybe if, like jfromel, I match up the brands of all the paints and use automotive right through. Hmmmm.

I finished a batch of EQ's yesterday, was bringing them up to the shop from the garage this evening and dropped every single one on a concrete floor - not one scratch or chip but it woke both the kids up:).

I usually just "do the dive" and try and catch everything when I drop stuff, that usually ends up in breakages - to me, my equipment or my surroundings!

[jfromel]

Hi Slim, cheers for the kind words. I'm glad you like the stuff we've been producing. Expect more in the near future - I know I've got a few more circuits "in the pipeline" and I can bet Soul has about 10!

I have the Hummingbird "Standard" circuit finalised now, opamp selected and component values tuned up, I'm just waiting for the damn paint to dry on the case before I start building it in - we wouldn't want my mucky finger prints all over a nice box! It's the same situation on the Silver Orchid front - when the paint dries the building begins...

Hey Briggs, do you ever bake you paint so it dries faster/ harder?

I've found that when baking my paint it "wrinkles" up, I think it could be to do with the very thick consistency of the splatter marks, I've tried cooling the oven down, and different brands of paint but it still makes the splatter lines crinkle up. The only decent way I've found to cure these things is to let them do it natuarally Which takes a very long time!

The base coat is Hammerite (Hand painted, not spray) the splatter lines are Plasticoat enamel and the clear coat is automotive lacquer (you're right fromel, this stuff does dry tough as f**k!). I've had ideas of letting them set resting on a two bar heater, but I've not got one to test with at the moment. Any other ideas? Maybe if, like jfromel, I match up the brands of all the paints and use automotive right through. Hmmmm.

I finished a batch of EQ's yesterday, was bringing them up to the shop from the garage this evening and dropped every single one on a concrete floor - not one scratch or chip but it woke both the kids up:).

I usually just "do the dive" and try and catch everything when I drop stuff, that usually ends up in breakages - to me, my equipment or my surroundings!

Check with your local auto body supply and ask for a hardner for enamel, that will get you there.