Super white auto wah questions from a total n00b

[rickenbastard]

Long story short:
Have been planning on buying some sort of envelope filter for bass (Bass Balls or MXR).
Was browsing Mammoth and saw they have a pedal kit for the Super White Auto Wah.
I've never worked on electronics. I have little experience soldering. I like fun projects to challenge myself.
A. Are these things pretty self explanatory? It should come with absolutely everything I need.
B. Are there a couple components I can easily switch when I'm building it to make it better for bass?

I'm not planning on becoming a pedal builder but if I can do a fun project like this that'll save me $100 from buying a pedal (and allow me to customize the enclosure), why not?

Any advice or hints welcome.

[crochambeau]

B. Are there a couple components I can easily switch when I'm building it to make it better for bass?

I can't answer A because I've never bought a kit from mammoth, but generally speaking - things are usually pretty straight forward unless the kit description indicates the project is aimed at an experienced builder (and then it really boils down to you and the way in which you approach things).

Regarding tuning for bass, unless the kit is wildly dissimilar from standard filter topology, you can simply increase the value of one or two capacitors to tune the filter lower - you just have to pick out the correct ones. If you prefer active instruments, some gain stage tailoring might be in order as well, but as a novice I highly advise going one step at a time.

Build it stock and confirm operation.
Retune stuff one part at a time and confirm you're going in the right direction.
Enjoy!

[rickenbastard]

B. Are there a couple components I can easily switch when I'm building it to make it better for bass?

I can't answer A because I've never bought a kit from mammoth, but generally speaking - things are usually pretty straight forward unless the kit description indicates the project is aimed at an experienced builder (and then it really boils down to you and the way in which you approach things).

Regarding tuning for bass, unless the kit is wildly dissimilar from standard filter topology, you can simply increase the value of one or two capacitors to tune the filter lower - you just have to pick out the correct ones. If you prefer active instruments, some gain stage tailoring might be in order as well, but as a novice I highly advise going one step at a time.

Build it stock and confirm operation.
Retune stuff one part at a time and confirm you're going in the right direction.
Enjoy!

Cool, thanks for the tips. That helps me substantially

[eatyourguitar]

build the moog

[rickenbastard]

build the moog

What is this? Link!!

[eatyourguitar]

http://www.moogmusic.com/products/moogerfoogers/mf-101-lowpass-filter

if you can't build it, buy it. if you can't buy it, build it. I googled and I found the schematic. you must be logged in on the other forum. although this could potentially be a steep learning curve for someone who has never converted schematic to PCB. start small. learn to read schematics. learn to convert a small circuit to vero (strip board). start with an electra, muff fuzz, meathead. basic stuff. then if everything goes ok you can attempt a MF-101 with sockets for all the expensive parts.

[rickenbastard]

http://www.moogmusic.com/products/moogerfoogers/mf-101-lowpass-filter

if you can't build it, buy it. if you can't buy it, build it. I googled and I found the schematic. you must be logged in on the other forum. although this could potentially be a steep learning curve for someone who has never converted schematic to PCB. start small. learn to read schematics. learn to convert a small circuit to vero (strip board). start with an electra, muff fuzz, meathead. basic stuff. then if everything goes ok you can attempt a MF-101 with sockets for all the expensive parts.

Wise words. That's a good game plan indeed

[rickenbastard]

So I got a "learn to solder" kit. I successfully made the PCB project that came with it so I ordered the auto wah kit today. Picked up soldering pretty quick and gave me a basic understanding of reading PCB schematics. I'll let you know if it works out!