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Request for schematic/advice

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bileofwood

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Hi there, first post, so sorry if I inadvertently trespass against any protocols or courtesies!

I was looking to buy a unit and then thought I should man up and have a go at building one myself. What I plan to build is, I hope, pretty straightforward.

Basically, it's to go on my pedalboard which I use between my guitar and my amp. I have two inputs which I wish to combine into one. One of my effects pedals has two outputs, a dry output which will carry an unmodified tone, and a wet output, which is the modified tone. I wish to have the dry output feed into a distortion pedal, and then combined with the wet signal to be fed into the amp.

So what I am looking for is a box which can take two 1/4" inputs, mix the sound, and output to one 1/4" output. These will be mono signals.

Can anyone offer any advice?

I've not done much stuff like this since high school many years ago, however I recently changed the pickups on one of my guitars myself and felt quite empowered! I have decided it is time for me to justify the hair on my knuckles and start doing stuff for myself!
 
In the simplest scenario a passive mixer may suffice; otherwise an active mixer would be needed.
Are the levels of the signals to be combined about the same?
Should either signal be given a level control?
Is the combination fixed or switchable?
Does either signal feed anything apart from the combiner?
 
I'm not sure why you would want to overdrive a dry signal, then mix it with a clean tone that has the wet signal on it. To me that wouldn't sound very good but to each their own.

What you need is a simple active 2 channel line mixer. I'm working up a schematic for one that should suit your needs.
 
Thanks both. I am looking for something very very simple, the levels would be both the same and any adjustments to the levels would take place on the preceeding effects pedals. I would not require it to be switchable, or levels adjustable.

Jon - I know what you're saying, however... The pedals I am using are an EHX Micro POG and a Blackstar HT DistX, and a bass guitar. A POG will generate an octave lower and an octave higher as well as the original note. I am finding that when I add distortion whilst the POG is on then the overall sound is somewhat messy. So, I am hoping to just add distortion to the dry signal, but have the octave effects from the POG fed into the mix without having the distortion applied to those. Am I making sense? I would end up with the original tone from my bass with the distortion, as well as the octave up and down sounds without.

At the moment the sound I am getting is unusual, but too much of a gimmick. I want something which I can actually use on stage which sounds distinctive but listenable.
 
Thanks both. I am looking for something very very simple, the levels would be both the same and any adjustments to the levels would take place on the preceeding effects pedals. I would not require it to be switchable, or levels adjustable.

Jon - I know what you're saying, however... The pedals I am using are an EHX Micro POG and a Blackstar HT DistX, and a bass guitar. A POG will generate an octave lower and an octave higher as well as the original note. I am finding that when I add distortion whilst the POG is on then the overall sound is somewhat messy. So, I am hoping to just add distortion to the dry signal, but have the octave effects from the POG fed into the mix without having the distortion applied to those. Am I making sense? I would end up with the original tone from my bass with the distortion, as well as the octave up and down sounds without.

At the moment the sound I am getting is unusual, but too much of a gimmick. I want something which I can actually use on stage which sounds distinctive but listenable.

Out of curiosity, have you tried connecting the overdrive pedal after the POG vs before the POG? There will be a difference in sound depending on what order they are connected in.
 
OK..here's a schematic for a simple active 2 channel mixer. It has controls for output level and the mix between the wet/dry signals. It should be 100% tonally transparent to keep from robbing your tone and with the +/- 15VDC supply you'll have LOTS of headroom to keep from overdriving it.

For the "mix" pot you'll wanna use a linear taper pot with a center detent. For the volume pot you should use an audio taper. Setting the mix knob to the 12:00 (on the center detent) should give you a nice even mix between the two.

If you want to "hard set" them you can replace both pots with a trim pot for a one time "set and forget" setup.

For the jacks I prefer to use the plastic "Cliff" jacks to avoid potential ground loops. Here's a link to some from Antique Electronics Supply -



**broken link removed**
 
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