Category Archives: Pedal Making

Loopy

Loopy (LP8+) is an 8 loops programmable audio switcher controllable either using the built-in foot switches or with MIDI.

I started developing Loopy in the spring of 2020, during the first UK lockdown. It was strongly inspired by the Super8 of BYOC (a discontinued project as far as I know) and aimed to be a super-compact programmable audio switcher built around readily available components.

My main target was to design something that was easy to build for even a newbie DIY-er, with mainstream components and only round holes. At the heart of the project I have put the atmega328(p) micro controller, famous for powering the Arduino UNO, and hence widely available on eBay and many hobbyist stores. I have then decided to use a pair of 74HC595 to expand 3 pins from the uC into 16 pins, enough to control either all the relays + all the status LEDs. The rest of the components are a bunch of transistor, LED and resistors.

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I have also uploaded a few videos on YouTube to show how it works in real life. Check the main intro video below and browse my account for more videos:

I am quite happy with the outcome of this project and I decided to develop it further, providing guides, BOM, drilling template and schematic online. Everything is published on the Loopy GitHub Page.

I usually have PCB and microcontrollers available (that I can pre-burnt): ping me if you want one.

Journey of a Tremulus Lune build

A couple of years ago I have started playing around with Eagle PCB, after haven’t built something for many years (I will write more about the other projects I have developed in other posts).
After working on a few overdrive, I decided to work on a modulation: I had a spare 14mm clear shaft alpha pot which I thought I could use to do a cool rate speed control. I decided then for a Tremulus Lune. As you can see from the photo below, my initial PCB layout was using the 14mm pot, but then I realised that the footprint was actually quite big, and decided to go for the 9mm one, moving the rate speed LED on the side of the control.

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Schematic of the Tremulus Lune is actually quite simple, despite the size of the original PCB (why did they make it so big?). My layout is a simple 3+3, adding both LED (rate speed and on/off) to the board.
In terms of component, as well as the 9mm alpha pot, I decided to replace the VTL5C1/2 with the Silonex NSL-32, a cheaper alternative. The rest of the components are quite standard. 
I have uploaded a few pictures: they show my journey from inception to completion. It was a fun project to work on, and I am already looking forward to start working on my next project.