This
is
a modified clone of the strange, old, out-of-production
Roland Funny
Cat. If you want to see what an original one looks like,
click on the
OTHER COOL STUFF link, at the left, and scroll down a bit.
The original
circuitry was deciphered with much great help from the
likes of Rob
Strand, R.G. Keen, Mark Hammer, et al, and the rest of the
cool folks
at Aron's
DIY Stompbox Forum.
In fact, if you want to see what makes the Funny Cat tick,
check out
R.G.'s Roland AG5 Funny Cat article at GEO.
And, if you
want to see
some pictures of an original issue Funny Cat, Check 'em
out here, on
the IDEAS page.
You may be noticing that the clone I made has quite a few
more knobs
than the original. Well, I said it was modified, didn't I?
Now, let me
see if I can remember... Referring to R.G.'s Funny Cat article... In
addition to all the standard controls...
I added two 10Ka pots as input and output level controls.
I replaced R10 (47K) with a 500Ka pot, acting as a (sort
of) mid-range
sweep control.
I added a 500Ka pot in series with each of the two 100K
feedback
resistors (Rfbb and Rfbc, on U2A and U2B, respectively).
One acts as a
(sort of) high sweep control, and the other acts as a
(again, sort of)
low sweep control. These sweep controls have a huge impact
on the sound.
I added a Range switch that alternates between 220nF and
680nF caps at
C3.
I added a Gain switch that alternates between 470K and 2M
feedback
resistors at Rfba.
I replaced R16 with a jumper for slightly higher output
level from the
Harmonic Mover section.
I did not make this a stompbox, per say... No stompswitch.
As freaky as
this thing can sound, I figured it would mostly be a
studio toy. So, it
just has the SDS/normal and the Harmonic Mover/normal
toggle switches.
But, I have to say... It's probably the most vocal
sounding envelope
filter/auto-wah type pedal I've ever played, let alone
built myself. :)
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