ColoredThro v1.0
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6
Modifications
Gain mod
The standard 10K gain pot (
P2
) has all the action crammed up at the end of the sweep. To make it
more versatile you could use a C5k of C1k pot instead.
Transistors
Q1
,
Q2
and
Q4
can be any silicon transistor you can think of. 2N2222A, 2N508, 2N3904 etc, etc. Note
that I modified the PCB so it can both fit standard modern transistors (CBE) and eg. vintage BC169C
(CEB). Double check the datasheet of your transistor to be sure that you connect the right pin to the
right pad! Here is an example of connecting a 2n5088 to
Q1
And also a BC169C to
Q1
NB The pin layout for
Q2
is different so watch carefully when inserting the transistor in the correct
pads.
Q3
(only used in the Throbak) can be any germanium PNP transistor you like 2N404, AC128, AC132,
etc. or you could even replace it with a germanium diode by connecting the cathode to
Q3 B
and the
anode to
Q3 C
Mix and match
You could mix a few options of different versions to get a custom effect. I think it would be a good
idea to add
R1
(pull down resistor) and
P5
(volume) to the Colorsounds. This way you can reduce the
pop when switching on the effect and add a volume control. You could also consider adding the
clipping options to the Colorsound (
D1
,
Q3
and
D5
,
D6
using
SW2
).
Feedback capacitor
Cx
is an optional filter to reduce the harshness and some high frequency hiss from the effect
perceived by some. You can experiment with values between 100pF and 470Pf.
Additional clipping options
Originally the Throbak does not come with the LED setting, only the germanium. If you do not want
this, you can leave out
D5
and
D6
and use a SPST instead of the SP3T in
SW2
. Otherwise you can
always experiment with different types of LED’s or use 1N4148, 1N914, etc.
