Notes
Afterlife2020
madbeanpedals
The Afterlife2020 has been updated to conform to the newer style of 1590A layouts I’ve done in the
past year. The circuit is mostly the same with these exceptions:
•
SUS pot changed from 100kA to 100kB. With a 100kA the tail end of the control (highest
compression) comes on very suddenly. The linear pot spreads the control out a bit more. Either
taper is fine but I tried a 100kB this time and ended up preferring it.
•
I made the default optical device the NSL32-R3. IMO, this gives even more compression than
the previous part, the VTL5C3. And, it is cheaper. However, the pads for the VTL part are still
available on the PCB. I do not recommend “rolling your own” optical device with an LED/LDR for
this circuit. It does not produce as much compression.
• I added R11 to try and tame the switch pop on this effect. Unfortunately, the circuit will pop and
there doesn’t seem to be an easy way around it. My guess is it is due to the envelope detection
circuit. Any mechanical pop at the input gets detected by the envelope which causes a sudden
level change due to the LDR reacting.
Additional Notes
The Afterlife is a bright sounding compressor due to its incredibly high input impedance. If you prefer
a more neutral tone, you can tame the brightness by changing the circuit input. Change R1 and R2
to 1M and C1 to 47n. However, I found that this does impact the total amount of compression in the
circuit (it dampens the maximum sustain). I’ve tried it both ways and I prefer it stock.
As I mentioned in the Shopping List, you can use BAT46 in place of the 1n34a. They work equally as
well and can be cheaper. Keep your germanium didoes for your overdrives!
R7 impacts the overall sensitivity of the envelope. Higher values will increase the envelope output but
I do find 47k to be the best balance.
Build Tip (optional)
Before soldering your optical device into the PCB, hook everything up to your testing rig. Insert an
LED loose into either the “A” (anode) and “K” (cathode) pads or the + and - pads below it (they are
connected to one another). Play some notes and watch the LED light up. This let’s you know the
effect is working correctly and will give you an idea of the attack and release times of the compressor.
You don’t need to connect to an amp to do this test.