tonepad -- build reports for Small Clone Chorus

Name:	Sven von Heyden
Date:	7/17/2009
Build Report:	Great sounding and flexible effect. I built her with the heartbeat-mod, but it’s still beating. I think she’s feeling that I love her so much :))). First I tried a TL072IP, but the NE5532AP sounds much better.

Name:	Sven von Heyden
Date:	7/16/2009
Build Report:	Hi! I built the Clone on a self-etched PCB only with the Deph-Pot-Mod cause I don’t like too much switches and knops. ‘Come as you are’, for example and ‘Nothing else matters’ (don’t know if Kirk using a Small Clone) sounds very, very authentical.

Name:	JSorongon
Date:	5/9/2009
Build Report:	This one gives me a headache. After trouble shooting for 3 days, I finally found the culprit. it works now. Simple tip for those who are about to build this one. Be concious when adjusting the trim pot, it is very sensitive, carefully adjust the pot and when the delay sound comes then stop "that it". it took me a while to get this. I even cut the the delay section of the circuit to get the delay portion fixed. Guys, any one tried modding this to flanger? It will be better than having 2 pedals in our peday boards. Anyways, Great Job Tonepad! very happy with the sound. Yep! it is quite hard but really worth it. Better than those commercial pedals out there and one thing for sure..no tone suck!! God Bless..

Name:	Gatto
Date:	1/6/2009
Build Report:	I owned the original but i have sold it after a few months. but then i becamed into diy and was needing a chorus. The tonepad project with all the mods from the pdf plus the ones suggested in the build reports (thanks everybody) is my most versatile pedal and also one of the fav. I did: - depth pot - rotary switch for intensity - 100k delay pot - dpdt on off on for switching between caps for the lfo rate - pulsing led - mix pot

Name:	Fela
Date:	12/2/2008
Build Report:	Great sounding chorus. Excellent PCB. Mine sounds great, but i think the lfo should be like a sine wave but its kinda triangle. BUILD THIS

Name:	LF
Date:	10/6/2008
Build Report:	excellent effect! i have never been a chorus fanatic, but i have to say that this small clone is great. i did the speed mod and the cap switching mod for the intensity and i can achieve a great range of sounds: from the classic "come as you are" warm chorus, 'till mars volta-ish weird sounds. i think i'll do the delay pot mod that other users have suggested, since several diy-ers found it useful.

Name:	anonymous
Date:	8/20/2008
Build Report:	I just would like to add from my prevoius build report. I play around with the WET/DRY signal mod and ended up to a semi CE-2 to a full smallclone sound. This pedal has a bit thicker chorus than the CE-2. I like them both but I want to give my other guitarist a CE-2 and a Smallclone(for synthy sound along a distortion) type chorus. It was really based from the EFFECT LEVEL mod of the CE-2. I removed the 10K resistor in junction with the 22K and 20K just above of output opamp(IC1b) and replaced it with a jumper. The 20K resistor was replaced with a 250K linear pot(the only value I had in the bin) in parallel with a 75K resistor and wired exactly as the CE-2 Effect Level Mod.. I am so much pleased the way it sound right now..at least for us..lots of possible (wacky) sounds can be dialed.. (noypi)

Name:	trom
Date:	8/18/2008
Build Report:	Built in a day, PCB from Francisco & parts from Small Bear. PCB & layout are fantastic work! Few standard mods- * LFO switch * stereo mod * BBC delay time pot (haven't really seen favorable results from this one) * rate LED Someone posted further down about possibly using a relay to keep the stereo out working even when the effect is off - if anyone has any idea how to do this I'm very interested to hear it! thanks for the project!!

Name:	Ed
Date:	3/27/2008
Build Report:	This is a great sounding pedal. I had some trouble with it at first but I had some incorrect resistor values, once they were replaced it works really well. I used the led pulsing mod which is pretty cool. I have the parts on the way for the stereo mod and cap switching mod to try also. I etched the board myself, but have bought tonepad boards in the past and they are sweet. Great Project!

Name:	WLTerry
Date:	1/14/2008
Build Report:	Great sound... very warm as an analog pedal should be. I build this one yesterday along with a Tube Screamer and a Phase-90. I made the cap mod and the depth pot... very versatile. Muy buen sonido y buen diseño... good sounding and design. Muchas gracias Francisco. Saludos desde Lima - Perú.

Name:	Josh
Date:	1/12/2008
Build Report:	After fixing a retarded mistake, this thing works pretty well. It's very quiet (noise-wise), but mine has low head-room. It clips real early, I'll try and swap the trimmer or something, but I like it. It's actually my first build and I had no problems. I even put in a 6PDT rotary for the "tone" control, and it works great! Build it!

Name:	Brandaris
Date:	12/11/2007
Build Report:	Build it standard with the depth pot and after I got the correct components it worked "first try". Well done PCB (thanks FP). Only one question: I use the pedal with bassguitar and find that it cuts to much bass out of my signal. Would like it to be a bit "heavier"... Does anybody have any experience modifying it for bass? Thanks in advance. Nice project Tonepad!

Name:	Ricardo Thom
Date:	5/24/2007
Build Report:	I build this small clone and it works very well.

Name:	anonymous
Date:	5/23/2007
Build Report:	I buld this months ago with no mods and of course a satisfactory build. A week ago, I build the stereo mod and this effect was really super!!!!!thanks again tonepad!!

Name:	Manu (FR)
Date:	3/29/2007
Build Report:	I built this stompbox in few hours, the most difficult was to find some ICs (europe=> banzaieffects in germany) It works without buzz or problems. nice chorus. Emmanuel

Name:	Jon
Date:	1/22/2007
Build Report:	Did the depth pot version. It works 100% and is layed out very well, sounds beautiful too. Didn't work for me on the first try, had this problem where it didn't effect the signal and it just made it queiter, also shifted the signal out of phase by 180 degrees when I scoped it. Turned out my MN3007 chip wasn't seated fully in the socket! Very rewarding first experience, will be making more FX soon :) . Thank you tonepad!

Name:	Jonathan
Date:	1/17/2007
Build Report:	Great sounding slow chorus and great sounding chorusy vibrato. Surprisingly quiet. I thought I didn't need a chorus, but now I'm going to be struggling not to use it on everything. Have depth pot but no other mods. Thanks Tonepad for the quality PCB.

Name:	Hammer
Date:	10/11/2006
Build Report:	Nice and noiseless chorus. Very warm and quiet even in extreme settings. I'm thinking try the rotary switch-cap's mod but the stompbox sounds great as is. I've added the pot instead the switch on my built. Some components hard to find in Argentina (MN3007) but mailing to Smallbear, problem solved ... THANKS AGAIN TONEPAD !!!

Name:	Paul
Date:	9/2/2006
Build Report:	Great sounding pedal. The added rotary switch for the caps on pin 1 of 4047 makes a difference and the switch to adjust the LFO speed is also very handy(between pin 1 & 2 of LM358) I switched between the 2.2uf and a 0.47uf. I get a great effect when the rate is at max and the LFO in fast position(0.47uf cap). I tried a different cap value for the cap that goes to ground off the rate pot. It should be .047 I tried .056 and the pedal wont work so this is a critical value. Thanks Tonepad.

Name:	Lambros Panagis
Date:	6/24/2006
Build Report:	One of the best chorus effects I've ever heard. The "pot instead of switch" mod makes a LOT odf sence and gives more potential to the effect! One more time an excellent PCB makes an excellent stompbox. Thank you Francisco!!

Name:	Jim
Date:	3/2/2006
Build Report:	When I first built this I was a disappointed with the sound quality.. it wasn't lush like I expected an analog chorus to be. I did the mod mentioned below to control the BBD's delay time by replacing the 39k resistor (between the LFO and CD4047) with a 4.7k resistor in series with a 100k pot, and the chorus really jumped to life. A neat feature of this mod is if you turn the rate and depth controls to a minimum, you can get a manually controlled chorus by turning the extra 100k pot. Highly recommended.

Name:	henry
Date:	1/2/2006
Build Report:	Hi! This was my fourth DiY project, and it was really harder than the others. First, it was very hard to find the MN3007. If you find yours, be sure to use a socket in order to not burn the IC. The other components are easy to find. I made lots of modifications: -Led pulsing at LFO rate. I used it with the millenium board 2 and it works! Just change the resistor for a 47ohm one. this mod is VERY USEFUL in order to know what speed you are using. I sugest everyone to do it. -Depth pot. I'm quite sure this is better than the switch. I used a 100K linear pot. -Stereo output. I also put a mix control in the stereo board (I will explain this too) -I could not find a reverse log pot, so I had to make my own reverse log pot... In the Geofex there is an article explaining how to make a reverse log pot from a linear pot. I used a 4M7 linear pot in series with a (equivalent) resistor of 115K I think. -I made a speed switch, to make the LFO go faster. -I made a switch to turn on and off the stereo output -And I also made a mix control: this was very interesting when I was testing the board to find the ideal position of the trimmer. Someone commented about using a 50K pot in place of the 20K and 22K resistors. In my case, the volume became too low when I raised the mix and became too high when I decreased the Mix. I think the best way to make the mix control is to substitute the 20K resistor for a 50K linear pot and decrease the value of the 22K resistor for something about 18K. This way, the pedal does not raise or lower the volume and it is always constant. There was only one thing I did not find out how to do: the stereo output works only with the pedal on. In Analog Mike's stereo chorus, both outputs are always operating. He says he uses a Relay. As I am not an expert, I couldnt discover how to use the relay correctly. Someone has the schematic for this? Once again, tonepad project showed to be terrific, the best. This chorus is fantastic, and with the mods, it becomes the most versatile pedal you can build.

Name:	henry
Date:	1/2/2006
Build Report:	I forgot to say: I made a delay time pot too, putting a 100K linear pot in series with the 39K resistor. Maybe the capacitor 4-position switch is a better option, because this one does not work perfectly: sometimes when I raise the delay time, some noise apears, and it oscilates with the LFO, making a horrible hum. I dont use this control very often

Name:	mr_fender
Date:	10/21/2005
Build Report:	This is a really great sounding chorus! Very smooth and syrupy. I built mine with the depth pot mod, which offers MANY different shades ranging from subtle waver through smooth leslie all the way to head spinning motion sickness. I also pulled the 20k and 22k mixing resistors and replaced them with a 50k linear pot for a variable mix control. This lets you adjust from full dry at one end and full vibrato on the other and everywhere in between. I did have some trouble with the rate pot. It changed the speed all at once at one end of the pot. Project shows 1M log pot. Use a 1M REVERSE LOG pot instead, or just wire the regular 1M log pot in backwards for a "slowness" control. This will spread out the rate change across the whole pot's travel and make the pedal MUCH more user friendly. Highly recommended project! TONEPAD RULES!!!!

Name:	Jaroslav Smrčka
Date:	8/16/2005
Build Report:	It´s the best analog chorus I ever heard. Francisco, your pcb is quite perfect work! I compared sound of Ibanez CS9, CS505, Danelectro Cool Cat, TC electronic chorus/flanger, Rockman chorus and Clone Chorus. In the end I use only Clone Chorus in my pedalboard :-). "Rate LED indicator mode": I connected LED via resistor 100 ohm between pins 1 and 4 of LM358. It seems to be better than any other way. "Depth pot mode": instead 2k7 resistor and depth switch I connected 25 kohm/linear potenciometer between 4k7/39k point and ground like variable resistor. 100k pot mode is no so fine sounding for me. After many tests I think the best choice of transistors are old metal NPN - BC109B/C and PNP - BC179B/C.

Name:	Ryan W
Date:	5/11/2005
Build Report:	Worked first time, thanks to FP's precise layout & instructions. Here're a demo (very quick and dirty) of me playing around with this pedal: http://www.geocities.com/mystic_whiskey/noise.m4a The demo is noisy and sloppy, so beware!

Name:	Dana Osmun
Date:	2/20/2005
Build Report:	Everything went perfect with this build no problems. I really love this chorus. Mods I added were the Depth control pot, Stereo outs and the Delay pot instead of the 4 cap rotary switch. I was going to do the blinking LED but really wanted to use a Blue LED with the graphic so I just went with a standard LED setup. pics here: http://webpages.charter.net/daosmun/Clone%20Chorus.jpg http://webpages.charter.net/daosmun/Clone%20Chorus%20inside.JPG

Name:	STOMPmole
Date:	11/16/2004
Build Report:	I built this pedal and added a couple of the popular mods (LED blinking w/LFO), 250pF cap in place of 150pF, and 100K linear pot w/4.7K resistor in place of the 39K resistor to adjust clock speed. The Tonepad depth mod worked great for me (allowed me to vary depth...no sudden change) but I used an audio taper pot instead of a linear as outlined in the instructions. This was a somewhat complicated build, although it fired up on the first try and sounded great! I don't think you could go wrong building this one.

Name:	Walter Starri
Date:	7/10/2004
Build Report:	I've just finished the Small Clone Chorus and it's fantastic. Instead of the ready made PCB, I made mine on prototype board...the kind that has alot of copper pads on it and you have to build up the tracks between components. It was alot of work but it's worth it. As far as mods go, I added the depth pot and it works very well. Also, the 0.01 uF capacitor that comes from the 6k8 resistor off pin 2 of the 4558 IC can either be taken to 4.5v or to ground. I used a small socket in each position so I could experiment and at the moment, I'm having the Cap go to ground because it sounds a little more "shimmery". One thing I've noticed is that there is a small increase in volume when the effect is on. I might have a play around with it to fix it...not sure yet. Lastly, I had to get my MN3007 from my ADA-MP1 Midi Preamp....this unit also has chorus built in but not nearly as good as the Small Clone. It sounds great and I've been trying to get this sound for a long time. A complicated build, but well worth the trouble.

Name:	Paolo from ITALY
Date:	6/28/2004
Build Report:	Nice fx, worked at first time. I'm very happy. the sound is nice, I added the 100k depth pot but it wasn't necessary. the depth change all together at one point when you turn the pot. I think it is the same thing with the original switch in the scheme. But I'm gonna see which is the matter. .I also added the led pulsing at lfo rate. very nice..

Name:	taz
Date:	4/7/2004
Build Report:	Built and boxed it. Very nice. I did a few mods as outlined by other builders. rotary with with different cap values 33pf,100pf,150pf,330pf. I use them for different sounds and they make a big difference the 330pf goes in to slapback as pointed in the reprot below but I get some clock noise. The depth pot. added a 1uf cap as an option to the 2.2uf vis a dpdt switch and the final mod was and LED wired from a 3P3T to pin 1 of the opamp also mentioned in one of the posts below. Sounds great

Name:	Chico
Date:	2/23/2004
Build Report:	This is a fantastic build. The component layout is tight, so be patient, but the results are worth it. As far as mods, I did the usual depth mod. I also added a switch that selects between the stock 2.2uf cap and a 6.8uf cap in the lfo section. This lets me really slow down the lfo for that nice subtle chorus. My favorite mod on this circuit is to replace the 39k between the lfo and the CD4047 with a 4.7k resistor in series with a 100k linear pot. In the original circuit, the 39k resistor, along with the 150pf cap between pins 1 and 3 of the CD4047 control the clock speed of the MN3007 delay chip. A few folks have achieved different delay times with a rotary switch that switches in different cap values. However, the above potentiometer mod lets you continuously vary the delay time over a remarkably useful range. You can dial in anything from subtle to lush by increasing the delay time. Cool. With the 100k pot, I was able to replace the cap with a larger value (I used a 250pf) to get more lushness (i.e., delay time) from the circuit. Also, you can replace the cap with 330 pf or larger and get into some cool delay territory but the low pass filter on my build was not steep enough to remove the clock signal from the delay chip output when I pushed the circuit into slapback range.

Name:	Prive
Date:	2/19/2004
Build Report:	Thanks Francisco!!!! great job!!! I build it just original, no mods, just one .01 red cap. The sound is really warm, and lush. I have some little minor mistakes, just some soldering ones and a wrong transistor but with some time thinking and looking everything come to life. Instant King Crimson's Discipline tone. Thanks again, maybe i'll take a look at the mods...i don't know it sounds so well... Saludos, Marcelo.

Name:	alvin
Date:	2/13/2004
Build Report:	It sounds great!!!

Name:	Sebastien Rocque
Date:	1/20/2004
Build Report:	Well, I built this pedal about a year ago. It didnt work right off the bat, but I kept at it...and got discouraged. I shelved it and moved on to making John Hollis' Zombie. That one failed too. But I kept the boards. I even built another pedal in exchange for a real one..only to open it up and see that all the reissues are being made with the MN3007. So thinking that maybe my chips were no longer good, I swapped them in and the EH worked perfectly...so this morning, after reading about the possible Wavy Gravy mods, I decided to give it another try. I found I had badly soldered one of the capacitators to the board. I dialed in the trimpot and EUREKA!! It came to life. I have a 1 meg audio pot for the rate and I think I will try to find a linear one, since the rate on it doesnt sound linear with it. Moral to the story, even if you think you failed, you didnt. Francisco's layouts WORK. You just have to keep at it. Nice work on the layout FP.

Name:	Joep
Date:	12/13/2003
Build Report:	Great project sound quality is real nice. I added a Depth pot as descibed in the other Build Reports. I really like it! There are al sorts of mods available but I like it the way it is. Thanks!! Joep

Name:	DJ_Death
Date:	11/26/2003
Build Report:	I built the Small Clone today and it worked immediately (almost i forgot to adjust the bias trimmer). I made the depth pot mod, and with a 5 position rotary switch i change cap values in place of the 150pF of 4047, i use 33p, 100p, 150p, 180p and 330p. The final mod was the change between a 2.2u and 1u of the LFO trough a spdt switch. This is the first time i use a chorus and i'm very excited with it. It sounds very pleasant and it's very clean, nice work francisco once again.

Name:	Moisho
Date:	7/11/2003
Build Report:	Wonderful I have built five boxes with this one. 2 days, and working at the first time I plugued in. Depth pot modification. I'm really very happy with this. But how long you will be able to find the MN??? Build it now!!!

Name:	Charlie Barth
Date:	2/8/2003
Build Report:	This is a beautiful sounding chorus pedal, provided you put all the components in properly. (I had a backwards diode that miffed me for a little while.) And, the super compact layout is great, too. Sharpen up the tip on your soldering iron. This is well worth the effort. I did a few different mods on mine, several of which others have already mentioned, here. Depth pot: I used a 100k, as others have already described. Way better than the switch. Depth adj. switch: I put in a 4-position rotary to switch between different caps on the CD4047. Alters the clock rate, I think. I used 33pF, 100pF, 180pF, 330pF. Goes from mild chorus to wild pitch shifting. Speed adj. switch: I put in a SPDT toggle to switch between the stock 2.2uF cap on the LM358 and a 1uF, which makes it oscillate a lot faster. Stereo outputs: Someone else already described how to cut a trace and add a switch to eliminate the straight, unmodulated signal. I did that to mine, too. But, I also tapped off the unmodulated signal to a second output jack for pseudo stereo outputs. LED pulsing at LFO rate: I did this by driving the status LED from pin 1 of the LM358, instead of from the +9V power rail, through a 47 ohm resistor. Super cool build! Thanks FP! ~ Charlie (moosapotamus)

Name:	Urban Osterman
Date:	1/4/2003
Build Report:	hi again I made some changes to my previous build report.. use this instead. ............ Hi I just finished building the Heladito. I used the PCB from GuitarKit. Great Stuff. Use it together with the Orange Squeezer (Naranjito) and a stratocaster and you have Knopflers sultan-of-swing sound. Oh man! I have been waiting 20 years for this sound. I read the previous building reports, so I thought I should be careful. And it worked first time. I even meassured the resistors to be sure, even though I new I had the right values. I used 1% metalfilm resistors. I had problems finding some of the capacitors, with the right sizes (not the values), as the PCB had fixed raster sizes(= the length between the holes) I used a BC550c for the 2N5088 and BC560c for the 2n5087, and 1N4148 for the diodes, works OK for me. I added some modifications. A depth-pot 100K connected to the 4K7, viper to 39K/10uF and the other node to ground. I removed the 2K7 resistor. I also removed the output 100K resistor and added an 100K pot outputvolume instead. I made another modification. We all know that in these kind of effects, the sound travels two ways. first directly and thenm through the delalyline itself, in this case the MN3007 circuit. I cut the PCB, the direct line just after the 22K mix resistor before the 20K/10K joint, and inserted a on/off switch there. This to be able to add/remove the mixing of the direct signal, to the delayed. So I can use the delayline alone. I actually build two Heladitos, probably will build a couple more. and use them together with a stereo setup I build 15 years ago. Where I can split a signal to stereo, and add up to three different delaylines, such as different phasors, flangers and choruses. Where I can swith the three chorus delay lines to both left and right in and out of phase respectively, parrallell and in line, and different speed and so on, and get good stereo chorus. I have added an direct-add switch to all my phasors/flangers. I am very, very satisfied with this chorus as it sounds so good, so I recomend anyone to build it. I did not put the choruses in a footstomp box, but in my effect rack. I have created an effect-rack-standard where I have front panels 190x40 millimeters that I can build different effects to and get a uniform look. I run it on +15V instead of +9V. it works OK for me. Urban Osterman.

Name:	Richie
Date:	11/18/2002
Build Report:	Just like always, Tonepad has put out a great project again. I built this one because the Zombie was just too noisy. The small clone is definitely better. It is not only quieter, but it sounds great after distortion. I would recommend this one to anyone wanting a great chorus.

Name:	Tumi
Date:	10/10/2002
Build Report:	This one is a great effect. Noiseless and warm. I have only one thing to say: It would be great to add a ¨depth¨ control instead of the switch to have more control. If there is any idea please publish it here. I also did the ¨Tumiscreamer¨ (in honor to my nick) and it sounds really great too (I had a minor problem whit a wrong marked capacitor, but I was able to solve the problem) Congratulations for this great page! Greetings from Argentina

Name:	Jasper Oosthoek
Date:	9/29/2002
Build Report:	I got it working right away after adjusting the trimpot. I intended it for a harmonica, but it makes it sound like a accordion instead! I'm gonna use it with my guitar instead, cause it sounds g.r.e.a.t! I made some adjustments: used 2n3904 (for 2n5089) and 2n3906 (for 2n5088) like Carlo Orpianesi. And I added a depthpot (100k or more 'll do fine) instead of the switch. (skip 2k7, 1 to ground, 2 to 39k/10uF, 3 to 4k7). Thanks for the information provided by this website!

Name:	Charlie Lamm
Date:	9/21/2002
Build Report:	Built this entirely STOCK (no mods) and it worked first time w/o any problems. Sounds very "80's" to me...nice and clean, like the old Pretenders guitar sound. Sounds good with analog synthesizers too. Highly recommended.

Name:	Francisco Peña
Date:	5/1/2002
Build Report:	One of the nicest projects around. The pedal is so useful in most any type of music and the sound quality is excellent. Noiseless with my setup. BUILD THIS Fp

Name:	Bill Bergman
Date:	4/30/2002
Build Report:	It's been a while since I built but I just played it again last night and realized this is a really SWEET pedal!! It really sound great by itself but it also make fuzz and distortion pedals sound fantatically different. I love this pedal. Thanks Francisco and Matt!

Name:	Carlo Orpianesi
Date:	3/15/2002
Build Report:	I just built the Smallclone project. It's a great chorus, lush, analog sounding, warm. When the effects is on, i notice of a little increase of volume and the overall frequences, but it's normal to many chorus. The layout is verified and pretty easy to follow ( ...i built it whit point to point solder technique).Maybe it's necessary enlarge the layout's pic... I used 2n3904 for NPN and 2n3906 for PNP 'cause i haven't the 2n5088/89: they work well in this stompbox. I wanna thank Francisco and Matt for their great job in this site! Thanks guys! P.S.: my english sucks! I apologize to all the visitors of this site...