DIY: QUADRAPHLANGE

[Sonik Wiz]

Isn’t it great when you have so much quad & general audio gear you are surprised when you discover a long lost item cleaning a closet.

In the late 70’s a company called PAIA designed & sold kits for musicians & audio experimenter. Surprisingly they are still alive & kicking with a really interesting product line up. Yes you can even buy a Theremin from them: https://www.paia.com/

The product I bought was called a phlanger. It used recoton 1024 analog bucket brigade delay to create echo, reverb, and of course phlanging. Phlanging is that cool phasey swooshing sound so popular back then & I still think it’s pretty groovy today.

Anyway if you bought one of these the assembled kit looked like this:

However I bought 2 units & put them in my own enclosure adding several features. Each phlanger PCB had 3 level adjustable inputs. Each phlanger had independently adjustable controls or I could bridge them so the top row of knobs adjusted both in synch. I had independent output level controls on each one & panning output to 2 chs on each one. Therefore I called it QUADRAPHLANGE. My project ended up looking like this:

The internal wiring was a bit of a mess but I could do better today! You can see 4 holes drilled to the left of the PCB’s where I intended to put a circuit to drive LED level indicators on the front panel. However it worked so well with no surprises I didn’t feel the need.

You can see on the back panel I used an external power supply higher quality than the original, and the various in/out jacks.

I am not a musician but even back then I did upmixing & put my own personal touch on music I liked. For What it’s Worth & Crimson & Clover were begging to be messed with!

I had other mixing tools available, all analog, all hardware, I would manipulate as I wanted & put it on my Sony 4 ch Reel to reel tape machine. I could start with stereo or alter decoded quad records. I really had some head spinning effects. I don’t know what I would think of them today & so hard to dig out & play tapes on my Teac 4 ch tape machine. Maybe one day the fit will take me to do so. But right now, and for some years, I can do everything the QUADRAPHLANGE could much more on my PC.

 

[Jim the Oldbie]

Nice work, SW! Good job of putting your own spin on it, heh.

I remember PAIA well; my first synthesizer back in the mid-70s was built from their 2700/4700 modules. When I got stuck once or twice during assembly, John Simonton patiently talked me through it on the phone.

I'm currently in the process of repurposing an old piece of audio gear that used those same Reticon SAD1024A bucket-brigade ICs, called the Bozak Celeste. It was originally designed to create a synthesized surround effect using a delayed stereo mix to the rear speakers. I'm attempting to convert it to a synthesizer module that will do voltage-controlled flanging, for imitating tubular instruments like flutes & organ pipes.

You probably already know this, but those original SAD1024A ICs are still somewhat sought after, and selling for good money these days.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Nice work, SW! Good job of putting your own spin on it, heh.

I remember PAIA well; my first synthesizer back in the mid-70s was built from their 2700/4700 modules. When I got stuck once or twice during assembly, John Simonton patiently talked me through it on the phone.

I'm currently in the process of repurposing an old piece of audio gear that used those same Reticon SAD1024A bucket-brigade ICs, called the Bozak Celeste. It was originally designed to create a synthesized surround effect using a delayed stereo mix to the rear speakers. I'm attempting to convert it to a synthesizer module that will do voltage-controlled flanging, for imitating tubular instruments like flutes & organ pipes.

You probably already know this, but those original SAD1024A ICs are still somewhat sought after, and selling for good money these days.

Hey thanks for the reply!
I looked up the Bozak Celeste. It doesn't look like it does flanging on it's own. How will you modify it? Also I have a Pioneer delay/reverb unit that uses analog bucket brigade. Lots of room inside & a display so awesome it's been known to cause hypnosis.

Obviously your a musician & I'm not others on QQ are. If you have any good DIY projects please share.

Actually I did not know the little SAD1024 chips were in demand.I did know that RCA 3080 VCA's were still desirable. Ain't it funny?

 

[GOS]

Very cool sonik.....

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Pretty sweet lookin’ SW!!!
Would that work inline to a guitar amp?
I’ll be right over with my Les Paul in tow; watch your back Jimmy Page - Whole Lotta SW

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Yeah it would work with a high output mag pick up. Les Paul? You joke? Do you play guitar?
I'll leave the front door open....

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Very cool sonik.....

Thanks!
If nothing else it had a very high KPD (Knobs Per Dollar) ratio.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Yeah it would work with a high output mag pick up. Les Paul? You joke? Do you play guitar?
I'll leave the front door open....

Wow SW, that's really got my mind spinning with the possibilities for the Quadraphlange! Yes, I've got a '75 Tobacco Sunburst Les Paul Standard I bought new back then. Also a vintage pedal called an Edwards Light Beam volume pedal (same model Pete Townshend used on "Who's Next.") I've always thought it would be cool to make a pedal that looks like an Edwards, but it actually would be a stereo sweep side to side pedal connected to two guitar amps. You could also connect other effects pedals for combination of sounds.

Musicians love effects pedals (it's always been a large market); what about a guitarist like Steve Vai hooking up a device like the Quadraphlange connected to Quad speaker stacks, one in each corner of the venue. Or input that sweep pedal into the stereo inputs of a device like the Surround Master (hello @chucky3042.) You know that in the early years Pink Floyd did perform concerts in Quad!
It all just kind of boggles the mind.

 

[The56Kid]

Wow SW, that's really got my mind spinning with the possibilities for the Quadraphlange! Yes, I've got a '75 Tobacco Sunburst Les Paul Standard I bought new back then. Also a vintage pedal called an Edwards Light Beam volume pedal (same model Pete Townshend used on "Who's Next.") I've always thought it would be cool to make a pedal that looks like an Edwards, but it actually would be a stereo sweep side to side pedal connected to two guitar amps. You could also connect other effects pedals for combination of sounds.

Musicians love effects pedals (it's always been a large market); what about a guitarist like Steve Vai hooking up a device like the Quadraphlange connected to Quad speaker stacks, one in each corner of the venue. Or input that sweep pedal into the stereo inputs of a device like the Surround Master (hello @chucky3042.) You know that in the early years Pink Floyd did perform concerts in Quad!
It all just kind of boggles the mind.

Now you’re talking! Stereo guitar rigs sound great, but a quad one would blow minds!

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Now you’re talking! Stereo guitar rigs sound great, but a quad one would blow

You guys are evil geniuses. I mean that as a compliment!

 

[Jim the Oldbie]

...I looked up the Bozak Celeste. It doesn't look like it does flanging on it's own. How will you modify it?

Mostly it will involve replacing the high-frequency clock with a voltage-controlled type. This will allow the delay time to be modulated in various ways - either with a low-freq. triangle or sine wave to provide the traditional flanging effects, or with a stepped DC voltage such as produced by an analog synthesizer keyboard. The latter setup would allow the flange "pitch" to be "played" on a keyboard, emulating the sound of air blown through different-length tubes or pipes.

Unfortunately life has intervened lately, and I've had to put the project on hold for now. Hope to get back to it soon.

P.S. For anyone interested, here's a discussion of this idea that I started on another forum (don't let the name scare you off, heh).

 

[quadsearcher]

Way cool. I wondered when this stuff might come up, there's a DIY intersection with stereo/quad/music/electronics. I built the modulated phase shift portion of Stringz-N-Thingz and put it in a standalone cabinet. Bought a few other pieces already assembled in a great deal. Phlanger, 4700, programmable drum set. I built the digital keyboard for 4700. I never liked the tuning of that keyboard and went back to the analog one. I never learned how to really play keyboards but added strap pegs and a long control/AC cord cable to that keyboard and played it as a keytar in my first public "performance" with a "band", about 1981.

Sonik, that is a fun idea, could you sync them and get something approaching a circular flange? (Of course a different kind of flange is circular)

Jim, I'm a lurker over there. A flanger that tracks pitch like a high Q filter? I never thought of that in all the synth daydreaming I did in middle and high school! I wonder if the Phlanger has a control input that does that, I'll have to look. And I wonder if it would track keyboard tuning..... I'll read through your posts there on this but maybe the potential wackiness of the stepped clock changes could be smoothed with glide and the first part of the transition could be cut off with a dedicated VCA. Might not be ideal, but fun.

 

[Jim the Oldbie]

Yeah, there are a few glitches in the idea (and likely the sound, as you pointed out), but it's just one of those things I've been wanting to try for awhile now.

 

[quadsearcher]

Yeah, there are a few glitches in the idea (and likely the sound, as you pointed out), but it's just one of those things I've been wanting to try for awhile now.

Makes me think of a Roland Space Echo with a pedal to control tape speed. Although analog, as you push the pedal down the data is clocked out faster before the incoming data catches up with it, causing pitch change. A gentle swoop sound.

 

[Jim the Oldbie]

Ah, I didn't know a Space Echo could do that. Must've been a capstan motor speed control, as I believe the heads were fixed on those. On the Echoplex, the playback head was on a rack that allowed sliding it back & forth to control delay time, and I remember reading about someone (Tommy Bolin maybe?) attaching a motorcycle throttle cable to the handle so he could slide it back & forth with a foot pedal. Now that's a gear head!

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Wow everybody, thanks for the great replies!

Way cool. I wondered when this stuff might come up, there's a DIY intersection with stereo/quad/music/electronics.

Yeah it's a pretty nifty intersection good way to describe it.
Musicians are Magicians. They have cool toys. Everytime I'd read a Craig Anderton article I'd start thinking how can I use that in my audio set up.

Sonik, that is a fun idea, could you sync them and get something approaching a circular flange? (Of course a different kind of flange is circular)

Yeah sort of . Match both channel's s as close as you can manually. Then shift clock speed just slightly off on one ch. You can get a swoosh up in 1 ch, swoosh down in the other. 555 chips are not xtal controlled so it only held for 30 secs or so.
I did not label any inputs as left or right, or any outputs such as left front or right back or whatever. I wanted more mindset flexibility that they could be patched in any way to suit the music.

In my senior high school year I took an electricity course that involved dad plunking down a few $ for parts & supplies to build class projects. Somewhere I read an article for ultra simple guitar fuzz box. It was really nothing more than a 1/2 wave diode in series between the guitar & amp with a switch to cancel it when not wanted. It didn't take a genius to see if you could switch select between 1/2 & full wave you'd get another choice of sound. Add a small filter cap switch in/out to smooth it a bit. And replace the overall SPST bypass switch with a pot to control the blend. I built the 1st one sold it to a wannabe band for $20. It caught on & eventually the project was minorly profitable. Everyone wanted to sound like Blue Cheer...

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Also a vintage pedal called an Edwards Light Beam volume pedal (same model Pete Townshend used on "Who's Next.") I've always thought it would be cool to make a pedal that looks like an Edwards, but it actually would be a stereo sweep side to side pedal connected to two guitar amps.

I'm visualizing that sound in my minds ear and I like it!
I knew a person once who tried to construct a pedal like that using a photocell & the pedal depth modulating the light source to the photocell. Eventually he gave up the mechanical part was just too hard to make & be dependable. A better way might be to buy used a similar pedal & modify to needs. Using one photocell in a pedal there are ways to make it sweep the sound left & right.

Yes, I've got a '75 Tobacco Sunburst Les Paul Standard I bought new back then.

Well isn't that incredibly friggin' cool! I must ask what did it cost new, what is it worth now? What kind of music do you like to play? Ever do any desktop PC recording?

Hey you guitar geniuses out there. I've searched for a Rickenbacker 620 Fireglo. It is for decorative collectible purpose only so it doesn't need to work, just look pretty. Allthough I understand it is not a super desirable guitar it seems I can't find one for under $1500, too much for wall art. Why do I want this? Well for one thing it uses exactly the same kind of knobs I used for my Quadarphlange hahah etc. Also it is the guitar of choice by my favorite J Rock artist Chisato Moritaka:

Don't laugh. Anyone who can play guitar with gloves on is obviously incredibly talented.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Hey @Sonik Wiz are any of the inputs just pass-through or can the effects be minimized by the controls? Sorry, I can only see this through the eyes of a musician, not an electronics mastermind.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Hey @Sonik Wiz are any of the inputs just pass-through or can the effects be minimized by the controls? Sorry, I can only see this through the eyes of a musician, not an electronics mastermind.

All inputs are special effected. Three inpurs each ch for 2 phlanger boards. Effects can be minmized by setting clock high, reverb low, etc. But it would affect any of the 3 inputs.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

I'm visualizing that sound in my minds ear and I like it!
I knew a person once who tried to construct a pedal like that using a photocell & the pedal depth modulating the light source to the photocell. Eventually he gave up the mechanical part was just too hard to make & be dependable. A better way might be to buy used a similar pedal & modify to needs. Using one photocell in a pedal there are ways to make it sweep the sound left & right.


Well isn't that incredibly friggin' cool! I must ask what did it cost new, what is it worth now? What kind of music do you like to play? Ever do any desktop PC recording?

Hey you guitar geniuses out there. I've searched for a Rickenbacker 620 Fireglo. It is for decorative collectible purpose only so it doesn't need to work, just look pretty. Allthough I understand it is not a super desirable guitar it seems I can't find one for under $1500, too much for wall art. Why do I want this? Well for one thing it uses exactly the same kind of knobs I used for my Quadarphlange hahah etc. Also it is the guitar of choice by my favorite J Rock artist Chisato Moritaka:

View attachment 42688

Don't laugh. Anyone who can play guitar with gloves on is obviously incredibly talented.

Not sure on the original price of that Les Paul (I'll have to check the case, I think the orig. receipt is in there); and I'll need to research online for current prices as it's a lifer piece for me, don't really care what it's worth now.
Only played in garage bands years ago, and my actual playing has slowed in the last 5 years. I do know that there are tons of currently active playing musicians here on the forum, and I wish they'd be more forthcoming about their talents and experiences like our good friend Mike @edisonbaggins.
As far as the music I like to play; it's just stuff like Jeff Beck's "There and Back" or a lot of Clapton /Classic rock stuff, nothing too difficult. Haven't recorded much over the years, however I'll be hooking up a MOTU to my computer soon and who knows maybe create some stuff (Quad of Course!)
*Oh and my life's ever so exciting now that I'm retired, gotta go get a smog check on my care today - whoopyyyy!!!
Looks like Mz. Moritaka is getting ready to smash into an E major power chord with that Rickenbacker!