Dig my DL4 mods?

drasp · Post by **drasp** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:01 pm

I've been buying, repairing & selling DL4s for a while now & always meant to build one up the way I'd like it. Finally got a v1.0 done. Pretty simple, it's got all new spring actuators & PCB mounted tactile switches, super-bright pink LEDs on A, B, & C and a white LED on D. I never ever use batteries in my DL4s, so I decided to put a 10k linear pot in the battery cavity and used a big honkin' knob that's easily rolled back & forth with your toe while playing. Rather than wire it inside I ran a short length of cable out the bottom w/ a RA plug so I could still use a standard treadle for the EXP if I wanted to. Powder coated the enclosure for looks & durability & that's pretty much it, I think. I've got a few more things I'm still working on, but figured I'd share a few pictures:

I also wanted a way to remotely control switching between the banks of presets, so I built this little guy:

luke · Post by **luke** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:34 pm

I dig, I really dig! That's so cool!

mewithoutus · Post by **mewithoutus** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 10:35 pm

woah wtf remote pot? dirty.

Ninja Mike 808 · Post by **Ninja Mike 808** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 11:06 pm

haha, you're NUTS, but I like.

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:29 am

Make it wireless...then I'll be impressed.

aen · Post by **aen** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 1:15 am

Holy living fuck. Yeah, I dig it.

Will · Post by **Will** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:46 am

Awesome work - It almost looks stock it's so clean.

TideBleach · Post by **TideBleach** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 5:10 am

thats pretty sick. ill have to try this out when i get another dl4

Post by **Mike** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 7:35 am

Fantastic. You should sort the volume drop bollocks when you're in there.

Post by **Doog** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:12 am

The matching remote pot is off the hook!

Post by **Mike** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:14 am

How do you do power coating of cases incidentally? It is a case of spraying with a special case and then baking it in an Oven? Does it fuck your Oven up?

euan · Post by **euan** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:33 am

Powdercoating requires a special spray gun and lots of heat. You need lots of space as well because it is rather messy. Basically you are spraying electrically charged plastic powder at the object then melting the plastic by baking it.

If you did it in your oven it would probably fuck it up. But because the spray is powder it ends up a lot more environmentally friendly than spraying with liquid paint.

If you are interested in getting cases powder coated Mike, it can be cheap but more for many things in one colour. There is a place in London called Armourex or something that comes well recommended.

Post by **Mike** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:41 am

To be honest, for my two bit operation, it sounds like massive overkill. I only build on a piecemeal basis as people express interest in something, so I'm doing this a maximum of 4 pedals at a time, and they're all custom drilled and different colours generally. Thanks for the information though, it's something I've always wondered about.

euan · Post by **euan** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:18 am

I just realised my first sentence is slightly misleading. There is no heat in the spraying process, only the melting bit. The charge that the plastic powder gets is what makes it stick to the item being coated.

Basically it is a large basic laser printer.

drasp · Post by **drasp** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:25 am

Yeah, I have the powder coating done by a shop that does nothing else. We use them for my work (I build custom bits & tweak rotary-powered Mazdas for a living). Pricing isn't that bad, but it's certainly more than rattle can jobs. Mike - I plan on doing the resistor swap to 'fix' the volume drop & then A-B'ing the pedals, but I've never really had the vol. drop issues that many folks complain of. It's been public info for quite some time, but I've not heard many people rave about the results. Heck, this is what Keeley does, I think, and his description makes it sound as if most folks won't even be able to tell the difference!

Still, I do need to give it a whirl. . .

Great details on that & other common DL4 internal mods here.

drasp · Post by **drasp** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:31 am

BTW, watching the spraying-on of the powder is VERY strange. The static charge makes the fog of paint wrap around the work in an almost magical way. The spraying requires almost no skill, just point & shoot until it's covered then into the oven.

euan · Post by **euan** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:42 am

drasp wrote: build custom bits & tweak rotary-powered Mazdas for a living

I Wankel expert then.

Post by **Mike** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:43 am

drasp wrote:Yeah, I have the powder coating done by a shop that does nothing else. We use them for my work (I build custom bits & tweak rotary-powered Mazdas for a living). Pricing isn't that bad, but it's certainly more than rattle can jobs. Mike - I plan on doing the resistor swap to 'fix' the volume drop & then A-B'ing the pedals, but I've never really had the vol. drop issues that many folks complain of. It's been public info for quite some time, but I've not heard many people rave about the results. Heck, this is what Keeley does, I think, and his description makes it sound as if most folks won't even be able to tell the difference! Still, I do need to give it a whirl. . .

Great details on that & other common DL4 internal mods here.

Fair enough, I've only read about it and it seems clear you have the skillz to give it a go.

I had an Echo Park which I loved, Line 6 make good delay pedals

drasp · Post by **drasp** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:13 am

euan wrote:Wankel expert then.

Heh, I suppose so. My background was actually in Mercedes & BMW, but the shop I'm currently at found me and offered me a very good position w/ lots of opportunity for creativity, etc. Rotary/Wankel engines are fascinating & vastly superior to reciprocating engines in many ways. They do however have a few pretty awful weak points (i.e. - generally horrible fuel efficiency, the need to lubricate the seals w/ oil thus burning it w/ the air/fuel charge, and the fact that only one company has really been developing the technology for the last ~40 years instead of EVERY major manufacturer competing w/ the same basic technology). I enjoy specializing in something 'odd'. Fun to know about.

Mike - I do plan to try the volume-drop fix & when I do I'll be sure to report back w/ details.

euan · Post by **euan** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:29 am

I just wanted to say Wankel.

Wankel.