By: Dominic Sciarrino | Stompbox Electronics | Last Updated: March 12th, 2026 Today, we’re peeling back the curtain on Passive RC Filters! With just one resistor and one capacitor, you can build a circuit that selectively filters specific frequencies from an audio signal. That circuit is a passive RC filter, and it is one of […]
Circuit 6 of 48: The Passive RC Filter Read More »
By: Dominic Sciarrino | Stompbox Electronics | Last Updated: April 9th, 2026 Most guitar effects circuits run directly from a 9V supply with no voltage regulation required. The moment a digital component enters the design (i.e. a PT2399 echo processor, a microcontroller, a DSP chip) that changes. Digital ICs commonly require 5V or 3.3V, and
Circuit 9 of 48: The Linear Regulator Read More »
The PROTIS 1 sports a convenient potentiometer, or “pot,” interface for fast and easy breadboard wiring. In this post we’ll explore what this interface looks like and how to utilize it for building the circuits that require them. Preliminaries: Potentiometer Operation A basic potentiometer has three connection points. We will call them: Between Lug 1 and Lug 2
The Three Potentiometer Configurations for DIY Guitar Pedals Read More »
The PROTIS 1 Guitar Effects Development Board can be used for prototyping and testing out various DIY guitar effects circuits. This post provides an example circuit, the common Transistor Buffer, to highlight basic functionality offered by the PROTIS 1. In this post you will learn how to utilize the Power section and the Input/Output (I/O) connections. Get
Getting Started with the PROTIS 1: Transistor Buffer Read More »
One of the most important parts of building your DIY guitar pedal is figuring out how to apply power to your circuit. The required voltages are generally standardized across the industry as +18V, +12V, and (most commonly) +9V. All three of these voltage levels are supported by the PROTIS 1 development board. Other voltages are
Powering Your DIY Guitar Pedal Designs with the PROTIS 1 Read More »
In the flavorful 1960s Eric Clapton’s signature overdriven sound with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers gave rise to the popularization of the Marshall 1962 model amplifier. Twenty years later, sharing the stage with notable hard rock and metal guitarists gave the 80s generation of guitar players a reason to notice the almighty Marshall JCM 800s;
The Marshall Tone Stacks: From Bluesbreaker to the JCMs Read More »
On this Build Your Own, we cover what an Op Amp Boost is and how to breadboard the circuit. At the end, we cover how to use the Stompbox Electronics Op Amp Boost board for your own boosting needs! What is an Op Amp Boost? Boost circuits are relatively simple, they take in a signal,
Build Your Own: Op Amp Boost Circuit for Guitar Read More »
What is a Charge Pump? A charge pump is an integrated circuit (IC) that is used to convert from one voltage to another. As an example, let’s say you want to build a circuit that runs on +18Vdc, but you want to power it using a +9Vdc adapter. You can use a charge pump IC
Circuit 10 of 48: The Voltage Doubler Read More »
What is a Charge Pump Inverter? A charge pump is an integrated circuit (IC) that is used to convert from one voltage to another. As an example, let’s say you want to build a circuit that runs on +18Vdc, but you want to power it using a +9Vdc adapter. You can use a charge pump
Circuit 9 of 48: The Charge Pump Inverter Read More »
Breadboards are used to prototype guitar effect circuits before committing them to copper. It gives you the chance to interact with your creation and really hear the difference between one component over another. In this post, I’ll be covering 5 prototyping boards used specifically for testing out and designing guitar effects circuits. How to Use
Top 5 Breadboards for DIY Guitar Pedals Read More »
