Weekend Projects

From DeArmond to Photoresistors, the Optical Tremolo Box Looks and Sounds Great!

From DeArmond to Photoresistors, the Optical Tremolo Box Looks and Sounds Great!

The Optical Tremolo Box was inspired by Charles Platt’s “Stomp Box Basics” article (MAKE Volume 15, page 82), which theorized using a light sensor to read patterns on a rotating disk to create a tremolo effect. Taking the project from theory to reality, MAKE Technical Editor Sean Ragan used a cadmium sulfide photoresistor to provide us with our light sensor. Watch the video to see – and hear! – this project in action.