Sunday, January 12, 2014

Dearmond Tremolo Control 601



1940's Dearmond Tremolo Control 601 DIY Canister

A couple of days ago a friend of mine bought a non-working Dearmond tremolo. It was missing a couple of screws and most importantly the windex canister that makes the tremolo happen.
Here's what the inside looked like when the unit arrived:



So I decided to DIY a canister myself with stuff I found at home and at the local hardware store.






I also cut out this canister holder out of some sheet metal.





Done! Now I put the rubber grommet in the hole I drilled in the top. Then I put the canister in the holder on the thing... Also don't forget to ground it. I just soldered a piece of wire from the bottom of the canister to the metal holder thing. 



I made the cathode (?) out of a brass rod from Lowe's that I cut to size and soldered to the wire coming from the "increase"-pot.



Then I filled the canister with windex. I used this eye drop pipette I found at duane reade. Seems to work ok. And most importantly it's small enough so it won't overfill the windex vial. I think it should be about half full. And then I just put the brass rod through the grommet and voila! Done!