Optical Tremolo Done Right

[cjonesplay]

This is my first post on this forum, and I've been thinking on this a while. I'm sure some of you have seen this neat little project, called the Optical Tremolo 2.0:

http://makezine.com/projects/optical-tremolo-2/

I think it's a unique design but it has some obvious flaws and could benefit from the contributions of the DIY guitar pedal "experts" (read:  you guys). I am not that person, but I think this pedal has potential to be something totally different and fun with some tweaks:

First, it needs a couple of stomp switches, one that ramps the motor on/off (my favorite!), and one to turn the effect on/off. I'm guessing that's the easy part.

Second, it should be smaller and standardized, preferably fitting into a 1590BB. I'm not sure if the motor they are using is ideal, perhaps there are more compact options available?

Third, it could probably benefit from some circuit tweaking like an improved preamp design and maybe add some controls for tone/volume. I don't know how it sounds, but one thing I do know is that IT CAN ALWAYS SOUND BETTER!

Finally, someone will want to create a beautiful vero layout so that a well-meaning fool like me can actually build the thing:) Below is the schematic, I hope someone takes the challenge:

http://i2.wp.com/cdn.makezine.com/uploads/2014/04/ot2-schematic-1-0-0052.jpg?resize=620%2C229