DIY Effects

[Si600]

Extremely random thing, not an effect, but definitely DIY.

 

This thing exists because it can, not necessarily because it should.

 

I'm the kind of weirdo who wants all my outputs from my pedal board to be nice and neat in the same place. I also want a clock on my board. So....

 

 

 

[MartinB]

Nice! I made myself a similar board clock a few years back. I've been thinking about making a box to sit next to my HX Stomp to hold two auxillary switches, plus an input for an optional expression pedal - I might migrate the clock unit to it, since it's going to have some spare space between the switches.

 

[BabyBlueSound]

Why do you need a clock on the board? 😁 I mean I love the idea but curiously wondering if there is any specific requirement this serves.

[LukeFRC]

16 minutes ago, BabyBlueSound said:

Why do you need a clock on the board? 😁 I mean I love the idea but curiously wondering if there is any specific requirement this serves.

it's for the folk who haven't found this thread 

 

[Si600]

3 hours ago, BabyBlueSound said:

Why do you need a clock on the board? 😁 I mean I love the idea but curiously wondering if there is any specific requirement this serves.

 

I find it convenient.  I don't wear a watch, we have no wall clock in our rehearsal space and if there is one it's not always on the most convenient wall, and it's easier to look at rather than finding whichever pocket I've put my phone in.

 

So, need?  Probably not. Want? Definitely. Why? Because I can

 

Edited April 7 by Si600

[MartinB]

When a band plays over their allotted time, sometimes the sound person will shut them off - but sometimes they won't, and every band after them has to cut their sets short. Either way, there's no excuse for it. I can't control other bands, but I can make damn sure that my band are not being arseholes. Be the change you want to see in the world! 😁

I use mine as a timer - it resets to 00:00 whenever it's switched on, so it always shows how many minutes have elapsed since then.

Edited April 7 by MartinB

[Goliath_FX]

On 05/04/2025 at 07:11, BabyBlueSound said:

I am trying to build a 3band RAT, and I messed up my 2nd build as well, even though I managed to get it work on a breadboard. 

 

I am using an audio scope to find where the PCB starts to differ from the breadboard.

 

I found that leg 7 of the OP07 reacts to distortion in a weird way (clean when down, SUDDENLY overdistorts at a certain point, despite the linear A100k pot).

 

However leg 7 is the V+ leg of the IC, not for the audio signal. Do I likely have a problem with the power section of the circuit? As I'm extremely surprised I found the overdistortion issue on this specific leg...

 

It's not an output and is not directly connected to the DIST

 

 

 

So VA is just a 9V supply, the reason its acting on the distortion of the circuit is because its powering up the IC chip. There will be something else at fault. 

 

Have you just taken fuzzdogs circuit and put it on your own PCB? or are you using the fuzzdog pcb? Most RAT pedals, most but not all, have that same issue with the Distortion pot going from nothing to full gain within a short amount. Installing a Ruetz mod can help it. Using a C100 can also help. 

[BabyBlueSound]

47 minutes ago, Goliath_FX said:

 

So VA is just a 9V supply, the reason its acting on the distortion of the circuit is because its powering up the IC chip. There will be something else at fault. 

 

Have you just taken fuzzdogs circuit and put it on your own PCB? or are you using the fuzzdog pcb? Most RAT pedals, most but not all, have that same issue with the Distortion pot going from nothing to full gain within a short amount. Installing a Ruetz mod can help it. Using a C100 can also help. 

 

This PCB has a Ruetz that's handled by a trimpot, I think I tried that already, but will give it another go.

 

I used Fuzzdog's own PCB.

 

And I thought the same about the IC and VA, but the breadboard version does not do this crazy distortion on leg 7, neither does my other (non-operational) Fuzzdog PCB attempt. It's only this latest version that very angrily distorts on that specific leg. And the same A100K pot works completely fine on the breadboard, no short operational range there.

 

Now my mum is visiting so have limited time, but I'll measure some more voltages, probe some audio at various points, and will try to play more with the Ruetz trim.

 

Also, I still haven't fully tested the first attempt, which failed somewhere else.

 

If all else fails, I got 2 more PCBs I can give a try...

[LukeFRC]

15 minutes ago, BabyBlueSound said:

 

This PCB has a Ruetz that's handled by a trimpot, I think I tried that already, but will give it another go.

 

I used Fuzzdog's own PCB.

 

And I thought the same about the IC and VA, but the breadboard version does not do this crazy distortion on leg 7, neither does my other (non-operational) Fuzzdog PCB attempt. It's only this latest version that very angrily distorts on that specific leg. And the same A100K pot works completely fine on the breadboard, no short operational range there.

 

Now my mum is visiting so have limited time, but I'll measure some more voltages, probe some audio at various points, and will try to play more with the Ruetz trim.

 

Also, I still haven't fully tested the first attempt, which failed somewhere else.

 

If all else fails, I got 2 more PCBs I can give a try...

Post some good photos - one of us might be able to see something 

[Goliath_FX]

6 hours ago, BabyBlueSound said:

 

This PCB has a Ruetz that's handled by a trimpot, I think I tried that already, but will give it another go.

 

I used Fuzzdog's own PCB.

 

And I thought the same about the IC and VA, but the breadboard version does not do this crazy distortion on leg 7, neither does my other (non-operational) Fuzzdog PCB attempt. It's only this latest version that very angrily distorts on that specific leg. And the same A100K pot works completely fine on the breadboard, no short operational range there.

 

Now my mum is visiting so have limited time, but I'll measure some more voltages, probe some audio at various points, and will try to play more with the Ruetz trim.

 

Also, I still haven't fully tested the first attempt, which failed somewhere else.

 

If all else fails, I got 2 more PCBs I can give a try...

 

You should not have any audio at all on pin 7. If you have then there is a big problem. Photos of the pcb your working on would help more than voltages

[BabyBlueSound]

1 hour ago, Goliath_FX said:

 

You should not have any audio at all on pin 7. If you have then there is a big problem. Photos of the pcb your working on would help more than voltages

Again, I'm equally confused by this, but the properly working breadboard version of this same circuit (which I have linked a couple comments ago) also has audio on pin 7. 

 

I get that pin 7 should be only connected to the power rail...

 

To clarify, I also swapped the OP07 between the breadboard and the PCB one to make sure it's not an IC issue, and there were no changes. Breaboard continued to work, PCB continued to weirdly distort.

Edited April 8 by BabyBlueSound

[BabyBlueSound]

Alright I have probed again and there is no audio coming from pin 7 on the breadboard. 🤯 Must have made a mistake in my notes the last time. Audio is only coming from the pin 6 output as expected.

 

I'll review the PCB again and compare the 2.

[BabyBlueSound]

The noises seem to be coming from somewhere else, there's a constant crackling and buzzing on that PCB. I guess something is shorted/grounded or a joint is busted, but if the circuit is not bypassed, my probe is terribly noisy even when measuring on the very input jack itself! It all sounds fine on both jacks of course if I bypass the circuit.

 

Since it's all wired up, I guess now it's time to desolder all the pot wires and try to reflow the joints. But since I already checked for shorts before wiring it up and all seemed good, I don't think I'll be able to fix this, seems more and more far every day.

[LukeFRC]

2 minutes ago, BabyBlueSound said:

The noises seem to be coming from somewhere else, there's a constant crackling and buzzing on that PCB. I guess something is shorted/grounded or a joint is busted, but if the circuit is not bypassed, my probe is terribly noisy even when measuring on the very input jack itself! It all sounds fine on both jacks of course if I bypass the circuit.

 

Since it's all wired up, I guess now it's time to desolder all the pot wires and try to reflow the joints. But since I already checked for shorts before wiring it up and all seemed good, I don't think I'll be able to fix this, seems more and more far every day.

photos!

Also, the common things did both input and output jacks grounds get connected to each other, is the 3pdt switch wired correctly (and the fuzz dog pub soldered on the right way up if you've used one of them) 

are the back of the pots shorting on something... 

[BabyBlueSound]

The photos won't do too much good, had to remove it from the wired up enclosure and bleh... it's uglier from close up than I remembered. But all ins and outs should be correct, I have done a connectivity test on every node again. All grounds "see" other grounds as well. However I finally found a measurable difference.

 

The transistor is sending 0.6v to ground on BB but 1.1v on the PCB. As a result, 3.8v is going towards the OUT on BB but only 1.6v on PCB. Also, the signal is not consistent on the PCB, values keep jumping around randomly (which aligns with the poppy noise) while it's very stable on the PCB, no fluctuation.

 

Not sure what the V difference is due to and if that's the problem or a symptom. Also don't get why am I getting noise even when directly probing the JACK IN...

[BabyBlueSound]

[BabyBlueSound]

I see a lot of flux residue on the photos that is barely visible with my naked eyes. I guess I should really clean that up first with some IPA... that residue can be shorting all sorts of stuff right?

[MichaelDean]

On 04/01/2025 at 22:58, MichaelDean said:

Got the megalith working today! Sounds massive. Can't wait to hear it at war volume! 

 

I did realise that I'd wired the LEDs the wrong way round though, so that was a faff swapping them round. 

 

My only other annoyance is that the knobs I ordered don't quite fit. That's what I get from ordering from AliExpress 🙄 Need to get some others ordered. 

 

 

I've also started on a patch bay for my board. It's not very handy having the ins and outs for the multi where they are. Just need to drill out the enclosure and pop in the jacks I've soldered up. 

Well, all of this has turned to sh*t. 

 

In sorting the Megalith, I managed to cause an break in the ribbon connector. The next time I plugged it in after this picture, it didn't work except on the boosted channel. And I've destroyed the thing, probably overheating some components trying to get the fragments of wire out of the PCB holes. Might need to get another kit for this or just buy the Red Rocket version. It sounded soooo gooood! 😭

The Acapulco Gold doesn't have the massive amounts of gain that it should, but it makes a sound. Severly lacking low end too, even with a guitar.

 

At least I know I can fix the junction box.

 

I knew there was a reason why I stopped doing DIY pedals 🤦‍♂️

[LukeFRC]

29 minutes ago, BabyBlueSound said:

ground wire off board goes to where you would normally wire the input jack ground wire... are the ground wires on both jackes connected? 

Distortion pot wiring looks like needs a touch up. Have you joined centre pin to the outside on the pot? 

 

 

And just a question- why not board mounted pots? it's much easier!! 

[BabyBlueSound]

5 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

ground wire off board goes to where you would normally wire the input jack ground wire... are the ground wires on both jackes connected? 

Distortion pot wiring looks like needs a touch up. Have you joined centre pin to the outside on the pot? 

 

 

And just a question- why not board mounted pots? it's much easier!! 

 

Yes, all grounds are correct, triplechecked!

 

Dist legs are indeed connected "externally", one less wire by jumpering them.

 

And this is my first non-boardmounted one, it's for a friend and I planned to put it into a bigger-than-1590n enclosure. I regret it every sindle day!

 

LO AND BEHOLD, after flux cleanup it now works! I need to be less messy.

[itu]

Everything cannot be seen here, but:

- upper left corner, the wire is not tinned

- lower left corner, is the pot soldered through the PCBA?

- soldering NE from the letter F looks suspicious

[BabyBlueSound]

53 minutes ago, itu said:

Everything cannot be seen here, but:

- upper left corner, the wire is not tinned

- lower left corner, is the pot soldered through the PCBA?

- soldering NE from the letter F looks suspicious

 

Thanks,

- tested from other side, alloy is properly formed, but still gave it a touch up

- yep!

- that's a wire for the MID pot, looks sus indeed but it definitely works!

[Stub Mandrel]

On 05/04/2025 at 07:03, Sibob said:

Sorry, managed to miss this, yes that’s what I’ve heard….my electronics knowledge leaves a bit to be desired as far as spotting those things go…I should read a book!! More an enthusiast than anything.

 

Does this look about right?

 

 

 

Cheers

Si

 

Shouldn't it be an npn transistor in tat configuration.

 

Is this basically a treble booster?

[Sibob]

34 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Shouldn't it be an npn transistor in tat configuration.

 

Is this basically a treble booster?

Yes, the original was an NPN, that’s what’s in the schematic I posted no?

 

Cheers

Si

[paul_5]

12 hours ago, MichaelDean said:

...probably overheating some components trying to get the fragments of wire out of the PCB holes.

I came across this problem when fixing my DHA pedal - my solution was to have some solid core wire (about the same diameter as a 24 or 26 AWG multi-strand) and to strip abut 30 cm of the insulation off it. Next I heat the solder pad using a temperature controlled iron and feed the solid core through the hole in the PCB - as it travels through the hole it will pick up any errant nasties or stray wires that remain. Once the solid wire is through you should have a nice clean hole, then I used my wire cutters to chop the 'spent wire' off, leaving the rest of the reel ready for the next use. You may have to do this a couple of times, but I find that it works well in tight spaces where you can only realistically desolder the solder side of the board due to the component side being too full. 

 

Hope this helps.