I built the CurrentLover 2023 in the MN3007/18V configuration. It worked right away and sounds like a flanger should.
I followed the setup instructions exactly. However, through the entire range of the Clock trimmer, there are always clock chirps as it peaks. There is no setting that eliminates them, even all the way up.
Possibly related: the build doc lists a 10k trimmer for Clock in the tables, but the board graphic on page 3 shows 20k. I'm currently using 10k
Any initial advice? Do I need to adjust some values somewhere (ie a 20k trimmer)?
Ahh, it should be 20k. Yes, that could have an impact on dialing it in. In fact, you can go up to 100k if needed. I think that's what was originally used. I will correct that in the doc. In the meantime, if you have a 20k, 25k or 50k trimmer try that instead. Sorry about that!
Thanks for the response. Real quick, I did find another discrepancy; R20 is 470R in the table, but labeled 100R on the page 3 board graphic. (I've got 470R there currently)
For Clock, I replaced the 10k trimmer with 100k, it's what I had.
However the artifacts still won't go away, they just speed up in tempo as I turn the trimmer, but never disappear.
Quote from: slowpogo on March 24, 2023, 02:25:22 AM
Thanks for the response. Real quick, I did find another discrepancy; R20 is 470R in the table, but labeled 100R on the page 3 board graphic. (I've got 470R there currently)
For Clock, I replaced the 10k trimmer with 100k, it's what I had.
However the artifacts still won't go away, they just speed up in tempo as I turn the trimmer, but never disappear.
good catch. In cases where something like this happens ( and it happens to everyone) I always go with what the schematic says. On there it says 100R so it's more than likely that.
Quote from: Thewintersoldier on March 24, 2023, 11:40:02 AM
good catch. In cases where something like this happens ( and it happens to everyone) I always go with what the schematic says. On there it says 100R so it's more than likely that.
Thanks! that makes sense. I went ahead and changed R20 to 100R but it made no obvious difference. Still can't get rid of the chirps
Sounds like something is wrong somewhere else. I just put one together and no chirping here.
Anyone have any ideas what could cause this issue, please let me know. For now I fear this one is destined for the junk pile. Checked all my components, soldering looks good...no idea what's wrong. Dang.
Nah, we're not giving up. Does the chirp happen at all feedback settings? Also, a nice clear pic of the top side of the board would be helpful.
Happens at all Feedback settings. Here are some pics of the board, as well as a short video with audio so you can hear the artifacts.
*Clock trimmer was replaced with 30k, not 100k as stated above
https://imgur.com/a/CEp1sTB
https://imgur.com/a/fVhMKfR
That is weird. If you move the output to a longer wire that runs around the outside of the board does that improve the noise. I'm wondering if the wire is picking up noise from the BBD.
Quote from: gordo on March 26, 2023, 03:35:07 PM
That is weird. If you move the output to a longer wire that runs around the outside of the board does that improve the noise. I'm wondering if the wire is picking up noise from the BBD.
I lengthened the wire so it goes completely to the left and around the board...no change
It gets faster with the LFO it seems. I would start looking around there.
Is there any noise in the matrix mode?
Quote from: thomasha on March 26, 2023, 10:03:51 PM
Is there any noise in the matrix mode?
No, matrix mode does not have any artifacts
I hear 2 things....
I hear LFO ticking at all settings and I also hear 'whining' that gets more pronounced as the Feedback is turned up.
Recommend that you replace all of your Input and Output wiring with shielded (RG-174) wiring to get rid of the LFO tick. Be sure to ground the shielding from these lines only on one side (at the jacks). Also recommend adjusting your Feedback trim to get rid of the whine.
EDIT: Another idea is to remove the ground from EITHER the Input or Ouput jack but not both. Grounding one of the jacks will also provide ground to the enclosure and thus, the other jack by its contact with the enclosure.
Thanks for replying. The wires' proximity doesn't seem to matter actually, I move them around and nothing changes. So I'm skeptical shielding will help. I can try un-grounding one of the jacks
Question... in your video you posted, is your mistress after an analog delay?
It was brought to my attention by @blackhatboojum that the pedal is behind a man O war delay and the mistress does not play well behind other clocks. Have you ran this isolated with nothing in front of it, mine is dead quiet.
I played a lot with the VCO and the DC voltage of the LFO.
You can get weird noises if you go too low. That would get more pronounced with the Depth maxed.
Not sure if it applies here, but checking the voltages might give a clue.
Yeah, and honestly mine is dead quiet with nothing special about input and outputs. I ran them under the board but shouldn't make any difference.
Quote from: slowpogo on March 27, 2023, 03:30:33 PM
Thanks for replying. The wires' proximity doesn't seem to matter actually, I move them around and nothing changes. So I'm skeptical shielding will help. I can try un-grounding one of the jacks
Reflex reply to any build with a clock or LFO. Shielded wiring will avoid a lot of wiring issues involved with these.
As stated above, make sure you are testing your build ALONE (Guitar > Pedal > Amp) as it will avoid any unnecessary interferences.
Quote from: blackhatboojum on March 27, 2023, 03:48:18 PM
Question... in your video you posted, is your mistress after an analog delay?
Quote from: Thewintersoldier on March 27, 2023, 03:53:06 PM
It was brought to my attention by @blackhatboojum that the pedal is behind a man O war delay and the mistress does not play well behind other clocks. Have you ran this isolated with nothing in front of it, mine is dead quiet.
Correct, in the video, it was after the Man O War. I previously tried it several places on the board including the very beginning, with the same result. BTW I'm using a OneSpot CS12 supply and the CurrentLover has its own isolated power (as do all my delay/modulations).
HOWEVER I had not tried it all alone yet for some reason... guitar->CurrentLover->amp, the ticking does go away! There is a mild hiss that swells and recedes with the LFO, is that normal?
So that tells me the pedal might be working fine, my board is the issue. But if I can't put the CL anywhere on the board without issues, it's unusable.
Any tips for the board? As I said, I'm using an isolated supply, and only a few drives are daisy-chained. No noise issues at all except with the CL
Quote from: slowpogo on March 27, 2023, 04:54:05 PM
But if I can't put the CL anywhere on the board without issues, it's unusable.
Does your amp have an effects loop?
Quote from: Govmnt_Lacky on March 27, 2023, 04:57:27 PM
Does your amp have an effects loop?
No it does not. Mojotone Blackout Tweed (5E3 style amp)
Yes, mild hiss is normal, especially if you're going into an amp that's being overdriven. In my experience with the electric mistress, she is a finicky bitch. She just doesn't get along with certain pedals. I've built the current lover and old chap, and both of those pedals didn't get along with analog delays in front of them. They also didn't get along with a Digitech Drop. This hiss that accompanied the sweep was louder than the effected guitar signal with the drop engaged. The only thing I found that helped with my noise issues was having a buffer at the beginning of my signal chain. Even with that, I still had issues when using the Digitech drop. Ultimately, I ended up ditching the use of the mistress because of these issues and went back to using my trusty bf-2.
Haven't built this in awhile, so this might be a dumb question. Does it need 18V? Have you tried it with 9V? Flangers built with charge pumps are notorious for problems like this. Just wondering how the OneSpot CS12 gets its 18V. Might be some power noise getting into the CL.
Quote from: Bio77 on March 27, 2023, 05:38:41 PM
Haven't built this in awhile, so this might be a dumb question. Does it need 18V? Have you tried it with 9V? Flangers built with charge pumps are notorious for problems like this. Just wondering how the OneSpot CS12 gets its 18V. Might be some power noise getting into the CL.
I'm wondering too if 18v operation could be the culprit. I built my 2023 CL for 9v operation and it has, by far the best noise floor I've ever heard on a flanger. It is absolutely dead silent even at extreme settings.
Mine's running at 18v from a tap on the Dunlop brick.
Maybe it got lost in the shuffle, but the noise issue goes away when I run it without other pedals (but still using the OneSpot). So I'm confused why 18V would be the source of the problem.
Quote from: slowpogo on March 27, 2023, 07:55:59 PM
Maybe it got lost in the shuffle, but the noise issue goes away when I run it without other pedals (but still using the OneSpot). So I'm confused why 18V would be the source of the problem.
That's a great question. With my collosalus, I was having all kinds of noise issues until I ran it at 12 and 15v.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I guess I'll try removing the regulator and running at 12V. Although that's a bit annoying, as one of the reasons I chose the project is that I had a free 18V output, and I liked the idea of running the same voltage as the original Mistress.
Quote from: slowpogo on March 28, 2023, 06:42:46 PM
I guess I'll try removing the regulator and running at 12V. Although that's a bit annoying, as one of the reasons I chose the project is that I had a free 18V output, and I liked the idea of running the same voltage as the original Mistress.
The only other advice I have is to try swapping one pedal, in and out at a time with the current lover, and try to isolate which one isn't playing nice.