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Projects => Tech Help - Projects Page => Topic started by: octa805 on December 13, 2012, 06:33:43 AM

Title: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 13, 2012, 06:33:43 AM
I bought this mojo weener PCB from rej which is awesome

See it here: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=6283.msg54585;topicseen#msg54585

Figured I'd just use the standard wiring diagram, add the buffer back in and I'd be all set

Well, something ain't right. I get bypass so I'm ok there but no wah at all

All my trannies are socketed and hopefully oriented correctly

Is there a unique wiring to use here?

Also, I filled in the buffer section with standard caps. (Radial) should be fine right?

I also got the toggle on a dpdt. That matter?

Try and get pics later but I'm lost. Thot this would be an easy one!

Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: jeffaroo on December 14, 2012, 12:52:30 AM
put your big toe on ground and start probing with your tongue   :o
its got to be something simple
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 14, 2012, 01:12:24 AM
weener probe :)

Just did a ghetto audio probe and there is signal going in but not getting very far down. Just re-touched everything and I'll see if that helps.

Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 14, 2012, 01:45:18 AM
huh. still no work-o.

trannies are as follows:

Q1-mystery? says 8349H on it?
Q2-BC549
Q3-2n5457

Tried flipping them all around and I'm not getting anything different.

this has to be easy but I'm not seeing anything obvious.

I audio probed it and quickly realized I'm a total nerdo and didn't know the audio path. I just started from the IN on the board and followed the little lines on the back and didn't get much signal past the IN. huh.

time to do some crappy pics!
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 14, 2012, 01:51:44 AM
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b264/octa805/92F1DEC8-0C4F-40DE-84C6-04D0EA9AA043-115-00000003FE7C7810.jpg)
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b264/octa805/BDB5597B-BC2C-4E50-94CA-BB0D48171366-115-000000045B00F517.jpg)
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b264/octa805/76FB34C0-DAF7-4FE6-8789-044118D8DB81-115-00000004B2C8B0B1.jpg)
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: jeffaroo on December 14, 2012, 02:22:49 AM
lol ! love the caps !   :D
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 14, 2012, 02:45:27 AM
ha I know. it's all I got.

any ideas here?
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: jeffaroo on December 14, 2012, 03:01:51 AM
first i would test all your parts to make sure they are good. you can get a different reading while they are on the board, so be aware. double check all your solder joints and grounds. now look at the drawing and take baby steps. if you dont have a digital multimeter stop and go get one. i love the harbor freight ones. 5 bucks with a hfe test, i buy them 4 at a time! may also think about a audio probe once you verify parts are good.

PS- you do know one of your jacks isnt wired, right ?
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: jeffaroo on December 14, 2012, 03:06:42 AM
4 trim pots ? the recipe calls for 2
pluck em and drop the resistors in   :o
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: jeffaroo on December 14, 2012, 03:09:28 AM
R2 & R5

R2 is a 68k
R5 is 2k2 (2.2k)
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 14, 2012, 03:27:26 AM
thanks man

which jack did I fart up?
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 14, 2012, 05:36:11 AM
is it maybe just the picture? I'm using a stereo jack for the input and it was rotated a bit. here's another pic where you can see the whole thing.

as for the trimpots & replacing stuff, eh, I know Rej had it working so I'd rather just leave it if possible.

does my bypass switch look ok? this has to be something so basic.

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b264/octa805/271697E7-3FFB-45C2-86DC-C89D2104A832-115-0000004A04B6AF15.jpg)

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b264/octa805/323F348E-3745-4B29-849F-A813B254D626-115-00000049CB498082.jpg)
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: jeffaroo on December 14, 2012, 07:53:14 AM
Your 1ST pic on the right jack, you only have a greenish blue wire.
You cant complete a circuit with one wire !    :o
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on December 14, 2012, 08:06:22 AM
A couple of things just at a brief glance, ill take a closer look at the picture tomorrow:

Your DC jack wiring needs to be fixed. You have wired (or at least it looks like you have) the main supply for the board to the battery terminal on the jack. When the power supply is connected to the jack that lug is actually lifted out of the circuit (this prevents the battery from connecting to our wall wart power supplies and doing bad things to our battery). You want to wire the main power to the top lug.  

Second and probably less critical as Jeff mentioned your ground lug on the output is not connected. Usually this is fine but since you have a slightly painted inside enclosure I would run a wire to it just in case. Usually the enclosure will act as ground though.

Try these and see if that helps.

EDIT: Also after looking a little more you have a second wire besides the board power connected to the 9V of the DC jack. If that is going to a battery connector it is in the right place but your battery ground should be connected to the ring lug of the input jack (to lift the battery out of the circuit when the input isn't plugged in).

If the other power line is going to an LED instead you have a problem with your bypass switch. With an LED and an effect all of the lugs of the main switch should be occupied and I see two lugs left open. Maybe not critical but something to look at.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: jeffaroo on December 14, 2012, 08:25:37 AM
they call it a Wiener Wah for a reason ! Thats what you probe with ! Now get probing ! ! ! LOL
Just jkg
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 14, 2012, 06:11:14 PM
Quote from: jeffaroo on December 14, 2012, 07:53:14 AM
Your 1ST pic on the right jack, you only have a greenish blue wire.
You cant complete a circuit with one wire !    :o

Thanks for the feedback. I was working off this which shows one wire for the output. was I wrong there somehow?
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/tutorials/downloads/StandardWiring_MBP.pdf
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 14, 2012, 06:22:55 PM
Quote from: JakeFuzz on December 14, 2012, 08:06:22 AM
A couple of things just at a brief glance, ill take a closer look at the picture tomorrow:

Your DC jack wiring needs to be fixed. You have wired (or at least it looks like you have) the main supply for the board to the battery terminal on the jack. When the power supply is connected to the jack that lug is actually lifted out of the circuit (this prevents the battery from connecting to our wall wart power supplies and doing bad things to our battery). You want to wire the main power to the top lug.  

Second and probably less critical as Jeff mentioned your ground lug on the output is not connected. Usually this is fine but since you have a slightly painted inside enclosure I would run a wire to it just in case. Usually the enclosure will act as ground though.

Try these and see if that helps.

EDIT: Also after looking a little more you have a second wire besides the board power connected to the 9V of the DC jack. If that is going to a battery connector it is in the right place but your battery ground should be connected to the ring lug of the input jack (to lift the battery out of the circuit when the input isn't plugged in).

If the other power line is going to an LED instead you have a problem with your bypass switch. With an LED and an effect all of the lugs of the main switch should be occupied and I see two lugs left open. Maybe not critical but something to look at.


Thanks! I'll have to double-check some of this when I get off work later.

DC Jack-I'll take a better pic of it later. I  do not have a battery connector. What I do have is the 9v connection from the PCB (white wire) going to the DJ jack going to lug 2 (positive). I also have a red wire coming out from that same connection which I'm going to use to hookup an LED later on.

Lug 1 of the DC Jack (neg) is going out to the sleeve of my stereo jack input.

3dpt-I think the pic is deceptive. I only have one lug open (lug 9 I believe )which I am going to use for an LED later.

Thanks again, appreciate it! I'm guessing the painted enclosure is not grounding it as I expected just as you stated.  I might try and sand it down. Hope that works.

If it does not

Appreciate it everyone!
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on December 14, 2012, 07:24:44 PM
(https://www.smallbearelec.com/catalog/DCjack.jpg)

Take a look at this picture. I think you have the main board wired to where the battery+ is. If this is the case then when the DC plug is plugged into the jack there will be no power delivered to the pedal. The top lug labelled board+ is what you want to connect everything to. Again it just looks like that from your picture so I cant be 100%.

I see what you mean about the LED. That all looks fine then if you are saving that lug for later.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 14, 2012, 09:40:44 PM
you were totally right on the DC jack. went home for lunch and slapped myself. then I switched it out and now I'm getting readings on the trannies at least but still not working.

also sanded own the output jack area. didn't have time to do the input.

took some new crappy pics. not sure if this will reveal much that is useful.

thanks again for the help.

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b264/octa805/305C81D2-9FE1-4B2E-B7F1-F40D44154CF1-329-00000105BC6F7DEF.jpg)
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b264/octa805/95DD1D33-DAAE-4D58-A32A-4AEFFBBA4736-329-0000010538357779.jpg)
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b264/octa805/A4EF2B64-9B69-4B86-A38F-50406C7DB0DB-329-0000010539736999.jpg)
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 15, 2012, 06:19:19 AM
Toyed with it some more this evening. Grounded the output

Still nothing. All ideas welcome

Thanks
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on December 15, 2012, 06:43:47 AM
So after tracing your wiring everything looks like it is in place.

Another note: it looks like you are using a 2n2925 transistor in that top position. I can't see the legs but the pinout for the 2n2925 is not normal. It is ECB I believe instead of EBC, rotate that out and see if that helps.

Other than that I would say post transistor voltages and we'll try to see whats up from there. 
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 16, 2012, 12:09:07 AM
Thanks so much. Appreciate it

I get a low volume signal passing when effect is on now. That's better. But can't hear any wah effect to it

Audio probed a bit more and the 3pdt is great. The signal into board is good through c6 and then gets quite a bit lower after that

Wondering if those trimpots need to be turned up/down?


Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on December 16, 2012, 01:50:11 AM
No problem. If you have transistor voltages those would really help. Around C6 sounds like it might be the BC549 (Q2) that could be off. I would double check that to see whats up. I also wouldn't mess with the trimmers. If Rej had them set at a setting that worked I would just leave them until you start passing the effect.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: Bassman on December 16, 2012, 03:44:41 AM
I had a similar problem with my weener (can't believe I just typed that  :D )  The problem was the trannies weren't fully socketing so I soldered them into place and boom.. wah city.

Post up the voltages you are getting and that should tell if they are part of the problem.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 16, 2012, 06:04:39 AM
Thanks guys. Getting closer I hope

First time I've used my meter for this so hope I'm in the ballpark

From the pic below I went from left to right on Q1

Then from top to bottom on Q2 & Q3

Q1-.12  .14  .75
Q2-.15  .50  8.79
Q3-0     1.61  8.81

And this is how the trannies were oriented at reading

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b264/octa805/92DC5CDB-8044-48D5-8B6C-D93186934C81-449-000000282B0391B1.jpg)
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on December 16, 2012, 07:08:18 AM
Mmm, I can't see the legs of Q1 but I still think you have that in there wrong.

A 2N2925 is ECB, the 2N3565 that the weener is designed for is EBC. You will have to rotate the middle and one of the outer lugs around to get in in there correctly. To me it just looks too straight in that socket, every time I use my 2n2925's they end up sideways to prevent the legs from shorting. I also think this because your collector voltage on Q1 is too low. If you have a 2N3904, BC108 or 2N5088 around try throwing that in the Q1 spot and trying that just to make sure.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 16, 2012, 03:03:39 PM
You're right, I did not twist the legs around

I have a BC108 I can try tho
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on December 16, 2012, 04:30:11 PM
Yeah those 2925's get me almost every time. The pinout is weird but they sound awesome; one of my favorite silicon transistors. I would just do a BC108 to test and put the 2n2925 in there when its good to go and hopefully that will solve it!
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 16, 2012, 04:33:41 PM
Blagh!!! It works with a BC108!

Nice!

Now how do you correctly orient the original tranny?

And how do you dial in the many trimpots? Cuz ill be honest...I moved them all around 😄

Thanks!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on December 16, 2012, 04:55:03 PM
Haha, nice!  :D

So here is a picture of one of mine.

(http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv299/pnordeen/20121216_083551.jpg)

You need to rotate those middle and right lugs (C and B) and then it should be match the socket pinout.

The trimmers in order of adjustment will probably be:

R2: Adjust for the effect volume you like and the amount of saturation of Q1 at the inflection point of the sweep

FREQ: Blends two feedback capacitors together to change the center frequency of the wah sweep. adjust until you find the right balance of bass and treble in the toe down position of the sweep. 

R5: This effects the quality of the wah effect and also adds some midrange i feel like. I would adjust this until you get a decent amount of effect coming through. I typically settle on 1.5K.

Peak: This is the least noticeable of the controls IMO. I set it usually in the middle but supposedly it changes the quality factor of the bandpass peak. In which case you would get more effect with a sharper peak but you would start losing some of the frequencies that give the wah its character.

These are all pretty interactive too so once you adjust one you may want to go back and trim up the others to match. Good luck!
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 16, 2012, 05:32:45 PM
Can't thank you enough. This made my rainy Sunday 😄
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 17, 2012, 01:02:17 AM
Quote from: JakeFuzz on December 16, 2012, 04:55:03 PM
Haha, nice!  :D

So here is a picture of one of mine.

(http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv299/pnordeen/20121216_083551.jpg)

You need to rotate those middle and right lugs (C and B) and then it should be match the socket pinout.

The trimmers in order of adjustment will probably be:

R2: Adjust for the effect volume you like and the amount of saturation of Q1 at the inflection point of the sweep

FREQ: Blends two feedback capacitors together to change the center frequency of the wah sweep. adjust until you find the right balance of bass and treble in the toe down position of the sweep. 

R5: This effects the quality of the wah effect and also adds some midrange i feel like. I would adjust this until you get a decent amount of effect coming through. I typically settle on 1.5K.

Peak: This is the least noticeable of the controls IMO. I set it usually in the middle but supposedly it changes the quality factor of the bandpass peak. In which case you would get more effect with a sharper peak but you would start losing some of the frequencies that give the wah its character.

These are all pretty interactive too so once you adjust one you may want to go back and trim up the others to match. Good luck!

Ok, I think I got everything going now. adjusted Q1 per your helpful pinout. thanks for that. got it working. made the freq pot external which is nice and easier to dial in than with the tiny trimpot.

Need to adjust trimpots now to figure out how to keep it at unity and make it a bit quackier/more vocal. it's good but I know greatness is in there. I'm guessing that's just more spinning trimpots than anything?

On the plus side, boxed it all up and it looks great. have to throw some pics up later. thanks again for all the help!
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on December 17, 2012, 03:37:59 AM
You are very welcome. Congrats on the build!

My suggestions for this circuit can be found somewhere deep in the audio demo section of the forum. To summarize I highly suggest at least trying the circuit with the frequency pot removed. I can't really explain why but I feel like it sounds slightly more balanced with just a single cap (10-15nF usually) in the feedback path. Give it a try and let me know what you think. To try this just lift and leave open lug 3 of the frequency pot and put a 15nF cap in C5, I would then adjust R5 to get the amount of the wah effect you like.

Another little tweak I do in wah's that is usually overlooked is the position of the sweep pot pinion gear on the rack. I like to keep the sweep further toward the treble side. It makes a huge difference in where that little gear is; I typically will play with this before I mess with any of the circuit. 
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: jkokura on December 17, 2012, 03:40:30 AM
Quote from: JakeFuzz on December 17, 2012, 03:37:59 AM
Another little tweak I do in wah's that is usually overlooked is the position of the sweep pot pinion gear on the rack. I like to keep the sweep further toward the treble side. It makes a huge difference in where that little gear is; I typically will play with this before I mess with any of the circuit. 

I've recently been working on a couple wahs, and have found the same. Unless you have the rack on the gear at the right spot, there's no point in playing with the trimmers. Get the rack in the right spot first, then you can really dial in the sweetness.

Jacob
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 17, 2012, 04:14:54 AM
Quote from: JakeFuzz on December 17, 2012, 03:37:59 AM
You are very welcome. Congrats on the build!

My suggestions for this circuit can be found somewhere deep in the audio demo section of the forum. To summarize I highly suggest at least trying the circuit with the frequency pot removed. I can't really explain why but I feel like it sounds slightly more balanced with just a single cap (10-15nF usually) in the feedback path. Give it a try and let me know what you think. To try this just lift and leave open lug 3 of the frequency pot and put a 15nF cap in C5, I would then adjust R5 to get the amount of the wah effect you like.

Another little tweak I do in wah's that is usually overlooked is the position of the sweep pot pinion gear on the rack. I like to keep the sweep further toward the treble side. It makes a huge difference in where that little gear is; I typically will play with this before I mess with any of the circuit. 

I'll have to try that. So far I like the freq pot turned waaaaay up the most. Seems like I don't get enough wah effect for my taste otherwise. I need to take some measurements on the trimpots and see where I'm at and compare it to normal values
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 19, 2012, 04:29:51 AM
had a couple days to fiddle around with it and compare it to my standard crybaby as well as my hendrix fuzz wah and I just can't seem to dial it in to get enough wah effect going on.

this sound sample I found from Jakefuzz's waffle wah I believe is what I'm going for:

https://soundcloud.com/jakefuzz/wah-new

so far I've tried a few of the suggestions posted earlier. moved the treadle around a few times and can't get it quite right. spun the various trimpots all over the board.

my problems are as follows:

Not enough wah effect. it's at it's best when the freq pot is fully cranked but even then, not as nasty as that soundclip above (which I love)

Not quite loud enough either

scratchy wah pot

thanks dudes! so close
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on December 19, 2012, 05:25:53 AM
Didn't see this till now. I would try the frequency pot removal and see if that helps. I have found that the particular arrangement of the pot and those two caps seems to level out the wah effect a little.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 19, 2012, 04:59:16 PM
cool. thanks!

will try that this week if I can.

I got 11 days off coming up! time to put that honeydripper together and dear god.............maybe even try the dirtbag...........
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 26, 2012, 05:40:45 PM
hi again! xmas break! weeeeeeee!

I pulled lug 3 of the freq pot off the board. no drastic change there for me.

I'll try swapping in 15n if I can find one locally today. I looked back in there at my wiring and remembered that in my search to ground everything possible I sure have a lot of wires in there.

maybe a long shot but I'm wondering if that is muting my wah somehow. crappy pics to come. thanks
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on December 26, 2012, 06:04:20 PM
The 15nF should make a big difference from what you have in there right now (3n3 if I remember right?) The sweep range should be much more full. If you weren't experiencing a big change with the FREQ control taken out I suspect the sweep was all in the treble range like it would be with just the 3n3. I have this setting (well 5n6) on my wah and it really starts to thin out down there. Try the 15nF or a 22nF and it should bring back the depth you are looking for.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on December 26, 2012, 09:36:43 PM
hi again

found the only 15n cap at my disposal and plopped it in there. also added freq pot back in.

played with location of sweep pot too.

sounds better but still not the all encompassing nastiness I'd love to have.

Checked my trannies. they should be ok I believe.

Q1: 0
      .51
      7.65

Q2: 0
      0
      8

Q3: 0
      1.65
      8.57

Here are some pics of my latest wiring mess.

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b264/octa805/B8B608AD-89EF-4CA6-89F6-CB27766201E3-343-00000018B39EBB55.jpg)
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b264/octa805/9E657895-26F9-4FED-AD20-DD311D0F15FC-343-00000018BA23C7AD.jpg)

and a sound sample. clean first, then my hendrix fuzz wah as comparison, then the weener wah with the freq put turned 100% to bassier side. it's good, just not all there. I have R5 trimpot cranked to full right as well. just trying to get more more more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGcNakoSOog

Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 02, 2013, 06:04:25 AM
Bump!

Still looking for ideas here. Thanks!
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on January 02, 2013, 07:00:29 AM
Sorry bout that! Been on vacation and it is tough to get to a computer around here. The wah sounds pretty good in your clip. I would try it with both the FREQ pot out of the circuit and the 15nF for the feedback cap. The Freq control may be doing some weird stuff to the bass content as it did with my build. I would just take it out and see if that helps. I would also start tweaking around with those trimmers to see if that helps. Other than that I am sort of stumped. That Q2 base voltage looks a little weird but I would have to confirm with my build which I wont have until I get back to work!
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 02, 2013, 04:20:13 PM
thanks! you've been unreal helpful. appreciate it
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 05, 2013, 05:44:03 PM
I've just finished my wah, and I'm pretty much in the same boat.  Very light wah, not loud enough, etc. I am going to jump R4, or put a very low value resistor in there and see if that dirties it up.
Also going to go lower on R2, to increase output. Maybe something in the high 20k's....
 I already have the 15n cap.
I also have a 12 notch 100k linear detent pot for the frequency. Doesn't do much until you turn it past the last couple of detents, and then it sounds like Bootsy Collins stole my guitar :-)

I've also noticed a weird pop when sweeping, only when the buffer is engaged. It's a deep pop, very noticeable, making the buffer unusable. Any ideas, Jake?
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on January 07, 2013, 04:31:12 PM
I am going to recommend taking out the frequency pot. Just remove all of the leads to the pot and the 15nF should be in C5. The FREQ control does odd things to the wah sweep that I cant really explain but I always liked it better out of the circuit. Give it a try and see what you think.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: chordball on January 07, 2013, 06:16:26 PM
Quote from: ch1naski on January 05, 2013, 05:44:03 PM
I've just finished my wah, and I'm pretty much in the same boat.  Very light wah, not loud enough, etc. I am going to jump R4, or put a very low value resistor in there and see if that dirties it up.
Also going to go lower on R2, to increase output. Maybe something in the high 20k's....
I already have the 15n cap.
I also have a 12 notch 100k linear detent pot for the frequency. Doesn't do much until you turn it past the last couple of detents, and then it sounds like Bootsy Collins stole my guitar :-)

I've also noticed a weird pop when sweeping, only when the buffer is engaged. It's a deep pop, very noticeable, making the buffer unusable. Any ideas, Jake?

I haven't tried the weener buffer yet (it's bypassed while dialing in the main circuit), but I've been playing around with my BYOC wah. For the longest time, I thought I had some problem with the pot or maybe some e-cap problem because I got this weird popping/static type sound I'd never heard before. After trying a number of things, I somehow decided to adjust the buffer and what do you know? That was the problem the whole time. Past a certain point turning the buffer up, it created that weird loud popping sound. This may not be the case with yours, but if you built the wah stock it seems like that is one of the likely culprits.

I can't speak on the freq pot as I never installed mine. I can recommend using a rotary switch to select between a few range cap values.

Last but certainly not least, the transistors used make a big difference in the sound. I have tried the PN3565 and BC549C as spec'd by Bean himself. I have tried the BC109's that came with the BYOC. I've tried a BC107A in one spot (my other BC107A is in a fuzz....I need to pull it and try to BC107's together) with a BC109 in the other, I've tried MPSA18's, and also have some of the 2N2925's from Timbo (I actually think they're 2N2924's by the code on them).

Anyhow, from my experience with swapping transistors I've found that lower gain ones (BC107A for example) tends to have more bass while the higher gain ones have less bass and give more quack. By adjusting R4 you can add more bass to the higher gain transistors. To add more bass, you can also change the sweep cap. I've tried so many combos that I need to take a break and do another listening test later. I think I will build one wah with lower gain transistors and one with higher gain because it's too hard to decide which one I like better.

To give a little bit of reference, I have a 10n for C1, about 47k for R2, 1.5k for R5, anywhere from about 390-470 for R4 (depending on gain of transistor), and I've tested with C5 being 10n, 12n, 15n, 20n, 22n, and even popped a 47n in there for some deep envelope filter type sounds (10n and 15n seem the most usable however). I have Whipple inductor and the pot is a McCon-O-Pot.

So I basically have your standard McCoy type wah and it's anything but light or not loud enough.

Start simple by bypassing the buffer and get your wah sound dialed in before adding the buffer.




Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 08, 2013, 05:02:05 PM
Quote from: JakeFuzz on January 07, 2013, 04:31:12 PM
I am going to recommend taking out the frequency pot. Just remove all of the leads to the pot and the 15nF should be in C5. The FREQ control does odd things to the wah sweep that I cant really explain but I always liked it better out of the circuit. Give it a try and see what you think.

Just pulled all the freq pot leads. Have 15n cap in place and soldered my trannies in place. No real change.

Weird. I think I might just pull the trimpots next. I don't know.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on January 08, 2013, 06:13:23 PM
Hmm, yeah that sounds right. I think the big problem with the freq control is that the bass content didn't blend evenly as you did the sweep (it would remain mostly like the 3n3 until you got to the end). With the 15nF in there it will probably be much better. I would just leave it out for now. I would maybe tweak with the trimmers or pull them like you said. Other than that I might try swapping different transistors (try some high gain ones like the 2n5089) and see if you like those better.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 08, 2013, 07:28:01 PM
I mean, I have both trimmers at max and it's not enough so I'm guessing the range of the trimmers just isn't to my liking.

tardo question-I'm assuming full right on the trims is fully open? Seems that way to me at least.

Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on January 08, 2013, 08:01:54 PM
Those trimmers are the Bourns 25 turn ones; I can never really find the center or the endpoints of those. I am not sure I've ever even gotten to the end of a turn on one of those. I am not quite sure which direction will make things more intense but I would tweak them both ways; the values they adjust sometimes have a sweet spot right in the middle. 
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 08, 2013, 09:15:30 PM
went home for lunch and played with all 3 trimmers in different directions

got it to be dirtier but not quackier.

when looking down at my weener, what do I touch to make it quack? :)


uh, no, seriously
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: jeffaroo on January 08, 2013, 09:34:15 PM
she usually messes with the tip  ;D
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 09, 2013, 03:02:30 AM
after i'm done laughing, out goes the freq pot. i'm gonna try all the advice in this thread. You guys are very helpful around here. I'm a total noob at this, i used to screw with my old gear 20 years ago, but had no idea what i was doing. somehow I had managed to make all my wah's sound incredible. Not so much at the moment, tho. lol.

and......i broke the leg off my one and only 15n cap.  :o

son of a gun...
Title: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 09, 2013, 05:47:23 AM
So....
I pulled the freq pot. Paralleled a couple caps to get 15n for c5. Put a 150 ohm resistor on R4. 33k in R2.  Tried it, and now I have more of a volume swell than a wah. Went to go switch something around and my input jack fell apart.

Time to step back.....
Start fresh tomorrow, I guess.....:)

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 09, 2013, 04:44:05 PM
Quote from: octa805 on January 08, 2013, 09:15:30 PM
went home for lunch and played with all 3 trimmers in different directions

got it to be dirtier but not quackier.

when looking down at my weener, what do I touch to make it quack? :)


uh, no, seriously

did some more trimpot turning and I just can't get it to get quacky like I want and in like the Jakefuzz sound clip. I can make it dirty which is kind of fun but not really worthwhile if it still doesn't sound like a wah.

seems to get the most quack on the bass end of things for sure so maybe a C1 change is in order.

maybe a change to R4 as well. blegh. Haven't had a project stifle me like this in a while.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: joegagan on January 13, 2013, 07:12:12 AM
i was skeptical of the freq pot since the weener first came out. in many experiments, i could never get a pot to get a proper sound on two caps for the sweep cap. but i held back my comments as i had not built the weener, still haven't.

as far as getting  a wah to quack, you can move the entire freq range upward via a smaller sweep cap (.008uf for example ) but a lot of this depends on the mh of the inductor. if you have a 500mh inductor, a larger sweep cap is fine. but if you have a 650 mh inductor, the sweep cap might need to be smaller to get the same range.

there is no magic recipe for getting wide range ( except a delicate balance of all the elements involved, very much like tuning a race car for max performance). i have been building a lot of one-off wahs lately, modeling them in spice , then testing, back and forth. what i have learned is that getting the wide range is the synergy of all parts involved, kind of like playing  3 games of chess at the same time. everything affects everything else.
i think the sites that talk about adding a bunch of trimpots sometimes actually adversely affect some people getting good results as it increases the options to the point where it is hard to find the sweet spots.
a few notes:

the R paralleling the inductor is a minor player. mess with it last.
the R off Q1 base/ind is not that critical, in some cases lowering it actually sharpens the peaks, which is IMO part of what makes a wah sound interesting. flatter rounder peaks make for a boring mush. i have gone as low as 800 ohm in some cases.

changing the input r and the Q1 E R are both ways to raise and lower gain / lows or both. but they work differently and are very interdependent. tune both of these together. some whas react better adjusting the bias of Q1 at the collector instead. sometimes i just run Q1 e to gd and use a 100k trimmer on the 9v>Q1 collector

inductor mh and sweep cap are both doing pretty much the same job. once you get the gain dialed in, you can assess changes to the  overall freq curve using either mh or sweep cap changes.
you can move the mh up or down as much as 200mh with polepiece magnets in various configs applied to the sides or top or both. radical mh changes can occur when forcing two polepiece magnets into north/north config ( which they will not do unless taped or glued together)

i like low gain trans for Q1. i use lots of 2n2222s. hfe as low as 70, rarely over 180 for Q1. Q2 doesn't seem to matter much as long as it isn't 600 hfe .

you can get more treble by running a treble jumper 820pf series with 68k r across the wiper and out lug of the wah pot. (NOTE:) you may get squeals in some wahs, try raising the 68k til the squeal stops)

you can also get interesting effects by running a small cap 330p, 480p etc from 9v to q1 collector.

i don't care about output buffers. if someone wants to run a wah before a fuzz, a 250k or 500k pot at output does as good as a buffer anyday.

input buffers can help add treble and even out differences between single coil and Hb guitars.

sorry this drifted off of weener specific info, just thought i would share some of the stuff i've learned.
Title: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 13, 2013, 08:07:17 AM
This is all welcome info. I have been thinking that it's more of a combination of the components that make up the filter, as a whole, that make the wah come together.
I have no electronics knowledge, audio circuit-wise, except for fiddling with things over the years just to make them sound the way i want them to. That said, I have always been able to get my wah's to sound great to me. And every time, it's been a different " tweak" that did it.
So I've never been able to have a definitive method. I was hoping, and still hope, that this circuit will teach me what it is that makes a wah that sounds good to me. Of course, like others, I have the great wah masters and their sounds in my head, as a goal for what a great wah should sound like. Unrealistic, maybe.... There's more to those great recordings and players, than just a pedal. But, I aim high. :)


Again thanks for the input.
BTW, are you the guy I have read about concerning a tone circuit in fuzz face's?  That name looks familiar....

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: chordball on January 13, 2013, 04:01:13 PM
Quote from: joegagan on January 13, 2013, 07:12:12 AM
i was skeptical of the freq pot since the weener first came out. in many experiments, i could never get a pot to get a proper sound on two caps for the sweep cap. but i held back my comments as i had not built the weener, still haven't.

as far as getting  a wah to quack, you can move the entire freq range upward via a smaller sweep cap (.008uf for example ) but a lot of this depends on the mh of the inductor. if you have a 500mh inductor, a larger sweep cap is fine. but if you have a 650 mh inductor, the sweep cap might need to be smaller to get the same range.

there is no magic recipe for getting wide range ( except a delicate balance of all the elements involved, very much like tuning a race car for max performance). i have been building a lot of one-off wahs lately, modeling them in spice , then testing, back and forth. what i have learned is that getting the wide range is the synergy of all parts involved, kind of like playing  3 games of chess at the same time. everything affects everything else.
i think the sites that talk about adding a bunch of trimpots sometimes actually adversely affect some people getting good results as it increases the options to the point where it is hard to find the sweet spots.
a few notes:

the R paralleling the inductor is a minor player. mess with it last.
the R off Q1 base/ind is not that critical, in some cases lowering it actually sharpens the peaks, which is IMO part of what makes a wah sound interesting. flatter rounder peaks make for a boring mush. i have gone as low as 800 ohm in some cases.

changing the input r and the Q1 E R are both ways to raise and lower gain / lows or both. but they work differently and are very interdependent. tune both of these together. some whas react better adjusting the bias of Q1 at the collector instead. sometimes i just run Q1 e to gd and use a 100k trimmer on the 9v>Q1 collector

inductor mh and sweep cap are both doing pretty much the same job. once you get the gain dialed in, you can assess changes to the  overall freq curve using either mh or sweep cap changes.
you can move the mh up or down as much as 200mh with polepiece magnets in various configs applied to the sides or top or both. radical mh changes can occur when forcing two polepiece magnets into north/north config ( which they will not do unless taped or glued together)

i like low gain trans for Q1. i use lots of 2n2222s. hfe as low as 70, rarely over 180 for Q1. Q2 doesn't seem to matter much as long as it isn't 600 hfe .

you can get more treble by running a treble jumper 820pf series with 68k r across the wiper and out lug of the wah pot. you can also get interesting effects by running a small cap 330p, 480p etc from 9v to q1 collector.

i don't care about output buffers. if someone wants to run a wah before a fuzz, a 250k or 500k pot at output does as good as a buffer anyday.

input buffers can help add treble and even out differences between single coil and Hb guitars.

sorry this drifted off of weener specific info, just thought i would share some of the stuff i've learned.


Very good info! I appreciate you sharing this with everyone. Now I have some more experimenting to do ;D

Can you explain a little bit about why you prefer lower gain transistors?
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: joegagan on January 13, 2013, 04:09:56 PM
Cool, your method works, you dial it in til it sounds good to you.
I get your point about great players and great recordings.
I am the same joe gagan. I did not invent the input cap blend, many people had done it before me, but i made such heavy use of it in diy and commercial designs- so much that people started using my name to describe it. Many people have built the easyface since 2000, especially the input cap blend version.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: joegagan on January 13, 2013, 04:23:57 PM
Chordball, thanks.

A lower gain transistor for Q1 makes it easier to get an even response across the band and makes a more interesting texture to my ears.

One thing that spice modeling / real building back and forth ( i will often do a second round of tweaks in spice after the wah is built to further refine) is that we can make almost any part work, for example high gain trans , but when one part is changed it often requires five  or more other component changes to get back to a 'correct' frequency plot. Hence my reference to playing three games of chess at one time. I am currntly developing a wah that uses a joystick pot from sony playstation controller . The whole thing happens between 5k and10k on a 10k pot!
Title: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 13, 2013, 05:50:51 PM
Your chess analogy perfectly describes my frustration.:)

Time to go to stock values and try some of your suggestions. As it stands now, I have very low output with the pedal heel-down. As I move to the toe-down position, the output increases, but it is a very clean sound, not unlike a tone control on a guitar. It actually resembles my Rosac NuWah more than my vox or Thomas.

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Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: madbean on January 13, 2013, 07:01:58 PM
I've re-wired mine today to remove the Frequency pot. In its place I put a 2-pole 3 pos. rotary with the following values: 5n, 10n, and 20n. I also changed the emitter resistor of Q1 to 470R. I had a lower value in it before. 10n works well for me, but having the other options is nice.

Overall, I think it is an improvement and I'm going to stick with it. I think Joe is right with his observation of sticking in a lot of trimmers being the cause for less consistent builds. On the other hand, it's hard to predict exactly what features will work best for different ears....hence the feature creep that often comes into play in some of my projects :)

Anyway, mine currently has the output buffer hard-wired in, but I might add the switch in for it.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: joegagan on January 13, 2013, 07:33:35 PM
Cool, brian, i thnik this good. Will the caps have 1 meg resistors to prevent popping while turning?
I have seen name brand wahs that do the switching without resistors, the popping is quite loud.
Title: Re: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 13, 2013, 08:37:18 PM
Quote from: madbean on January 13, 2013, 07:01:58 PMI've re-wired mine today to remove the Frequency pot. In its place I put a 2-pole 3 pos. rotary with the following values: 5n, 10n, and 20n. I also changed the emitter resistor of Q1 to 470R. I had a lower value in it before. 10n works well for me, but having the other options is nice.

Overall, I think it is an improvement and I'm going to stick with it. I think Joe is right with his observation of sticking in a lot of trimmers being the cause for less consistent builds. On the other hand, it's hard to predict exactly what features will work best for different ears....hence the feature creep that often comes into play in some of my projects :)

Anyway, mine currently has the output buffer hard-wired in, but I might add the switch in for it.
I am a victim of feature creep, myself.



"inductor mh and sweep cap are both doing pretty much the same job. once you get the gain dialed in, you can assess changes to the  overall freq curve using either mh or sweep cap changes.
you can move the mh up or down as much as 200mh with polepiece magnets in various configs applied to the sides or top or both. radical mh changes can occur when forcing two polepiece magnets into north/north config ( which they will not do unless taped or glued together)"

^^ this is something I've never heard before. Just strap on a couple magnets from an old pickup?

As for the freq pot, do I need to jump the pads on the board when removing it?
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: madbean on January 13, 2013, 11:38:58 PM
Quote from: joegagan on January 13, 2013, 07:33:35 PM
Cool, brian, i thnik this good. Will the caps have 1 meg resistors to prevent popping while turning?
I have seen name brand wahs that do the switching without resistors, the popping is quite loud.


I noticed the pop. Yeah, some resistors would be good here. I'll add those in tomorrow and report back. I'm really in overdrive mode here...trying to get all my gear together for a recording session next weekend!

It's easy enough to modify the existing layout for the three caps, but I'll consider re-tooling the layout in the future so this will involve less off-board wiring. Or, maybe a breakout board like the Fulltone one.

Here are some sweet small rotary switches I've started using, BTW:

http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=SR1712F-0204-20F0A-N9-9virtualkey14860000virtualkey105-SR1712F-24NS
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: joegagan on January 14, 2013, 02:05:29 AM
Quote from: madbean on January 13, 2013, 11:38:58 PM
Quote from: joegagan on January 13, 2013, 07:33:35 PM
Cool, brian, i thnik this good. Will the caps have 1 meg resistors to prevent popping while turning?
I have seen name brand wahs that do the switching without resistors, the popping is quite loud.


I noticed the pop. Yeah, some resistors would be good here. I'll add those in tomorrow and report back. I'm really in overdrive mode here...trying to get all my gear together for a recording session next weekend!

It's easy enough to modify the existing layout for the three caps, but I'll consider re-tooling the layout in the future so this will involve less off-board wiring. Or, maybe a breakout board like the Fulltone one.

Here are some sweet small rotary switches I've started using, BTW:

http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=SR1712F-0204-20F0A-N9-9virtualkey14860000virtualkey105-SR1712F-24NS

sounds cool brian.

those switches look good.

if people are interested in a more old style switch, i can send the following for 6$ each ( current similar grayhill part is over $12 ) it has 10 positions but you can find ways to put stops on the knob, or use all 10 positions!
6$ shipped in US.  if you buy more than 6, price goes down to 4.00 each, mailed in the US. note: 1/8"
shaft. 1/2" diameter, 5/8" deep including solder tabs. nut / washer included.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/joegagan/parts/DSCF3328_zps910f7f6d.jpg)
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 14, 2013, 04:31:59 AM
this thread sure evolved.

people love talking about my weener

I wish I could fix mine
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 14, 2013, 04:41:14 AM
still no love for your weener, huh?  i am gonna try going back to stock values, without freq pot, and start all over from there. I am pretty new to building stuff, so i may have to go over the values on the components again, just to rule that out. Since i've started building this thing, i've managed to build a silicon fuzzface, and a Ge Rangemaster from scratch on perf and vero, respctively, so i have a little more confidence / knowledge.

Plus, the wisdom of  these guys in this thread helping.  ;)

dont give up, man. we can do this.  I've already got two circuits in the "fail box" ( both of them octave devices....hmmm), but I will not put another board in there without a fight. especially a wah.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 14, 2013, 05:10:35 AM
Quote from: ch1naski on January 14, 2013, 04:41:14 AM
still no love for your weener, huh?  i am gonna try going back to stock values, without freq pot, and start all over from there. I am pretty new to building stuff, so i may have to go over the values on the components again, just to rule that out. Since i've started building this thing, i've managed to build a silicon fuzzface, and a Ge Rangemaster from scratch on perf and vero, respctively, so i have a little more confidence / knowledge.

Plus, the wisdom of  these guys in this thread helping.  ;)

dont give up, man. we can do this.  I've already got two circuits in the "fail box" ( both of them octave devices....hmmm), but I will not put another board in there without a fight. especially a wah.


Yea, it works but i want to love it and i dont yet.

I'm gonna build mine straight to jakefuzz specs. I love that sound. Trimpots are overkill for me
Title: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 14, 2013, 05:14:35 AM
I was pretty close to those specs, but nothing like that sound. Hmmm

Please keep us posted on results. If I can get a good sound going, I can tweak it from there.

Why i started doing drugs and dropped out of college and electronics 101, I'll never figure out.  Sheez.....

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on January 14, 2013, 06:08:34 AM
Quote from: octa805 on January 14, 2013, 05:10:35 AM
Yea, it works but i want to love it and i dont yet.

I'm gonna build mine straight to jakefuzz specs. I love that sound. Trimpots are overkill for me

Just let me know if you need some values or voltages. I have made a few minor changes I think since then but it should mostly be the same. I will be away on business for the next week but let me know and when I get back ill get you some data.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: jkokura on January 14, 2013, 07:14:26 AM
Quote from: octa805 on January 14, 2013, 04:31:59 AM
this thread sure evolved.

people love talking about my weener

I wish I could fix mine

They say %40 of men...

Jacob
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 14, 2013, 04:39:02 PM
Quote from: JakeFuzz on January 14, 2013, 06:08:34 AM
Quote from: octa805 on January 14, 2013, 05:10:35 AM
Yea, it works but i want to love it and i dont yet.

I'm gonna build mine straight to jakefuzz specs. I love that sound. Trimpots are overkill for me

Just let me know if you need some values or voltages. I have made a few minor changes I think since then but it should mostly be the same. I will be away on business for the next week but let me know and when I get back ill get you some data.

sweet, thanks! I'm drowning at work as well so it will be a while on my end too.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 16, 2013, 04:25:29 AM
So i've made some progress.

I was using a yellow Fasel and an inductor fro a JH-1 (whipple is in my Vox).
At first they were switchable. then for troubleshooting-sake, i removed the daughterboard and just installed the JH-1 inductor (the Fasel would'nt fir on the board with the bottom plate on).

no real wah, just more like a mild tone control and a lot of volume swell.

so after double checking trannie voltages and component values, solder koints, and wiring, i ripped out the inductor. it's a four-pin, but upon examination the  connection pins are caddy-corner from each other, not two-in-front with the two no-connection pins in back. Had to use a magnifying glass to actually see the wires.

turns out the fasel was bad, also. which is why it didnt work when i switched between them.
what are the odds?  :-[

so now i've got a whole lot of wah. i've got it mixed up in there with a jakefuzz suggestion on R5 (1k5), 150R on R4 (really dirty) and the freq pot disconnected.
Still seems to get a wear clicking sound with the buffer engaged, when i get near the heel-down position....gotta work on that.

just waiting to get back to the local electronics store to grab some various value caps (they have a lot of mojo-ish components in there, it's an old mom and pop style store) and i'll be rocking it out, right next to my rosac, vox, thomas, and 535q.

thanks for the help, everyone. I didnt mean to hijack the thread so much....


octa, now it's your time. let's get yours going, buddy.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: joegagan on January 16, 2013, 05:45:04 AM
hell yeah. that is good news 8)
Title: Re: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 16, 2013, 06:41:54 AM
Quote from: joegagan on January 16, 2013, 05:45:04 AM
hell yeah. that is good news 8)
Thanks, Joe. I've got most of the component suggestions from this thread printed out, and (way too many) sockets on the PCB so I can do a little experimenting with it all. It is a VERY deep sweep right now, and really loud compared to my vox (my usual favorite, it's been tweaked). Looking forward to it now that that frustration is over with.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: joegagan on January 16, 2013, 06:56:33 AM
it's easy to make a wah quieter or kill off a little treble. it is not so easy to make it louder without getting dirty or get more treble if the sweep is set to low.

one other myth from the internet. that idea that changing the .2 to a .3 on the pot cap will simulate icar taper, real world and spice modeling have both shown this to not be the case very often. in fact, the value of these caps hardly matters at all in most wah configs. in rare cases, raising the one off the C of Q1 up to .7  to .9u can even out the freq plot if there are dead spots.
Title: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 17, 2013, 06:00:06 AM
So.... I put the freq pot back in (100k linear), just to hear the difference of having it in versus out of the circuit. It's really only effective for the last quarter turn, where the bass frequencies get extreme. Almost ineffective after that.
When the bass gets extreme, the volume drop is more noticeable.
Need to find a way to keep the sweep level more consistent throughout the range.

Also added a 1k Lin pot with a 1.5k resistor in parallel to get 590 ohms max on it and wired it at R4 for a gain control. Now with the gain up high, the buffer will make a clicking sound. Turn the gain down a bit, and it goes away.



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Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 18, 2013, 06:45:20 PM
can't wait to grab my weener again and tweak it this weekend!

think I'll start by pulling the trimpots and going from there. what should I put in R2 & R5?
Title: Re: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 18, 2013, 09:16:47 PM
Quote from: octa805 on January 18, 2013, 06:45:20 PM
can't wait to grab my weener again and tweak it this weekend!

think I'll start by pulling the trimpots and going from there. what should I put in R2 & R5?
my advice would be useless, since I am not happy with mine yet.

It might be useful to know which component limits the amount of bass frequency in the sweep, and which one limits the high frequencies.  That would let me then concentrate on the peak of the sweep, and gain overall.
That's my thinking, I don't know if it's that simple.

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Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 18, 2013, 11:21:44 PM
I just need more quack. I'm a quack addict
Title: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 19, 2013, 01:03:16 AM
I've been looking at rg keen's technology of the wah articlehttp://www.geofex.com/article_folders/wahpedl/wahped.htm#basicmod (http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/wahpedl/wahped.htm#basicmod), and noticed that the Rfb resistor (r5 on our wah) is undefined as to what changing it affects.

But I've gained a little more understanding of what does what.

So far tho, no weener love.

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Title: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 19, 2013, 04:09:43 AM
Getting frustrated with this. Does anyone have a demo of this build, stock? I'd like to hear it, I've heard Jake's, but his is modded to his spec. I think it doesn't have much in the way of mid frequencies..it goes straight from booming bass to slightly more high freqs than bypassed. And that lack if mid body makes it seem like a volume drop.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 20, 2013, 06:09:36 PM
Jumping back in on this today hopefully.

Are these the jakefuzz tweaks here?

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=3685.0
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on January 20, 2013, 06:14:57 PM
Hey Octa, I just got back from Chicago yesterday (Chicago is now one of my favorite cities!). Let me crack open my weener this afternoon and take some voltage readings for you. I can also grab all of the component changes I made since then.
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 20, 2013, 07:51:14 PM
Quote from: JakeFuzz on January 20, 2013, 06:14:57 PM
Hey Octa, I just got back from Chicago yesterday (Chicago is now one of my favorite cities!). Let me crack open my weener this afternoon and take some voltage readings for you. I can also grab all of the component changes I made since then.

that's awesome! Chicago is great for food & music. appreciate the help
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on January 20, 2013, 10:51:19 PM
Okay the specs as they are right now:

C1 = 15nF (at the time that demo was recorded I believe it was 100n though and it might go back to that value soon)

C6 = Short

C5 = Open

Capacitor selector across FREQ lugs 2 and 3

R4 = 220R

R5 = 1.5K

R2 = 47K (at the time of demo this was 68K I believe)

C2 = 4.7uF (the really small gold Nichicon audio electro)

C4 = 330nF

R12 = Lifted open (at the time of demo this was connected)

Q3 = Pulled (at the time of demo this was a 2n5457)

Q1 = 2n2925 (Timbo's) hfe = 180

Q2 = 2n2925 (Timbo's) hfe = 131

Sweep pot is just the standard Vox 100K pot from the V847

Inductor is a Whipple

Idle voltages:

Q1:
E - 0.03
B - 0.59
C - 4.12

Q2:
E - 2.57
B - 3.03
C - 8.78

I am sure those are all the changes. I tend to move values around quite a bit. The feedback capacitor almost always stays on 15nF. I may end up trying to go with a higher gain device in Q2 and see if that does anything, I cant remember why I chose such a low gain for that position. I am probably going to bump up the input capacitor to 47nF or higher just because. My peak trimmer is always set to about the center.



Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 21, 2013, 12:07:01 AM
Wow. Thanks!

Do you just have nothing in C6?
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on January 21, 2013, 01:08:07 AM
C6 is shorted so it is just a jumper. C5 is open so it has nothing in it. I don't really remember why I did it that way. I think it was because the frequency pot was closer to where I was going to put the cap selector anyways so I decided to reduce my wiring a bit. It is pretty much the equivalent of having a capacitor selector in place of C5 if you don't want to do it this way.

And now that I think about it if you really want, I have a spectrum analyzer in my lab at work. I can actually get a frequency response plot of the wah in different positions to see what the frequency content of this weener is. I think would just be overkill though.
Title: Re: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 21, 2013, 01:12:20 AM
Quote from: JakeFuzz on January 21, 2013, 01:08:07 AM
C6 is shorted so it is just a jumper. C5 is open so it has nothing in it. I don't really remember why I did it that way. I think it was because the frequency pot was closer to where I was going to put the cap selector anyways so I decided to reduce my wiring a bit. It is pretty much the equivalent of having a capacitor selector in place of C5 if you don't want to do it this way.

And now that I think about it if you really want, I have a spectrum analyzer in my lab at work. I can actually get a frequency response plot of the wah in different positions to see what the frequency content of this weener is. I think would just be overkill though.

Maybe overkill, but I would love to see it:)

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Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on January 21, 2013, 02:17:50 AM
Ive been meaning to do it anyways for other projects but I just haven't had the time. I just need to wire up two BNC to 1/4" audio cables and it is pretty much plug and play from there. It is a really old SRS so I probably wont be able to get output data (Ive tried and it has a really weird file format I cant use for anything) but I can just take a video of the screen as I sweep positions. It will probably be next weekend. Ill take a look at maybe the harmonic content of a fuzz face or something while I have the thing setup. 
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 21, 2013, 02:24:42 AM
stupid question-what does R5 do exactly?
Title: Re: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 21, 2013, 02:40:12 AM
Quote from: octa805 on January 21, 2013, 02:24:42 AM
stupid question-what does R5 do exactly?
That's not a stupid question.
Even in rg keen's article,"technology of the wah", under "what affects what" he still has it listed as "still working on this one".


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Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: joegagan on January 21, 2013, 04:05:45 AM
R5 is one of the values that is most interdepndant on the rest of the circ being in spec. Generally, lower values sharpen the peaks, going larger fattens / widens them.

In my experience, sharp peaks make interesting wah ( like the early boomerangs or coveted 60s voxes), fat/wide peaks make for more of a sonic schmear, sweeps the frequency but with less distinct character.

In some of my modeling, when other parameters change, i have seen values as low as 700 ohm do a nice job.
Title: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 21, 2013, 04:47:27 AM
I've heard your boomerang, it sounds nice. Sort of how I'd like my weener to sound. I'm far from there.

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Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on January 22, 2013, 03:47:56 AM
Tweaked my peak pot hard hard left and it got quite a bit better

A lot more wah effect now but I still can't get the volume up to unity w/o a touch of distortion

R5 does do something weird to it. Takes it into less wah territory but I can't make it do more yet

Closer!
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on January 27, 2013, 06:04:33 AM
Did these today using the SR785 in my lab. I had a whole nice introduction to how this thing works and what I was going to be doing but I lost half of my videos during transferring which is super annoying. I have a bunch of other clips looking at the harmonic content of different fuzz and overdrive effects. If anyone is interested they are at my youtube channel. I would post them here but I don't know of a good section to do it in. I do apologize that the number of points in the low frequency range is quite limited so my frequency resolution isn't that great down there. And also I am mistaken when I say the weener is 1dB lower than the wizard in the heel down position. It is actually the other way around!   :D


Title: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on January 27, 2013, 06:15:14 AM
Thanks Jake. Subscribed to your YouTube channel now. :)

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Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on February 10, 2013, 02:28:17 AM
zombie thread!

Finally got around to playing with this again.

Did some minor resistor changes. Nothing life changing.

Hooked the external pot back up again. Still strongest wah effect on bass side.

Did a bunch of side by testing with my other wahs. Realized it was actually good, just not loud enough somehow. Everytime I tried dial up the funky trimpot I have in R5 to get more out of Q1 it would just get distorted.

Finally pulled Q1 and swapped it out with a no-name random transistor from my radio shack grab bag...

HEYO! Thing sounded like a monster. I'm not sure if my first tranny was not socketing right or what but dude, it's great now. Loud, throbbing, red wah (I resisted the temptation to write weener there).

Need to dial it in a bit more of course but it even sounds great w/ the external pot now too.

full bass side is weird and so thick. paired with a rat or fuzz it's just thickness

treble side is powerful now as well. probably need to move my sweep pot around now to compensate but man, just a real satisfying turnaround out of nowhere. Hope it gets even better
Title: Re: Re: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: ch1naski on February 10, 2013, 05:05:34 AM
Quote from: octa805 on February 10, 2013, 02:28:17 AM
zombie thread!

Finally got around to playing with this again.

Did some minor resistor changes. Nothing life changing.

Hooked the external pot back up again. Still strongest wah effect on bass side.

Did a bunch of side by testing with my other wahs. Realized it was actually good, just not loud enough somehow. Everytime I tried dial up the funky trimpot I have in R5 to get more out of Q1 it would just get distorted.

Finally pulled Q1 and swapped it out with a no-name random transistor from my radio shack grab bag...

HEYO! Thing sounded like a monster. I'm not sure if my first tranny was not socketing right or what but dude, it's great now. Loud, throbbing, red wah (I resisted the temptation to write weener there).

Need to dial it in a bit more of course but it even sounds great w/ the external pot now too.

full bass side is weird and so thick. paired with a rat or fuzz it's just thickness

treble side is powerful now as well. probably need to move my sweep pot around now to compensate but man, just a real satisfying turnaround out of nowhere. Hope it gets even better
Right on!
I became so frustrated with mine that I started other projects to feed the addiction in the meantime. Q1, huh?
I've got tons of transistors around here now, I'm gonna see what gives.

I've been noticing issues with sockets on some other projects...I've taken to tinning the leads on the component if it has tiny leads....seems to help seat them better.

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Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on February 12, 2013, 05:08:51 AM
Now with a crappy clip!

Had some fun playing terribly with my wah & rat

http://youtu.be/2KOZ7dDIRQE
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: JakeFuzz on February 12, 2013, 05:22:00 AM
Damn that opening sound is intensely deep. It sounds more extreme than mine; excellent job. Ill have to try a higher gain transistor in Q1 and see if that makes it sound cooler. 
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: joegagan on February 12, 2013, 05:44:15 AM
i dig the deep sound of that clip octa!
Title: Re: My weener needs help
Post by: octa805 on February 12, 2013, 05:56:27 AM
Wow! Thanks guys! That I'd ever get a compliment from 2 guys that know SOOOO much more than me about wahs is amazing. I bow down to you both and thanks for all the help.

That opening clip is the freq pot turned all the way to the bass side. Faaaaat!