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Hey all,

I've had the board a while but I'm finally ready to populate it. I just wondered which parts I should socket beforehand? I've seen numerous threads on people experimenting with component values but, are there more common/necessary part values that are experimented with? Obviously the clipping diodes--but what else?

Thanks!
J

Hello Everyone,

I've been experiencing a large number of footswitch fails. Out of the 20 builds I've done, 5 of the 3PDT footswitches have gone bad on me. So that's a pretty high rate of failure.

I would say most of them were purchased from BYOC during their surplus sale but, 2 of those are the more expensive Small Bear switches.

My question is: Is this normal? That's about a 25% failure rate. Considering it's one of the most expensive parts in most builds and a major PITA to replace them, what can I do to avoid this for the future?

I'm out so, I would like to place an order for more reasonably reliable switches!

J

Hello,

I'm in the middle of building my Double Flush and noticed I only have polarized electrolytic 1uF caps for C2 and C3.

Which way should I put them in?

J

Most of you probably got the email too but:

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/storeindex.html

Decent price on enclosures, jacks, and 3PDT switches. They are much closer to me than the others, so they have always shipped really fast.

J

UPDATE & RESOLUTION: This is for anyone doing a future search. Turns out the issue with the build was the value of R5. Replaced the 470R with the
"stock" 47R and all sounds perfect now! Gain is great, tone knob is now responsive. IMHO and that of several others, R5 being 47R is ESSENTIAL to the Boneyard sounding like it should.

I may have had an unrelated bad LF347N also, as I was having voltage issues but, while that was resolved by changing to a new chip, the tone was corrected with R5.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hello,

Just finished my Boneyard, testing it outside the enclosure. A few issues. I'm testing this through the Normal Channel of my DRRI. So far it doesn't sound anything like the demos I've heard.

1. The Volume knob seems out of whack--unity is just barely above off--anything above that is ridiculously high dB of boost. At full, it's about 2x that of my Slambox on full.

2. The "distortion" sounds are basically that of a Fuzz Face. Crunch is just like a FF or maybe an OCD with the gain all the way up, High Gain is like a Fuzz Face with a Slambox in front of it.

3. The Boost switch just makes it out of control fuzz with even more boost that the volume knob gives it maybe about 3x a Slambox.

4. Tone Knob--anything less that full on is a treble cut.

5. The LEDs barely light up even on High Gain mode. Only if I really pound on the strings will they light up. This may be normal?

6. Turning down either of the Gain knobs does nothing until they are almost off. They don't clean up until almost the end of the rotation.

7. The Boost and High Gain LEDs stay lit even when the pedal (on/off switch) is off.

I'm thinking something is wrong. Any ideas where I should start? I've triple checked everything endlessy.

Here are the voltages I measured today:

Jack: 9.47v (One Spot Power Supply--nothing else on it)

MAXX1044 IC

1. 9.47V
2. 4.70V
3. 0
4. -4.62V
5. -9.20V
6. 4.75V
7. 7.13V
8. 9.47V


LF347N IC

1. 0
2. 0
3. 0
4. 9.47V
5. 0
6. 0
7. 0
8. -3.3mV
9. -3.3mV
10. 0
11. -9.20V
12. 0
13. 2.4mV
14. 2.4mV

J

Hello all,

On any of the projects here or in general, how do you tell what voltage the project can handle? (i.e. 9V, 12V, 18V)

Is this just determined by the specs of the ICs and/or Transistors used in the project? This is assuming most of the other parts (resistors, caps, etc.) can handle the voltage too. Or do you have to know what the voltage is doing at various points in the circuit where it meets those components? This is also assuming the project doesn't already have a charge pump in the circuit (Fatpants, etc.)

I'm sure it gets annoying with people always asking "Will XX handle 18V?" all the time. So I wanted to know how you calculate it for yourself.

Thanks!
J

Hello all,

I'm thinking of attempting a 4PDT "Double Looper" and was wondering if anyone could tell me whether it will work or not.

What I hope to accomplish is this:

- With one click, enable/disable simultaneously two boosts via two independent loops, one in front of the amp, and one that's in the amp's FX loop.

Reason being that I want to slightly boost gain in front of the amp, and slightly increase volume (for leads) via the FX loop, since my amp is already driven. Right now I'm doing two clicks and it's messing me up during gigs a bit.

The plan is to use this layout times two in one pedal, but then use two halves of a 4PDT switch (instead of two DPDTs) to create to independent loopers that click in from the same switch:


I don't need the LEDs really. I will be able to tell whether its on easily.

Is this plan doable? I think the only concern I have is with ground loop hum. Otherwise it *seems* like this would work.   

Thanks for any opinions!
J

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Yes,

I know these are simple boards but this was my first 1590a (1090NS from Small Bear actually) enclosure build and second decal job so I was pleased with the results. My drilling was a little off so it was a tight fit between the switch and one of the jacks but it all worked out with some minor jack bending. 

Silver hammertone paint, Rat Shack knob, and laser waterslide decals.

J



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Hey Guys,

Thought I would share my Pork Barrel build. I don't have a gut shot as I built this for someone else and had to hurry and snap a photo on my way out the door with it. It was my first attempt at finishing and decals so I was happy with the turnout.

Sounds amazing (other than the last bit of clock noise I wasn't able to eliminate)! 

J

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Hello,

After shielding the in and out wiring, redoing/separating the lead dress on the pots and performing the cap mod on the IC, I still have clock noise. I would say the previous items reduced it by about 50% but the noise is still there. It gets clearer when turning down the MIX knob. Same amount using battery or PS.

So, it happens on some amps but not others. It is very loud on my Deluxe Reverb, gone on a SS amp, and just somewhat noticeable on my Marshall JVM410. It changes drastically depending on the amp for some reason--it doesn't follow the logic of gain or volume so far.

This is for a friend of mine, so I'm crossing my fingers that his amp will not "hear" the clock noise like my Fender amp does. However, he plays an old 5150 head at very high gain, so I'm worried that the noise will be loud. It took me forever to finish this build for him and he's already pissed!

My question is: Is it normal to have some clock noise or should it have been eliminated completely?

Thanks,
J

Hello,

So, I've read the previous posts and the new version's PDF regarding the clock noise for this build. I just had a couple of questions before I rip this this apart.

First off, I do have most of the leads pretty long, since I was having a difficult time arranging things into the case. Moving the leads around, trying to separate them, doesn't have any effect whatsoever on the noise. It gets much worse/more distinct as you turn down the Mix knob and slightly improves when you hit the Bass/Wet Switch. The only real way to make it go away entirely is to turn down the amp pretty low and the Mix knob all the way up. (Testing with a DRRI)

I tried installing a 100pF cap between lead 1 and 5 on IC4 (which I'm slightly confused about as Brian also mentions doing the same thing to IC3 in a previous forum post). That actually made it ever so slightly worse. I was happy that nothing got fried however. 

I got all the parts from Small Bear.

SO with that said, I plan to start with using shielded wire on the in and out jacks. Perhaps I should make all the other leads shorter as well. Do you think that will fix this or is there anything else I should do while I have it torn apart? I don't know how much I can separate the leads, since it's all packed in there so tightly?

Thanks for any help. It sounds awesome with the amp turned down--hands down the best chorus I've ever heard, so I know it will be worth it!!!
J

Hello,

I specifically ordered a Reverse Audio Taper from Small Bear but the one they sent me is marked B5K. Would this still work for this build or do I need to reorder? My invoice shows the correct pot so, I know I placed the order correctly. I'm guessing they sent me the wrong one?

Anyway, I sat down to build this today and now I'm stuck. What happens if I use this pot? Does the volume/boost just go wonky across the taper?

Thanks!
J

Hello,

I can't find a 12n or .012uF cap for C17 on the Pork Barrel. Can I use a .01uF or a .015uF instead?

Thanks,
J

Hello,

I'm about to order a board for a Pork Barrel to build for a friend of mine and was wondering if there are any mods to give it stereo outs? I've looked around the interwebs and haven't found any info.

Thanks!
J