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I populated a pre Jan 2012 Wolfshirt board (using 2n3904 trannys) this morning and attempted to rock it before boxing it but found that the output while heavily distorted and octaved was very low.  So, I checked the underside for solder bridges but when I didn't find any, I broke out the trusty DMM and audio probe to see what I could find.  Here goes.

Tracing the signal with the audio probe, my guitar signal was clearly louder than unity (by a bunch) at Q1, moving to Q2 I found that it was also much louder than unity and at Q3 the signal was louder but also distorted.  Q4 is when things got really quiet.  I could hear the distorted/octavey signal but just barely.  

The signal was strong and distorted up to the diode side of R17 but on the junction of R17 and R18 the signal gets somewhat quieter and a little muffled.  Signal is also loud on the Collector side of C10 but I got nothing at the node of C10 and tone pot lug 3.  The level at lug two of the tone pot was quiet and fuzzy.  The level at the collector of Q4 was the same as the output volume at lug two of the volume pot.

I thought that C10 might be bad so I replaced it to no avail.  

Below are the voltages I collected.  Again, using a pre Jan 2012 fabbed board and 2N3904 trannys.

Q1 e=144mv b=.77v c=2.3v

Q2 e=1.7v b=2.3v c=7.22v

Q3 e=195mv b=.82v c=7.2v

Q4 e=6.45v b=7.2v c=6.47v  way too high right?

I'm out of ideas, I can't understand why the voltages on Q4 would be so high.  Below are a couple of pictures in case they help.  I checked the orientation of my electros and they look right.  What am I missing? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Just wondering if there is a way to get more volume from the Aristocrat.  I know I can add a larger gain pot to get more gain but I'm just hoping to make the thing louder.  Seems like I have to have it dimed to get just above unity.  I'm using a single sided V4 Aristocrat.  Thanks again for all the help.

Finally got back to an Aristocrat build (Version 4 build docs, single sided ver 3.5 etch from same V4 build document) I started some time ago and it seems to be mostly working now that I've gone over it again but one problem still persists.  I should preface the following info by letting interested parties know that I did all the testing/troubleshooting without boxing up the circuit as instructed.  That said, everything seems to be working except that when either of the volumes (Ch1 and Ch2) are dimed, the volume cuts out completely.  

If it helps, here are the IC voltages.  

IC2

Pin 1   4.37V
Pin 2   4.38V
Pin 3   3.84V
Pin 4   0.0V

Pin 5   4.25V
Pin 6   4.30V
Pin 7   4.23V
Pin 8   8.50V

IC1

Pin 1   4.30V
Pin 2   4.31V
Pin 3   3.85V
Pin 4   0.00V

Pin 5   4.20V
Pin 6   4.20V
Pin 7   4.18V
Pin 8   8.50V


If I can add any more info, I'm happy to do so....I'm just lost for ideas.  

I started debugging my loophole several weeks back but got sidetracked and just got back to it this evening.  It seems the power regulator is getting really hot no matter how it's oriented in the socket.  When I supply power, I read 9.18 V at whichever lead happens to be in the upper most socket (assuming you're looking at the board as it's laid out in the build documents) The other legs of the transistor will vary in voltage depending how they are oriented. 

I took the power regulator out and I began poking around looking for continuity and found there was continuity between the middle and lower transistor socket (forgive me, I can never keep straight EBC especially since I've flipped this tranny around so much).  Looking at the schematic, I got the impression that there shouldn't be continuity there. 

I removed C17 and C6 in the off chance that they were bad and perhaps were acting as dead shorts to ground but when I pulled them out, there was no continuity through them and there was still continuity between the two lowest pins of the socket. 

Is my thinking completely screwed, am I reading the schematic incorrectly?  It should also be noted that I get signal when it's bypassed and when it's plugged in to power (even with the hot ass regulator) pedal will pass signal and I can increase the volume with the volume knob.  There is no record or playback function which doesn't surprise me. 

I'm really at a loss for where to go here so any help would be appreciated.  I've included a picture in case there is a solder bridge or something I've missed. 

I built a loophole and the regulator is getting super hot.  Like, too hot to touch hot. It should be noted that I'm using a 78L05 rather than the 7805.  My last several pedals have been big failures so I'm hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction as pertains to troubleshooting.  

When I measured voltages at the DC jack, it was only running at 4.5v or so which is peculiar.  I would have expected to see 9v there and 4.5V at the regulator.  

Thanks in advance.

I recently populated a single sided V4 aristocrat board and I can't get it working correctly.  I've built a gillion pedals and I've exhausted all my troubleshooting talent trying to get it running. 

I got the thing wired up and in an enclosure and when I fired it up (weather battery or DC) I get strange results.  Firstly, I can hear the distorted signal but it's at a vastly lower volume than unity even with the volumes turned up.  Secondly, the volume only fluctuates over a very small portion of the pot's travel.  Thirdly, if I turn the volume up all the way, the sound completely shuts off. 

I populated a second board and measured the value of every component before soldering it in so I could compare it to the first build and everything seems identical (I haven't wired the second board up yet).  I'm using the 4580 chips but the same thing happened with 4550s. 

I replaced the pots, tried rewiring the power/ground scheme and searched the forum but man, this has got me stumped. 

I will post voltages next time I have the board in front of me but has anyone heard of such a thing?  Any ideas where to go from here?

Thanks in advance.