Afterlife Questions

[McPilot]

Hello everyone,

I just completed a MBP Afterlife build.  The issue I'm having is that the volume control has very little, if any effect on the overall volume (it behaves more like an on/off, not like a normal volume control).  At a setting of zero, there is no sound through the circuit.  At about .5 (on a scale of 0-10), the circuit is producing sound, and that volume level doesn't really change all the way to 10.  It is also quite a bit louder than when in bypass (if pedal-off volume is five, then pedal-on volume is probably like an eight).  There is also a fairly loud hum, and it's loudness seems to be directly related to how far up the sustain control is turned.

This is my 4th build, and this pedal makes FAR more background hum than any of my others.

Any thoughts for this struggling beginner?

Thanks!

[mjg]

The first thing I'd check is the volume pot connections - check that there isn't an accidental solder bridge between pins 2 & 3.  Check on the mini board where the pot is, and also on the main board where you have soldered the wires on. 

Might also be worth checking that you've not accidentally reversed the wires for the volume pot between the mini board and the main board. 

If that doesn't turn up anything useful, post some pics of the front and back of the board, someone might be able to spot an issue. 

[McPilot]

Cool, thanks. I don't see a solder bridge on the mini board, and I have the vol pot soldered directly to it. When I test for continuity, pins 2 & 3 on the VOL pot have continuity (same with 1 & 2 on the SUS pot).
From what I can gather from the schematic, that's normal for the SUS pot, but is it supposed to be that way for VOL?
I can try and get a pic uploaded tomorrow.

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[mjg]

If you have continuity between pin 2 & 3 of the volume pot, no matter how you twiddle the volume knob, then that is indeed your problem. 

Next step will be to double check those pins on the pot mini board, and also on the mini board and main board where you have wired them together.  Try reflowing those solder joints to see if that helps.  Sometimes a solder joint will be tiny enough to conduct but it won't be obvious to the naked eye.

[McPilot]

Thanks much! I'll play around with it and see what I find.

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[McPilot]

If you have continuity between pin 2 & 3 of the volume pot, no matter how you twiddle the volume knob, then that is indeed your problem. 

Next step will be to double check those pins on the pot mini board, and also on the mini board and main board where you have wired them together.  Try reflowing those solder joints to see if that helps.  Sometimes a solder joint will be tiny enough to conduct but it won't be obvious to the naked eye.

You are brilliant sir! There was a single strand of wire that I couldn't even see without a magnifying glass that was connecting #2&3. Of course, by the time I found it, I had already desoldered the VOL pot, and damaged the #2 pad on the mini board. But I got it working after some minor surgery. Now it sounds great.
Thanks so much for the help!

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[gordo]

Damn, and I thought by the Subject line this was going to be about the deepest thread I'd seen.

[mjg]

Excellent, glad I could help, McPilot.

Hah, Gordy, yes apparently the answer to a happy Afterlife is contained somewhere in this thread.   

[gordo]

It's a heavenly effect. Seriously though your next move is the 4:1. This is the Afterlife you didn't realize you wanted. The Blend control blows this concept to bits with a clean mix to limit the loss of low or high punch.

[McPilot]

It's a heavenly effect. Seriously though your next move is the 4:1. This is the Afterlife you didn't realize you wanted. The Blend control blows this concept to bits with a clean mix to limit the loss of low or high punch.

Cool, thanks!  I'm really liking the Afterlife (now saying that sounds weird). I'll keep the 4:1 in mind. Sorry this thread didn't dig deeper into the netherworld..

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