Build Your Own Clone Message Board

i just finished up my Mighty Mouse (my 4th build now) and was wondering if the filter knob is supposed to do as little as mine does? it doesn't seem to do a thing 'til it hits around 7 or so (out of 10) then it works great from 7-10 with a vast tone change getting brighter as it goes up. however from 0-7 it does nothing that's noticable...at least to me. is this normal? if not, what could the problem be? if it is normal is there any way to make the filter more useful from 0-10 and not just the last bit? perhaps a pot value change or something?

i should also note that my kit came with 2 silver 100k pots and 1 gold 100k pot and i used the gold one for the filter...could that be the problem? they all had the same value of 100k on them and are listed as "3 A100K Audio" pots in the instructions however the gold one does have a different part number. could it be a mix up in my kit and different type of pot by accident? linear taper and not audio taper perhaps?

thanks for any input!

-Mike

I'm in the same boat as you (two silver pots and one gold) and the tone knob is useless below 3 o'clock or so. Supposedly that's how it's supposed to be.
http://board.buildyourownclone.com/viewtopic.php?t=1945

I'm considering doing the Ruetz Mod posted here:
http://board.buildyourownclone.com/viewtopic.php?t=1856
to give me more of a tonal variety.

Cheers.

First off, there is no difference between the pots based on their color. If they say A100K that means they are 100K ohm Audio/Log taper pots. They are exactly the same, the different color just means they came from a different lot or supplier.

Second, the stock audio taper tone pot in the Rat is not a great design. Don't know why they did it, but as you see, the useful range is, well, not that useful.

Change the A100K filter pot to a B100K pot (Linear taper) and the filter control will become MUCH more useful. That's what I do in all my Rat clones.

Hope that helps!
-dano

_________________
http://www.beavisaudio.com

I remember having a Vintage Rat RI and it seems that the filter pot had more useable range on it. All the schematics I've found on line show a log pot for the filter, but you can't believe everything you read on the 'net. I'm wondering if they meant that it was a reverse log, or, maybe that's the reason for the the filter pot on a real Rat working backwards?

I think I'll try reversing 1 and 3 on the pot to see if that makes a difference.

The Filter knob on the Vintage Rat changes the tone a great deal. Dimed, fully clockwise, gives a very treble-less tone. Cranking ccwise, it wakes up around 3oclock, and sounds closest to the bypassed signal around 1oclock. Further twisting ccwise unleashes the treble, which can get piercing, and I'd say doesn't do much after 9oclock. The useable range for me was 11-2 ocklock. 11 for bright, crunchy ZZTop-ish sounds, towards 2 for more acceptable, maybe a little dark-sounding tones.

I'm curious to see how the MM compares!

Reverse F1 and F3 on the Filter pot, it will reverse the taper and give you more control, it will also work backwards like on a "real" Rat. A linear pot might give even finer control, but this is quick and easy.

Roger