Build Your Own Clone Message Board

I just built a Large Beaver Triangle.
Every looked good. Bypass mode works as it should.
When I engage the effect, the light comes on, and there is a somewhat distorted sound.
The overall level of distortion and effect output is rather weak.
It does not add any more distortion/sustain than a Tube Screamer does.
Yes, power supply and battery checked confirmed full power.

By chance, I discovered that if I have an MXR Super Badass distortion pedal or a Tube Screamer in front of the Triangle, and engage both effects, I end up with the Big Muff sound I would have expected from just the Large Beaver Triangle pedal itself.

Any ideas why I'm not getting the extreme distortion & sustain as a EH Big Muff ?

I would appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks,
Don

I would suspect that you might have a misplaced resistor somewhere. Please post photos of your build. To start, just a good shot or two of the component side of the PCB will do, but it needs to be LARGE, well-lit and well-focused, so that we can make out the color code bands on all of the resistors.

_________________
“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2

Thank you for the speedy reply.
I'll be able to get photos done and posted this weekend.
Don

Attached are a couple of photos of the component side of the board, as requested.

Please take voltage readings of Q1 (the transistor closest to the sheep logo). It's difficult to get directly at the legs of the TO-18 package transistor. The easiest access to the C (collector) test point is the south end eyelet of the 15k right by the sheep's butt. The B (base) test point is the north end eyelet of the 100k right next to the 15k. And the E (emitter) test point is the north end eyelet of the 150R resistor right next to the 100k. When I say north I mean in the direction of the jacks and south in the direction of the foot switch.

_________________
*patience is a virtue*

Please do not PM me. email is prefered. keith@buildyourownclone.com

Resistors all appear to be correct. By all means, check the Q1 collector voltage, per Keith's request.

I see quite a few sparse looking solder joints, especially for the pot and switch lugs. Some of the component eyelets don't show solder peeking through from the back side of the PCB, so you may have less than optimal solder flow issues. I'd recommend pulling out the PCB and getting a couple of photos of the solder side if the Q1 voltage check looks normal. And working through this process often yields good results: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=52188

_________________
“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2

Thank you to both duhvoodooman and byoc for your replies and suggestions.
This was my first soldering job in over 30 years, so I'm sure I was a bit rusty.
I will follow the procedure of retouching the solder points as suggested by duhvoodooman (good write-up) as that seems to make sense as the next logical step.
Once that is done, I'll test it out again and if still having issues, I'll borrow a digital VOM and get the voltages on Q1 per Keith's request.
I will post updates after I have done all of that.
Thank you again for your speedy responses and suggestions.
Don

Success!!
Thank you again. You guys are awesome.
I went through the board and touched every solder joint (except for those very small diodes - they scare me because of how close they are together, and they looked good).
I also cleaned up some sloppiness on the wires to the switch, as suggested, and I do believe that was my main problem.
The unit sounds awesome, and is more radical than an EH Big Muff Triangle because of the tone settings from the 3-position switch.
Exactly what I wanted.

I'll sing the praises of BYOC to all my guitar buddies, and will most certainly become a return customer.
Thank you again for your suggestions and speedy replies to my post!

Best regards,
Don

Excellent news, Don! Enjoy your new pedal. I hope it sustains your good impression of BYOC!

_________________
“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2