Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Hi Team BYOC-

I just completed a Classic Fuzz- Sounds great, except for a pronounced volume drop unless everything is dimed. Is this normal for this pedal?

Thanks!

That doesn't sound right. We need to see photos to effectively help you troubleshoot--they need to be LARGE, well-lit, well-focused shots of BOTH sides of the PCB and all of the jack and switch wiring. You can post them to a publicly accessible hosting site and display or link them here, or post them directly here using the forum's file attachment function (found below the main posting text box). If you use the latter, know that there is a 1 Mb size limit for image files, so it may be necessary to reduce their dimensions or their color depth to get them below that size limit. Any of a number of image editing applications will allow you to do this. I often recommend IrfanView for this purpose, since it is free and very easy to use.

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

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

Will do!

OK- Upon further review, I was overstating the case. With the Fuzz all the way down, the Bias all the way up, Level needs to be at 3:00 to achieve unity gain with the bypassed signal. Still seem odd? If so, I'll continue and take it apart for photos.

I saw found another post with a similar issue, so I'll measure the voltages at Q2. On he initial build, I did have Q1 backwards (doh!) so maybe I cooked it when de- soldering.

Answers to the basics:


2. Pic of the top side of your PCB.
3. Pic of the underside of your PCB.
4. Pic that clearly shows your footswitch/jack wiring and the wires going to the PCB
5. A pic that clearly shows your wiring going from the PCB to the pots and any other switches
Will provide these if needed.

6. Is bypass working?
Yup
7. Does the LED come on?
Yup
8. If you answer yes to 6 and 7, what does the pedal do when it is "on"?
See above-
9. Are you using a battery or adapter? (if it's a battery, is it good? If adapter, what type?)
Voodoo LAbs ISO 5

Can we see photos of the PCB, component & solder side?

Q2 voltages would be useful, too. Your Q1 transistor is probably fine--they're pretty tough to damage.

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

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

The volume output actually won't be much more than unity gain, depending on where you have the bias knob. I don't recall which direction you would turn the bias knob, but setting it so that the sound/texture of the fuzz is smoother decreases the volume output.

_________________
*patience is a virtue*

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

There can be some pedal-to-pedal variation due to transistor differences, but as an example, my own Classic Fuzz with the Bias set about 2 o'clock and the Fuzz at 12 noon achieves unity volume at about 11 o'clock on the Level control.

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

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

I Measures the Q2 Collector and the voltages seem ok based what I read in the other thread-

Bias fully CCW= .714v
Bias at 1/2= 2.823
Bias fully CW= 6.408

Pics in separate posts.

Thanks!

Pic 1

Pic 2

And..... I can't post another photo. The forum keeps kicking me back to a login window whenever I try to upload it. It's under 1m...

3

Can't see any obvious problems.

What do the E, B and C voltages look like on Q1?

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

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

Dang- I checked them but didn't write them down because they were pretty close to what I read in the other thread.

"E, B and C should run right about 0, 0.6, and 1.25V"

OK, that answers the question.

With the Bias pot dimed and the Fuzz control at 3 o'clock, where does the Level control have to be set to achieve unity volume (i.e. same as bypass signal)?

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

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

3:00 is about unity those bias and fuzz settings- maybe a tad little less.

You really shouldn't have to dial the level up nearly that high to get unity volume. I'm guessing that one or the other of your transistors is unusually weak/damaged. Contact sales@buildyourownclone.com and request a new pair of transistors.

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

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

Thanks! Will do-

Hi, wondering if this got resolved, as this seems exactly like what mine sounds like. …Sounds cool when all knobs are maxed out. The bias knob does some cool stuff, works fine. But the fuzz and level knobs really need to be pretty much at 80%~100% or it cuts the volume almost completely. (I can try and provide more details later) Thanks!

Here's a link.. https://photos.app.goo.gl/eUJaam82VFBtAZzG6

The first thumbnail is a video of the pedal with me turning knobs, etc...

If this is just how it should be, I'm fine with that. Sounds cool, when I dial it in (near max, and play with the bias). But just making sure. Seems like the level/fuzz shouldn't die that much when knobs are at noon.

Hey!

Thanks for checking up-

I got the replacement transistors, installed them, and it didn't make any difference. If anything, the volume is LOWER! Weird, huh? For some reason BYOC sent me another set of replacement transistors that I got a couple of days after the first, so I'll try those. At this point, really wishing I had installed sockets....

For both of you--

Have you tried running just guitar-->Classic Fuzz-->amp? This circuit is known to interact unfavorably with some other effect circuits. It's often recommended to place it first (i.e. immediately after the guitar) in a pedal chain to minimize such interactions.

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

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

Exactly how I've been evaluating it.

Mine is: compressor > cheapo klon clone > Classic Fuzz > etc.......

but I did try it solo, and don't think I heard a difference. This is fine with me. I learned how to solder, built the thing, and I get cool sounds out of it. Good enough. Cheers!