Most of us have a list of pedals that are not finished, not boxed, or just never worked.. what are yours?
i'll start:
Next pedals in my 'works-more-or-less-but-were-never-boxed-then-were-stuffed-into-a-box-and-left-there-rotting-for-a-few-years-with-careless-manipulation-from-time-to-time-so-they-probably-don't-work-anymore-now' box are
-meat ball clone : weak envelope with my last guitar, but my gibson seems to have a MUCH higher output so it should be tested .. it lost at least 2 pots during its live in that dreaded box. planning to put it out and make it work very soon! because it's lovetone!
-home design of the big cheese: used to work, never boxed it, doesn't work anymore for i don't know what reason.... planning to give it a second chance soon too.
-one madbean fuzz with octave up that i didn't like at all ... maybe i'll skip boxing this one
- one lowrider that used to work until i powered it with 9v ac... changing some components solved it partially, but it still doesn't sound as good as it used to ... low volume on the octaves if i remember correctly..
- one tap tempo tremolo. ordered switches for the tap tempo, they turned up to be the wrong switches, then i basically forgot about it as i don't really see the need for a tap tempo tremolo anyway :)
that's about it i think ... i know i forgot some, but it's already enough ...
what are your projects in standby?
Oh quite a bit. Most notably being Cleggy's Mesa tube pedal, which didn't work... Though that'll get re-visited at some point. There's a couple of VOX Repeater clones that tick that no matter what, we couldn't un-tick. There are a few things that I just wasn't keen on (so not really shameful, but it's the same box). Finally there's some old stuff that no-one wanted to buy that got stripped and recycled for parts. Think there's an old Taylor octave down still in there and a BYOC Slow Gear.
I finally went through my box of fail and was able to fix them all except a Stomptown Trailfazer which I think my problem is my Jfets. Either way, my fail box is no longer a problem but.. my "Needs to be boxed" box is over flowing. Last I counted I had 28 builds in there ready to go but just need a box to complete. Some of them are effects that I was not that impressed with or others are just a matter of time for artwork. From time to time I will grab a build and toss it on the test rig and that will most likely make me push it up on the list. Right now I am waiting on an enclosure order from BLMS then I can get to etching again.
Cody
Ugh. The box of fail!
Echo Base - Very ambitious project when I built it. I have no idea if I can work it out.
TriVibe - Etched board fail. Very frustrating. Can't seem to succeed with etched boards.
2 Red Llamas - Built 3. Can't get either of the other 2 to work.
2 Octavias - Another build for someone else. I think it's cursed.
Shoegazer - Rocked it before I boxed it. Won't work in the box. Pretty sure this one is the footswitches/3pdt boards. Just need to sit down with it again.
Nothing that works as I never rock before I box. I also never start a build without having a ready to be boxed enclosure at the ready. Plenty of failures that need troubleshooting. A Magnus Modulus that passes sounds and even does some delay, but only a single repeat regardless of how much I twist the feedback knob. A GuitarPCB Woolly Mammoth that I made every damn mistake possible with, a Blue Warbler on perf that has reinforced my opinion that perfboard is a creation of the devil that should be nuked from orbit as it is utter shite, an Aion Eclipse that seems to have problems with the power section, a few more delays, Madbean Zero Point DD, GuitarPCB D'Lay, a JMK Modulay, a Madbean Porkbarrel and a Madbean Collosalus. Other then that piece of s*** Blue Warbler perf abomination (the perf, not the effect, which I still think is awesome), almost all of the failures are with PCB's. I seem to have a lot more trouble troubleshooting PCB's then I do with vero layouts. Probably because I can trace the signalflow and schematics a lot easier on vero then I do with PCB's.
That being said I did manage to shrink my box of fail by 2/3's lately, so there is still hope.
I have a Equinox II on vero that I haven't had any luck with. Surprisingly, I tend to have problems with the layouts on IvIark's page on projects that people think are the bee's knees.
When I was building Terminus I went though a number of boost veros to use post eq (didnt want to use one of the SHO style boosts I have lying around) at I just couldnt get to work. Ended up using Gus' simple PNP boost.
Until recently, a very nice Dynacord EC-280 BBD delay with a bunch of TDA 1022's :
(http://www.modezero.com/images0000/dynacord-ec280-Ax.jpg)
http://www.modezero.com/dynacord-ec280.htm
I had bought it years ago when people were not spending hundreds of dollars on just any old equipment just because it's old and must be cool.
It worked fine for a couple of months then died.
Tried to troubleshoot it but I knew even less than I know now then so after poking around with a probe for a while I set it aside.
Mainly I was put off because I had no schematic.
Recently I decided to check with Dynacord in Germany if they had the schematic available and they had!
Now I had the schematic but was not much cleverer despite it ... never having worked with BBD's at all.
So I set out to understand at least the basics of how they work so that I could follow what did what in the schematic.
It took me a while but in the end I finally spotted a dead 3080 and after I had replaced it, BANG! Delay :-)
Of course ... I had turned all the damn trim pots years back in a desperate attempt to get some reaction from the delay, and now it's very unbiased.
Will need to learn how to bias the thing now ... but at least it works :-)
I have a small collection of pedals that I never finished (I just stopped mid-stream for no apparent reason) - GPCB Paramix is the one I most want to get back to.
I have a handful of vero builds that didn't work well or at all. ROG Double D from years ago. And more recently I attempted a Semour Duncan Pickup Booster for a friend and it sounded awful through my test rig. I tried an Arcomatic Rosinator and that didn't work.
The one that fits the 'shame' description is my Moosapotamus ADA Flanger. It can run on either 9v or 18v, and I have one pedal board that only does 9v and another that can do either. So I like to change the power section to toggle between voltages. When I was trying to calibrate it apparently I had the switch in the 9v position with 18v connected. And - I think I had one or more ICs in backwards. My first clue was the column of smoke rising from one of the resistors... I really want to get this one going but I have no idea where to start to diagnose how much damage I did. Hopefully when I retire in April I will the time.
The biggest cash investment fail is not a pedal. I found a large DIY LED cube on Instructables (I think). There was a guy selling a fairly expensive PCB set. I bought it and all the components and never got it running. Maybe $150 sunk into this.
Quote from: bcalla on February 25, 2015, 01:36:27 PM
I have a small collection of pedals that I never finished (I just stopped mid-stream for no apparent reason) - GPCB Paramix is the one I most want to get back to.
I have one of those in my pile too! I have all components and pots installed but haven't gotten around to wiring and putting it in a box. The funny thing is, I've built and boxed several blend circuits since that one has been built up...
I went on a vero binge last summer/fall... Most things work or mostly work but not having board mounted pots has been a barrier for me that I'm trying to get around. I got annoyed with my box of shame a while ago and built a 6 circuits in a cookie tin with toggle switches... I haven't used it much but it cleaned up my BOS pretty good. It has risen again though and is now larger than ever. I have a few low voltage tube effects in there, a ruby tuby, a valvecaster, a boob tube...
Most of the stuff I've built has either worked or been troubleshot fairly quickly. The ones that get scrapped and scavenged are the ones that I build and they don't fire up and I go... Meh, I wasn't that excited about that one anyway. For me it's easier to throw vero projects to the side to never be seen again. With PCBs there is more motivation to debug because of the higher cost put into the project.
Now I just need to go on a boxing binge like my previous vero binge... haha. So many sounds I want to have access to. I'm not talking 3 or 4 boxes... maybe like 10 in a row without building anymore circuits. I actually am really enjoying the boxing aspect lately IF I come up with a good theme for the graphics, now the problem is that I have a circuit I REALLY want boxed but I just can't come up with a good visual for it... I'm stuck on the Giant Hogweed with that right now.
I have a theremin that was built by someone else that doesn't work at all and never has. I built a new wooden enclosure but it sits under my bench, on top of my darkroom equipment, next to an old Bogen CHA-33 I need caps for. Somewhere in that mess is a box of fuzz fails that I didn't like that I rob caps and resistors from for experiments.
The arcadiator is my first unsolvable fail. Replaced every cap, chip, and diode. measured my resistors before installation and triple checked their bands after. I even added a boost. I can't get more than 1 second of effect before if farts out, even with a constant input. The shame is the expense on this one. The board plus 8x board mount switches and pots plus 2x component sets.
Sea flea, I have 2 of them I still can't get to work!!! That's it. I've either fixed them or melted them down trying. :p
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Quote from: Torgoslayer on February 25, 2015, 02:43:03 PM
The arcadiator is my first unsolvable fail. Replaced every cap, chip, and diode. measured my resistors before installation and triple checked their bands after. I even added a boost. I can't get more than 1 second of effect before if farts out, even with a constant input. The shame is the expense on this one. The board plus 8x board mount switches and pots plus 2x component sets.
It shouldn't be too hard to salvage the pots at least. Do you have a solder sucker? If not, it's a good investment.
I seem to have Fuzz Face problems. I have a Stein Fuzz from a group buy that does not seem to work with a road rage, without a road rage and a battery or any way. I also built an Eric Johnson FF on vero that I can't get to sound right. Add to that a couple fails at Si Fuzz Faces. They just don't like me.
This is whats off the top of my head:
Harbinger One (low volume vibe, distorts on vibe)
Aquaboy DX (Delay worked, then stopped, and wires keep breaking in the cold)
Aion Solaris (can't bias)
Pickdropper Rage Face (wires keep breaking in cold weather)
GuitarPCB PUFF (can't bias)
GuitarPCB Mini-Me Chorus (no signal)
Soulsonic Fourbanger (vero) (one of four boost modes not working)
MusicPCB Meatsphere (no envelope)
Dirtbag Delay (delay worked, then stopped)
Nu-Tron II Phaser (no signal, need to check for solder bridges)
JMK Testing Rig (signal not passing)
Thats whats off the top of my head. I have a problem with starting new projects instead of fixing old ones. Some require a little troubleshooting, not much, so hopefully I will be able to salvage most of these. Or just start new ones...
Quote from: Luke51411 on February 25, 2015, 03:00:18 PM
Quote from: Torgoslayer on February 25, 2015, 02:43:03 PM
The arcadiator is my first unsolvable fail. Replaced every cap, chip, and diode. measured my resistors before installation and triple checked their bands after. I even added a boost. I can't get more than 1 second of effect before if farts out, even with a constant input. The shame is the expense on this one. The board plus 8x board mount switches and pots plus 2x component sets.
It shouldn't be too hard to salvage the pots at least. Do you have a solder sucker? If not, it's a good investment.
yeah, i'm at the salvage phase now. I'm trying again with a fresh board. I'll keep what I can after I verify that it isn't the problem.
I'm seeing the meatsphere show up on these kinds of lists alot. I'm glad I passed that one by for madbeans naughty fish.
-Box Of Fail-
Effector 13 - Soda Meiser (vero)
Madbeans - Bacon Bits
MXR - Headphone Amp (vero)
Ring Mod - My own project that I have pretty much given up on
Hamlet (non tap tempo black pcb)
GGG - big muff
-Need to box-
MusicPCB - Echo base
MBP - Uproar
MBP - UpperDecker
9v power brick for pedal board (vero)
Box of Fail:
EQ on vero from Sabro layout (3x!)
Blue Warbler
Flintlock (haven't given up, just set aside for abit)
Dr. Phil (flummoxed!)
Probably others I've forgotten..
It's always either bad soldering, wrong value, or bad part (by far, the hardest to solve).
Just as a prefix, I built my first guitar amp out of a Heath Kit 12 watt tube amp. Never got rid of the 60htz hum. But hell I was 7 years old. Had a Stella 12 string with a pickup in the sound hole.
Box of Shame:
I have yet to have one project beat me all the way down. I am hesitant to say that out loud as I might have just unleashed the wrath of the Pedal Gods.
MB Collosalus 2012 almost won. Had a board short between the 15v trace and the 9v input pad. Had to use a blade to cut a groove and then things got better. But not before I drove Scruffie crazy and I fear he may never talk to me after all the crazy questions I asked..
Now I'm working on a D'Lay with a Taptation daughter board and I'm getting a bad feeling about it. Will this be the one that breaks my spirit? I just changed the Taptation chip and I have found they vary greatly. Oh how to be politically correct in the DIY community...never my forte...but I'll try.
Un-boxed tested working:
2X Pumped up Fuzz Faces W/octave boards from GuitarPCB
Four Knob Comp from Pickdropper
3X Optical Compressors from Pleasur
Double Ganger from Lace Sensor
Pork Barrel from Mad Bean
Zenith from GuitarPCB
Sho'Nuff from GuitarPCB
Max Powers / Sonic Titan from 3secondRule
Pennyroyal from Stomptown
I really have to get to boxing these up.... I feel so much shame that I have to wear a fig leaf while running my drill press.
GuitarPCB colorsound overdrive... Blessing in disguise though. The failure lead to the discovery of veroboards for me ;D
Quote from: march500 on February 26, 2015, 12:12:08 AM
GuitarPCB colorsound overdrive... Blessing in disguise though. The failure lead to the discovery of veroboards for me ;D
Vero is addicting, and much more available to build things on a whim than pcbs, which can be good and bad.
Not necessarily box of "fail" as much as box of "waiting to be reconfigured"
I have 2 of the Gilmour flanger etched PCBs from Gordo (GGBB) over at DIYStomp. The layouts call for LT1054 charge pumps but the design as it is has massive heterodyning issues with the pump. It works great with a transformer though.
Need to see if the layout can be modified to get rid of the clock interference. Works great with the RD5106 BBDs I have though. ;)
I'm not savvy enough to find the problem area (not for lack of trying) so if anyone wants to give it a whirl... let me know!
Pretty much just one, but it has been my nemisis. The zombie chorus. Ive tried two different pcb etches, and now have an unfinished vero of it. What ive learned...bbds like bias pots.
Quote from: lars on February 26, 2015, 01:03:38 AM
Pretty much just one, but it has been my nemisis. The zombie chorus. Ive tried two different pcb etches, and now have an unfinished vero of it. What ive learned...bbds like bias pots.
Appropriate/ironic name for your nemesis. The Living Dead Chorus..
where to begin...
mine is the cardinal i replaced almost every component on that board never did get it to work properly and 4 different vacrol where not cheap
still might start from scratch some day i want that to be my trem so badly