Okay so I have built up a Yellow Shark to spec (with 3130EZ and red 3mm LED's) and to be honest; it sounds like a POS to me...
The distortion control has a very very subtle effect and the nature control seems to add loads of bass and distortion fully CCW and then just reduces bass and distortion when you turn it CW.
The distortion seems to be really fizzy and the note decay is also pretty abrubt.
I'm not happy with this circuit; has anyone else noticed the same things as me?
The pedal is a really hyped one so I am wondering if I have made a mistake somewhere (although I am pretty sure I have not).
Maybe it is just not for me ???
try 5mm green leds as prescribed. double check everything, its a crazy smooth od. are you using a 3130ez?
Yeah I am using the EZ. Tried, 3mm, 5mm red LED's and green ones so I don't think its the clippers.
I think I will have to get it on the bench for fault finding. Ho hum.
I found the exact same results with my yellow shark. I was pretty disappointed at the decay of notes. Really fizzy and abrupt is the perfect descriptor. I used a diode clip switch on mine and actually preferred the sound of no diodes. I haven't spent any time working on it since I finished because I wasn't overly excited about it.
The tone control works the same on mine, it is like a cut knob. So CCW is full on bass and turning it up cuts it out.
I will keep an eye on this thread because I would like to tweak mine as well.
I am currently building one of these as well. I will chime in with my results when completed.
Thanks for the comments guys.
Yeah I was also pretty dissapointed with this one to be honest after reading all the hype. I guess that is the important thing; I have read the hype rather than heard the pedal myself with a guitar and amp.
Mine is also not very loud if that fits in with anyone elses build (unity volume is 3/4 turn on the Vol pot)
The drive and nature controls are essentially useless (unless fully CW or CCW); which after reading the bjfe manual and other peoples comments, seems to fit in with the original.
I have a Darkside and Sunking to build up as well so hopefully they will live up to their reputation (I bought a load of the hyped overdrives to try before madbean discontinued them).
Please let us know what you think when you build the pedal up mcj.
I've been told that the yellow shark works better with the 3130 rather than the 3140. It may be that you could try some other IC's as well.
I also found that the drive and nature controls were more useful that it seems you did. Are you sure you haven't got a problem on your board?
I was not disappointed with the sunking in the least. The Darkside needs some tuning, but it's also a really cool circuit in my experience. I need to crack that one open and play with the tone control some...
Jacob
Yeah as I posted originally I am using a CA3130EZ not a 3140.
Maybe there is something wrong with mine though after hearing it again if yours had a more usefull range. I'll look over the board again. Although it does certainly work as an overdrive; it just isn't a particularly inspiring overdrive tone (as opposed to the SFT or DLS that I have built).
I have been looking at my board for faults and cannot find any.
I have also been doing a lot of reading on the circuit and have come to the desision that my Yellow Shark is not faulty; it just doesn't produce the kind of overdrive I like. A lot of people report similar things to what I am hearing on my pedal on various forums.
Think I'm gonna shelve the board and use the enclosure for something else.
No accounting for taste I guess :)
Have you tried comparing it to a youtube demo of the original? IIRC there was a part that most weren't certain of being correct.
It is supposed to be a light overdrive low gain pedal compared to the SFT which creates a fuzz thick enough for doom metal. :)
Yeah thanks for the advice mate but at low gain settings I prefer my SFT and DLS.
I built an Neutrino last night (another of my boutique OD PCB's I bought) and I have to say I much prefer the sound of it compared to the Yellow Shark.
After listening my Yellow Shark sounds pretty much the same as all the Youtube clips I can find (although Youtube can be deceptive).
Can you remember which part was not correct on the Yellow Shark BOM? Might be worth changing it if so to see what difference that makes.
I like the yellow shark for certain things; it makes single notes really fat sounding. But i agree about the general grittiness: have a listen to my demo at http://www.users.on.net/~w2620/Madbean%20Soundclips/Yellow%20Shark.mp3
and see if it sounds similar to yours..
Quote from: raulduke on August 19, 2011, 08:29:20 AM
Can you remember which part was not correct on the Yellow Shark BOM? Might be worth changing it if so to see what difference that makes.
Here's the threads I remember reading. Whether you want to take the time to fix the problem will be another story :)
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=965.0
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=1608.0
I've had similar problems with my Yellow Shark, just don't like it. I do, on the other hand, remember having a Honey Bee and really liking it. On the other hand, the sunking is awesome as is almost every other Madbean pedal I've built . . . mmm, Cosmopolitan . . . ;^}
Just to clarify I have no doubt about the quality Madbeans boards/projects; I have absolutely loved every other project of his that I have built.
The honey bee just isn't for me.
The Sunking is the next on the list for my Boutique OD builds. Reckon I will like that one as I havent read one bad word about the circuit.
It is ridiculously awesome man. I loved mine so much I bought 5 more boards over a few orders and have built them. I use 2 on my board and have a few spares in case they get stolen. It is a cool pedal and must-build for sure.
Wow that says something if you have built two and also have spares!
Yeah I am looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about (same with the Darkside too).
Have you tried stacking other boosts/overdrives with the Yellow Shark? I think that's where it really shines. One of my favorite lead tones is pre-boosting the Yellow Shark with a Neutrino (set to low-gain). For rhythm I'm using a Yellow Shark post-boosted by a Fat Pants with the bridge pickup (using a Strat). Reminiscent of Brad Paisley.