Messages

The Muff certainly is prone to some noise and hum. I built my RH to Civil War specs and it is actually pretty quiet, if that helps. Most likely that is due to it being less gain than some of the other versions. But, you are not going to be able to fit a large cap like that (470uF or 1000uF) on the Rabbit Hole. There's just no room. If you are using a well-regulated power supply like the PP2 or whatever, the 9v rails are already filtered quite a bit, too.

Brian I know you're real busy and if you can't answer this perhaps someone else can. You built the Civil War version and the only difference  that I can see between it and the Green Russian (used this because its on the same page) is the 430p caps.  So C2, 5 and 8 are basically determining the gain level between the two versions?  And the Triangle and Creamy Dreamer would have the most gain since they are 560p (I know there are different parts used/omitted on these also).  I am just trying to understand the process here.

And this question wasn't so much directed to the Rabbit Hole but in a whole towards the other gain/distortion pedals I've built that have so much hum/hiss that to me they're just not usable.  A lot of these were earlier builds when I first started and maybe soldering and part selection wasn't the best.  I know there are many variables that can contribute to this.   

Thanks for the answers. 

Up front please don't crucify me for not being an electronics guru because I am not. I can put these things together and quite often they work.  I bought a Rabbit Hole and was doing some reading on the different variations to try and figure out which one to build.  I was reading a thread on the TDPRI forum and one of the commenters wrote:

"One last trick that I've gotten a lot of mileage out of is to make the filter cap that comes off your 9VDC source as big as you can. I now make it 470uF always, and I've seen at least one builder (Dice Works) use 1000uF. BJT transistors in these old crude circuits can be fantastic hum amplifiers with the sustain control all the way up - the big filter cap REALLY helps."

Most every gain pedal I built has so much hiss/hum that I end up not liking it. I know this is for the most part their nature.  But if I could go in and place a bigger filter cap on these pedals am I going to get a reasonable result as mentioned above without jacking something else up as far as sound goes? 

One thing that I learned from a member on this forum was to check every resistor with my multi meter before using it in a build. Is it monotonous, yes (especially when you have a large resistor count), but it will keep you from potentially making a mistake. My rate of success on first time fire ups went up a lot after I started doing this.  I use a piece of styrofoam and line up the resistors according to the build doc and start measuring them.  It's pretty much fool proof if you go slow when you start putting them on the board.

Face plate is awesome looking. I wish I could muster up the confidence to try to etch.

Phenonminal guitarist and writer.  Those of you who read these posts and have never listened to his music are missing out. Not a big fan of some of the sexually suggestive songs, i.e., Erotic City, but even that one has great music. The intro to When Doves Cry keeps going over and over in my head.  What a great artist and I as said in the other Prince thread he could flat burn a guitar up with his playing skills.

Wow I posted the above before watching the linked video.  I'm surprised the guitar didn't just blow up and start on fire.  One of the best solos I've seen in many years.

Was really shocked when I opened up the Internet to order parts and saw that on MSN. He was really a real musical innovator and he could flat burn a guitar up.

You guys are hilarious. Never give a guy a break.

Awesome. Congrats.

I use one on both sides. Perhaps I am doing it wrong but it seems to work for me.

I start with a nickel coin and that really gets me in the ball park for fine tuning quickly.

Yes the resistor is for the LED. If you use the 3pdt board and wire the LED to it no resistor or led on the effect board is required (sometimes referred to in build doc as CLR) (sorry for the info if you knew this already). Sorry the guide didn't help much. I haven't built a multi pedal yet so that was the only reference I've seen. I believe you are on the right track as far as how you would wire it up regardless if you use a switch board or just follow a normal 3pdt off board wiring diagram.  The 3pdt boards can make wiring easier but one plus is most of them have multiple grounds and sometimes more than one 9v + terminal. I normally don't use them to much but others use them on every build. Entirely up to you.

Those are nice looking guitars Paul. I have a Studio (I think I bought it 5 or 6 yrs ago) and it's a nice guitar. For sure needed a setup but it does what I need it to do.  These sales just drive me crazy also.  I have been wanting a Traditional or a Standard for quite a while and Musicians Friend had a Traditional Pro III on sale last month for $800 off and I bit. I'm not in love with the color of it (wine red) but you know "sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you." It's a great guitar but heavy as hell. Enjoy banging those axes buddy.

It's good to hear (and I don't mean this in a negative way) that there are a slew of people that are being affected by this phenomenon, as I am too. I finally got a Rustbucket put together last night and I just don't have the drive to adjust the trimmers. It has taken over a month and a half just to get it to this stage.  I have 4 pedals that I can't get to work and I hate trouble shooting them because I absolutely suck at it. Perhaps it's the time of the year or something is in the air but getting in the build zone just isn't happening.

Here is a link to a combo building guide on Guitar PCB. You might have to join the forum to look at it, I'm not sure.

http://www.guitarpcb.com/PDF%20Files/Combo%20Build%20Wiring%20Tutorial.pdf

My dog has that super power also. I know when the FEDEX or UPS truck is coming for 50 yards away. No other truck, school bus, etc..... Just UPS/FEDEX.  She starts going nuts. She's a big Weimaraner and it drives me bonkers because she has super barking power and she's an inside dog.

And Oh Jimmy I have that same desire for that Les Paul Gold Top. A fine looking instrument.