Messages

Yes, without a scope you definitely need to use an audio probe to set the bias and balance of each delay chip. The precision trimmers are annoying for sure, but I think it's useful to get an audio probe going and keep turning until you get some signal from the delay line, then dial it in precisely from there.

It sounds like you got the clock frequency right, don't worry about the values when the delay is CCW at the moment.

This is great. The board looks so tiny in that massive box. What model is the enclosure? Also, how did you manage to fit the battery door? A lot of drilling and filing the edges square?

That looks amazing. I don't know if I could rearrange the board to fit those massive electros but good for you for making them fit. I'll bet that build sounds incredible. Also, I think your detective work on the cap change is massive. People have been complaining about the G2 darkness since it was traced years ago and it seems like you have cracked it. I'm actually rebuilding my duplex with your changes because I can't wait to try them. Well done all around!

I'm bumping this back up to the top because I am giving it another go. I bought a new Flintlock PCB when they were on sale last week from lectric-fx and I repopulated it, hand measuring every component to ensure it was up to spec. I am just waiting for the SIP op amps to come in, but I am hoping that build number 2 goes better than build number 1. It took a couple years, but I can't let this one get the better of me!

Just a heads up to make sure you check the pinout manually if you order an on-on-on switch from somewhere other than Smallbear. I have used a Tayda switch in the past and I *think* it's the same, but I have also ordered other switches from ebay and found that the connections for the middle position are different. That is, following the smallbear diagram, some DPDT switches connect lugs 2&3 and 4&5 in the middle position. If you are board mounting a switch, this is extremely annoying. If wiring off-board you can adjust your wiring to accommodate but it's always good to test with a multimeter first since it's hard to find datasheets on the cheaper switches.

This is great news. I just ordered a PCB for a layout I did of a Maxon AD-900 to fit in a 1590BB. I was hoping these would come in so I could build it up when the boards get here. Looks like Cabin Tech has them in stock too, FYI.

Nice build - love the graphics on this one. I never do graphics on my pedals because I don't have the patience or know-how, but I admire other people's. It's a tough build so I'm glad it turned out ok in the end.

PS. I think you might want to move this (or re-post) to the build reports section.

For those that are interested, I put in an order for more of both these boards. If you want to claim one, check out my post in the Group Buy section.

Excellent work! These look great and I'm glad you're enjoying them. I also use the Klon side of "The Beast" to boost the OD-820 because I love the sound of it and sometimes you just need it louder!

Good luck gordo! I wish I could help you, but I haven't returned to this build yet. I don't know if I will, but I already drilled the enclosure so I am motivated to finish it at some point.

Awesome job. Your etches are unreal and I'm glad you like the board. The Cornish stuff does sound great. If you can separate the circuit from the price tag, his circuits are pretty damn good. I think the silver knobs would look awesome too!

I did a total reflow this morning and made sure everything was firmly seated...still no resolving the issue. If I turn up CMax too much the flanging stops, but the highest I can get is about 25kHz. I think I'll put this one in the pedal graveyard for a while and maybe come back to it later. It will haunt me though...

I think I'm making progress...but I have no idea where to go next.

Yes, I can get from 38.5kHz to 1.46MHz on the BBD. But to do this, I have to turn C-Range fully CCW and C-Max fully CW.

The interesting thing is now Pin 13 finally lights up and (at max Manual) reads 2.8MHz! Ok, good. So I turn the Manual down...and now get a reading of 0.

However, if I back off C-Max to about halfway, I can get it to read 25.9kHz. However, turn it up any higher and it goes back to 0. If I leave C-Max so that I'm getting a reading at Manual fully CCW, it reads 0 again when I turn Manual fully CW and I have to bump up C-Max to get it to read anything in the MHz range.

I have played with the clock cap and have tried caps that measure 20p, 27p, and 29p and right now, the 20 has worked the "best".

Any ideas, Scruff? I am going to reflow everything this weekend if you don't have any clues from this and if it's a soldering problem, then I will quit building forever.

Thanks Scruffie. I really appreciate the help.

FET pinout seems ok. I'm using a 2N2457 so it's GSD and thus I'm using the rightmost three holes. Interestingly, nothing much seems to happen when I switch the FET orientation or even remove it entirely. I get a little extra noise in one particular pinout placement, but that's about it.

I should clarify that I am getting a sweep with everything maxed out although it gets weak really quickly when you back off the enhance or threshold controls. Also when the Range is off, the Manual does seem to work, it's just not very long or deep. The annoying part is that I can't bias it.

My meter is a cheapo Victor VC921 that I got off ebay, but it ranges from 100HZ to 10MHz so it should be ok. I also notice that on other pins (e.g., pin 6 of the MN3007), it does kick in so it seems that it works, just not on the pin that I need it to.

Here are the rest of my voltages:

IC2
4.7
4.7
4.7
0
6.97
6.99
6.99
13.94

IC13
7.7
7
6.99
0.03
6.92
6.99
6.99
14


IC1
7
7
6.4
0.01
6.1
6.1
6.1
14

IC3
7.1
7
7
0.002
7
7
7
14


IC12
7
7
7
0.003
7
7
7
14

I totally respect taking a break if you're getting too deep into the rabbit hole and it's not fun anymore but I have to say this is really disappointing. I have been finding your Klon fact-finding mission as fun as hell - you are kind of like an archaeologist trying to document an ancient civilization from artifacts you find online and in other units. It's been really enjoyable and I hate to see it go away.

I don't even particularly care about the Klon. I love KitRae's site even though I am not a Big Muff user, and that ProCo rat schematic is great. RG's site has awesome info about Fuzz Faces, Rangemasters, Wahs, and Tube Screamers and Electrosmash has great documentation on Crybabies, etc. The DAM forum has excellent info on the lineage of most fuzz pedals. All that stuff is fun to read even if you don't care about those effects. You are doing great work, but the fact that its the Klon doesn't make it particularly special. If you were doing this for the Phase 90, or the H&K Rotosphere, or whatever, it would still be interesting and valuable to anyone who cares about the history of guitar & effects.

As for hurting other people's businesses, every single person making a Klon clone owes a massive debt to Chittum and the rest of the people who helped trace the original Klon. If you traced every Klone in the world, you would probably find that the vast majority are using that schematic as a reference, and I'll bet some are even using the incorrect 2008 schematic. I've seen some boutique Klon clones that use the exact vero layout you can Google in 15 seconds so whoever made that should be getting some kind of commission! If a business uses information they found in the public domain as the basis for their product, it is very unfair for them to cry foul when information about their product comes to light.

We don't even know if this stuff affects the bottom line of a given Kloner. If you check out any Rig Rundowns, you see a lot of Centaurs, but very few (if any) Klones. It's most likely hobbyists buying this stuff and they will debate the merits of a given pedal vs. another endlessly. Even if you post a thread on TGP asking "What's the best Klone?" you would likely get 30 different responses with each person touting the one that they personally own (at the moment). The most documented pedal out there is probably the TS-808 yet Ibanez sells a ton of these each year, Fulltone sells a bunch of Fulldrive 2s, Dunlop sells a lot of Green Rhinos, etc. People are going to buy an ARC Klone V1 because they want something that close to the original PCB, they are going to buy a Frederic Klone if they want an MXR-sized pedal, they are going to buy a Soul Food because it's cheap, and they are going to buy one of Pickdropper's builds because they want it in a 1590A. Consumer behavior is complex, and circuit variations are probably the thing (most) people care about least when making purchase decisions on pedals.

Sorry for the diatribe, I just hate to see good research and data go unrecognized.