Splatty Cherrybomb

[ODwan]

Hi All,
like many I experienced splatty distortion and awful fizzy decay in my Cherrybomb build. After making damn sure all the circuit was ok, all solderjoints ok I tryed several different transistors with hfe readings ranging from 50 to 300. Many different sounds and gain levels, but the splat never went away even al I installed trimpots on the collectors and biased every transistor right. I was very frustrated!
So yesterday, while poking the circuit with my DMM for the hundredst time, it occured to me that C9 had more voltage on it's negative than it's positive side. So I flipped it around and - Viola: Splat is gone!!!
I checked various schematics floating on the net and the original looking ones have that elcap facing positive to Q3s collector. Seems that Brian has that wrong here.
I hope this helps some other builders.
Greetings,
Timo

[garfo]

Thanks man, maybe you should send Brian a personal message saying that!!!!I will check mine and flip the cap.My worries after I read your thread was that fliping the cap would make the circuit not to work, but if you say it works I believe you.Plus, after that, did you have to check the voltages once again?probably the voltages have changed, no!?

Hi All,
like many I experienced splatty distortion and awful fizzy decay in my Cherrybomb build. After making damn sure all the circuit was ok, all solderjoints ok I tryed several different transistors with hfe readings ranging from 50 to 300. Many different sounds and gain levels, but the splat never went away even al I installed trimpots on the collectors and biased every transistor right. I was very frustrated!
So yesterday, while poking the circuit with my DMM for the hundredst time, it occured to me that C9 had more voltage on it's negative than it's positive side. So I flipped it around and - Viola: Splat is gone!!!
I checked various schematics floating on the net and the original looking ones have that elcap facing positive to Q3s collector. Seems that Brian has that wrong here.
I hope this helps some other builders.
Greetings,
Timo

[G.G.]

interesting. the CSOD schematics I have do show it different ways. might be worth a try. . . . .

[garfo]

I flipped the cap and honestly didn't notice much difference in mine, the fiziness just sustains for a little longer, but it's still there.Still think this pedal is good for bass only.

[ODwan]

Voltages didn't change, nor should have.
Well, some fizzyness is left, but that ugly splatty somewhat misbiased sounding distortion is gone and notes decay much more natural with slowly cleaning up distortion. Before the change the splatty distortion was simply cut off as the note decayed, leaving a quiet clean signal.
Garfo, I found that this circuit sounds best in front of an already broken up tube amp, as do most fuzztones.
Also it was designed as a booster really, not a distortion device.
I will try a bipolar cap for C9 maybe this WE and report if it changes the sound any....
Timo

[spaceboss]

Love mine as a fuzzy overdrive for guitar. Kind of Fuzz Face-ish. The tone controls are powerful, but if I ever need to tame it (bridge pick-up of a tele), I just flip on a klone downstream and it tightens right up.

I suppose it could be one of those devices where you either like it or you don't.

[garfo]

i like it as a bass overdrive .dont vet me wrong,i leke it,but i haver a germanium fuzzface and im going for a muff now.
by the way, the bass pot on my cherry bomb  doesnt throw any bass(neither more,neither less).did you experience the same?

Love mine as a fuzzy overdrive for guitar. Kind of Fuzz Face-ish. The tone controls are powerful, but if I ever need to tame it (bridge pick-up of a tele), I just flip on a klone downstream and it tightens right up.

I suppose it could be one of those devices where you either like it or you don't.

[garfo]

what type of bc109 did you use, B ,C?whitch ones would help bringing down the spltiness besides flipping the cap and biasing?