Boneyard Issues--Resolved!

[Myramyd]

UPDATE & RESOLUTION: This is for anyone doing a future search. Turns out the issue with the build was the value of R5. Replaced the 470R with the
"stock" 47R and all sounds perfect now! Gain is great, tone knob is now responsive. IMHO and that of several others, R5 being 47R is ESSENTIAL to the Boneyard sounding like it should.

I may have had an unrelated bad LF347N also, as I was having voltage issues but, while that was resolved by changing to a new chip, the tone was corrected with R5.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hello,

Just finished my Boneyard, testing it outside the enclosure. A few issues. I'm testing this through the Normal Channel of my DRRI. So far it doesn't sound anything like the demos I've heard.

1. The Volume knob seems out of whack--unity is just barely above off--anything above that is ridiculously high dB of boost. At full, it's about 2x that of my Slambox on full.

2. The "distortion" sounds are basically that of a Fuzz Face. Crunch is just like a FF or maybe an OCD with the gain all the way up, High Gain is like a Fuzz Face with a Slambox in front of it.

3. The Boost switch just makes it out of control fuzz with even more boost that the volume knob gives it maybe about 3x a Slambox.

4. Tone Knob--anything less that full on is a treble cut.

5. The LEDs barely light up even on High Gain mode. Only if I really pound on the strings will they light up. This may be normal?

6. Turning down either of the Gain knobs does nothing until they are almost off. They don't clean up until almost the end of the rotation.

7. The Boost and High Gain LEDs stay lit even when the pedal (on/off switch) is off.

I'm thinking something is wrong. Any ideas where I should start? I've triple checked everything endlessy.

Here are the voltages I measured today:

Jack: 9.47v (One Spot Power Supply--nothing else on it)

MAXX1044 IC

1. 9.47V
2. 4.70V
3. 0
4. -4.62V
5. -9.20V
6. 4.75V
7. 7.13V
8. 9.47V


LF347N IC

1. 0
2. 0
3. 0
4. 9.47V
5. 0
6. 0
7. 0
8. -3.3mV
9. -3.3mV
10. 0
11. -9.20V
12. 0
13. 2.4mV
14. 2.4mV

J

[Myramyd]

As a follow-up, I plugged it into my old Peavey Classic 50/50 power amp into a different cabinet and it sounds mostly the same as the DRRI.

It's less fuzz like--more like an OCD. Even the High Gain setting is pretty low gain. In the demos I see people playing 80s Shred or screaming Van Halen but mine on High Gain is more like a JTM45. My Tube Screamer has more "drive".

I think as it is it might sound like a different flavor of Marshall-like overdrive. Like a JTM45 or Plexi on 5 (not cranked). Similar to an OCD on just below noon on the gain knob. Or like my Shredmaster with the gain at about 3 o'clock.

Was I just expecting too much?

J

[Myramyd]

Tried it again for about an hour when I got home. Sounds like total garbage. I really hope something is wrong with it.

I really don't know where to start with this guy in terms of troubleshooting. I've been starting at it over and over and I can't seem to find anything wrong unless one of the components is bad or if I fried it somewhere along the line.

J

[sprayfe]

I'm not much help, I just know the one I built for a customer is gain city.  I can see if I can bum it from him for a few days if you need someone to check voltages with.  I mean- awesomely high gain.

It's not a fuzz, however.

BTW, my led's barely lit up as well- not sure that's an appropriate indicator of what you hear.

[Myramyd]

Thanks!

I re-read your post earlier today and it made me think something was wrong for sure.

I think voltages would help so I could figure out if there is a bad component somewhere. I will try to get some photos too in case I did something dumb.

J

[sprayfe]

Dont have access to it- but here's a gut shot for comparison. Any substitutes?
Have the SPCA model of whatever doubler you're using?

[Myramyd]

There is no attachment I'm afraid.

I didn't use any subs--I have a MAXX1044 for the charge pump.

The only thing "strange" I did was I ordered a 16-pin socket instead of a 14-pin, so I soldered the IC right to the board. I never do that but, Rat Shack is out of the 14-pin sockets and I would have had to wait about 2 weeks to get it if I ordered one.

I will take some pics of mine in the next couple of hours. I might record a sound clip also.

J

[Myramyd]

Did you build it to stock specs or to the modified specs?

When I ground a lug on either the Crunch or High Gain pots or if i bypass C5 and R5 (to ground) it sounds more like I would have thought the pedal would.

Here are some photos. I can take more if needed.

J

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Myramyd]

Another photo...

I've double checked all the component values.

All the switching/LEDs work properly.

Any ideas?

J

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Myramyd]

Added the voltage readings to the top of the post ^

[Myramyd]

Last night I pulled out the Signal Tester and followed the schematic along through.

I think perhaps the path starts to go wrong somewhere around either the Tone of Volume part of the circuit. I can't quite tell. The volume pot seems to dramatically reduce the amount of gain if it's anything less than full-on and the tone control seems to be adding the "fuzz" sound somehow. If I go in before the Tone--i.e. right after the gain pots, it sounds less fuzz-like. More like an uncompressed overdrive. Then around the tone circuit it sounds "boosted" and turns to fuzz. The tone pot doesn't really do a whole lot either.

No one really seems keen to help me on this so far. Only Sprayfe has offered any comments. Perhaps I should take this to another forum to see if anyone has more experience? (FSB, DIY, BYOC?)

Right now unfortunately the Boneyard is a pile of bones.

I don't know what else to do other than replace each component one-by-one.

J

[jkokura]

I think Bean is honestly the best candidate to help you out, but I'll try. I know he's really been busy, and I'm trying to keep up with all the trouble shooting help, but I'm only human and it seems I've missed this one. I think I assumed because others were posting that you were getting help. Here's my stab, but consider I haven't built this one at all.

Your voltages on the big IC are definitely an issue. You should have some sort of voltage on pins 1-3, simply because that's part of the gain stage. But because I haven't built this one, I can't check it against mine.

You have the right voltages going in on pins 4 and 11, so that's not the problem. I suspect you have some power leaking to ground in the 1st and 2nd gain stages, and perhaps that's what's giving you problems. That would definitely make this pretty much suck.

Jacob

[Myramyd]

Hey Jacob,

Thanks so much for the reply. I am just really frustrated because I have tried so many things. I have built a lot of pedals but I thankfully this is only the second time something went wrong, so my troubleshooting skills aren't real great.

What do you think I should look for? Do you think it's just a bad IC?

I only ordered one of those unfortunately. I usually order at least two of everything but I was short on funds.

J

[jkokura]

I don't know if it's a bad IC, but I guess it's a possibility. Probably more likely is that there's a small error somewhere and you need to take a break and come back to it at a later date. Fresh eyes and a new look at it can sometimes do wonders. That sucks if you want this thing now, but it might be fixable if you come back to it in a week.

Also, for future reference, you can easily cut the two last pins off a 16pin socket and make it a 14 pin. I do that all the time. You can also cut up any IC socket into individual pins for socketing parts like diodes and caps and such.

Jacob

[Myramyd]

I just stuck the MM on it again with a battery and noticed something else.

The battery drains really fast. The readings tick down continuously--9.33, 9.32, 9.31, etc. Also, when I test Pin 10, the voltage keeps climbing (in millivolts). So something must be happening...

Otherwise, I will see if I can trace it down to what's happening on those 1-3 pins. If not I can order another IC just in case.

I don't *need* it right away but I do want it as a backup for my Marshall amp in case something goes down during a gig. Also for practice so I don't have to haul it the whole half-stack every week. We have a few weddings coming up so I did want to use it for that with my DRRI since it will be low volume levels. So I have 2 weeks to get it working for that I guess.

I tried getting a 16-pin to fit but the resistor on the top and the other socket below it made it impossible to fit physically.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it.
J