Colorsound Overdriver only really works with gain on full

[mattlee0037]

So I built the CTO v2 for a friend here http://www.guitarpcb.com/apps/webstore/products/show/3436319

And it sounds great..... unless the gain is anywhere except fully clockwise. I get a pretty nice fuzz tone with the gain on 10 but as soon as you move it to 9.8 the circuit completely cleans up and the gain knob doesn't really do too much from 0-9.9. I checked the sweep on the gain knob with an ohmeter and the resistance changes linearly so I'm not sure why I get this very nonlinear response.

Thoughts?

[jimilee]

Check your part placement? A simple build like this is easy to throw the wrong parts in to, trust me on that.


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[mattlee0037]

Okey dokes I'll do a quick scan of the parts tomorrow when I get my eyes some rest!

[mattlee0037]

Alright I checked and the parts are all correct. Anything I should check for with an audio probe with gain on full vs not? I'm a little stumped this is my first pedal in a while I've needed to debug and it doesn't seem as straightforward as normal. From what I've read these voltages seem fairly normal. In the madbean CSO it says to sub the gain pot for a 1KC to avoid the gain bunching up. Could that be what is happening here? Is that worth trying or is it something more fundamental?

Voltages
Q1
E 0.40V
B 0.95V
C 1.63v

Q2
E 0.99V
B 1.63V
C 5.48V

Q3
E 0.88V
B 1.52V
C 5.91V

[selfdestroyer]

Just a thought I had:

You may also want to remove your gain pot and test it with a DMM to make sure you are getting 10K and it is not miss marked.

Cody

[mattlee0037]

Thanks for the thought I did that and it tests as normal!

[jimilee]

Do you have any pictures we could look at? Also, look at videos on you tube to make sure something is wrong. It is a boost overdriver.


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[Obie bong kanobie]

I have a issue with mine as well, but mine sounds really gated and only works if I strum really hard.  What could that be, I'll try to post some voltages after your problem is fixed so I don't hijack your thread

[selfdestroyer]

I have a issue with mine as well, but mine sounds really gated and only works if I strum really hard.  What could that be, I'll try to post some voltages after your problem is fixed so I don't hijack your thread

Check your pinouts of your transistors. If that does not help, I suggest you make a separate thread.

Cody

[mattlee0037]

Some pics for reference. Thought I had a 1kc pot handy to check that gain bunch up theory, but I didn't. Sad day. Any thoughts?

[mattlee0037]

Just reflowed all the joints and nothing is changed. Super puzzled on this guy. Full on fuzz at 10 on the gain and at 9.8 a very very mild overdrive.

[jimilee]

So I built the CTO v2 for a friend here http://www.guitarpcb.com/apps/webstore/products/show/3436319

And it sounds great..... unless the gain is anywhere except fully clockwise. I get a pretty nice fuzz tone with the gain on 10 but as soon as you move it to 9.8 the circuit completely cleans up and the gain knob doesn't really do too much from 0-9.9. I checked the sweep on the gain knob with an ohmeter and the resistance changes linearly so I'm not sure why I get this very nonlinear response.

Thoughts?

So, I just watched Barry's video on the guitar pcb site. The gain is turned all the way up to get that crunchy sound on his video. The Colorsound is a boost / overdrive, I believe what you're hearing is normal. 


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[mattlee0037]

Hmm yeah I just listened to that too. You're probably right. I guess I'm disappointed because it didn't sound like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3EaBth7L8g which is what I thought it was based on. Thanks for all the help friends!

[Zigcat]

It is based on that and it will sound just like gearmanndude. You need a MAZ18 too...

[mattlee0037]

I wish I had a maz18:( just playing a blackheart for now....