[SOLVED] Honey Dripper build problems and questions.

[The Rotagilla]

I didn't see these questions asked anywhere else so here we go...

1) I cannot get this thing to fuzz. At best it slightly growls. I;ve tried various diode combinations but cannot get anywhere near the fuzz I've heard in various demos. I have check, rechecked and checked again for improper values, solder bridges, cold solder joints, etc. but no luck. At best it sounds like it's clipping (and not in the good way).

2) In an attempt to correct the fuzz issue I found some discrepancies in the documentation schematic versus the redrawn original schematic. They are listed below -

Madbean R10 = 1K, Original = 100k
Madbean R17 = 4k7, Original = 10k (thought to be 4k7 but later revised to 10k)
Madbean R27 = 220K, Original = 270K

Everything else works like a champ but I'd like to know how much fuzz I should be expecting and what about the resistors in question. Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[The Rotagilla]

Bump.

[The Rotagilla]

Decided to go back and verify all values and voltages today and as far as I can tell everything is spot on except no fuzz. If someone could at least tell me how much fuzz I should be expecting from this project that would be a start, thanks.

[madbean]

Rotagilla-

Sorry this thread slipped passed me. Couple things- the differences in a few values came from two sources...one based on feedback that was given to me from a person who had built a couple of the original Dipthonizer PCBs and two from my own experimentation. I picked what I felt sounded best, given the factory schematic seems to have a few values that were partially illegible and/or questionable.

The biggest change was R10---both R10 and R7 values have a big impact on the filtering setup and I felt 1k on both worked best because it produces a very pronounced effect. You can certainly change these around and see for yourself----increased values on both tend to tame it down a bit.

Anyway, as far as the Fuzz problem, my guess is that is completely unrelated. It's not "fuzz" in the truest since, since these are just diodes in a feedback loop. Really, it's more akin to overdrive. The two things that will have the biggest effect on the total fuzz/overdrive are R2, R3 and C2. Assuming that you do indeed have the correct values for R2 and R3, perhaps consider lowering C2 from the stock value to something smaller, as suggested in the doc. Lowering this value will pass more high end, which may in turn make the overdrive more pronounced. I ended up with 560pF there, and I think some have gone even lower. Whatever value you choose, if it still is not making an impact, I suggest audio probing the output of that part of the op-amp directly, and also the output of the fuzz control directly. The fuzz/overdrive is always at maximum, and the actual Fuzz control just attenuates the signal like a volume control.

[madbean]

Also, don't forget max fuzz is fully counter-clockwise, not clockwise like we are used to. A more accurate description of the the control would probably be "Clean".

[The Rotagilla]

Also, don't forget max fuzz is fully counter-clockwise, not clockwise like we are used to. A more accurate description of the the control would probably be "Clean".

Yes, I understand that but I'm am not getting any "fuzz" at all. It's more of a slight clipping/signal overload. I listened to the sound clips over at FSB and I'm not getting anywhere near the level of fuzz I heard. All that being said, the rest works perfectly. 

[pinkjimiphoton]

i was having similar issues with my build...all the voltages seemed right, but it just wasn't "quacking" right.
i resoldered all the connections...no help. tried swapping out ic1 with another lm324...that did the trick.

the fuzz is not really fuzzy like you expect it to be...it's more like smoke and lazer beams...the fuzz just helps give it a little more canvas to work on.

on mine, the depth control is crucial..if you have it up all the way, the whole effect won't work right..some of the settings on the switch are more vocal than others...i particularly like position two.

try turning the depth down and while playing, bring it up a little at a time..if should start to trigger.. too much depth, and it sounds almost like a flanger that's stuck mid sweep.

hope that helps mate.

[The Rotagilla]

i was having similar issues with my build...all the voltages seemed right, but it just wasn't "quacking" right.
i resoldered all the connections...no help. tried swapping out ic1 with another lm324...that did the trick.

the fuzz is not really fuzzy like you expect it to be...it's more like smoke and lazer beams...the fuzz just helps give it a little more canvas to work on.

on mine, the depth control is crucial..if you have it up all the way, the whole effect won't work right..some of the settings on the switch are more vocal than others...i particularly like position two.

try turning the depth down and while playing, bring it up a little at a time..if should start to trigger.. too much depth, and it sounds almost like a flanger that's stuck mid sweep.

hope that helps mate.

I did swap out the LM324's but with the same results. It quacks/vocals/vowels just fine and as expected but I'm not getting fuzz like this sound clip.

[juansolo]

I missed this thread also. On the original pedal the knob is labeled 'quality' and it cleans up when you turn it clockwise. It's not really a fuzz effect, it's more for balancing the sound you're after. For example you set the pedal to wah, get the sweep over so it's quite pronounced then clean it up with the fuzz/quality knob and you can almost end up with an auto talk box type effect.

It's all very interactive and wherever you put it, you'll have to adjust things to get it just right. The sweep is the only knob you tend to keep at around 3 o'clock. Quality/fuzz is more of an adjust to taste. Amazing pedal, can do some really weird and wonderful stuff. The more time you spend with it, the more you get out of it.

[juansolo]

i was having similar issues with my build...all the voltages seemed right, but it just wasn't "quacking" right.
i resoldered all the connections...no help. tried swapping out ic1 with another lm324...that did the trick.

the fuzz is not really fuzzy like you expect it to be...it's more like smoke and lazer beams...the fuzz just helps give it a little more canvas to work on.

on mine, the depth control is crucial..if you have it up all the way, the whole effect won't work right..some of the settings on the switch are more vocal than others...i particularly like position two.

try turning the depth down and while playing, bring it up a little at a time..if should start to trigger.. too much depth, and it sounds almost like a flanger that's stuck mid sweep.

hope that helps mate.

I did swap out the LM324's but with the same results. It quacks/vocals/vowels just fine and as expected but I'm not getting fuzz like this sound clip.

They're running that with a distortion/fuzz would be my guess (which does sound really cool). This is more representative of the pedal on it's own

[pinkjimiphoton]

that thing sounds great to me man...maybe you might want to try 1n34 or some other ge diodes in the clipper secton to mellow it out a little bit.

these formant pedals are weird...the standalone fuzz on them all is nothing special..probably best on the eh talking pedal, and worst on the ludwig phase II (tho the colorsound vocalizer's fuzz is pretty rude, too).

FWIW, your clip sounds great (as does your playing)

this is mine:

mine is bone-stock to the "original" components as listed other than 240k resistors instead of 220's.

glad, either way, you got it going.

[The Rotagilla]

that thing sounds great to me man...maybe you might want to try 1n34 or some other ge diodes in the clipper secton to mellow it out a little bit.

these formant pedals are weird...the standalone fuzz on them all is nothing special..probably best on the eh talking pedal, and worst on the ludwig phase II (tho the colorsound vocalizer's fuzz is pretty rude, too).

FWIW, your clip sounds great (as does your playing)

this is mine:

mine is bone-stock to the "original" components as listed other than 240k resistors instead of 220's.

glad, either way, you got it going.

If your bypassed sound is clean, then you're getting way more fuzz than I am. I understand that this is not meant to be a killer fuzz unit but I'm not getting ANY fuzz at all no matter where the pots are set to. The sound I'm getting is similar to when a Q-Tron+ starts to clip.

[juansolo]

That clip I posted wasn't me BTW... Kinda wish it was. It was just one I found of the original pedal.

[madbean]

Rotagilla--I would go ahead and socket then lower R3 then. Try halving it to 15k or so. If you have a spare LM324 it would not hurt to pop that in IC1 as well.

[The Rotagilla]

Rotagilla--I would go ahead and socket then lower R3 then. Try halving it to 15k or so. If you have a spare LM324 it would not hurt to pop that in IC1 as well.

Will do, thanks. I did try swapping IC1 but will try again.