Colorsound Wow-Fuzz Built/Help/Debug

[rocket88]

ok, finally sat down and built this based on a layout made by albru80 and i have both good news and bad news. the good news is that when the fuzz is engaged it works, and sounds incredible. the bad news is that when the wah is engaged it sounds like i just went underwater, no wah effect at all, and there's a massive volume drop. i did find a problem with the layout, there is a 22nF cap connected from Base of Q4 to Wah2 that should be 220nF. i changed the cap, but that did not correct the problem. i'm dying to figure this one out, as this has been something i've wanted for a long time, and in the US is a unicorn.

here's the schematic:


here's the original layout from albru80:


modified layout:


i found this schematic for the colorsound inductor wah that was traced directly from some that owned it and posted it on DIYSB. it looks very similar to the wah section of the fuzzwah, but not sure if it should be changed.


also, i got my hands on original bc164b's and bc184l's, and the inductor i had a layout of 4x4, so i added 2 cuts and 1 link. here's the changed layout.

here are pictures of the build.

[rocket88]

i changed the 470r resistor to 470k, like it is on the schematic and i now get volume but the pedal acts like a volume pedal rather than a wah.

i now changed the 4.7uF cap to 10uF just like the original colorsound wah - no change in the problem.

i checked resistance across the inductor and got a reading of 43.3k, so it should be good. i checked the both on the pin where they are soldered, and on the open tracks right next to it.

now, i'm even more lost because everything i've read points to the 4.7uF cap as the problem when a wah turns into a volume pedal. someone has got to have some idea on how to potentially get this working right....

[rocket88]

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!!! this works with 2 changes to the layout.
1. the 470r resistor should be 470k
2. the 4.7uF polarized cap for that connects the inductor to ground should be 10uF

Note: you must make sure Q3 and Q4 have an hfe above 200. i used the original bc184l's like listed in the schematic do not have enough gain to get the wah to be a wah, it will act like a volume pedal. i used some rare ti bc108's i have with with hfe above 450. once i put them into the wah circuit this baby worked ungodly well.