Double pedal wiring

[edo1123]

Hi guys. I tried to build two fuzz factory in one box, but when I turn it on I have one side fully working and the other side completely bypassed. I thought it was an error in the board, but I checked it several times and I found nothing. Another thing I noticed is the a drastic volume drop when I engage the second stage. Long story short I have one side fully functioning and one side "bypassed" (with a big volume drop). I'm not an expert, but I did all the research on this kind of wiring and I found nothing useful exept the wiring on tagboardFX (the one I used for my build).

[Muadzin]

I can't say I know the answers, there are probably way more knowledgeable people then me. But it probably always helps massively if you were to provide some good quality HD pics of what you've built. Also two fuzz factories in series? Holy shit!

Let's see if I got it right, 2 boards, one pedal. How are they activated? Can they both be activated independently? Can you bypass board 1? If so does board 2 still function normally by itself?

The usual ways to wire two boards in one pedal are:
- A to B configuration: Pedal input > switch 1, bypass/engage circuit 1 > switch 2, bypass/engage circuit 2 > pedal output
- A/B configuration: Pedal input > switch 1, bypasses or goes to switch 2, from switch 2 you can select either circuit 1 or circuit 2 > back to switch 1 > pedal output.

I get the impression yours is wired on as a variation of the A/B configuration, whereby circuit switch 1 activates the pedal and circuit 1 is always on, with switch 2 throwing circuit 2 into the signal path after circuit 1. Which means you should check circuit 2 separately to see if it works as it should. Which is hard with circuit 1 always in the way.

If it were me I'd use an audio probe. Put a cable to amp in your pedal output and make sure it has power and activate it so that circuit 2 is active. Feed no signal into the pedal input. Get a looper, or a delay with looping capability and play a guitar riff into it. That will be your test signal. I prefer loopers over oscillators because just because you get a signal going through doesn't mean the pedal works right. Having a looper play a constant riff is way better for that. Plug the audio probe into the looper's output. Instead of detecting if signal is coming through you're now going to use it to feed signal into the circuit at whatever point you desire, in this case at the input of circuit 2. If it now still sounds weird then I'd say there's something wrong in this circuit. If it sounds as it should you've at least eliminated that possibility and you should start to look at how you've wired everything up together.

[edo1123]

Your're right about the configuration, but I wired a simple on/off switch for each board so I can separately turn them on and off . If I turn on board 1 and feeding the signal into board 2 I got the volume drop and, in the background, the effected signal from board 1.

I already disconnected the switch so I have them separately and I noticed that if I touch any ponit on board 1, now totally independent from board 2 except for the ground connection and the 9V supply, I get the same noise I have when the input jack is touched.

I don't think there's something wrong with the board and, in photos, it looks like a colourful mass.

[Muadzin]

Just to be clear, when used separately each board functions normally? But when you use board and touch it weird things happen? Like that volume drop?

Hmm, if both boards are vero I'd desolder the ground and power connections to board 2 to see if it would still happen. Because I'm still curious as to how everything is hooked up to another. In which case photos can still help.

[Beaker]

Photos please!

[edo1123]

I've just isolated the problem. It was the second board. I think I'll do another board and I'use the same wiring configuration because I'm sure it was right. I'll let you know as soon as possible if it works or not. Thanks for helping

[edo1123]

The problem I mentioned before it's still unsolved, but I'm little worried because I've tried to build the ab-synth and the buzz box and neither of them worked. The problem is the same in every board. The last thing I noticed is that when the power is off the signal still passes through the board. Maybe it's a newbie error, but I've followed all the troubleshooting tips I've found on the Internet.

[PMowdes]

You really need to post some pictures.  I'm new to this and I've made some really basic errors with the switch and dc jack.

Have you checked that you have the switches in the right orientation??  i.e pins horizontal.

Do you have the off board wiring correct?  negative (ground) to the pin on the dc jack, +9v to the outer sleeve.

[edo1123]

image282.jpg
image845.jpg
I hope it's clear enough. This is the buzz box. I only used bc549 instead of 2n3904 (I've already checked the pin out and it's correct) and I tried to add a starve pot. It has the same problem of the ab synth in witch I used all the right components and it has the same exact problem.

[PMowdes]

Can you get a close up of the 9v dc jack?  something don't quite look right

[PMowdes]

Also, where is the switch?  Have you followed the off board wiring guide??

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/offboard-wiring.html

[edo1123]

image449.jpg
I didn't wired the switch so it should be always on.

[PMowdes]

I'm not an expert but I'd say that you have the offboard stuff wired incorrectly.

+9v comes from the sleeve (outer pin) of the dc jack
negative ground goes to the pin (the one with the rivet)

+9v should go straight to the  9v input on the board (not to the pot)

The sleeves of the input and output jack should be connected and go back to the ground pin of the dc jack.

The ground from the board and ground from volume 1 can go back to the ground of the dc jack or the sleeve of either the input or output sleeve

Also check the polarity if you are using a 9v battery.


I'd bung a switch in to be honest, at least then you can see if you gave power through the switch via the LED, if the led doesn't work then you either have it wired in the wrong way or the polarity from you supply is round the wrong way.

[PMowdes]

Also there should be 3 pins on the dc jack, what happened to the third??

[edo1123]

Okay. I've removed the pot but still nothing. The signal passes from input to output, but it's not like the pedal it's bypassed. I don't know how to explain the sound it makes. Any other suggestion on what it's wrong?

[PMowdes]

Dude, wire the thing up like this  

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/offboard-wiring.html

and this for the power

I don't think your board is the problem.