Rockett "Blue Animal Deluxe" switchable volume preset

[traktop]

Let´s see if you can help me on this one.
I´ve built a pedal for a friend´s birthday. It´s a rockett blue/animal crossover:

It has the gain of the animal, a toggle switch that let you choose between the animal and blue note boost mode, (snarl/hot), a boost stompswitch that turns on/off the boost, and a toggle switch, (boost volume switch),  that let you choose between the normal boost level and a 100k trimmer, (second volume pot), that preset the volume a little lower to match the no-boost level.
This is how I did it:


I just represented the stomp switches poles involved on the volume path to make easy to understand.
The circuit signal goes out from the main volume pot, (lug 2), straight to the volume/boost  stomp-switch down bellow. When this one is disengaged, the signal goes straight to the true bypass stomp-switch "from circuit lug" and then to the output jack.
When it´s engaged, it turns the boost on and it sends the signal to the vol. preset toggle switch up there, which sends the signal straight back to the "from circuit" true bypass stompswitch lug or through the second volume pot.
My problem here, is that the preset volume trimmer is affecting the signal even when the volume/boost switch is disengaged, I mean, when the path of the circuit signal goes straight to the true bypass switch, the second volume pot seems to interact with the output as well, setting the signal lower, when it´s not even passing any signal through it.
Would be possible that it´s robbing some signal and sending it to ground? I don´t know, but I think it shouldn´t.
Any words of wisdom?
Thanks in advance, Gilberto.

[induction]

The problem is that when the volume switch is in the down position and the volume preset switch is in the up position, the signal still passes through the 2nd volume pot because it's connected to the top lug of the true bypass switch, which is hardwired to the volume preset switch. The 2nd volume pot acts as a variable resistor to ground between lugs 2 and 1.

When I have a minute, I'll think up a way to get you the functionality you want.

[traktop]

I really appreciate it, thanks
The thing is that I did EXACTLY the same mod to my black ´65 build and it worked perfect:


So here I am... Looking at the black ´65 guts and asking myself what I did wrong, (or right actually...)

[induction]

Well, you have a 4PDT boost switch in the Black 65, which would make it easier. But I can't tell by the picture how you wired it.

If you have a 4PDT available for the Blue Animal, let me know. That will simplify things.

[traktop]

I just used one pole on the wampler 4dpt switch, same as here. I needed 2 poles for switching the black´65 boost and one for the led .
You´re right, a 4dpt would be the final solution, but I´m afraid that it wouldn´t fit the way a drilled the enclosure

[bogey]

Hey Traktop,
I reckon a 4pdt switch might fit if you could grind out the bottom half of the screw barrel using a dremel type tool.

[traktop]

I took a look to one of my last buildings, (reverberation machine with double control set mod).


I used a 4pdt and a 3pdt switch cause I needed 6 poles to switch all the stuff leds included, (mega ghetto style, I know...), following this freestomboxes diagram, (I mean, exactly the same I did with the wampler and the rockett one using just one of the switch poles):

In this case, I even daisy-chained one volume pot wiper to the other one and then to the bypass  "from circuit" pole switch, (you can see in the guts picture at the right stomp switch that only one lead is connected to the "from circuit" stompswitch lug).
I don´t want to look like a "square head" being insistent on this, cause Induction´s explanation of the issue of course makes sense as I was concerned too about signal getting drowned by ground, but there was no volume pot interaction at all, same as with the black´65.
I think tonight there won´t be resting for me... hahahaha

[traktop]

Wait a minute... I didn´t daisy chained both wipers on the reverberation machine. In this case the volume pot is wired differently: signal goes to wiper pot and goes out from lug 3, (not the case of the wampler though as this one has the signal going out from the wiper...), so I daisy chained both number 3 lugs.
Beeing the blue animal volume pot a linear one, do you think that swapping 2/3 lugs on both volume pots, (or just the second one),  would work...?

[induction]

It will 'work' in the sense that the interaction will stop, but it won't behave the same and may change the tone of the pedal. You may be ok with that, though.

Issues to consider:

1. Your non-boost signal will no longer be affected by the setting of the preset volume pot, but the signal will still see the other volume pot, which will still dump signal to ground, thus changing the tone. The amount of tonal change will depend on the value of the pot (larger pot values will have less impact on the tone), but not on the position of the wiper.

2. Reverse-wired volume pots are not electrically identical to normal voltage dividers, so that pot may behave in unexpected ways. You'd just have to try it and see if you like it.

I can't really comment on your Black '65 without seeing a schematic that includes your mods.

[traktop]

I finally tried, and it worked!!!
It works backwards, but who cares!!!

I have just remebered that the wampler had the trimmer working backwards as well. I didn´t noticed any change in tone though. May be the fact that I needed to turn the trimmer just a little to get unity gain helped. Those were 100k trimmers, but may be I´ll try bigger value to see what happens.
Finally I´m free to keep on burning my iron with a rams head violet, and the all star reverb, (may be it sounds familiar...)
Thanks for your help!