Zvex Super Hard On Mod- Help 😊

[Kevaus]

Hi guys,

First off all, this is my first post so  I am a bit of noob with pedal building and I have a few cool pedals that haven’t been traced yet so I hope to contribute in the future.

I’m wanting to add a toggle switch to the SHO circuit which allows me to switch between caps-10nf, 100nf and 220nf. I spent many hours experimenting trying to achieve this but didn’t have any success. Also tried researching on how to do this but couldn’t find any good info.

Would really appreciate if you guys could help me out.

Cheers

[Kevaus]

Sorry not sure how to edit my post but I forgot to mention that I would like the 3 cap options to switch from the input section that way I have 3 tone options. I have it set up on my breadboard and I like the way all 3 sound so would be great to have the 3 options

[Kevaus]

Layout used

17E18C40-E499-4196-9C90-527910967B63.png

[fx-fidden]

You want to change the input cap, that in this layout is 100nF. You want to use 10nF, 100nF or 220nF.
You sai that you tried  all these caps and you like it, but did you really hear some differents? In this circuit I find no cut low end, with the guitar, just usind the 10nF cap. A 100nF or even bigger I'd say that will change too much.
But if you are ok to use these tree option you could do like this:



Sorry for the low quality sketch.

Technically, you will have 10nF with the toggle at center, 10nF + 100nF = 110nF on one side, 10nF + 220nF = 230nF on the otherside. To sum those caps will make almost no difference, I'd say.

In case you want to use just a 2-way switch you can omit the cap on the board, and choice just the caps you want to swap on the switch.

[Kevaus]

That’s great man, much appreciated!
Yes, it’s a very subtle change between caps but I can hear slightly more/less treble depending the setting.
Would you happen to have a generic schematic for the switching option you added to the layout/or a good resource?

[gabi9842]

Hi there,
May i ask about your experience with different caps? There is something i want to achieve with my SHO but honestly, im really a newbie, technically i can use a soldering iron and follow a super primitive schematic but thats basically it. I have no idea how to identify a cap unless it looks exactly the same on the schematic as it looks in real, so i have no idea how achieve what i want if its possible at all. So basically i use my SHO to boost my already distorted amp, nothing dramatic, just tightening it up a little. Constantly playing with the EQ knobs on the amp to achieve the best possible tone, again, nothing dramatic, no scooped mids, no squeeling highs. i think i got pretty close to what i want, the SHO tightens it up for me nearly perfectly, there is only one problem. A high fizz whenever i turn the SHO on. i tried to compensate it with an extra EQ pedal, but even tho the eq pedal works from 31-16K, apparently i cant get rid of this very top end fizz. I dont really want to swap the SHO as it still works pretty well for me, but this top fizz is killing me. If there is any advice, please let me know. I would be super appreciated for any help or advice.

[Kevaus]

Hi Gabi, Im really the wrong person to ask since I’m a newbie myself. I didn’t end up experimenting with the different caps to be honest. Sorry I couldn’t be much of help

[Kevaus]

Now that I think of it…

I just built the EQD arrows boost from this website and it sounds very similar to the SHO but not as high gain and without that “fizz” you mentioned. It gives a nice crunchy tube-like tone when cranked but much smoother and natural sounding compared to the SHO in my opinion. It’s also a really easy build so I totally recommend it

[Fuzz Prince Of Bel Air]

gabi9842, is the fizz coming from the pedal even at low volume settings on the pedal and when the amp isn't distorted?

Have you tried another amp?

Running the circuit from a battery to check if it's power supply noise?

If the answers to these questions are yes, then maybe try a cap to ground from the input of the circuit. I'd start with a 10nf, knowing it will also filter out the highs around 1khz-10khz. If it removes the fizz, I'd next try a lower value, like a 1nf, and keep lowering the value until I arrive at the lowest value that eliminates the fizz (e.g. 47pf).

If it doesn't remove the fizz, I'd try doing the above on the output.

[Fuzz Prince Of Bel Air]

P.S. Have you seen this?:
Super Hard On versions and noise

The tl;dr is power supply filtering fixed the problem, MOSFETs are prone to being noisy, and there's a low noise version of the BS170 called a BS170P.

[gabi9842]

Im appreciated anyways, apparently this forum is alive. Its rare :)

EQD arrows boost? I gotta find the schematic, parts list and if its not high$, i would give it a try.

[gabi9842]

I run a 4 channel amp, and for sure the higher the distortion on each channels the louder the fizz is. I guess my pedal board is relatively bigger (18-20 pedals) and it took me years to figure all the power management, loop, hum issues. Finally, this board is 100% perfect, no noise, no hum, no grounding issues at all, everything sounds incredible, quality power supplies (strymon ones), quality cables, etc. but to be honest, this pedal makes this high pitched fizz in every circumstance. I guess its not as loud as i couldnt get used to it but its still annoys the hell out of me. Its also a part of the truth that unfortunately my apartment is super unbalanced power-wise and from time to time i recognize my amp sounding muffled or way too bright. When the amp is muffled, of course the SHO's fizz is not as apparent. Terrible power management in general everywhere in this country (im an expat in China). So i dont really know what to do at this point, if i totally want to be honest, i love this SHO, it does exactly what i want it to do, but removes something from the lower mids and adds this fizz to the top end like it would force an EQ curve on the amp which messes up the overall tone. Fortunately im over with trying different things and pick the ones work best for me with all my other pedals and gear, except this SHO but if its possible, i want to keep it on my board and just tweak its eq curve somehow.

[induction]

Gabi, I have a few questions.

1. Where is the SHO in your chain? The SHO has a huge boost and could be overdriving the input of whatever it's feeding. Any buffers between the SHO and the amp?

2. How do you run the SHO? At max gain, the SHO distorts on its own and sounds a bit fizzy to me sometimes. I like to set the gain to about 80% to avoid that and use the master volume to dial in the boost.

[gabi9842]

the SHO is at the very beginning of the chain, only a tuner is between the guitar and the SHO. Yeh, on a high setting SHO distorts like hell, for me personally thats not a too pleasant distortion but fortunately thats not what i use this pedal for. I use a midi controller (Mastermind PBC) so when everything is turned off, the signal is relatively purely flows from the guitar into the SHO and from there into the amp. I use the buffers of this midi controller.(One on the input and one on the output). Should i try to turn those buffers off? It worths a try. I keep the level of the SHO low, not even 50%. My amp is hi-gain, but over there too, the gain level is on a lower setting.

[Kevaus]

Maybe sent pics of your layout if possible in case something is off. But yeah, I seriously think the arrows pedal would work out well for you since it doesn’t distort as quickly as the super hard on. It has a small component count and would work well with your high gain amp

[induction]

The SHO is not really fizzy at lower gain levels, so if you're not overdriving your buffers, I'd suspect a build problem.

Try going directly from the guitar to the SHO to the amp, no other cables and see what happens. If the problem persists, I'd suggest testing your circuit with an audio probe.