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Hi everybody. I just built the new G2-Animal 2021 version. Tone and volume work as expected. With the sustain all the way up, I get more of an overdrive sound than a fuzz. It does not sound like the demos – doesn’t have the crunch. It sounds like the guitar on Pink Floyd’s Shine “On You Crazy Diamond” to give you an example.
I do feel the transistor sockets are a little loose but I think I have them seated pretty well. I am wondering if I need to solder them to the board.
Oh, and I have not soldered the LED yet. I usually wait until the pedal is 100% working as it’s way easier to reseat it not soldered.
FYI – I am not new to building pedals. I have a bout 50 under my belt.
I’ve attached pics of my build.
Here is the 2021 Build Document for convenience.
So no Mods or anything different from the original $1000+ pedal except for transistor type which is 2N5088 and is very similar to the original BC549C.
First things first.
Take voltage readings of all transistors.
Show them like this:
Q1 E: 4.72 B: 4.53 C: 9.18
Q2 etc.
Be sure your power supply is 9v.
In regards to sockets I always use them for multiple reasons and troubleshooting is one of them so do not solder straight to the board. I may need you to test open socket voltages etc. I’ve built thousands of circuits and I still troubleshoot my own stuff from time to time.
Most of your solder joints look great but here are some spots to Re-flow that catch my eye. Simply take your iron and reheat the joint to let it flow again into the pad. You may or may not need a little extra solder handy when doing this. The ones in Red I am especially concerned about but I would go over all of them as it just takes a couple minutes. I suggest pushing the component in from the component side of the board while doing this. The component lead should show a bit while also avoiding a Bulb of solder.
Thanks for providing detailed photos. That helps a lot.
Now just re-flow and report your voltages of all transistors.
Hi Barry! Thanks for the input. I have not yet reflowed my solder. I am not too worried as when I solder I check to make sure I have flow through on the component side. I will reflow as per your advice.
I did go ahead and take transistor readings. Here they are. I can retake them after the reflow if you feel it is necessary. FYI – grounded the negative to the case (dropped it in a screw hole) and took the readings. I also took the readings from the rings of the sockets to verify connection. Didn’t want to jostle the transistors if they weren’t connecting.
Q1 E: 4.48 B: 5.00 C: 9.03
Q2 E: 5.07 B: 5.60 C: 8.92
Q3 E: 0.18 B: 0.76 C: 4.88
Q4 E: 0.18 B: 0.77 C: 4.93
Q5 E: 0.03 B: 0.62 C: 5.03
Q6 E: 1.07 B: 1.66 C: 5.06
I have reflowed the solder. FYI – I actually reflow every time I cut a lead. I think it makes the joints look neat and gives me the extra peace of mind on my soldering.
All transistor values read the same with a couple +/- .05ish.
I recorded an audio clip with my iPhone I’ll include a dropbox link below (doesn’t look like you can upload audio). I will say today it sounds a bit crunchier than last night. I did swap out the 2N5088’s with a set I had on hand. Maybe they are seated better. It also seemed to make my volume pot louder. FYI – these are the transistors I did the readings for above.
I’ve got the volume about 1, the tone about 1, and the sustain is all the way up. I would expect it to be dirtier than it sounds. After the half way mark on the demo on the GuitarPCB website, it is the fuzz I expect but am not getting.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zs3nph3w0cab20e/g2animaldemo.wav?dl=0
So, things have changed with Dropbox. Links no longer just download the file. If you go to the sidebar on the right, click the 3 dots, then you can select download. Not as convenient as it used to be. Progress! Sigh…
Barry and Jamie,
The demos were all created using the silicon diodes, not Germanium. The forward voltage of the Ge diodes varies, but are generally expected to be lower voltage than the silicon ones. Could this be the difference?
Bruce
OK after checking voltages and listening to the demo I have a few thoughts.
I believe the circuit is working fine.
In my demo I am using a Les Paul with about 1ok on the pickups. Also I may have a bit of dirt on my amp. That said the Guitar to the circuit to the amp and everything in between is the complete circuit.
So I am guessing that is a single coil pickup with about 7k on the pickup in the demo. That would reduce the overall sustain. Additionally this circuit is only 3 Stages of a 4 Stage Muff circuit so it will not have as much sustain as a Muff. Silicon Diodes would further add to the “Fuzz” sound. Remember this was designed for Gilmour who commonly stacked pedals. We did not modify this one intentionally.
The original circuit uses a Log pot and that will bunch the Sustain all up at the end of the rotation but that is the way the circuit was designed and not my idea. Further the value could be increased.
That said there are even more Mods you can make to make it more suited to you.
I will discuss with Bruce and get back with you.
This all makes sense to me. Yes, I was using a Strat with Seymour Duncan Hot Rails bridge pickup coil tapped. So, this may be the way the pedal is intended.
I will say last night there was a lot less fuzz. It was like a mild overdrive. I think swapping out the transistors made a difference. The volume was way lower before I swapped them, too. And it may just be the new trannies are seated better. I’ll play with it with my Les Paul tonight.
I think at this point the circuit is working correctly. Thanks for all of your input. I may hit you up on mods but I’d kinda like to use it as designed for now.
“I think at this point the circuit is working correctly. Thanks for all of your input.”
Sure.
Just to be clear for anyone reading a simple way to spread out the Sustain through the rotation of the potentiometer would be done by using a Linear Pot B as opposed to a Log Pot A. To add more available distortion you can additionally up the value to 100K as opposed to 5oK.
So a B100K Sustain Pot would be a good mod.
You could also switch to Silicon Diodes if you wished to add a bit more fuzziness.
Finally change R36 to a Jumper for more available volume if you feel you need it.
So a B100K Sustain Pot would be a good mod.
I did this. It def adds more fuzziness. 3/4 up (3 o’clock) on this sounds nice and fuzzy. Tho I feel I have to turn the tone all the way up as it seems to dull the brightness on it. But very happy with this mod.
Glad you like it.
This is Cornish Tone Filter.
Think of it like your Guitar Tone Knob. Start all the way up then dial it back to preference.
Thought I’d share my pedal label with you kids. Used a Gerald Scarfe drawing of a pig for some Pink Floyd flair. And the Floydian font to send it home…
Fantastic!
Cheers!
Got tickets for Roger Waters thanks to Bruce but were cancelled due to Covid. Just got an update that the show is back on,
08/16/22
Check the last two numbers.
Wow (on all accounts).
I’m assuming you had that evening clear on your calendar? 😉
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