- This topic has 4 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 11 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Hi everybody!
I built a Big Muff Civil War this weekend and have an issue. I did the Muffbender tone bender mod (soldered ON-ON switch to the J2 spot on the board). When I throw the switch, the volume drops to about half the loudness. I can turn the volume knob up and it sounds great. Just weird that I lose so much volume.
Thought I’d throw this out to you guys to see if anyone had any ideas as to why this is happening.
Pics below. The backside image I took after adding all the wires but before the pots were soldered. Front is the completed pedal.
The MUFF’N has two clipping stages. Each will create a decrease in signal level. If the first one is actvated by SW1 and the second one by SW2, there will be a second decrease in level.
The amount of decrease is determined by the forward voltage of the diodes. You can increase the level by using diodes with higher Vf. LEDs would have the least amount of level loss.
If you still have excessive loss, then check for bad connections in that portion of the circuit. Resolder.
That is normal. As Wilkie1 points out, when clipping diodes are added to the circuit, the volume will drop according to the total Vfd of the clipping elements. When the clipping diodes are removed from the circuit (bender mode) the volume will jump up.
Thanks kids for the tips! OK. So, I did the mod where I can select the Si or LED diodes or turn them off with an ON-OFF-ON switch. I’ll do some playing around to see how that affects the sound drop. Like I said, if I just turn up the volume it sounds great. I just have to remember to turn it back down before I turn off the bender to keep from deafening myself. 🙂
You can get tricky and keep the same level as you switch clippers. Use a DPDT switch to simultaneously change a series resistor (like R25) as you change clippers. The great TONMANN taught us that years ago.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.