@barry
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Voltages and Pics would be most helpful.
What transistors did you use specifically as well and exact type.
Pat it is not a feature. You have a build issue.
The Sriracha Fuzz has been around forever since it was originally the Hot Chillicon and also the Fuzz portion of the Super Drive 70’s and I would never allow something like that as a feature.
I suggest you follow the normal debugging steps.
Regarding the resistor: If you flip it the other way it is the same color banding which is all that matters since different factories on different days will have slightly different widths in banding.
Learn more about it using this Online Resistor Calculator
If you want to learn in an as you go fashion then simply expect much more to go wrong which I agree will teach you well but also may cost you more money or even the desire to finish. Many years went into preparing our Guides and they are extremely consolidated into the most important things all beginners need to know. As they say in Pennsylvania “either way it’s your Perogi.”
Finally the Build Guide which contains the BOM you say you need is also on the Guides Page.
There is an Alphabetical list of all of our Build Documents at the very top of our Guides Page.
I hope that helps.
Because something is unavailable do not assume it is discontinued.
Two factors weigh heavily on restock.
- Overall sales history
- How quickly board manufacturers get back to speed on production due to Corona virus.
That said I will restock them asap. It is currently just unavailable.
I have rarely discontinued any boards over the last 10 years.
Nice build and thanks for sharing. I believe this may be the first Photon Phuzz shared
You can list the voltages of the IC to make sure everything is being powered correctly.
Follow Pin order as shown in a datasheet (Google Chip name and the word Datasheet).
Billy and the rest of us already went over your entire build and verified all components visually and since this was a kit I feel extra secure in that everything is correct. There is not much else to check from our end.
Also an Audio excerpt would indeed be helpful since I can hear if something is obviously wrong or right. I only used an iPhone to record the one I made for you above and sounds like it but I can easily tell if the circuit sounds correct.
If I say it sounds right and you hate it then it is subjective. (Case Closed) If I hear something wrong then it isn’t.
Okay this all makes more sense now. We are absolutely dealing in Apples and Oranges.
Our Capt. Munch is based on the original CrunchBoxPedal (Pre-V2 Basic design single Passive Tone only) A look at the schematic or just the BOM listing parts indicates this. It also happens to be one of the first three circuits we ever offered more than 10 years ago.
Additionally the SuperCrunchboxV2 (2017) cannot even be compared with their original V2. Here is why…
The SuperCrunchBoxV2 is not the same circuit as their original Crunchbox or even their Crunchbox V2 which is still (all Passive Tone controls) What makes the Super, Super is It contains a 3 Band Active EQ (Baxandall) section much like our Tone TwEQ board which is an additional add-on to the old circuit. The Passive (cut only) tone control on their original design is now called their Presence control. Because the add-on Baxandall EQ section is entirely Active that would account for all of your Volume differences. I would not expect either of these circuits to perform the same.
Doing a bit of Google shows this:
CrunchBoxPedal original (compare it to our version):
Note: You could add a Tone TwEQ and it would give you more Volume and lots of Tone control.
While I could not find a schematic of their 2017SuperCrunchboxV2 if you go to their site this is what they say about it:
“The original tone control has now been relabeled PRESENCE. the most exciting addition to the Super Crunch Box is the new 3 BAND EQ. This is truly a unique design, utilizing an active design, 3 isolated bands offering +/- 12db of cut and boost”
Also this image shows the Active Tone Control layout:
So the result is indeed Apples and Oranges at their most extreme even if you compare their original products.
That said if you up-load a demo I would be glad to listen to see if I think there is something wrong with the circuit based on a demo. It is a simple circuit and provides a smooth tube like distortion that should sound good on any amp. It however is nothing like their current Super model.
Finally here are two unique audio demos using our Cap’t Munch exclusively:
I made this one <– This demo is just made with an iPhone so it is very transparent.
I hope all of that helps.
Final thought: If you really want a circuit that is more comparable to the SCBV2 then try the Cranky Charles with similar topography and 3 Band Active EQ.
What reference pedal are you comparing to?
Are you trying to produce a copy of something else? If that is the case component choices and their applicable tolerance can make audible differences. Likewise component values are not necessarily going to be exactly identical in regards to exact output. The more the Gain is increased the more Output.
That said a properly working circuit (which has been around for about 11 years now) produces much more volume than “Bypass” which is well over Unity Gain. That is all that is typically needed. Not all pedals produce the exact same output at the exact same spot on the potentiometer. A resistor value change can also affect the available output of a circuit.
The questions I have since the last post is only talking about Volume now:
Does it sound good?
Are you getting distortion and tone adjustment?
Is there a reason you need more than 25dB over Unity Gain?
This way we are not chasing tails to figure out multiple potential build issues. If Volume is your only issue then we can probably rule out things like wiring, solder joints and much more and perhaps just focus on your Volume concern.
By having two individual boards which ultimately will produce two unique individual tones we get many more people building one or the other. 10 years ago we used to have just the phaser board and list a particular mod called “the vibe mod” Unfortunately at the end of the day nobody bothered to build the vibe which was a shame.
Giving “The Vibe” circuit a name all its own resulted in people actually building it and it is certainly worthy of adding to anyone’s pedal board when built to those specifications.
Incidentally the vibe tone is a sound you would hear familiar to that of Robin Trower or perhaps Jimi Hendrix and is quite different than a traditional phaser tone.
So that is the “real reason” there are two unique circuits with two different names that could technically be built on a single board.
There are no photos for me to visually inspect it so be sure your wire dressing from the taptation board and chip is short (only what is needed and no extra) other than that it could be the chip. Our circuit board or design would not be a consideration since it is very simple and based exactly on their recommendation and over the last 8 years many have been sold. I have only ever seen a problem when someone use a lot of excess wire before.
Nice build. Thank you for sharing.
The only time it would be required to ground the input in Bypass is if the circuit itself was extremely noisy and perhaps microphonic Wiring were leaking through into your bypass signal. None of our circuits are designed that poorly and you would find that most modern circuit board designs from any company would not cause any issue.
You can leave it on or take it off and see if you hear a difference when in Bypass. I have never personally done it.
I would love to hear this.
Sorry I missed your earlier post. I saw it and there are a few bits of discussion involved. I apparently have the Flu so I am not doing so good at the moment. I will let Wilkie know about this.
Thanks for sharing.
Do you tin the tip after every 5 to 10 solder points and clean the tip using a metal scouring pad etc between every couple? The tip should be nice and shiny for even heat distribution.
I have been using the same exact conical tip now (like in the photo) for 5 years and it still looks great.
You can tin with solder but I like the stuff below and it lasts forever.
Heat the pad and component lead simultaneously for a few seconds (longer with ground pads) before applying solder to the pad and tip.
I no longer have that pedal anymore to tell you. It would have been the same as yours (+ or – 20% tolerance) as I am fairly certain I would have used the same component values as you did.
What I was suggesting before to be clear is when there is a circuit you love and it is worth having a proper active tone control to shape “that circuit” exclusively is to insert the Tone TwEQ into the same enclosure. Here is an example of the Plexi Plus and it was able to fit in a 125B although larger is easier.
I completely understand if you do not want to do that. It was just a thought based on the pedal above.
That said there are two other suggestions already made above that will make the simple passive tone control feel better and less sensitive since you said “It goes from Dark to Bright and not much after that” I was not quite clear on what the Volume Control deal is that you mention half way down. Anyway by changing the Taper as suggested above you can have the whole “Dark to Bright” thing within the full sweep of the Pot.
I hope that helps.
This version uses a very simple passive filter.
A B50k would be enough for most people. The higher the resistance here more high-end gets rolled off so you can see why it is limited especially when using a B100k pot.
Anyway maybe what you might consider is bypassing the tone control altogether since there is not much more you can do with it anyway and insert a Tone TwEQ 3 Band Active EQ which would give you full tonal control.
