spi
Well-known member
- Build Rating
I already own a Chase Tone Secret Pre-amp, so building this was redundant. I got the PCB because when I ordered a flanger from effectslayout.com, I wanted to get something more to justify the shipping cost, and couldn't decide on anything else. My plan was to build this and sell off the Chase Tone.
I use the Chase Tone as a unity-buffer, tone-sweetener. It isn't even essential, but is a nice to have.
The first blooper: For the 2nd time ever I soldered the 3PDT PCB upside down. Last time it happened it was also an effectslayout board. Now I'm not saying effectslayouts is to blame because it's my own damn fault both times, but is it a coincidence that it only ever happens with their boards? Just saying.
Now I'm not going to waste a perfectly good switch just because it's upside down--I had to unsolder all my offboard connections and then rewire them to the opposite sides. I had to unsolder the power lines multiple times (don't ask) and ended up having a hard time clearing the pad that was tightly spaced so I ran the negative (ground) signal from the bias test.
Now the second blooper: Something is not right with the volume control. On my commercial Chase Tone the volume has a smooth taper from 0 to unity at about 9 or 10 o'clock. On this one, the volume is off at 0, but a slight nudge and it's full-on boost. I think I gotta remove it all and see if there's another mistake (I may have to unsolder the power yet again to get the pcb out).
Lastly, tonewise it does sound good but also seems slightly boomier than my original. Although this could also just be due to the volume issue.
For now it's definitely not board-worthy until I can straighten out the volume issue. If I can't, I will scrap it and find another use for the enclosure.
I use the Chase Tone as a unity-buffer, tone-sweetener. It isn't even essential, but is a nice to have.
The first blooper: For the 2nd time ever I soldered the 3PDT PCB upside down. Last time it happened it was also an effectslayout board. Now I'm not saying effectslayouts is to blame because it's my own damn fault both times, but is it a coincidence that it only ever happens with their boards? Just saying.
Now I'm not going to waste a perfectly good switch just because it's upside down--I had to unsolder all my offboard connections and then rewire them to the opposite sides. I had to unsolder the power lines multiple times (don't ask) and ended up having a hard time clearing the pad that was tightly spaced so I ran the negative (ground) signal from the bias test.
Now the second blooper: Something is not right with the volume control. On my commercial Chase Tone the volume has a smooth taper from 0 to unity at about 9 or 10 o'clock. On this one, the volume is off at 0, but a slight nudge and it's full-on boost. I think I gotta remove it all and see if there's another mistake (I may have to unsolder the power yet again to get the pcb out).
Lastly, tonewise it does sound good but also seems slightly boomier than my original. Although this could also just be due to the volume issue.
For now it's definitely not board-worthy until I can straighten out the volume issue. If I can't, I will scrap it and find another use for the enclosure.
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