Digitech Whammy V Volume Drop when switch is on

[Fazzi]

Hi guys. I need a help troubleshooting my Whammy V.

When switch it on, the volume drops a lot. All effects works fine, but always with low volume output. Through bypass the volume is normal.

I took the pedal out my pedalboard, tried the original power supply, oppened it up, looked up for dry or broken soldering and still nothing.

Seems to be a very common problem on Whammy pedals, but I didn't find any info about it.

Have you seen this problem before?

 

[Nostradoomus]

is it the first pedal in your chain? Try it on its own. I’m not sure if that’s what you meant by “took the pedal out my pedalboard” but these kind of digital effects really want to be the first thing in your chain. It’s a digital pedal without a volume control, there are considerations especially due to it being a harmonizer as well (your harmony volume is lower)

 

[Fazzi]

is it the first pedal in your chain? Try it on its own. I’m not sure if that’s what you meant by “took the pedal out my pedalboard” but these kind of digital effects really want to be the first thing in your chain. It’s a digital pedal without a volume control, there are considerations especially due to it being a harmonizer as well (your harmony volume is lower)

Already tried alone outside my board (guitar>whammy>amp or DAW) and using the original power supply, and even using other 4 power supplies that I have. Same problem.
It had a normal volume before, I own this whammy since 2013/14. I also have one Ricochet and the difference of volume between them are huge!

 

[Sturdag Lagernathy]

My old Whammy II (I'm old) had a tiny gain knob on the top that went well above unity at max, but always got hit, and turned down randomly. Did they do away with the gain control? It was a great boost..

 

[swelchy]

My old Whammy II (I'm old) had a tiny gain knob on the top that went well above unity at max, but always got hit, and turned down randomly. Did they do away with the gain control? It was a great boost..

Looks like they don't have a gain control anymore.... Someone sent one for me to repair a broken input jack recently and it did not have a gain control either.. not sure what version it was but it was fairly new.

 

[Sturdag Lagernathy]

Someone sent one for me to repair a broken input jack recently

THIS!! Weak, board-mounted with no chassis support, and angled slightly upwards?! Wonderful design..

 

[Stickman393]

Judging by the above:

I have an old Boss TW-1 that had a similar issue. Low volume in use.

Turned out that one was due to a cracked trace leading to a coupling capacitor on the board. It was still able to pass signal, but the effect was like adding a 1m ohm resistor in series.

If the jacks aren't well supported, it's possible that a) a solder connection could have broken loose on the jacks or B) flexing on the circuit board during plugging and unplugging may have split a trace.

First thing I'd try is checking continuity between the input jack and it's first stop on the board, the last stop on the board and the output jack, and the ground connections on both. If you find a problem, try re-flowing the joints. If that doesn't work, take a very close look at the traces and see if you can find where the break occurs.

Can't guarantee that's your problem, but it's a good starting point.

 

[Fazzi]

Judging by the above:

I have an old Boss TW-1 that had a similar issue. Low volume in use.

Turned out that one was due to a cracked trace leading to a coupling capacitor on the board. It was still able to pass signal, but the effect was like adding a 1m ohm resistor in series.

If the jacks aren't well supported, it's possible that a) a solder connection could have broken loose on the jacks or B) flexing on the circuit board during plugging and unplugging may have split a trace.

First thing I'd try is checking continuity between the input jack and it's first stop on the board, the last stop on the board and the output jack, and the ground connections on both. If you find a problem, try re-flowing the joints. If that doesn't work, take a very close look at the traces and see if you can find where the break occurs.

Can't guarantee that's your problem, but it's a good starting point.

Thanks! Its possible as the board doesn't have any support, only fixed with one screw... I will take a look!