Angry Andy Plus - Bug or feature?

[MichaelW]

Hey guys,

I just finished building an Angry Andy and not sure if the boost is working correctly.

In non-boost mode, everything works fine.

In Boost mode, it works as its supposed to when the gain knob is 12 o'clock or less.

But if I turn the gain up any higher it starts squealing like a stuck pig. Not "good" feedback mind you, but uncontrollable squealing when there's no note being played. If I play through the squeal it works but as soon as I mute the strings its starts squealing.

If I put my finger on the boost stompswitch the squealing stops. I'm wondering if there's a ground issue?

But then why would it work fine when the gain is dialed back to noon? I searched and found a couple of old threads describing the same issue with no apparent resolution. Does this pedal just really need a noise gate after it at the highest gain settings?

Thanks in advance!

M-

 

[Nic]

The idea was to have the boost knob over the footswitch.

 

[MichaelW]

Awesome, look forward to seeing it.
I've built 3 Angry Andy Plus's, used shielded cable on all of them. All of them squeal like aforementioned banshee. (Note: it only squeals when the boost is on and the gain is above noon, otherwise it works normal).

I even went out and bought a retail JHS one and it didn't squeal. (And I promptly returned it, gotta love Amazon Prime!)

One thing I did notice is that the Angry Andy is brighter than the retail AT Plus. And a bit more aggressive sounding. Which I found interesting.

One of them I built for a buddy of mine. I wound up building him a regular Andy, not the plus, without the boost and it's quiet as a mouse and works really well. He loves it. I have not touched mine since I gave up on the squeal issue.

 

[MichaelW]

The idea was to have the boost knob over the footswitch.

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Great looking graphics! I love it!

The only possible thing I see that could make a difference is that the I/o wires are pushed way out. But you'd think that by using shielded cable that would have solved it right?

 

[Nic]

It should I guess, need to experiment this on my ocelot. But just touching them made a difference for me, same with the pot wires but that is not a problem in your case.

 

[MichaelW]

It should I guess, need to experiment this on my ocelot. But just touching them made a difference for me, same with the pot wires but that is not a problem in your case.

Tbh, I gave up because it's really not a type of gain that I normally use. I went down this rabbit hole trying to build it for my buddy.
If you like this pedal, I'd also recommend the Mojito Deluxe designed by our own @Chuck D. Bones. It's got a similar chewy distortion and can get pretty heavy without any of the issues of the Andy. Also the boost function on the Mojito actually works....

 

[Nic]

I've read good reviews on the Mojito. It's not my type of pedal, sounds good I guess but not my type of sound.

I wanted to make that one work to be able to sell it.