Blackeye, does this sound right

Locrian99

Locrian99

Well-known member
A friend of mine borrowed my black eye and said it did some things. Initially I thiught he was being crazy until I noticed as be described a buzzing noise that goes away when you touch the enclosure. And i did verify it does this its not a very loud hum but its there, i didnt even really notice it. Just thought the noise floor was a little high on a higher gain pedal i guess. Well it also oscillates quite a bit with humbuckers. Again i thiught this might just be the nature of the beast but now that i noticed the touching thing im kind of wondering. If i turn the gain and output up past about 2 with my les paul it starts, by 3 its pretty good and by 4 you need to turn the volume down on your guitar just muting the strings wont cut it.

Strat or p90 guitar doesnt really do it like the humbucker does. And the further from the amp you are it does get better but im not playing my amp at a crazy volume by any means.

He mentioned some radio noise i havent experienced that. Im guessing theres a grounding issue for the touching thing, in just curious if the oscillation is part of the same issue.

Thx
 
Can we see pics of the build? I feel like Black Eye has a reasonable noise floor for the amount of gain that it has, and as-designed there certainly should be a grounding issue as the PCB should be grounded to the chassis. Oscillation is also not normal and typically indicates (at least in high-gain circuits) that you have an input line too close to an output line.
 
Locrian99 said:
A friend of mine borrowed my black eye and said it did some things. Initially I thiught he was being crazy until I noticed as be described a buzzing noise that goes away when you touch the enclosure. And i did verify it does this its not a very loud hum but its there, i didnt even really notice it. Just thought the noise floor was a little high on a higher gain pedal i guess. Well it also oscillates quite a bit with humbuckers. Again i thiught this might just be the nature of the beast but now that i noticed the touching thing im kind of wondering. If i turn the gain and output up past about 2 with my les paul it starts, by 3 its pretty good and by 4 you need to turn the volume down on your guitar just muting the strings wont cut it.

Strat or p90 guitar doesnt really do it like the humbucker does. And the further from the amp you are it does get better but im not playing my amp at a crazy volume by any means.

He mentioned some radio noise i havent experienced that. Im guessing theres a grounding issue for the touching thing, in just curious if the oscillation is part of the same issue.

Thx
Click to expand...
Hello Locrian99,

Did you build the Black Eye by yourself and maybe use isolated jacks?

If you can post a picture of your Black Eye (specialy around the input and output Jacks).
 
k. Ill post a couple pics when i get home. I do have continuity with the enclosure from the jack ground, and the ground from the dc jack. I didnt use isolated jacks.
 
Alright so IMG_8317.jpeg


IMG_8320.jpeg
So i had a hell of a time getting the pcb back out around the jacks. For sure if i build a second one of these going 1590bb2.

Im going through and double checking values etc at this point. Probably give it a reflow through out.
 
Reflowed and rewired, moved leds.

IMG_8321.jpeg


I mute the strings with my hand part way through and you can hear it start oacillating stilll. The weird noise from touching the enclosure im not noticinf.

And yea i dropped some paint on my shoe today.
 
i do wonder im about 6 or 7 feet from the amp right there and i have it up louder than i ever really would…

ill find my little 9v snap to dc adapter and try that
 
Apparently i have to have the amp turned down enough that it doesnt oscillate but the pedal output up enough for me to notice because the noise is there. Which im assuming has to be related


Jacks sleeves have continuity with the enclosure, any other thing to check for that.

That has been observed in two different houses, dofferenr amps, power supplies, guitars. So confident whatever it is its either something i did wrong (98%) bad component.

I guess i could probe it (being very careful of course) but im half assuming as a ground issue its going tk be present throughout
 
Locrian99 said:
There it was just a cheap wall wart, the issue though was brought up by my friend. Im not sure what he was using. This is the only thing plugged into the adapter
Click to expand...
How much current is available on the cheap wall wart? I recommend at least 600mA for dual tube builds like Black Eye, and using less than that can cause performance issues like noise, decreased headroom, and also oscillations.
 
vigilante398 said:
How much current is available on the cheap wall wart? I recommend at least 600mA for dual tube builds like Black Eye, and using less than that can cause performance issues like noise, decreased headroom, and also oscillations.
Click to expand...
Its got 2 amps

I was curious so i sacrified a daisy chain cable. Its pulling 479ma.
 
Last edited:
Locrian99 said:
So i had a hell of a time getting the pcb back out around the jacks. For sure if i build a second one of these going 1590bb2.
Click to expand...
If you get some Lumberg KLBM3 1/4" jacks you should have no problem with that (I think).
They are less bulky then the jacks you have in there now.
They are my favorite jack for stompboxes.
www.taydaelectronics.com

6.35mm 1/4" Mono Phone Jack Socket Lumberg Brand KLBM 3

KARL LUMBERG - Get It Fast - Same Day Shipping
www.taydaelectronics.com www.taydaelectronics.com
 
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