Deflector Reverb whine on low density settings

[Woops is my middle name]

Hello!

I recently finished the Deflector reverb - my goodness, what a blast. I don't have a ton of use for an ambient reverb, but it sounds great and turned out well enough to sell to someone looking for a discount Afterneath!

My ONLY issue with it is that, as I turn the Density control CCW, a light whine is introduced, becoming most pronounced at the minimum knob position. This goes away almost completely after turning the knob about 25% past minimum, but is definitely noticeable with the control set below that. Sounds almost like an oscillation introduced from a cheap power supply, but I'm using an MXR iso brick which is dead quiet otherwise. I don't think the whine is a huge deal because IMO the knob sounds best past noon, but I'd like to fix it if I can.

Does anyone have experience with this or know what could cause it? Could it be an issue with the FV-1 itself? I've tried to get a demo but the hiss seems too subtle to record with my phone... maybe I'm just splitting hairs here, not sure.

Thanks for your help!

James

 

[Robert]

That's normal.

Density controls the FV-1 clock frequency, things get a little noisy (aliasing and clock frequency entering the audible range) near the low end.

 

[Woops is my middle name]

Excellent! This is my first FV-1 build so I didn't know what kind of idiosyncrasies to expect. Thank you!

 

[smellslikebleach]

Hi there,

I build the Deflector Reverb and have some strange issues with it.

The functionality is normal but if I turn the pedal on depending on the position of the mix pot the pedal makes strange noises.

With mix off (fully counterclockwise, only dry signal) you hear a poping / typical electrical crack.

With mix on noon (50%) the sound is more like a gunshot an has an echo audible for the next 1-2 seconds. After this the pedals functionality is normal.

With mix fully on the sound is even louder and more noisy like a waterfall or thunder with a wide echo and is audible for 2-3 seconds. After this the pedals functionality is normal.

Thanks in advance

 

[Robert]

This sounds like typical switch pop that is being exaggerated by the reverb effect.

 

[smellslikebleach]

Is there a way to fix this?

 

[Woops is my middle name]

Is there a way to fix this?

Switch pop is a pretty common occurrence in guitar pedals that can be tough to get rid of. You can try using a soft touch footswitch, or just try a different footswitch in case you got a particularly stiff one, or wire a relay bypass module to significantly lessen the pop at the cost of higher operating current, complexity, and cost.

 

[zgrav]

relay switching will help a lot