I built the Mal mids PCB this morning. It sounds great, but I noticed that when the mids control (not sweep) is fully clockwise the sound cuts out. Is this normal? Has anyone had a similar or different result with the mids control.
You said it cut out fully CW (clockwise) in the OP, and here you're saying CCW (counter clock-wise)?
For controls labelled VOL / LEVEL / OUTPUT etc, it is not uncommon to fully cut the signal completely fully CCW, as most VOLUME pots at the end of the signal chain (which the Mal Mids is) are set up as a voltage divider (as opposed to rheostat) and will dump all the signal to ground when fully CCW. FULLY CW, the pedal-circuit should be at its loudest, not cutting out.
As for the Maleficent Mids' MIDS pot... it too is set up as a voltage divider with lug1 going to ground, so yeah, it's going to kill signal at fully-CCW. Only the mids, though, looking at the schematic other pathways should be taking signal to the VOL pot.
You could clip the MIDS-pot's leg1 and then tack in a 500Ω or 1k resistor between the pot's lug1 and its counterpoint on the PCB — you'll have to experiment with the value to see what's right for you. I've seen others suggest 2k2 for a 10k-pot in other threads.
MALIFICENT MIDS POT COMPARISON:
It's de rigueur to post pics in trouble-shooting threads as visual inspection is often a key to resolving problems.
Make sure the PCB is VERY-well lit, get pics of front, back and all jack connections etc.
I return you to Jwin615's more capable helping-hands.
I built this and I don’t think it kills the signal either fully CCW or CW. My guess is that the dual pot is shorting. I had to stick a thick piece of cardboard to insulate it from the board, I would try that first. Dual pots are frequently part of troubleshooting threads.
While you’re at it, I would post clear pics of both sides of the board so we can take a look and see if we spot anything obviously off. I would also (visually) double check all component values, you never know.
Thanks, folks, for all the tips and the clarifications. I have set that PCB aside and carefully populated another one I had. If I get similar issues (the mids pot turned out to be cutting out both fully CW AND fully CCW) I’ll post back here, include really good pics, and go from there. Hopefully later this week!
