Muffler Woes

[Doom Tusk]

This is my 3rd pedal build, when I first plugged it in it sounded more like I had built a fuzz than a noise gate. Bypass had a slight hum. Led worked. Reflowed all of my connections, double checked I had everything in the right spot. Plugged it back in, same issue. Clicked the foot switch, still slight hum on bypass, clicked it again and nothing. No sound, no led. Tried a couple different cables/power adapters with the same result. Any ideas on what the next step is, where to check?

 

[BuddytheReow]

Where did you get your jfets? Search for muffler in the forum and you'll see my troubleshoot for this

 

[Doom Tusk]

Where did you get your jfets? Search for muffler in the forum and you'll see my troubleshoot for this

I actually did read through your thread and several others when I first tried troubleshooting. I do greatly appreciate the info on your thread! My jfets came from stompboxparts.com

 

[BuddytheReow]

Do you have an audio probe? That might be a good start. Also check your IC voltages.

A lot of what I know is through trial and error. One build i forgot to check the pinout of all my trannies, another build i used fake parts, and another I simply had the volume pot all the way down!! The more you build/troubleshoot the more you learn.

 

[Doom Tusk]

Do you have an audio probe? That might be a good start. Also check your IC voltages.

A lot of what I know is through trial and error. One build i forgot to check the pinout of all my trannies, another build i used fake parts, and another I simply had the volume pot all the way down!! The more you build/troubleshoot the more you learn.

I am very much of the same mindset; I learn a lot through trial and error but tend to not give up easily

I’m going to sacrifice a 1/4” cable tonight and build an audio probe. I’ll google the ins and outs of testing an IC as well but if you have any tips or tricks you wish to share they’d be appreciated! Thanks for responding!

 

[BuddytheReow]

If you have alligator clips, you wont have to sacrifice a 1/4" cable. Theyre cheap on amazon and worth your while if you plan on going down this rabbit hole. Plug the cable in, ground the sleeve with one clip, other clip to the jack tip and the other end to a 100n capacitor and you're good to go. Just make sure your cable is plugged into your amp. The capacitor is what you will touch to each component. Its purpose is to filter out the DC noise.

 

[BuddytheReow]

Test your IC pin voltages too. Black to ground and red to each pin. Some will have zero volts (most likely ground) so dont be too alarmed. If they're all zero thats another story lol

 

[Doom Tusk]

If you have alligator clips, you wont have to sacrifice a 1/4" cable. Theyre cheap on amazon and worth your while if you plan on going down this rabbit hole. Plug the cable in, ground the sleeve with one clip, other clip to the jack tip and the other end to a 100n capacitor and you're good to go. Just make sure your cable is plugged into your amp. The capacitor is what you will touch to each component. Its purpose is to filter out the DC noise.

Oh that’s a great tip! I actually have tons of alligator clips kicking around (I’m a model builder and use them to hold parts while I’m airbrushing them). You gained some karma points today

 

[BuddytheReow]

I took a chance with that tip and it worked. We're you able to build your probe?

 

[Doom Tusk]

I took a chance with that tip and it worked. We're you able to build your probe?

I did build a probe and traced it back to a bad jfet this afternoon. I swapped that out and It works! Thank you so much! However, I’m getting a slight hum which may be due to the fact I had it half assembled in the enclosure. I’ll play around with it more tomorrow and report back.

 

[BuddytheReow]

Sounds like grounding issues. Let us know once it’s all boxed up!

 

[Doom Tusk]

Sounds like grounding issues. Let us know once it’s all boxed up!

Oh boy things took a nose dive here. Now I’m getting crackling and something akin to feedback now. I recorded a video

I’m not giving up on this build yet and greatly, greatly appreciate any help.

 

[music6000]

Those open style jacks are prone to touching enclosure.
Make sure your Input & Output Jack Tip connections are not touching Enclosure when you tightened!