Parentheses Mini Fuzz Noise, Cutting Off, and Oscillation

[SleezyLobster]

I'm realizing the board looks A LOT worse with the flash on. I'll clean that up tonight. In the meantime, I started this build with subbing a 2n7000 for bs170 trans and 2 J176 for the 2 pf5102. I also used an OP07 for the IC and 2 Bat46 Diodes for the GEs. I had just read that the transistors were compatible so I swapped them in without reading data sheets, and the 2n7000 needed to be flipped and the j176 needed to swap pins 2 and 3. You can see my janky solution to that using sockets and wires, but I have continuity and there isn't a short there so I think it worked? The boost part worked perfectly, and I was getting sound from the distortion but it sounded pretty horrible, there were only a few ranges on the pots where it would even be usable, and even then it would oscillate and cut off like notes or distortion wouldn't sustain. These symptoms were in line with the D6 led flashing and turning off so I thought maybe I should just replace it. I swapped it out for another and then I was getting a buzzing, especially with the pots all the way clockwise. I tried flipping it around, same thing, tried it with no LED in the circuit, same thing, tried socketing the LED and trying multiple out, and nothing changed it. So in the process of troubleshooting I made it worse, and I still don't know what's wrong. I checked every value with a DMM before putting it in except the IC, which I meant to socket but got so caught up trying to finish I put it in with the socket just sitting on the table next to me. I also tried audio probing which led me to some transistors that weren't getting sound in some legs and the IC which only make sound in I think pin 6? I'm not to sure and this is only my third time having to troubleshoot so now I'm at a loss. May the gods of PedalPCB forums please bless me with a solution.

 

[chris.knudson]

Ok, trying to follow along, but can't tell WTF is fgoing on here..

 

[SleezyLobster]

Ok, trying to follow along, but can't tell WTF is fgoing on here..

View attachment 68090

Yea... that's what I'm saying that was my solution to swapping pins 2 and 3 of the transistor with a socket and 2 crossing wires. The wires have the insulation still and I didn't see any loose strands so I don't think there's any shorts? I got continuity from transistor to pad as well so I think that hackjob works?

 

[chris.knudson]

Yea... that's what I'm saying that was my solution to swapping pins 2 and 3 of the transistor with a socket and 2 crossing wires. The wires have the insulation still and I didn't see any loose strands so I don't think there's any shorts? I got continuity from transistor to pad as well so I think that hackjob works?

Yeah, let's just say that all of that is okay, the transistor on the right looks like it's in backwards.

 

[SleezyLobster]

Yeah, let's just say that all of that is okay, the transistor on the right looks like it's in backwards.

Yea its subbed in. The pins are reversed from what the original was. No sound from how it was originally and then once I flipped it the boost section worked.

 

[SleezyLobster]

I'd also like to mention, in the top position of the switch, dist and amplitude 10 and filter 0, I get normal rat sounds but hard to hear, needs the boost to be loud enough. In middle position, notes are crackly and then cutoff, and either little or no sound on higher strings. Bottom position has same problem but worse. With the boost on in the middle position something strange happens because sometimes I can play a chord or something it will sound fine and when I mute it no sound obviously but the other half of the time when I mute it it just holds like a middle pitched buzz that can go away if I strum and mute again. The boost works fine in every position obviously and like I said both dist and boost work fine together in upper position.