SOFTii Overdrive

Looks awesome, loved the stamped enclosure. For what it is worth, I have read that many of the Catalinbread designs are noisy. It could be inherent to the circuit. I don't see any issues with your off-board wiring that would create an issue. You could try shielded wiring, not sure if it would help.
 
chongmagic said:
Looks awesome, loved the stamped enclosure. For what it is worth, I have read that many of the Catalinbread designs are noisy. It could be inherent to the circuit. I don't see any issues with your off-board wiring that would create an issue. You could try shielded wiring, not sure if it would help.
Click to expand...

Thank you!! Stamp letters looks nice!!

In principle I worry more about the headroom, it breaks very soon, than the ground noise. And that's why I asked about the transistors. Maybe one of them is wrong ...
 
I have plugged the pedal today with calm and i´m still thinking that bass knob adds too mud to the sound but i hear it with less gain and more headroom than the other day . . . maybe i will try the other transistors but the pedal is ok!
 
Very cool look! My DLS Mk 3 (Covert) is very quiet. If you have hum, short out the input and see if it goes away. These pedals have a shit-ton of gain, so even a little bit of hum or noise coming in gets magnified. There is no "clean" setting, unless you back off on the guitar volume.
 
Chuck D. Bones said:
Very cool look! My DLS Mk 3 (Covert) is very quiet. If you have hum, short out the input and see if it goes away. These pedals have a shit-ton of gain, so even a little bit of hum or noise coming in gets magnified. There is no "clean" setting, unless you back off on the guitar volume.
Click to expand...

Hello! Thank you for the advice!! In stoner mode there is so much noise, when you turn up to the maximun the gain knob appears feedback .. .
I have tried short out the input but it doesn´t go away.

What transistors have you put on Covert?

Thanks again!
 
I used NOS MPF4393. My source has since dried up. Any N-channel JFET with Vp around -2V will work. Your build looks good. My only suggestions for dealing with oscillation is to route the input and output wires away from the board, along the sidewalls of the box and make sure the pots and jacks make good metal-to-metal contact with the box. Something to consider with Boutique pedals: it's possible that some combinations of control settings will cause problems. Look online for demos of this pedal and see if anyone turns the GAIN up all the way in Stoner Mode.
 
Chuck D. Bones said:
I used NOS MPF4393. My source has since dried up. Any N-channel JFET with Vp around -2V will work. Your build looks good. My only suggestions for dealing with oscillation is to route the input and output wires away from the board, along the sidewalls of the box and make sure the pots and jacks make good metal-to-metal contact with the box. Something to consider with Boutique pedals: it's possible that some combinations of control settings will cause problems. Look online for demos of this pedal and see if anyone turns the GAIN up all the way in Stoner Mode.
Click to expand...
Thanks again! I tried wiring along the sidewalls and same noise. Maybe I will change transistors, but I like some configurations of the pedal right now. Not so bad ....
 
I have just finished one and used PN4393 transistors, I don't find mine overly noisy. I mostly use lower gain settings but even if I crank it up (and boy it does have gobs of gain...) it seems comparable to other high gain pedals noise wise. Maybe there's something else on yours...? I will check later again on very extreme gain settings and will let you know if I find anything like you describe.
 
Chuck D. Bones said:
Can you describe the noise or upload a sound clip?
Click to expand...

Hi!

I am thinking that maybe the pedal is like this and that noise is normal and bass control is muddy. I play with single coil pickup and that not helps .. .

Here it is an audio with no guitar plugged. First withput pedal, second with pedal in stones mode and last with stoner:

Clip 1 (No guitar)

And here it is a loop, first clean sound, then activating pedal and changing Bass control, gain, stoner, all knobs up, stones:

Clip 2 with loop

And Clip 3, without input activating pedal, mode stoner and goes form 0 to all with the gain:

Clip 3 (feedback)
 
cooder said:
I have just finished one and used PN4393 transistors, I don't find mine overly noisy. I mostly use lower gain settings but even if I crank it up (and boy it does have gobs of gain...) it seems comparable to other high gain pedals noise wise. Maybe there's something else on yours...? I will check later again on very extreme gain settings and will let you know if I find anything like you describe.
Click to expand...

Thank you! It is a relief that with PN transistor works well the pedal. I dont know, maybe it my perception or my expectatives. There is some configurations that sounds well for me .. .
 
This afternoon i could try the pedal on an amp (at home i play with headphones and iridium) and i have noticed that it has more ground noise than habitual (also on mode stones mode). What can I do to reduce it?
 
Original catalinbread pedal using carbon film resistors and carbon composition resistors. If you make your pedal using metal film resistors,, you will be disappoint your pedal sound.

Catalinbread - SFT REV 2

Someone share me the SFT REV 2 for the week, so I take pictures and get values of capacitors and pots, maybe it can help for helping debugging the previous tracing. This is pictures: https://www.dropbox.com/sc/p76h70dy0ch3wkn/AACdRnEuL0o7n_CG8ttR24Bxa I
freestompboxes.org freestompboxes.org
Look picture of PCB and change all resistors like original pedal.
 
Jiuk said:
Original catalinbread pedal using carbon film resistors and carbon composition resistors. If you make your pedal using metal film resistors,, you will be disappoint your pedal sound.

Catalinbread - SFT REV 2

Someone share me the SFT REV 2 for the week, so I take pictures and get values of capacitors and pots, maybe it can help for helping debugging the previous tracing. This is pictures: https://www.dropbox.com/sc/p76h70dy0ch3wkn/AACdRnEuL0o7n_CG8ttR24Bxa I
freestompboxes.org freestompboxes.org
Look picture of PCB and change all resistors like original pedal.
Click to expand...


Thank you! I thought the carbon ones are noisy than metal resistors, although I have enough insecurity desoldering, I think I'm going to try to change them.

Any advice to desolder?

What´s the tonal differences between composition and film?
 
potierrez said:
Thank you! I thought the carbon ones are noisy than metal resistors, although I have enough insecurity desoldering, I think I'm going to try to change them.

Any advice to desolder?

What´s the tonal differences between composition and film?
Click to expand...

Carbon composition resistor make vintage amp sound. No high frequency and very strong middle frequency. But all vintage amplifiers had these resistors.

This PCB has very small hole, so it's not easy to desolder. I'm not a experts so I can't give any advice but you have to desolder very very carefully.
 
Maybe I will replace resistors carefully.. . .
One thing i have noticed is when you remove the lid and leave the box without closing the background noise increases more than other pedals.
 
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