Personally I am wondering if you have created a ground loop by grounding both of your in/out jacks to the circuit board. Sometimes this happens with high-gain circuits whereas it would be fine with something lower gain. If you carefully heat the solder joint for the out jack wire on the circuit board, you could pull it out for the moment and see if it helps. If not, reheat the joint and just slide it back in.
SOFTii Overdrive
- Thread starter potierrez
- Start date
It is unlikely that using carbon resistors that are the same value as metal film resistors will actually change the sounds you hear in a pedal. There reportedly are frequencies at high voltages where there are measurable differences between the two types, but not in a place that is likely to affect what we hear from a pedal (including harmonic and intermodulation interactions).
There may be a lot of reasons a pedal with carbon comp resistors sounds different than the same pedal with metal film resistors, but the composition of those resistors is not likely to be the reason. Differences in the actual resistances between the two are more likely to impact the sounds since the carbon resistors usually have wider tolerances. And differences in the semi-conductors will also be a factor.
Of course folks that buy pedals may be willing to pay a premium for carbon resistors and NOS parts because some folks chase that WU factor, so that is another consideration if you are building pedals for resale regardless of whether anyone could actually hear a difference.
There may be a lot of reasons a pedal with carbon comp resistors sounds different than the same pedal with metal film resistors, but the composition of those resistors is not likely to be the reason. Differences in the actual resistances between the two are more likely to impact the sounds since the carbon resistors usually have wider tolerances. And differences in the semi-conductors will also be a factor.
Of course folks that buy pedals may be willing to pay a premium for carbon resistors and NOS parts because some folks chase that WU factor, so that is another consideration if you are building pedals for resale regardless of whether anyone could actually hear a difference.
Thanks a lot!!
I have tried it and it seems that it hasn't changed the noise. Today I have played with a digital pedal (source audio LA Lady) which recreates Bender and the noise was high. It wasn't the same noise but I have decide that at the moment I won´t change anything on the pedal. Maybe groundig could be better but my guitar are noisy and maybe my power supply too (Jim Dunlop Brick).
These words are so helpful for me. I have decided that I won´t change anything on the pedal.. . .
Thanks!
GeezerFuxler
New member
You can also try to use it at 18v.
Please check if the parts you used can handle it first!
This will not solve your noise issues but the pedal will have more headroom.
I am using my softii with bass guitar. The stoner mode is unusable but at low gain settings it performs nicely.
Still, even with bass guitar the bass knob seems too muddy and I have to use it carefully.
Please check if the parts you used can handle it first!
This will not solve your noise issues but the pedal will have more headroom.
I am using my softii with bass guitar. The stoner mode is unusable but at low gain settings it performs nicely.
Still, even with bass guitar the bass knob seems too muddy and I have to use it carefully.
Very helpful! I will try it! Good to hear about the bass knob!
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
I seriously doubt there is a ground loop in the pedal. To be sure, grounding is a tricky thing and what works in one situation may not work well in another. There is a concept known as "single-point grounding." Without getting into the theory, the idea is to control where the ground return currents flow. With a guitar pedal, the currents are tiny, the frequencies are low and the box dimensions are small. For all practical purposes, the entire pedal can be thought of as one single-point ground. What that means is you can ground everything that should be grounded any place you like inside the box and it won't make any difference, as long as they all connect together somehow. I have never had a problem with a pedal that was caused by too many internal ground connections. Power amplifiers are a different story because of the larger dimensions, higher currents and stray EM fields from the transformers.
The SFTii pedal is more sensitive to 60Hz (50Hz if you live in a 3rd-world country like England) pickup because it has very high gain. Scraping paint off of the mating surfaces between the case & bottom cover will make the Faraday Cage more effective.
Here is a Demo from the Man himself, Howard Gee who created this circuit.
If you can't replicate what he is achieving , then something is amiss.
Note the Bass & Treble settings he suggests , The Bass will sound bloated above 12.00 O'clock.
Sadly, He is no longer with Catalinbread with a change in Ownership recently after Creator Nicholas Harris tragic passing a couple of years ago.
I wish Howard Gee all the Best in his new endeavour's, A Talented Guitarist who also knows how to build pedals!
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
Very cool video. I wasn't sure I wanted an SFT pedal. After listening to Howard Gee, all doubt was erased.
Can you check you voltages on the PN4393, They should be close to this. DMM on DC Voltage, Black probe to Chassis, Red probe to Drain.
Can you write down your readings & report back.
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Hi !!
Here they are my measurements:
Q1: 4,34 v
Q2: 8,84 v
Q3: 2,3 v
Q4: 8,84 v
Q5: 5,04 v
Q6: 8,84 v
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
Those voltages look correct. Q3-D should be lower than Q1-D because R10 runs Q3 & Q4 at a higher drain current than Q1 & Q2.
I have scraped off join between case and cover. I also put the four screws (I only put two). And, i don´t know, I think is a little bit less noise. . .
Try putting Q3 in Q5 position & Q5 to Q3 position & repeat all Transistor voltages & report back.
Cheers music6000
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
Swapping transistors won't change anything because they are all working correctly.
Let's call it the process of Elimination.
If he gets a different reading, we have a questionable PN4393.
Q1: 4,06 v (4,34v)
Q2: 8,84 v (8,84v)
Q3: 3,17 v (2,30v)
Q4: 8,84 v (8,84v)
Q5: 4,84 v (5,04v)
Q6: 8,84 v (8,85v)
Have you tested to see if you have more headroom now & lesser noise in stoner mode
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