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ok so the pedal is a marshall supa fuzz clone.. finally got it soldered and wired up annnnd when engaged it passes no sound (pretty sure this is required for one's first pedal)

when it is off though it passes signal fine.. does that mean that the jacks and switches are wired up correctly?

i think the problem is with how i wired the pots.. i used this layout http://pigeonfx.com/layouts/layoutmsf.html and for the 100kA (volume/level) pot i wired the ground, output and blue wire from left to right, looking at the pot from the bottom. so the part you put the knob on and turn is on the opposite side of the side i'm looking at, and i wired it left to right that way. is this where i'm wrong? hopefully this description makes sense

if not, i can post pics and describe more in depth. thanks for taking the time to read this!

From what I gather... you just wired the pot backwards, it'd still work, just in reverse.

Did you use Germanium Transistors? Were they tested? Did you change the Collector Resistor Value to Bias Properly? The Pedal will need biasing to 7 Voltsish on Q3s Collector to work if so... if not... I don't think the Supa Fuzz/MkII Variants work with Silicon without modification.

I wouldn't have chosen a Germanium pedal as a first build i'm afraid, time to get your multimeter out and build an audio probe!

http://www.diystompboxes.com/wiki/index ... =Debugging

yes i used germanium transistors. http://www.mammothelectronics.com/Germa ... t-oc75.htm

i didn't test then.. i get how to test them using the audio probe, but how would i re-bias it to 7 volts?

also, about grounding it.. do i ground the pots to the grounding strip on the board separately then send a ground wire form the strip to the input and switch?

i followed this: http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/dia ... a841b3e85a

but upon searching again i found this: http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/dia ... a841b3e85a

would putting the grounded input in mess anything up if i'm not completely sure of what i'm doing?

ashdown wrote:yes i used germanium transistors. http://www.mammothelectronics.com/Germa ... t-oc75.htm

i didn't test then.. i get how to test them using the audio probe, but how would i re-bias it to 7 volts?

You can't really test them with the Audio Probe, you trace the signal of your guitar along with the schematic and see where it stops as that's probably your problem. We'll just assume they're okay for now though.

With Rebiasing, you need to change the value of the resistor going to Q3s Collector (The 8k2 in this case) normally you'd do this on the breadboard beforehand and just solder the correct resistor value in according to the value of that or use a Trimmer to adjust the resistance untill it biased correctly, you just probe it with your multimeter untill it reads the correct reading.

You'll have to unsolder whatever resistor you having going there now unless by sheer luck it reads around 7 Volts already (it's rare but this can happen with stock resistor values)

also, about grounding it.. do i ground the pots to the grounding strip on the board separately then send a ground wire form the strip to the input and switch?

i followed this: http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/dia ... a841b3e85a

but upon searching again i found this: http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/dia ... a841b3e85a

would putting the grounded input in mess anything up if i'm not completely sure of what i'm doing?

You want to ground to the board yes and then send a wire from the ground to the jacks as they'll ground the pedal through the enclosure.

The Input ground is good practice, it helps stop oscillation in bypass among other things if a pedal has a tendancy to do that but for the sake of ease... it might be better to go with the second drawing, although heating and re-heating a switch too much will damage it. It'll only mess something up if you've done it wrong, if you followed the diagram you'll be okay...

Although, i've just noticed something... this pedal should be positive ground and the wiring diagram provided is negative ground... that's not going to help you one bit, you need to swap your battery connections and if you're using a DC Jack... you're gunna need a new power supply most likely.

I'm sorry to say but this was not a good choice of first project next time... i'd suggest a simple boost kit with some comprehensive instructions, this is more for the intermediate builder for anyone that might be considering it.

Scruffie wrote:I'm sorry to say but this was not a good choice of first project next time... i'd suggest a simple boost kit with some comprehensive instructions, this is more for the intermediate builder for anyone that might be considering it.

thats the feeling i'm getting no worries.. would a sho be a decent alternative? i really didn't have any trouble building it besides (apparently) the transistors

and thanks for your help so far!

Yeah Germaniums are tricky (Especially when accompanied with mistakes on the layout!) a SHO is easier definitley, this wouldn't be too hard but you needed to research the pedal a bit before jumping in building, it's not a paint by numbers effect, if you leave it and come back to it after another build and some reading, you'll probably fire it up.

There is plenty of information available for building a SHO but I still say you can't beat a good kit, comes with all the parts you need and the RIGHT instructions

$15? http://www.buildyourownclone.com/confidence.html Can't beat the price.

Yea, the pos/neg ground thing is likely the main culprit here.

cool cool. thanks again!

Jero wrote:Yea, the pos/neg ground thing is likely the main culprit here.

i got pack of these: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2062219

so just switching those around would correct the pos/neg ground problem?

Pretty much!

it works!!!

it sounds like sputtery nasty shit hahah idk if thats from the wiring or not but its awesome

i'll get clips up tonight! thanks for your help scruffie and jero

ashdown wrote:it works!!!

it sounds like sputtery nasty shit hahah idk if thats from the wiring or not but its awesome

i'll get clips up tonight! thanks for your help scruffie and jero

Woo!

The Splutteryness will probably be the pedal being misbiased as I mentioned before, adjusting that Q3 Collector Resistor will probably get you a Proper Supa Fuzz sound.

ashdown wrote:it works!!!
it sounds like sputtery nasty shit hahah idk if thats from the wiring or not but its awesome
i'll get clips up tonight! thanks for your help scruffie and jero

BINGO BANGO, good stuff ashdown. Now on to the bias, as Pete mentioned. That will give you the character of the fuzz, ie. sputtery, smooth, etc.
I personally like a bit of sputter. Trim pots are very useful here.