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Okay, so I just got a smallsound/bigsound TAFM and it's totally awesome, everything I hoped it would be, but I would like to adjust the internal trimpots and I was just wondering if anyone here knew anything about that whole thing...do I turn them clockwise or counter-clockwise? How many times should I turn each one? I know that fuzzhugger made it sound like they need to be turned many times to make a difference, but I was kind of wondering how many that was...and which direction...

Thanks

Try the fuzzhugger forums? Tom might know...if not Brian from ssbs also hangs around there. Both pop their heads in here every now and then, but the fuzzhugger board might be better.

I've always just popped the back off and plugged into the pedal while I adjusted the trim pots. Easy fine tuning.

Yea, just plug in and use a flathead and go to town.

wow that's a really good idea. I have no idea why I didn't think of that...I guess I just didn't think poking around the inside of my pedal with a screwdriver while the pedal is plugged in would be a good idea. I'll try it. And thanks for the heads up on the fuzzhugger forums...I honestly didn't even know that they had forums over there. Sometimes I'm pretty oblivious...

glad to hear that you like it!

i used multiturn trimpots so you need to turn them a LOT to make a difference. the thought behind this was for 2 reasons - 1. that any external vibrations, etc won't really have an effect over the trimpot position 2. it's easier to fine-tune the sound in a subtle way.

you can turn them in either direction really... they're there mostly for me to fine-tune the pedal, but i've made it known that they can be tweaked because i know how curious most people are.

the volume trim is set up like a "normal" pot - clockwise = louder
the feedback and bias trims... these both affect each other a bit, so tweaking one may change the response of the other.
feedback - turn clockwise for a tighter/gated sound with a bit less low end, counter for looser/more bass (there's a point at the extreme counterclockwise turn where the sound will cut off, that is normal)
bias - clockwise for smoother/tighter, counter for more grit

tweaking these will also affect the response to the input volume. i set them up so that there is some cleanup with volume knob roll-off (for those who want that). changing the trims will definitely change that...

*the only thing to make sure of is that you don't over-turn the pots. since they're multiturn, it can be hard to know you're at one extreme or the other, but there will be a slightly perceptible clicking in the rotation. once you feel that, you're at the end of it's travel... also, you need a fine tip flathead screwdriver for the trims as they're quite tiny. a light guitar pick will work in a pinch, though...

it's gone through a few slight revisions so what # do you have? that may help me help you more

edit: just wanted to add that the trims won't change the sound a ton... like go from big muff to a rangemaster. they do change the response and the way the fuzz is shaped quite a bit, though...

Thanks for the help. It's good to know more specifically what kind of changes the trims make. My pedal is #17...I just got it from someone on ebay who was crazy enough to let go of it (saying it "wasn't quite what they were looking for" or something). Out of the box, the sound was extremely gated, like, if I was holding down a string and released the slightest bit of pressure, the sound would cut out. While I like how noise-free the pedal could be, the gate seemed a little extreme, so I've been messing with the trims a little to see if I could change that. I think it has improved a bit, but I have a lot more tweaking do try out. I will say, though, that putting a bit of boost in front of the pedal really helps give it the kind of extra oomph that I'm looking for.

All in all, I really love how versatile this pedal is. While I generally like to have as much gain as possible, I appreciate the wide range of possibilities this pedal offers. I think that the clean blend is an awesome feature, especially for rhythm playing.

cool. as for the gate, work with the feedback trim mostly... this has been the one area of the pedal that i've been continually refining, getting that balance between low noise and gated-ness.

ifeellikeatourist wrote:putting a bit of boost in front of the pedal really helps give it the kind of extra oomph that I'm looking for.

there may be an edition with exactly that in the works... you never know....!

That's awesome. After a bit of tweaking, I think I'm starting to get the sound I was looking for. The pedal is still very low noise, which I really like, but I've been able to get a bit more sustain, feedback and what-have-you. It's awesome how much you can tweak it to get just what you are looking for in terms of gate, etc. I do wish that the pedal had a bit more gain, but like I said, with a boost in front of it, I think that this pedal is perfect.

awesome. i'm really happy you're able to dial it in! words of encouragement!