Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Thinking about doing the Ruetz Mod but the link to the Beavis Audio page shows it connected to a pot and I have seen it with a toggle switch. Being the noob that I am I don't know what kind of switch I need. Can anyone point me in the right direction (putting in an order to Mammoth & want to add this)?

Also, is there a mod for "equalize" the volumes between Turbo and the rest of the settings? I realize it is inherent in the design but is not ideal for playing live. Thanks.

The Ruetz mod with the pot is a variable version, where the toggle-switch version is on/off. The latter seems to suffice for most people's needs.

Re: the volume jump in Turbo mode, there's really no easy mod to equalize the volume with the other clipping modes. Since you have to manually turn the rotary switch to change the clipping mode anyway, I'd suggest you just mark the volume pot setting where the Turbo volume matches the other modes.

Thanks DVM. What kind of toggle switch do I need to buy?

In the original mod Philip Ruetz snipped one of the resistor leads, which permanently removed the resistor and a capacitor from the circuit. Adding a switch simply allows you to reconnect the resistor and "undo" the mod. The relevant resistor in the Mouse is R5, which is the 47 ohm one about halfway up the board, next to the 560 ohm resistor.

I recently built a Mouse with the mod using a SPDT On/On mini toggle switch, which is easy to get hold of. To do this version of the mod solder the resistor to one of the eyelets so that it stands up on end and solder a wire to the other end of the resistor. Solder another wire to the other eyelet in the PCB. The switch has 3 pins; solder one wire to the middle pin and the other to either if the other pins. There are pics of my Mouse which show how I located the switch here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=34068&p=283629&hilit=fledermaus#p283629.

I would recommend a slightly different approach, which is easier and less fragile: use a DPDT On/On switch, which has 6 pins. Connect each of the 2 resistor eyelets to one of the middle pair of pins and solder the resistor across either of the other pairs of pins. Job done.

Awesome, thanks Hogharry and I checked your Flying Bat and that is very impressive!

Hogharry- I've finally got my stuff for the mod & was wondering if I need to solder in a jumper on the "open" set of slots opposite the resistor on the switch. Thanks.

No, don't do that. You want to switch to an open circuit, not a short!

As DVM says, just the wires to the centre pins and the resistor across one end. The description "take the resistor out of the circuit" is ambiguous: what you actually want is a break in the circuit where the resistor should be and that's what the gap between the other pins creates. In the original mod Reutz simply snipped one of the resistor leads.

Thanks guys. Hopefully I'll have some time before my gig on Saturday to hook this up. If you're looking for a bigger challenge, please stop by the envelope filter support forum. My envelope filter is in need of some higher intelligence. Thanks.

OK, just wired up the mod and there is no discernible difference. So my question is, does it matter which wire from the switch goes into which socket of the 47k resistor? Thanks.

No.

So what would cause the lack of change in the sound? Here is a picture of the switch:



I'm not having a whole lot of luck with my BYOC pedals right now so my confidence is a bit shaky when it comes to troubleshooting. Thanks.

Anyone on this? I've clearly missed something but not sure what. Thanks.

That's a 47K resistor (yellow-purple-black-red-brown), not 47 ohm (yellow-purple-black-gold-brown), so you're off by a factor of 1,000! Sorry I didn't pick up on that when you stated it a couple of posts back....

Thanks DVM! I swear you stare at this stuff long enough and it all looks the same. If you have a chance, could you swing by the Envelope section, I have a serious issue with my envelope filter. Thanks.

I plan on implementing the Ruetz mod as suggested by hogharry (47ohm resistor on one end of a DPDT on-on and wire to the circuit board's eyelets from the center two lugs of the toggle). However, I would like to add a potentiometer to the open end of the toggle to be able to vary the resistance. In one position the toggles keeps the Mouse at stock and the other let's you dial in the "Ruetz level" (all the way to zero for "true" Ruetz). Will I encounter any issues with this approach?

Also, I've seen some Ruetz mod Rats/clones with a "feedback loop" that can really make the pedal "squeal" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XiL3t9Vh50, I think this is the video -- I don't have sound at the moment). Is this a separate mod from the Ruetz mod with a pot as I described above?

The control pot version of the Ruetz mod is easily done as shown here: http://www.beavisaudio.com/projects/fkr ... rMouse.gif.

For the feedback mod that gives you that squeal, sounds to me like he did the "howl of flaming death" mod on the Rat circuit. It's shown here as applied to a Muff circuit--same idea, though: http://www.beavisaudio.com/Projects/Fuz ... ods_V2.gif