Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Hey all,

I've (literally) just completed my first BYOC build, the compressor. I've tweaked the trim pot and found what appeared to be the sweet spot. The problem, however, is that even with the volume and sustain pots maxed out the pedal is struggling to reach unity gain (ie. the volume of the amp when the pedal is off). If you back off the volume and sustain pots, the volume drops very quickly.

So, on the one hand the pedal obviously works, the LED comes on, and compression is applied....but on the other hand, it's not really useable as the volume drop when turning the pedal on is quite noticable.

Can anyone take a stab at what might be the problem? I can post pics if needed.

Many thanks,
Jordan.

You've more than likely got a short somewhere that's sapping your signal. Post pics.

I should add - with all the dials at noon, no volume at all passes through the compressor.

Here's 2 pics:

http://www.jordanhumber.co.uk/resources/DSCN1124.JPG
http://www.jordanhumber.co.uk/resources/DSCN1129.JPG

It's the first thing I've ever soldered, so apologies if it looks like a dog's dinner(!).
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jordan

A short is when you have something metal making contact with something else metal that it shouldn't be making contact with.

Looking at the quality of your soldering, I would say without a doubt that this is your problem. You need to get some desoldering braid and remove the excess solder. You used too much. Then clip off the excess component and wire leads. They should only stick out of the PCB about a mm.

It looks like you need to trim and touch up all of your solder joints. Some of the leads on the bottom of the board are a bit long. Also, I can see a couple bits of wire on the footswitch that almost appear to be touching. You could be experiencing a short there. Stephen, one of our moderators here, has an excellent series of tips for those new to soldering. Here's the link:

http://board.buildyourownclone.com/viewtopic.php?t=6401

If you follow these tips to a 'T', you're almost guaranteed a better build

Thanks Keith and Mantas, you guys beat me to it. Jhumber take these two's advice, they are both right on.

And Stephen's *whole* thread is back.

Welcome to your new addiction!
Red

Not trying to beat you friends - LOL. Just trying to be a nice guy and help out me fellow mods Remember, I may need your help one day. I just spent a half an hour trouble shooting a Lazy Sprocket on my board that wouldn't power up for nothing. I almost came here and asked for help - LOL.