Build Your Own Clone Message Board

I've built several BYOC kits (octave fuzz, EQ and envelope filter) and I love them all. My only issue is the very high output of the envelope filter. How do I lower the output so it's more balanced with the rest of my pedals AND not effect the great sound? As you all know there is no volume control on this pedal, so what you see is what you get. All help is appreciated.

I think you may just need to change out a resistor for a larger value resistor. I think I know which one, but I will confirm with the other mods before posting...

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

Thanks, I was assuming it involved how much juice was getting to the output, I just wasn't sure which resistor or what values to try to reduce it. Let me know and thanks in advance for your help.

Here's what I tried out today after a suggestion from (moderator) Morgan. I changed out R2 for a potentiometer, which if you didn't already know, is pretty much a variable resistor...Check out this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2856&hilit=potentiometer+for+resistor
...and I followed baj2k method (2nd post on thread) to mess around and measure different resistances and the effect on the sound.

I suggest trying this with a 500k pot (or maybe a 250k) to find what works best for your setup...for me, I found that with the guitar and amp I was using, past 185k Ohms you lose the Filter effect, but prior to that (the range may vary depending on your setup) there is a noticeable level drop when I click the pedal on, and then click it off.

I am not sure how this will affect the exact issue you are having, but its something to look into. Using a multi-meter, once you figure out what value resistance you need you can get the appropriate resistors to do so.

Or another suggestion is perhaps a mini-trim pot so you can adjust it as needed as a resistor swap would be a bit more permanent, but not adjustable.

Try this out, and let us know if it helps fix your issue any, if not, there may be another way to take care of the issue...

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

Thanks, I see that R2 is a 10K resistor and I've located it on the board. I will try either the trimpot or potentiometer this weekend when I can go pick them up. I'll let you know how it all turns out. Best regards;

Made the mods to the filter last weekend and everything is doing exactly what I want! Started with the output: replaced the 10K R2 with a 100K resistor based upon your input especially the note about loosing the wah effect pas 185K. Admitedly it was just a guess, but an educated one and that got the level almost perfect (thanks!). So the level was great, but the filter effect which as you know is subtle anyway was reduced some. So based upon another thread in the forum I lowered R13 from 2.3K to 1.0K and now I have the best filter effect I've had and the right output level. It's a win win! Thanks for your help and sorry it took a week to give you feedback!

G;ad to hear you got it working the way you want!

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

would it make more sense to tweak or a add a resistor after the filter circuit (right before the output?) instead of at the input?

thanks
-j

I think you misread the thread as thats what we discussed, and the person did, they changed the output of the pedal, not the input...

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

Most auto wahs/envelope filters have the issue that if you crank the resonance of the filter (or sometimes the SENSITIVITY knob) you get a level boost. I put my filters BEHIND my compressor for this reason. Lowering the output is a good trick, too, but doing that with a fixed resistor customizes the pedal for one setup. Besides, I like the added grunge, and I can control the level with the compressor. I did put a Level knob on my Mutron III clone, and that worked pretty well - you just have to tweak the level as part of the whole patch tweak.

i think i'm going to try this and if it works for my setup. are these resistors i put black squares around r2 and r13? thanks!


-j

Yes, if you are using a non-fixed wah version of the Filter PCB, the resistors you have boxed are the correct ones...but then again, there's only one 2.2k resistor no matter which PCB version you are using...

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

thanks! yeah, the 2.2k is a pretty safe bet.

cheers
-j