Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Hey guys and gals been a while since i've posted. Bought the classic delay (which sounds great) and the harmonic trem but am having an issue with the latter.
The pedal engages and produces an effected signal, but is very crunchy and distorted. Adjusting the Level trimpot only makes the volume quieter and doesn't take any distortion away. The pots and trim pots are working as they should.
I've reflowed my joints twice and checked all my components for proper placement. The board looks like hot garbage since i tried cleaning the flux off with alcohol and q-tips. It was perfect before i tried "fixing" it lol.
Any clues? Thanks in advance.http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5f3e1d60e96b6/20200819_191907.mp4

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I assume that if you turn the depth pot all the way down, it's still distorted, correct?

Take some voltage readings. You want to see if you're getting 16 volts between D3 and D4, and if you're getting close to 24 volts at D5. Also need the voltages from all the 2N5458 jFETs.

Since the level trimmer isn't affecting the distortion, it's likely that either Q2 or Q3, or both, are misbiased.

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MasterDelayer/Reverbrador/Ampaholic/TopJacker

You most likely need to adjust your depth symmetry trimpot.

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*patience is a virtue*

Please do not PM me. email is prefered. keith@buildyourownclone.com

I learned my trimpot lesson after building the chorus . No amount of delicately messing with the combination of trim pots gave me a sound that was usable. These voltages are with the trimmers set to what would be the most usable setting, with volume at unity to bypass.
The Depth control all the way up makes the same noise as in wizardofwoz's video. With it all the way down the signal loses a bit of volume and is crunchy again. The speed control still works as it should.

Since I can't find the labeled layout, here's a picture of what i found. The components are drawn as they are seen on the board.



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If you ignore trying to achieve unity gain relative to bypass, and only focus on using the depth symmetry trimmer, are you able to get something that sounds like what you'd expect?

_________________
*patience is a virtue*

Please do not PM me. email is prefered. keith@buildyourownclone.com

Yes. With the trimmers set like the picture, i get the desired effect when the depth knob is around what feels like 11 o'clock. However if the depth knob goes much more clockwise i get the thumping. Counter clockwise the effect is less pronounced and the volume drops.
With the level trimmer set lower, i can't set the depth trimmer anywhere to get an effected signal. My focus was on the depth trimmer btw, but i wanted to experiment. The signal is still a bit crunchy regardless of where the trimmers are, and only gets worse depending on the setting.

I know I'm not the only customer who needs help, but is there any where else to go on this?

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Sorry. You must have gotten lost in the shuffle. Please email keith@buildyourownclone.com

_________________
*patience is a virtue*

Please do not PM me. email is prefered. keith@buildyourownclone.com

Hi all,

I know this thread is a bit old. I recently put together the harmonic trem kit also, ordered it back in April. I'm experiencing the same issue (it seems) as robgar91 - no matter where I put the trim pots, I get distortion.

Was there a resolution to this?

It may be that Keith has something general to offer about this circuit that could be of help to you, but your best bet is to make a new thread with photos of your build so that we can help you track down your issue. Even when the symptoms are identical, there can be more than one cause, so to be most helpful, we'll need a dedicated thread where we can focus on your build. We're happy to help!

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Scott

My band, Austin Hollow