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Hi all, this is my first pedal build, so I'm still trying to figure out how to diagnose my issue.

Pictures: Front of PCB, Back of PCB
Pedal: 27v Boost Kit (with no substitutions)

Good news is that the pedal works! Bad news is that the max volume for the pedal is too low. If I were to compare this to a regular pedal, loudness from 1-10, I would say that the volume caps out at 4 (in it's max position). So if I turn my guitar and amp volume all the way up, I can hear the pedal fine. Of course, this is less than ideal. If the volume knob is at 0, it will correctly mute the guitar.

When the footswitch is switched off, the guitar's sound passes through fine with the correct volume. When I turn the pedal on, the volume drops.

The Treble knob does appear to adjust treble output. This is by testing the pedal at full guitar and amp volume.

How can I diagnose this type of issue?

Lack of output volume is most commonly due to two things: misplaced components, esp. resistor mistakes (I don't see any problems there) or a funky solder joint somewhere. To address the second possibility, I would recommend following this procedure: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=52188

If that doesn't do the trick, post back here and we can try some other things.

_________________
“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2

Thanks for the quick reply!

I have tried reflowing twice now and unfortunately for me, my issues appear to be increasing. After the first reflow, I lost all of the volume. After the second reflow, I lost bypass and the LED light.

Surely, I must be messing up the soldering somewhere. Is there a way to test figure out where the error is happening?

Thanks again for your help.

Do you have access to a multimeter and know how to use one? And do you have a signal tester?

_________________
“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2

I have a multimeter and I can use it. I do not have a signal tester. Looks useful! I'll have to get one.

After a few more attempts at reflow, it works! Though, I'm honestly not quite sure what I did differently between this try and the previous few.

Just for future reference, how do I use a multimeter in order to diagnose issues? So far, the only thing I've used the multimeter for is to test voltage.

Thanks again for your help!

Glad to hear you got it running. It's amazing how often just re-flowing the joints solves a problem like yours!


Measuring voltage levels is a key diagnostic tool, especially when you have a couple of IC's in the circuit--and one of them has to generate the 27 volts needed to run this particular effect! But you can also use the multimeter to check for point-to-point continuity (i.e. ~0 resistance), resistance levels (only under some circumstances; it's often not possible to get accurate resistance readings due to the presence of parallel circuit paths), and a few other less common things.

_________________
“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2