Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Hello! I've got the standard "LED lights up, works in bypass, no sound when engaged" issue with my first build. I read some posts and followed suggestions on testing. Along the way I found an issue that I fixed but still no dice.

Is there a master list of readings that should occur with resistance and voltage for the components? I've searched around but didn't find anything apart from individual posts. I checked my solder joints and wanted to make sure I went through each component to see what might be off from what they should be reading.

Just diving into taking component readings with a multimeter is not what we would recommend to start off addressing such a problem. Please post a set of photos as a first step and let the experienced eyes here in the forum see if they spot anything wrong/questionable. They need to be LARGE, well-lit, well-focused shots of BOTH sides of the PCB and all of your jack & switch wiring. You can use either the file attachment function here in the forum (1MB max. file size) or upload the photos to a publicly accessible hosting site like Imgur and then post links or image display coding here.

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

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

Thank you! I'm not used to such a helpful forum, so I thought I would be saving people some time. I appreciate anyone looking though.

I accidentally soldered the SW2 part to the VR3 location initially and after some desoldering struggle, I was able to replace it. That's the reason for the rough look in that area. I tested the resistance of the middle lug of the volume pot and the C2 cap after reading another post and it was initially reading 90ish whether it was fully turned clockwise or counterclockwise. I remembered it looked like I tore an eyelet off the middle lug so I did some googling and soldered a wire from the middle lug to the 1 hole of the footswitch.

Reading the resistance now, it shows .06 when it is fully clockwise, but doesn't seem to show anything when it's fully counterclockwise. So, I guess I'm more lost than I thought. I'm hoping I didn't ruin things as bad as it looks like I may have at the volume pot.

Wrong place to run that wire to. Remove the wire that connects eyelet 7 of the PCB to lug 7 of the footswitch. Then disconnect the end of that wire that you soldered to eyelet 1 and connect it instead to lug 7 of the footswitch. See how the pedal behaves then.

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

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

That made all the difference! Thank you!

My only concern is that it makes all the right sounds but it seems like it's slightly below bypass volume. I don't know if that's anything I may have done or just a part of the pedal I wasn't aware of (i'm new to fuzz pedals)

The Classic Fuzz, like most Fuzz Face circuits, is not a particularly loud pedal. But with the Bias control up around 2 o'clock and the Fuzz pot around 4 o'clock, you should be able to get unity volume (output about equal between engaged & bypassed) by noon on the Level control. This will vary somewhat between different transistors.

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

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

Great! I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Thank you again for your help. This board is extremely helpful and I’m very appreciative as a brand new builder.