Build Your Own Clone Message Board

Just finished an Ultimate Fuzz build. Plugged it in and only get a hissing sound out of my amp in bypass, and the same with the effect engaged. The LED doesn't work either. The out jack I used is from Radio Shack and it's mono but has three solder lugs instead of two like the one in the instructions has. Could this be an issue? I only soldered to the middle and bottom ones. Just want to get my first build to work.... Will try to post pics soon.

EDIT: The jack from RS is packaged as a phone jack when I would think it should be an audio jack.

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

bump, anyone?

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

I'd say replacing that jack should be the first thing to try.
Why didn't you use the jack supplied with the kit? Or did you source your own parts?

"Phone Jack" is the correct name for them. That's what telephone operators used to use on their switchboards to make phone connections back in the good old days..

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"It’s your soldering."

The mono out jack was missing from the kit when it arrived two weeks ago and the first replacement Keith sent was lost by UPS. The second one he sent priority mail yesterday, but I'd gotten tired of waiting. *sigh* I've returned the jack I got at RS and am resigned to waiting. Again.

Thanks for the info Stephen. Nice pic.

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

The jack you got from RS should work, but I wonder if the problem is that the lugs were wired incorrectly. Did you test with a DMM to see which lug connected to the Tip, Ring, or Sleeve? It can be an easy mistake to make, but if you are not passing signal in in bypass, then the problem is very likely between the jacks and the 3PDT switch.

I don't have a DMM, but am waiting on the correct out jack from Keith. I returned the one from RS.

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

Got the out jack from Keith today. Put it in and got bypass to work fine. LED still doesn't light but I soldered it backwards and now it's probably done for. With the effect engaged, the hissing still persists. I'm getting no guitar signal whatsoever. The volume knob turns up the hiss and the fuzz knob doesn't appear to do anything. Biasing the trimpot does nothing. Anyone got any ideas?

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

post up some pics...front, back, pot, switch and jack wiring.

Some pics (for better or worse):

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x71/floydian_01/fuzz00007.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x71/floydian_01/fuzz00009.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x71/floydian_01/fuzz00016.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x71/floydian_01/fuzz00002.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x71/floydian_01/fuzz00010.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x71/floydian_01/fuzz00000.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x71/floydian_01/fuzz00013.jpg

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

bump, anyone?

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

it's pretty hard to make anything out in those photos...here's a couple tips:

activate the flower icon on your camera. that'll make it easier to get closeup

take the photos in strong light. your camera will focus better.

when you post from photo bucket, use the line of code that starts with [IMG]. that way your pics will pop up directly in your post.

all i'm seeing right now is that your soldering looks a little iffy, and you're laying it on pretty heavy. but let's see some better pics and we'll know for sure!

Working on it...

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

Trying again:

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

it's still tough to see most of what's going on, but i would definitely say you should touch up your soldering. take a look at this thread:

http://buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=5773

get rid of some of those big globs on the pcb, clip the excess leads that are poking out, and tidy up the joints on your pots and footswitch. if you end up redoing some of wiring, try using shorter lengths...the more wire you stuff into the box, the more things get shoved around and you have a better chance of shorting stuff out.

good luck...keep us posted!

I'll try to redo the soldering on the pcb and clean it up and see what happens over the next few days. Thanks for the help guys. At least I'm getting closer.

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

It's very hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like the switch may be wired incorrectly. Double check all of your connections against the diagram.

Good Luck.

Where on the switch are you seeing a problem?

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

I can't tell for sure but pins 2, 4, and 9 might be going to the wrong places. The suggestion to shorten your wiring is a good one, so you may just want to start there.

The wires look to be all going to the right places. I guess that leaves cold solder joints, bad wiring or a bad part, then. Guess it's time to clean it up.

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

I agree that many of your solder joints don't look the best. Have you taken a look at my "tips for a successful build" thread? Compare your soldering to the pix in the thread. Also, try to make your wiring a little neater too. With those long runs of wire it's difficult to tell where exactly they are all going.

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"It’s your soldering."

I'll work on reflowing some joints today and see what happens.

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

Reflowed/heated the solder joints on the pcb, pots and some on the footswitch. Still no go. Any ideas?

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour

if i understand correctly you had hissing, on or off, originally. you changed the output jack to the correct mono phone one and now you only have hissing when the effect is on. this leads me to believe that the problem lies at the switch.

be careful when you work on the 3pdt switch. if you overheat those lugs, the red material that holds them will get soft and you can yank them right out.

i can only tell you what i would do in your situation. and bear in mind that i could be COMPLETELY wrong in my diagnosis of your problem.

i would remove the entire circuit from the enclosure. i would remove all my wires from the switch. i would SLOWLY and CAREFULLY remove the solder from the lugs with desoldering braid or a pump. be careful not to dislodge those lugs! i would then redo my connections (keep those wires shorter) and use only as much solder as is needed. don't lay it on too thick. follow the directions in that link i gave you for soldering neatly.

check if this solves the problem. if bypass works, but on doesn't, then you now need to worry about pcb and the wiring going to it.

don't spend excessive amounts of time troubleshooting. put it down after an hour or two. come back the next day. i understand wanting to be done with it, but you'd be amazed what NOT staring at it incessantly will do for finding the problem.

once things are looking new & improved, post some new pics. IN FOCUS PLEASE!

To clarify, bypass now works fine, but I get no guitar signal with the effect engaged. The volume just turns up my amp hiss. I'm getting continuity testing with an analog voltmeter throughout the switch, jacks, pots and board.

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"Christ, what would rock and roll be without feedback?" - David Gilmour