Orange $queezer compressor choking sound

[Bigbizkit]

hi guys, i just finished building my orange squeezer by tonepad. Made some mods for bass as stated on the tonepad site. I get clean sound as long as i dont increase the volume on my bass guitar. But when i do, the OS is choking.. I tried different amps cuz I thought the amp is the prob. But i still get the same problem..

Im using a passive bass..
When i hit the string, At the start of the note,it will choke and then it will sound again. Its like the OS is compressing the beginning sound of notes to a level where it mutes the sound as if it is choking... Especially when i hit the hi notes, or when i slide from lo to hi note...
I was thinking about eliminating the bass mods and just stick to the original design...
Help guys...
Oh by the way i used 2n5486 instead of 2n5457(the original fet transistor on the schematic.)
For Q1,Q2, I used 2n5486 instead of the original 2n5457 due to availability.
And also i used in4148 for D1 as a substitute for in100/in34a.
And for the trimmer pot i used 100k pot(not a trimmer), ill replace it with 10k tomorrow.
Here is the link.
http://www.tonepad.com/project.asp?id=5

[peterg]

Welcome to the forum! I suggest you use parts as close to the specified as possible, getting it working and then mod if needed. This is a tricky build. The trim pot needs to be set at 1.5 to 1.7 volts and left alone. D1 needs to be germanium so the 1N4148 is not a good sub.

Take a look at the debugging page from the menu above and do a search for orange squeezer on this site for more info.

[GGBB]

^+1

The diode and trimmer in particular will be problematic - those FETs might be okay. If you can't find a germanium diode like 1n34a, try a schottky like BAT41. The trimmer adjustment is finnicky - there's a small area that gives you the right sound and its best to adjust by ear. With a 100k pot instead of 10k, that small area is 10x smaller. A quick fix is to parallel the pot with a 10k or 12k resistor.

[Bigbizkit]

Oh hey! I was able to eliminate the choking sound. I think the prob is the faulty opamp. I replaced the 4558 with tl072.
Now i got a clean sound, but i feel like instead of a compressor it has turned into a booster..
When i reduce the sustain trimmer/pot the volume goes down.
I still coudnt get a in34a ge diode, so i used mtz series diode. I think its a zener.
The result is a very low freq signal/sound but its very clean, with no distortion.
Hope to get a in34a GE diode soon, hoping i could make it function like a real compressor like it should be.
0_o