Bazz Fuss trouble

[Radamus]

I finished a kit not too long ago and I ordered parts to make a bazz fuss. I'm a bassist, so it just seemed right. I assembled and soldered everything (perfboard) except the LED (which isn't in the schematic anyway). I made mine based off of v. 1. It's on http://home-wrecker.com/bazz.html. I plugged it in (no casing as of yet) and I heard my ordinary bass sound. Bypass works and I evidently wired the input and output parts correctly. Then I pushed the button and heard a pop. I played a few notes that almost sounded like fuzz on my E string, but as the pitches rose, I got less sound until it was inaudible beyond the sound my bass strings were making in my hand.

I followed the parts exactly except for a 1N34A diode and a 2N5089 transistor. These should not have been huge substitutions.

As a note, I suck at soldering and I would not be surprised if that's my problem, but it seems odd that lower frequencies made it through, but higher ones did not.

What kind of a mistake did I make? I'll be working on fixing it tomorrow. I need to sleep now.

Also, I think "Bazz Fuss uck fup" would have been a funnier name, but I'm not sure what kind of sense of humor we have around here.

Thanks in advance.

[ambulancevoice]

first of all what parts did you use?

the 1n34a is not the diode used, a 1n4148/914 is used, 1n34a will produce barely little fuzz and will be to quiet, 1n4148 is stock
also, if you didnt use a diode at all, then the circuit will not fuzz at all

2n5089 is just a high gain low noise npn transistor, any other high gain transistor or darlington (mpsa13 like on v.3) can be used in its place, low gain transistors like 2n3904 and 2n2222 are not recommended
also, you should build it to the v.3 schematic, which is the most recent version

[Radamus]

I'm sorry if I'm not very good at describing my problem. Yes, I have a diode. I just switched it from a 1N34A to a 1N914 diode to see if that made a difference. I pulled out a multimeter for the first time and tested the circuits. I found that there was no current in the circut. I rewired my DC jack and the 9Volt battery to see if I could fix it like that. Then I got current in the circuit. It's above 8 volts almost everywhere. I got some current after the polarized 4.7uF capacitor (at the input part of the circuit) which I thought was possibly disturbing the signal. I tried to fix that. The thing that concerns me is that the sound sort of works on my E- string (bass) and it slowly fades as I move up in frequency. By the time I get to the G-string, it makes no noise. I think that this could be capacitor troubles, but I really don't know. Can anyone explain this phenomenon?

Thanks in advance.

[mac]

Is the diode in the right direction? Is the transistor connected properly, I mean pinout?
Did you measure transistor voltages? If you're using a 914 then E=0, B?0.6V, C?B+small difference (C>B)

mac

[Radamus]

I'm pretty sure the diode is connected correctly. It's pointed the way it is in the diagram. As for the transistor, correct me if I'm wrong, but it's collector, base, emitter from left to right if the flat part is facing you? I wasn't sure. A lot of the parts I'm dealing with are different than I have dealt with before. For example, my mono output plug has three parts, instead of two and my DC jack has a different set up.

It's a learning process and I appreciate you guys helping out. I'll try reversing th transistor tonight.

THanks

[CoolJohnny]

ive built a few things based on this circuit in the past and have had everything possible go wrong. the only thing i can recommend (and for any future projects as well) is to buy a breadboard at radio shack and rebuild it on there.

test any theories/ideas with parts there before you start soldering. its the old "measure twice, cut once" rule. only here its "swap lots, solder once." if you have the ability to shoot some pictures and post them, that might help as well. if none of the other suggestions have helped, try switching the resistor with higher/lower values.

but in my experience, the biggest number of screwups happen in the soldering/wiring phase; unwanted bridges created by solder blobs, mismatched in/out, reversed transistors, etc. keep trying. i think its worth it. this is a great circuit to work with...

[ambulancevoice]

I'm pretty sure the diode is connected correctly. It's pointed the way it is in the diagram. As for the transistor, correct me if I'm wrong, but it's collector, base, emitter from left to right if the flat part is facing you? I wasn't sure. A lot of the parts I'm dealing with are different than I have dealt with before. For example, my mono output plug has three parts, instead of two and my DC jack has a different set up.

It's a learning process and I appreciate you guys helping out. I'll try reversing th transistor tonight.

THanks

i dont think you have told us what transistor you are using, that way we can confirm the pin out with datasheets

[jayp5150]

If you're saying that you USED a 2N5089, then you have it backwards.

Flat side facing you, it should be EBC. Flip that dude around 180*, and see what you get.

Also, if you're using this on bass, you might want to experiment with larger input/output caps. I've got 10uf on mine in my bass, and it works great.

[mac]

the only thing i can recommend (and for any future projects as well) is to buy a breadboard at radio shack and rebuild it on there.

+1. Not only you can test the parts about to solder, but also try mods for your particular taste/gear.

mac