Pot works..in reverse direction...

[newbie builder]

I'm building the AMZ mini-booster, and it calls for a 10pf cap. The problem is, the only 10pf cap I have is silver mica, and it calls for ceramic. Can I use the mica cap, or will the booster not work/sound bad.
Thanks--

[Mark Hammer]

You have no idea how ironic your question is.  Jack is one of the crown princes of cap-type-probably-doesn't-matter.

I don't mean to poke fun at you.  It's just a funny coincidence that you asked that question about that circuit.  Cap type won't really matter in this application.  You're fine.  The only problem I can foresee is that mica caps can sometimes be a little bulky for the PCB layout if ceramic is what was expected.  But you can usually work around that.

Best of luck with your build.

[newbie builder]

Ahh, well that you very much for the clarification! It defenitely is a little big, but I made it fit I'm almost done wiring it, and am very glad that when I finish I can now rest assured that- if it works- I won't blow something up....

[newbie builder]

I just finished the booster, and it works and sounds great. just one problem...the pot is off when turned fully clockwise and full out when CCW. how do i make it regular? i don't care too much because it isn't affecting tone, just kinda wierd..

[calpolyengineer]

You probably wired it upside down. To fix it, just switch the outer ones. If the middle lug is tied to an outer lug, be sure to switch that too.

-Joe

[newbie builder]

Yup, that was all it was. Thanks for the tip

Well I'm loving the booster. It has enough gain that I think it's really more of an OD than just a boost...just an OD w/ no volume control, only gain. I bought some J201s and some MPF102s for it, and like the MPFs more. They sound a little more open to me. It plays great, reacts VERY well to picking dynamics and the volume control! Fun pedal! I'm really happy it worked, because I feel like it is- in a way- my first build. I've done BYOC kits before, and I did a buffer, but this was the first time I sourced parts and put it together on a perfboard using a pc layout but drawing my own perf one and all I did wrong was reverse the polarity on the LED. (which I've done for every single one of the four builds I've completed.....) Thanks to everybody on the forum who's taken time to answer my questions!