crybaby mod suggestions, clarity needed

[aka_basse]

Hello

I know that loads of crybaby mod threads have been up, but ive searched a lot and still havent found what im looking for. So here goes:

Ive decided to add true bypassing and buffer removal to my poor crybaby. And while im at it, I might as well try to mod it and here is what I had in mind. This is pretty hard for me to explain, bear with me

1. The pedal makes an odd "swich klatsch" noise when I rock it. It is not noise from the guitar, it does the same thing when guitar volume is at 0 and when the signal is dead quiet. It only happens when there the amp is distorted, so I guess it could be bad isolation or some ground issue inside the pedal? Anyone who had a similar problem? Is this perhaps a normal thing?

2. When playing higher notes up the neck it hardly does "wah" at all. Especially when playing single high notes. Which of the mods make it sweep the higher notes better? It "wahs" better with more treble in the signal, thats the only way to use the wah on higher notes, but I want to be able to have a less trebly sound and still be able to hear the "wah" clearly. Which of the mods will help me? Is there any way to do this without sacrificing the "wahyness" on the lower notes?

(Though I havent made any mods to the pcb yet, its still one hell of a modded wah  . I made a box which i plug in to a special jack in the box, which enables me to control the wah sweep by tilting my guitar  and if you shake the guitar it makes a wonderful wobbly sound. Its still the original circuit that is being controlled, but with a optothingy instead of the pot)

Thanks

[aka_basse]

Going OT on my own thread to explain how the tilt-mod box works:

[eleanor296]

dude... and that works without problems??  That must be the most interesting way to control a pedal EVER.  Wow.
Any chance for a schem?

Thanks!

~Andy

[bside2234]

Are you sure the noise when you rock the pedal back and forth isn't a scratchy pot?

I too would like to see a schematic or any other info you have on the guitar tilt control.

[ACS]

Is guessing the odd noise is something gone microphonic - tap the chassis of the pedal with something hard when the OD's on and see if the noise comes through loud and clear...

[aka_basse]

Nah its doesnt seem to be microphonic. Couldnt hear hitting it from the amp... It does pick up a lot of noise from the surroundings though (like radiation from computer etc) - picks up as much noise as my bridge single coil pickup with full tone, which is baad.

As for the tilt-box, I used one axis of an accelerometer, changed and fed the signal to a vactrol optoresistor. The whole thing worked way better than I ever could hope for.

[axg20202]

What value is the input resistor? (stock value is usually 68K I think, but it is common to lower this to get back some gain after modding to true bypass, as I'm sure you know). If this is too low a value, it can make the pedal more sensitive to interference. If you have lowered this from stock, maybe increase it and then make up some gain using an output buffer instead?

[Roobin]

Could the odd switch noise be some loose component inside - pot fixing perhaps? If you can only hear it with distortion, it may be because it's too quiet to hear via clean. Try going clean, and turning the volume up, and see if you can hear it.

The accelerometer idea is very cool. How do you control the on/off? Do you still use the pot in the wah, or is it just the opto?

[aka_basse]

Thanks for all ideas and answers!

What value is the input resistor? (stock value is usually 68K I think, but it is common to lower this to get back some gain after modding to true bypass, as I'm sure you know). If this is too low a value, it can make the pedal more sensitive to interference. If you have lowered this from stock, maybe increase it and then make up some gain using an output buffer instead?

I havent done the bypass and buffer mod yet, so all other components are still standard. Ill keep this in mind when doing the mod!

Could the odd switch noise be some loose component inside - pot fixing perhaps? If you can only hear it with distortion, it may be because it's too quiet to hear via clean. Try going clean, and turning the volume up, and see if you can hear it.

The accelerometer idea is very cool. How do you control the on/off? Do you still use the pot in the wah, or is it just the opto?

Loose components? What is meant by that? The pot should not be the issue, I changed it pretty recently and the problem is still here. The noise is heard in clean channel as well if you turn it up louuud.
As for the accelerometer, there is a switch on the crybaby that switches between normal pot and the opto, and the rest of the electronics is in the box on the guitar.

What is the most common cause of noise problems? What usually picks up the noise? The noise I hear is as mentioned the same kind of noise I can hear from my pickups on the guitar, which in this room means monitor radiation and such. Is there really no one else who has this problem when playing with distortion?

[Paul Marossy]

What is the most common cause of noise problems? What usually picks up the noise? The noise I hear is as mentioned the same kind of noise I can hear from my pickups on the guitar, which in this room means monitor radiation and such. Is there really no one else who has this problem when playing with distortion?

It's the inductor that causes that noise - it picks up EMI from various sources. I had a similar problem some years ago now with a major hum when using my Boss Metal Zone. The problem turned out to be that the wall wart powering my pedalboard was too close to the wah (within a few inches). I moved the wall wart to the other side of the pedalboard, and that problem went away.

A very high gain pedal will greatly amplify any kind of hum that is already present but maybe not perceptible until you turn it on. Even more so when a wah pedal is picking up EMI from somewhere.

[aka_basse]

wow thanks, that must be it

The room where I play now has a lot of EMI, computer,tv, a lot of other stuff... But I remember I had the same problem in less exposed places. Is there any good way too shield the inductor better?

[Paul Marossy]

wow thanks, that must be it

The room where I play now has a lot of EMI, computer,tv, a lot of other stuff... But I remember I had the same problem in less exposed places. Is there any good way too shield the inductor better?

There was a thread a few years ago, I think when I was having this problem, where RG wnet into a detailed explanation of why wah inductors are susceptible to hum. You might be able to find it if you do a search.

Anyhow, the only things that really work in my experience is changing the angle of the wah to where it picks up the least amount of hum, or what really what works best, is increasing the distance between the wah and any offending devices. Sometimes, you just can't get it any better if you're in a small room with a computer that has fans and a monitor in it. One reason why I don't use my computer to do recording...

[aka_basse]

Thanks Paul, Ill try some different places to put it

And then the other question...

2. When playing higher notes up the neck it hardly does "wah" at all. Especially when playing single high notes. Which of the mods make it sweep the higher notes better? It "wahs" better with more treble in the signal, thats the only way to use the wah on higher notes, but I want to be able to have a less trebly sound and still be able to hear the "wah" clearly. Which of the mods will help me? Is there any way to do this without sacrificing the "wahyness" on the lower notes?

[Paul Marossy]

What kind of guitar do you play? You can do a lot to the sound of the "wahyness" just by changing what pickup(s) you select to use with the wah pedal.

[aka_basse]

Its a strat, and the bridge pickup sounds best with the crybaby. I would like to be able to play with the neck pickup and still hear the wah sound clearly on the high notes. (the bridge pickup still doesn't get the "wah" that I'm after in the high notes)

any mod which affects this?

[Paul Marossy]

Its a strat, and the bridge pickup sounds best with the crybaby. I would like to be able to play with the neck pickup and still hear the wah sound clearly on the high notes. (the bridge pickup still doesn't get the "wah" that I'm after in the high notes)

any mod which affects this?

The things you want are kind of opposed to eachother. The neck pickup will always sound mellower and have less harmonics than the bridge pickup will, so it won't sound real defined.

It sounds like you want more definition to your wah sound? If that is the case, then you might want to make the sweep cap a little smaller. But if you do, it might sound too biting and too thin. What kind of wah do you have? Maybe changing the inductor might make a difference.

Have you seen my wah pedal mod pages?
http://www.diyguitarist.com/DIYStompboxes/WahMod.htm
http://www.diyguitarist.com/DIYStompboxes/WahMod2.htm

I also like the "Fat Wah" mod on the GCB-95, I think it sounds great: http://www.diyguitarist.com/DIYStompboxes/WahMod1.htm
It sounds good with a Strat with a humbucker on the bridge and lower output single coils in mid/neck position. My Strat has a DiMarzio FRED on the bridge, it's a great combo with the "Fat Wah" modded GCB-95.

[aka_basse]

Thanks again Paul, Im gonna go wild on my wah and see what happens

About the fatwah mod, how do you combine this mod with true bypass/buffer removal? The mod uses the buffer parts?

[Paul Marossy]

Thanks again Paul, Im gonna go wild on my wah and see what happens

About the fatwah mod, how do you combine this mod with true bypass/buffer removal? The mod uses the buffer parts?

You can't have true bypass and do the Fat Wah mod. IMO, the GCB-95 is just fine with the input buffer. The buffer presents a high enough input impedance that it is essentially the same as true bypass in terms of "tone sucking".

[aka_basse]

Thanks for all the help Paul!

Made the fatwah mod, vocal mod, midrange mod, left the sweep cap alone, didnt have any good caps for that one.
I like the sound of it now!

I tried to cover the fasel inductor with aluminum foil to reduce noise  couldnt tell any difference

[Paul Marossy]

Thanks for all the help Paul!

Made the fatwah mod, vocal mod, midrange mod, left the sweep cap alone, didnt have any good caps for that one.
I like the sound of it now!

I tried to cover the fasel inductor with aluminum foil to reduce noise  couldnt tell any difference

Awesome. If you try shielding the inductor, the shield needs to be connected to ground, or it won't do anything. I really don't think it would help, though. But you're welcome to give it a try!