Issues with Torchy Dr Boogey Vero Build

[Scruffie]

Hi, I've just built a Dr.Boogey from torchys old vero layout that I had and something ain't right and some help would be greatly appreciated to get this running.

The pedal seems extremley quiet and low gain (it's not shielded and there isn't even any hum!) for something that i thought should be extremley high in gain (my R.O.G thor build sounds far heavier) at first theres was no distortion but that was down to C2 having it's top pin 1 row down but now there is distortion after moving that, the sound is very bassy, muddy/muffled and fuzzy and doesn't sound anything like the videos on youtube of the pedal being demonstrated.

I've biased all transistors to 5.5v and also tried by ear but still couldn't get anywhere near the right sound, I also swapped them out for an entirely different set of J201's even though they were matched and working and that didn't help.

If i place my finger around the connections on the bottom of Q3 i start to get a bit closer to the right sound even though on full volume I still woulda thought it would be louder but perhaps the issue lays round here? (I have gone over my layout several times and all seems sound, no bridges, everything to the right place)

I have made a few subsitutions in the build which I wouldn't have thought made thattt much difference but someone might be able to prove me wrong, the changes I made were

Caps-
C6 22pF instead of 20pF (if that much has made the difference then i'm quitting making pedals)
C7 4.7nF instead of 5nF
C13 470pF instead of 680pF (also tried 1nF and it didn't make a difference)
Pots-
(These may be the opposite i.e. log rather than lin, they were from an old amp so may have been after the code changeover (A turned to B) but i assumed that B250k was a log pot as it was the volume level pot but this may have been a mistake but surely it should work just with the wrong taper anyway)
All 1M Pots are correct
Presence 100k ( may be log rather than lin)
Treble 250k instead of 220k ( may be lin rather than log )
Mids 50k rather than 22k ( may be log rather than lin )

Other things were i used 1.4mm high shielded Copper stereo hook up wire to avoid noise and perhaps it's too high reistance even though the wires were kept shortish ?

Not sure how to post pictures on here without uploading them elsewhere which I am currently unable to do however i have uploaded some on the 'other' forum if anyone has an account and can have a look at them here /viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5406

Many thanks in advance,
Scruffie.

[Tantalum7]

It doesn't look like the substitutions you've made would have that effect on the sound of the pedal.  From your description it sounds more like some of your gain stages are not functioning.  I'm not the most knowledgeable person on the forum, but I did have a similar problem with my recent Boogie build.  In my case I had some resistor values wrong that prevented some of the Jfets from functioning correctly.  Have you tried following the audio path with an audio probe to see if you can find out which jfets might be problematic?  If you still have problems after checking a few more things (solder bridges, jumpers, etc.) you may have to post the voltages of your jfets as per the "what to do when it doesn't work" so that the really experienced people can point you in the right direction.  Good luck. 

[Scruffie]

Cheers tantalum, no I didn't think they'd make alot of difference but some circuits can be touchy. I'l have to break it out and measure the voltages tommorow.
The only way i'd have the wrong values is if the company i ordered from sent me the wrong values which is something I will check over tommorow but I gave them a brief look when i put them in to make sure I was using the right value and didn't notice anything on my way.
No i haven't had a chance yet to throw together a DIY audio probe yet in my builds, has just been a bit awkward to get round to. I do feel a bit bad about asking questions without doing it but I was hoping someone had had a simmilar issue and could easily shed light on it without indepth debugging as the small amount of distortion made me feel I was close.
I've checked all over for bridges, loose connections, missing jumpers misplaced components several times and can't see anything (even though I'l probably have ended up still missing something) so anyway I will have to post the voltages up and less anyone else has some good ideas?

Many Thanks,
Scruffie.

[Tantalum7]

With any luck, the vero layout is less cramped than the gaussmarkov board layout.  I built mine on that, and you can barely see the board through the nest of shoulder to shoulder components. 

It sounds like you're pretty close to having it right, but it can be frustrating (my build took me 8 hours of probing to sort out!).  Did you use sockets for the jfets and have you verified that they are all oriented correctly?  I only mention this because it's an easy thing to check before you start probing voltages.  An audio probe is handy to have--the first pedal I build was a BYOC kit and gave you parts for an audio probe free with your first order--but I didn't really start using it until my 4th or 5th build.  It was ultimately comparing the voltages on jfets with the schematic that led me to find the wrong resistors I put in, though.

There are quite a few people on this forum who are legitimate experts on the Dr. Boogey, so if you do have to post Q voltages, keep asking until someone who really knows what's going on takes a look for you.  Cheers

[Scruffie]

It's pretty damn cramped, but not tooo bad, the offboard wiring is the one thing getting in the way really and i really hope the issue doesn't lie there I have checked it over several times but just looking at it is more confusing than the board lol but yea the board has just enough room to stick a probe in, yea i did thankfully socket the Jfets, i normally do socket with my builds... just ends up being easier in the end.
Yea this is my 6th build now so about the same point I need to start gettin an audio probe out but as I say I have got a DMM and will post up the voltages tommorow, I can already post that all the biased Drains are 5.4-5.52
As long as the vero is correct then they are orientated correctly yes, unless the pinout i received was wrong but during my testing I did try having them all the other way to check to no avail.

Cheers for the replies.

[spudulike]

I saw an error on the vero - I think there should be a track cut between C8 + leg and C9.

[Scruffie]

That could explain why putting my finger around Q3 slightly sorted it, awesome, cheers man, i'l just move C8 back one and try a track cut there.

Thanks for the tip and i'l report back on if it's succesful,

Thanks,
Scruffie.

[Scruffie]

Cheers Spudulike!, that sorted it right out, i am now in high gain heaven, Glad it wasn't an error on my part as i'd hate to have had to try to go through all the wiring and cramped layout with a probe.

Thanks again!
Scruffie.