Maestro Boomerang help—sound fades out when rocked forward

eurekaiv · January 02, 2010, 03:59:42 PM

I just got done doing some "fixes" (true-bypass, jack flip, clean scratchy pot) on a vintage BG-2 I picked up recently but its behaving rather oddly. When the pot is turned to its max treble side the sound gets weak and then goes away completely. It also sounds like its resonating less and less as its rocked forward to the treble position. When rocked back to the bass side it sounds great. It wasn't doing this before I pulled everything apart I don't think but it had an absolutely filthy pot so it pretty much had to be done. I thought maybe the pot got messed up but I tried a couple other unused ones (a 100k ICAR and a run of the mill B25k) and they exhibited the exact same issues.

Paul Marossy · January 03, 2010, 11:13:53 AM

Are you sure that you have the wires correctly connected to the pot?

R.G. · January 03, 2010, 11:53:57 AM

One of the more useful corollaries to Murphy's Law states "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Paul Marossy · January 03, 2010, 06:17:26 PM

Quote from: R.G. on January 03, 2010, 11:53:57 AM
One of the more useful corollaries to Murphy's Law states "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Yeah, I try to stick to that rule whenever I can. I have successfully dismantled one of my old Boomerang pots, cleaned it and put it back together again to get rid of the scratching noises it made. But it doesn't always work - in which case, replacement of the pot is required. But if you don't get the connections to the pot right, it will not work right.

Is it wired like this? http://www.diyguitarist.com/PDF_Files/BoomerangBG2PCB.pdf

eurekaiv · January 03, 2010, 06:48:22 PM

As far as I'm concerned it was broken because it was useless as scratchy as it was. Plus, it sounded horrible when "bypassed" (in volume mode) and sucked tone like no tomorrow. It had to be done. I'm pretty sure its wired up correctly (there's a schem printed/glued inside the enclosure) but I'll check it against Paul's wiring diagram right now to make sure. Thanks for the help!!

eurekaiv · January 03, 2010, 07:21:55 PM

So my pedal doesn't match the wiring diagram at all... the pot in mine had been replaced before so I think whoever did that got the wiring wrong because I drew myself a diagram of how it was wired before I ever took it apart in the first place and what I have now matches that.

eurekaiv · January 03, 2010, 11:05:22 PM

I doubt anyone cares too much but it's working now. Damn this wah sounds good!!! I got it for next to nothing so I was gonna fix and flip it but now I think I have to keep it.

Paul Marossy · January 04, 2010, 10:07:40 AM

Quote from: eurekaiv on January 03, 2010, 11:05:22 PM
I doubt anyone cares too much but it's working now. Damn this wah sounds good!!! I got it for next to nothing so I was gonna fix and flip it but now I think I have to keep it.

Great! Good to hear that you fixed it. I thought that pot was the problem.

Yes, it is a great sounding wah pedal, isn't it?

News:

Maestro Boomerang help—sound fades out when rocked forward