Problem with Orange Squeezer Clone

[zombiwoof]

Well, it's been my experience at any rate.  Now, that could very well be because it's not set up "right".  For example, maybe the bypass/effect transition is aided by some settings of the trimpot, and not by others.  All I know is that when I used TB, and engaged the OS, I had to wait for that sucker to charge up.  Bloody irritating.

I know for a fact that the AnalogMan and BBE pedals are true bypass, using a 3PDT switch.  With my BBE, there is nothing like the problem you are describing.  Maybe as you say the problem you had is related to the way your build is set up or something.

Since this is already venturing off-topic... I've experienced the same thing as Mark, as have other people according to what I've read. I'm fairly convinced, though, that the vast majority of the Orange Squeezer clones aren't setup right, and I wouldn't doubt that some commercially-made models are improperly setup.

It seems like some people think that the entire range of the trimpot that allows sound to pass applies compression, which it does not. The trimpot, when properly set, has the narrowest of narrow ranges where compression is actually present. Set it too low and you get no sound. Set it even a fraction too high and you have a booster, not a compressor. You have to set it right in the middle of the crunchy static that occurs in the transition between no sound and full sound. I have verified this using a signal generator and looking at the resulting gain reduction in Audition.

If an Orange Squeezer clone has a single-turn trimpot, chances are it is not setup right, at least if you want it to function as a compressor and not a booster. If an Orange Squeezer clone has the trimpot as an external pot, chances are it is not setup right. Mine has an internal 25-turn trimmer, and it sounds great. It actually compresses, and I can confirm that visually as well as audibly. It is true bypass, and it does have a gain drop when turning it on. I think that the slight click of the switch and the LED firing up is enough to trigger the compression, and the fade-in of the sound that I (and Mark) experience is the release of the compressor, since it's slow and smooth.

Just my $0.02.

Mike

So the Analogman and BBE OS clones are not really Orange Squeezers?.  Or could it be that maybe they found a way around that problem?.  And please don't try to tell me my pedal isn't a compressor, I'm not that stupid.

Al

[.Mike]

I've never used either of the commercial clones you mentioned (or an original for that matter), I'm no electronics expert, I didn't say your compressor doesn't compress, and I didn't call you stupid. Just saying my experience is all.

I do know that the Orange Squeezer doesn't compress except for when the trimpot is set within a very narrow range, but you are free to disagree, of course. I built my Orange Squeezer, and it has the same issue that Mark has had. Whatever causes it is an exercise for the reader or someone who is better educated than me, I suppose. 

Mike

[igerup]

Well, the version 2 at Tonepad says a trimpot. Perhaps they left out the important "multi-turn" word by mistake, or just took it for granted that people would get one.
Anyway,  I'm gonna order a bunch of multi-turn trimpots just in case. Could come in handy.

Apart from this circuit oddity, the OS is quite good. If it colours the sound when on, I couldn't hear it when the volume was set so the signal was the same level as when the pedal is bypassed/removed from the signal chain.  8)Perhaps it's my choice of an NTE 451 as Q2