Tubescreamer clone sounding thin

[groovybenny]

Hey guys,

Finished a tubescreamer ts 808 build (no mods,) but it is sounding thin, (low bass, excess high frequencies.)

Could this be: -bad soldering?
-One component isn't soldered properly?
-Needs mods.

I am comparing this to a cmatmods super signa drive and that sounds worlds better.

[arawn]

check your tone control, failing that try a different input cap (numerically higher value) it should be 47 nf i believe. also check the 47 pf in the feedback loop

[Earthscum]

double check your resistors. I have, more than several times, read a resistor backwards, or grab the wrong resistor and just slapped it in. I can't count the amount of times I had to unsolder a couple resistors and swap them around. And when in doubt, your DMM can help you out. 

[rockhorst]

Depending on which circuit you're using, transistors can screw with your dmm readings and if possible, they should be removed temporarily. My bet is on the input cap.

[groovybenny]

Okay- all the resistor values are correct. So that's not the problem.

How would i use the multimeter to find the problem? Continuity? Wouldn't the circuit not work at all if something was soldered properly?

Cheers

[R.G.]

How would i use the multimeter to find the problem? Continuity?

Yep. Check continuity between the PART LEAD itself and the copper.

Wouldn't the circuit not work at all if something was soldered properly?

Maybe. Not all components are of equal importance to the circuit. Some are critical and any failure makes it not work at all. Some are only there to make it "polite". Some only affect part of the frequency response, as you're finding out. It's not automatic that nothing works if one joint is bad. It  IS automatic that it doesn't all work properly if anything is not correct. Some circuit flaws are the equivalent of stubbing your toe, not a heart attack.

[rockhorst]

Okay- all the resistor values are correct. So that's not the problem.

And all the capacitor values?

[groovybenny]

Yerp the caps/diodes values are correct.

I went through testing each resistor and fixed up one joint but then I realised I need to test each joint of each side of resistor, which I will do now.