Colorsound One knob fuzz problem

[CarrionCrawler]

Hello everyone,

I just finished building a colorsound one knob fuzz clone (using Andrew Carrell's layout), and something strange had popped up. When I plug in my guitar (using a stereo cable), nothing happens at all, but when I try to plug in my record player, which also had a stereo jack, it seems to work. Not perfectly though, sound is kinda strange and changes in intensity when I touch some of the wires inside the pedal.
I'm fairly new to this, this is my first build, so I was wondering if I should just rewire the whole thing, or if it might be something else I'm overlooking.
Pics can be provided if necessary.

Thanks!

[LucifersTrip]

what happens with a standard guitar cable?   transistor voltages, as in the debug thread?

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=29816.0

[tonyharker]

You must use a standard mono (not stereo) Jack plug otherwise you are not switching on the 9 volts. The plug when inserted, connects earth on the circuit to the negative on the battery.  The record player must have a low enough impedance that some of the -9 volts  is getting through.
Tony

[GibsonGM]

Tony nailed it.

The ground switching scheme, to connect the PCB to ground using a stereo jack, is a great trick. But it in no way means that you would use anything other than your standard guitar cord with these effects!  It's a gimmick to take advantage of an unused connection offered by the jack when you are using a mono cord.   If you were to play with your meter and test out the way the barrel of a regular cord connects BOTH tabs, you'd see how this works.

Pretty neat trick, huh?

Does your fuzz work with a regular patch cord?

[CarrionCrawler]

what happens with a standard guitar cable?   transistor voltages, as in the debug thread?

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=29816.0

With a normal cable nothing happens either, I'll check on the transistors when I get home! I didn't use sockets for them, so they might be overheated?

[CarrionCrawler]

Tony nailed it.

The ground switching scheme, to connect the PCB to ground using a stereo jack, is a great trick. But it in no way means that you would use anything other than your standard guitar cord with these effects!  It's a gimmick to take advantage of an unused connection offered by the jack when you are using a mono cord.   If you were to play with your meter and test out the way the barrel of a regular cord connects BOTH tabs, you'd see how this works.

Pretty neat trick, huh?

Does your fuzz work with a regular patch cord?

Thanks! I just tried the stereo cable because a normal one didn't do much either. It woud surprise me but I'm guessing it might be a problem with one of the components then, I'll check on that later