DIY: Green Russian Big Muff problem

[khm9]

Thank you guys for being nice and helping me out, I got rid of the big muff I made and learned that vero isn't good for resoldering.

I have few more questions.
I got a PCB from pedalparts.co.uk and there is something called a CLR resistor? Is it some kind of a special type of resistors or I can just use a regular resistor?

And can anyone tell me if capacitors make a noticeable difference in sound?

[EBK]

Thank you guys for being nice and helping me out, I got rid of the big muff I made and learned that vero isn't good for resoldering.

I have few more questions.
I got a PCB from pedalparts.co.uk and there is something called a CLR resistor? Is it some kind of a special type of resistors or I can just use a regular resistor?

And can anyone tell me if capacitors make a noticeable difference in sound?

Can you provide a link for your new board or a pic?

As for caps.... It depends...  Are you talking about different materials? Different values?  Different ratings?  Also depends on what they are being used for in the particular circuit.  You have to narrow that question down a bit.

Sorry the vero didn't work out for you this time.  The epoxy kind is more forgiving that the phenolic resin kind you used.  Give it a try if you ever decide to try vero again.

[EBK]

The CLR is probably just a "current limiting resistor" for an LED.  Just an ordinary resistor. 

[Tony Forestiere]

CLR resistor is a Current Limiting Resistor usually associated with an LED.

*edit* EBK beat me to it.

[EBK]

Of course, nothing stops you from coating it in opaque epoxy to make it look like a mysterious mojo part when you show off your finished build. 

[khm9]

Thank you guys for being nice and helping me out, I got rid of the big muff I made and learned that vero isn't good for resoldering.

I have few more questions.
I got a PCB from pedalparts.co.uk and there is something called a CLR resistor? Is it some kind of a special type of resistors or I can just use a regular resistor?

And can anyone tell me if capacitors make a noticeable difference in sound?

Can you provide a link for your new board or a pic?

As for caps.... It depends...  Are you talking about different materials? Different values?  Different ratings?  Also depends on what they are being used for in the particular circuit.  You have to narrow that question down a bit.

Sorry the vero didn't work out for you this time.  The epoxy kind is more forgiving that the phenolic resin kind you used.  Give it a try if you ever decide to try vero again.

Hi EBK, thanks for replying 

here is the link to the pdf, its a delay circuit based on mad professors deep blue delay
http://pedalparts.co.uk/docs/EchoBlue-v3.pdf

As for the caps,I am talking about different quality.

I thought rams head sound was bad so I changed the pcb to a green russian, changed the character but not the core sound which remained the same. Can't be that both versions were bad. It must've been the components.

It definitely had its green russian feel but sound just wasn't right, nor was it right for rams head, it just sounded horrible, it sounded like a fuzz, but not like big muff I am used to. The sound was just not right, close, but not right. Those box type caps were ordered from tayda, and resistors were from a huge ebay kit, were $10, anyway, I guess it were the caps that ruined the tone, didn't give it the proper big muff sound, especially those box type ones are suspicious to me...

And resistors should not make an audible difference right? Tayda ones are good enough?

Also one thing that really annoyed me during the life of the green russian was the placement of the pcb, it kept moving inside, any good ideas on how to fixate the pcb on top of the pots, but not permanently?
I sure won't worry about that with this PCB I got since pots get soldered on directly!

[khm9]

Of course, nothing stops you from coating it in opaque epoxy to make it look like a mysterious mojo part when you show off your finished build. 

I won't give up on vero yet, still have few of vero boards laying around and still interested in building few dirt pedals I've always wanted to try

[EBK]

Hmm. Well, there still isn't enough info to say why it didn't sound like you expected.  I would not blame the brand of caps or resistors though.  How recently did you hear the big muff you are comparing these new circuits to?

[duck_arse]

.... there is something called a CLR resistor? Is it some kind of a special type of resistors or I can just use a regular resistor?

And can anyone tell me if capacitors make a noticeable difference in sound?

me too - CLR is a current limiting resistor. value unspecified. is you have a superbright led and you wish deadastronaut to know your bypass status, use something like 4k7, around that value. if you wish to remain sighted into your old age, use 22k, or 33k, or 47k. for a dull, diffused, coloured lens type - well, try it on the breadboard. 9V - a led - a resistor. that's it. BUT ALWAYS A RESISTOR! ALWAYS!

and no-one can tell you if capacitor type makes a difference in sound (they don't. well, they also do. depends on the sound, the caps, the ears). put a circuit on the breadboard, a big muff if you will. get it working, then start swapping in and out your different caps.

then decide what you hear, come back here and start a thread on the topic, and watch the bunfight start (again. we love bunfights).

it is most often not the components, but the connections between that are problematic in pedal construction.

[EBK]

If you are looking for some general rules of thumb, here's my input:
1.  For small values (less than 1 uF), use film caps whenever possible (like your Tayda box caps), unless you are using them for power filtering or bypass, in which case use ceramic. 
2. Make sure the voltage rating is adequate. 
3. Beyond that, I prioritize size and price over any other parameter (keeping the capacitance value correct, obviously).

If you ignore items 1 and 3 above, your circuit probably won't sound a lot different from mine.  If you ignore item 2, your circuit might be more exciting to watch than mine.   

[EBK]

Also one thing that really annoyed me during the life of the green russian was the placement of the pcb, it kept moving inside, any good ideas on how to fixate the pcb on top of the pots, but not permanently?

I use double stick foam tape.  You can cut it to any shape you need and stack it to any thickness.