Volume issue with my Rat 2

[connorgoulding]

I picked up a Rat 2 last night and unfortunately, I'm having issues with the volume:

When it's bypassed, the volume is normal, but when I engage the pedal it's extremely quiet (even with distortion and volume cranked).

Most places in my area have a $50+ minimum for electronics repairs, so at that cost I might as well just buy a new pedal.

I'm hoping I might be able to diagnose and fix the problem on my own - I've done some soldering on guitar pickups before but that's the extent of my experience. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Kevin Mitchell]

Hey, welcome to the forum.

Do the controls produce any changes to your signal that you can discern?
You can remove the PCB to inspect the wiring and solder joints. Post photos of both sides of the board if you'd like some experienced eyes to take a look - we can advise from there.

[Focalized]

Hey that bypass supposedly done for truebypass switch that was added is extremely sketchy.

[GGBB]

Hey that bypass supposedly done for truebypass switch that was added is extremely sketchy.

Wiring definitely looks modded or fixed and quite sub-par, but 3PDT true bypass may be original.

It's hard to tell exactly what is going on here but this does not look good:



As mentioned, please disassemble carefully and post pictures of everything from various angles.

[Focalized]

It's hard to tell exactly what is going on here but this does not look good:

That looks like the red wire was connected to the black battery wire? And the heat shrink slipped down?

[Focalized]

Nevermind can't see where that red wire goes.

[GibsonGM]

Nevermind can't see where that red wire goes.

It's still not cool, man.  I don't like the ground-to-back-of-pot I seem to see there.

So it came this way, low level? Didn't just happen after being normal, right? 

[GGBB]

Nevermind can't see where that red wire goes.

It's still not cool, man.  I don't like the ground-to-back-of-pot I seem to see there.

Very odd - definite sign of modification.

@connorgoulding don't worry - there is most likely no irreversible damage - we can help you put this back to original working order.

[connorgoulding]

Wow you guys are awesome, thanks for being so welcoming. Here are some more pictures. Don't hesitate to ask for more specific ones if you need a better look at something. I'm a little nervous about removing the PCB but if that's an essential step in this repair process I'll certainly get to work on that. Thanks again everyone.

[connorgoulding]

Hey, welcome to the forum.

Do the controls produce any changes to your signal that you can discern?
You can remove the PCB to inspect the wiring and solder joints. Post photos of both sides of the board if you'd like some experienced eyes to take a look - we can advise from there.

Yes, the pedal controls are responsive as far as I can tell. I'm a little nervous about removing the PCB but I'll get to work on this. I posted a few more pictures above after removing the enclosure. I appreciate your help!

[connorgoulding]

Hey, welcome to the forum.

Do the controls produce any changes to your signal that you can discern?
You can remove the PCB to inspect the wiring and solder joints. Post photos of both sides of the board if you'd like some experienced eyes to take a look - we can advise from there.

I put on my big boy pants and removed the PCB. Let me know if more pictures would be helpful.

[Ben N]

As a first step, bypass the bypass -- that is, find the wires that connect the switch to the input and output points on the board, and unsolder those from the switch. Connect those (and ground) directly to input and output jacks. Make sure you have power to the board. Now test the circuit. This either confirms or eliminates the bypass chaos as the problem. If it still doesn't work properly, we start troubleshooting the board itself.

[Kevin Mitchell]

Well, I wouldn't suggest any invasive action just yet.

While I can tell that the wiring is factory, the switch looks a bit beat up with soldering iron burns - which implies someone messed with it at some point.

I would check for any loose wires. The bare wires being solid core, they may twist loose causing bad connections.

If you have a multimeter, do continuity checks on both ends of each wire (or rather, the solder joints). Or just find any that seem loose and reflow the joint with your iron.

If that doesn't reveal anything you may have to put your doctors coat on for the next steps.

[Elektrojänis]

Sometimes the footswitches oxidize a bit especially if left unused for a long time and stop making a good contact. If it is this, then switching it repeatedly a few dozen times may help.

I've had this happen even with seemingly high quality parts, when I have left a pedal unused for too long.

[ElectricDruid]

+1 what Elektrojänis said.

It might not work, but it's dead easy to try and it does fix things pretty often. I have the same problem with some of the switches on my old Pro-One synth. They go dodgy, and the solution is to waggle them back and forth for five minutes!

[GibsonGM]

^  That, and pots getting 'crappy' over time. Worked when you put it away, but 1+ years later you take it out, and the volume is doing what you describe.  A little pot cleaner can go a long way in this case.  Since it's open anyway - might as well and it is quick to do, no work involved. 

I've had and otherwise fine pedal go quiet more than a few times and this was the cause.

[connorgoulding]

Sometimes the footswitches oxidize a bit especially if left unused for a long time and stop making a good contact. If it is this, then switching it repeatedly a few dozen times may help.

I've had this happen even with seemingly high quality parts, when I have left a pedal unused for too long.

This worked! Thanks everyone for sharing your insight and helping me get this working 

[Elektrojänis]

If it starts doing that again you might want to consider replacing the switch. However if you dont need it to be super dependaple (important gigs or something), then it will probably do just fine for a while.

The somwhat funny thing is that the pedal I have experienced this the most with is DIY, but it is strongly based on the RAT circuit.

[antonis]

Conclusion: RAT-alike pedals are rarely used..

[Elektrojänis]

Before I just thought that our band doesn't practice orten enough. This makes me wonder if changing that RAT-alike thing to something else would fix that...