Orange Squeezer full wave and high volume signals;

[Bernardduur]

I have a small problem with my Orange Squeezer +++ clone I build from the Moosopothamus site; when I play normal, passive (and sometimes low active) bass my compressor is the ultimate thing for me.

But when I start slapping and popping my bass, or turn on the active circuit (high volume sound) the compressor's signal goes to 0 and backs then up slowly (approx. 1.5 seconds). Are there any mods / upgrades to stop this from happening? When I accidentally play a louder note than normal my signal is gone and I have to wait when I want to play further.

Thanks!

[Bernardduur]

Anyone??

[markr04]

Sounds like the release is set to very slow. I haven't looked at that circuit... does it have a release mod?

[Bernardduur]

I have a attack and a decay mod, I have not found any release..... but I guess it would be the same as the decay (correct me if I am wrong). Would altering the value of the pot do the trick?

[moosapotamus]

Yeah... decay = release.

Does it make any difference where you set the decay control (100K pot)? Or, does that always happen when you slap hard, no matter what? Any of the other control settings make any difference?

Even though you should be able to dial in the "stock" decay setting, have you tried wiring that part of the sidechain as in the original, stock circuit (disconect the pot and replace R6 w/ 100K)?

What about the value of C10 and C11 (both 4u7), increase or decrease? I don't know exactly what they do, but there's no cap at all in that position in the original circuit. So, that's curious. Maybe someone smarter than me can comment on that.

~ Charlie

[Mark Hammer]

The capacity to recover quickly may well be part of the recipe, but it sounds to me like the gain of the op-amp needs to be reduced.  Keep in mind that it is based on an assumed input level, which you may well be exceeding, both when you slap and when you "power on".

[Bernardduur]

I already reduced the gain on the opamp (gain knob); any thoughts how to alter the cap?

[Mark Hammer]

Well, as far as I can tell, the circuit is working normally.  It is supposed to attenuate the signal in response to transients, and it DOES.  The question is "How do you attenuate LESS?"

You mentioned that the gain has been reduced, but you did not say how much.  You might want to reduce the feedback resistor in the op-amp.

Another thing to try is the trimpot.  Maybe it needs adjusting.  It might have been "perfectly adjusted" when you had the bass in passive mode.  Perhaps you need to set it when the bass is in active mode instead.

Finally, the FET and 82k resistor form a virtual attenuator pot, that turns down the signal going to the op-amp.  Like any pot/voltage-divider, the amount of attenuation depends on the ratio of the two halves of the pot.  If the 82k resistor is a smaller value, there will be less of an attenuation effect, even if the FET's behaviour does not change.  If the two suggestions above do not work, try reducing the 82k resistor to 68k.  If you do not want to unsolder the resistor from a PCB, try temporarily soldering a 330k resistor in parallel on the copper side of the board.

[Bernardduur]

Thanks! I will try it this weekend.

[moosapotamus]

Hey Bernardduur... curious to know if you had any luck resolving this?

Thanks
~ Charlie

[Bernardduur]

Nope.... am now busy with something other but I have to pick it up very quickly.... Will keep you informed.

[Bernardduur]

OK, update. Finally I had some time to try; no luck. I tried the next:
- reducing some gain; I made the gain controllable by pot;
- I adjusted the trimpot and comp level by pot;
- I reduced the 82k resistor to 68k;

No difference in release.

Maybe I should build a different compressor. Any thoughts about this?