Vox V847 Mods

[enigmur]

I am modifying my Vox
I took out the SPDT switch and put my 3PDT in.

Also changed a couple of the resistors, changed the 1k5 to a 2k0, changed the 33k to something slightly higher(47k I thnk). Changed the 68k to a 47k.

The transition from bass to mid is too sudden for my liking, what should i change to fix this? Should I try maybe a higher resistor than my 2k0?
I want to replace the 'sweep' cap is a 0.022uf cap, will this help?

Has anyone got some nice combinations they want to share?

[BD13UK]

Check Stuart Castledine's site for info re: Your Q, http://www.wah-wah.co.uk/
He does great mods on all this stuff.

[lacto]

Change the mid resistor, the 1K5 back to 1K5, 2K is too much despite what some sites say. I would forget that mod all together. Play with the Q which is the 33K, maybe go higher, and with the bass resistor, the 470 ohm or 510 whatever you have and try lowering that.
Also the sweep cap, again .022uf is too high for a vintage tone anyway, more like .015uf, but that is very sensitive so anything between the stock .01uf amd .015uf is probably ok. The 68k to 47k just gives a bit more volume with true bypass, doesn't affect tone, I would leave that. Altering the stock Q resistor and the bass resistor and the sweep values will give you the most tonal change, unless you want to start swapping out the inductor and transistors and that will give you the most change. The possibilities are endless, though more subtle and it depends if you want a more vintage tone or a more modern high gain tone. Also, you may find that the 3pdt switch doesn't hold up very long, they aren't recommended for wah pedals and though people use them for led's, they won't last long with much use.

[mcasey1]

I would leave the 2.0k resistor as is, maybe even go to 2.2k.  Something you did not mention that helps quite a bit is swapping the transistors.  The trannies in current production wahs are too high gain.  I would say go with BC109s.   

[lacto]

unless you want to start swapping out the inductor and transistors and that will give you the most change.

[mcasey1]

I was referring to enigmurs original post.  I dont believe I read that far into yours. 

[Pedal love]

Maybe some 0.22uF, metallized polyester film capacitors of your choosing.
pl

[Fuzzy-Train]

See, this is what frustrated me about wah modding. One person tells you one thing another person tells you another.

I started modding mine about 3 months (or so) ago, and I'm still searching for that "perfect for me" tone. I feel like socketing all the most swapped out parts, and replacing most of the important resistors with trimpots.

I would suggest doing a little trial and error and just try out a bunch of different things.

[Paul Marossy]

See, this is what frustrated me about wah modding. One person tells you one thing another person tells you another.

That's because everyone has different preferences! Not everyone is going to like the suggested/common mods all the time. 

[enigmur]

See, this is what frustrated me about wah modding. One person tells you one thing another person tells you another.

I started modding mine about 3 months (or so) ago, and I'm still searching for that "perfect for me" tone. I feel like socketing all the most swapped out parts, and replacing most of the important resistors with trimpots.

I would suggest doing a little trial and error and just try out a bunch of different things.

Yeah I know what you mean.

I would like to get some of those little sockets. Is an electrical components shop likely to stock them? Do they go by another name? I think I am going to be doing a lot of switching around so I really would like to get them. Would you have to make the holes in the circuit board bigger for them to go in?

Thanks!

[jonathan perez]

smallbearelec.com

[lacto]

Sockets are a great idea and manditory if you will be doing a lot of soldering/unsoldering on your board. I was going to mention them in my post, but not knowing how serious you are about wah modding opted not to. Serious meaning willing to spend some time and money on the project.  Wah modding is a complex subject and there are many on this forum that have spent hundreds of dollars and months/years of research on the subject.  I did give you a very basic road map to achieving a more vintage tone, and since you didn't like what the raised mid resistor did to your sweep made my suggestions.  It is obvious with your second post that you are very much a beginner, nothing at all wrong with that, but it would greatly benefit you to educate yourself in basic electronics.  You can do Google searches, but believe or not the best resource on the web for this is right here on this forum. If you are willing to spend many hours reading the FAQ on this site and doing searches for wah pedal stuff, you will be able to piece together a very specific approach to the subject. Frustration is built into the field of electronics, so get used to it.

In your research if you come up with some specific questions, ask away. It will be frustrating but rewarding and you will learn things that you can apply to all future projects, whether modding a pedal or making one from scratch. Use the SEARCH function, it is your friend; then ask specific questions.   

[tcobretti]

Check Stuart Castledine's site for info re: Your Q, http://www.wah-wah.co.uk/
He does great mods on all this stuff.

I would seriously consider buying one of the nicer boards from this site.  Using pots to tune your sound is much easier than swapping components, and the boards are fairly cheap.  I personally worked to make my crybaby better for a couple of years, then bought a Vox V847 that bone stock sounds pretty much exactly like I want my wah to sound, .  I did buy a Maestro Boomerang for $50 on ebay that is very sweet as well.