gUITAR gADGETS bmp MUFF CLONE

[REGNAD]

Anyone know anything about these guys? I really like the idea of their kit containing everything needed to build all the muffs.
regnad

[R.G.]

Yep, I know these guys. Guy, actually. J.D. is a very straight-up guy. He does high quality stuff and good support. He also sells licensed versions of my PCB layouts, and I would not let him do that if I didn't think he did it well.

Other kit companies have support I find lacking at times.

[mills]

Ordered some kits, PCB's, and enclosures from him, and his service is phenomenal.  Great response time on emails, and he went out of his way to make sure I was happy with the muff kit I'd ordered.

[bumblebee]

ive bought PCB's from him, fast service.

[andrew_k]

He also sells licensed versions of my PCB layouts, and I would not let him do that if I didn't think he did it well.

When I opened the padded envelope containing R.G's Neovibe PCB from General Guitar Gadgets I was amazed by the quality. Just awesome.

I'd have no hesitation buying more PCBs from GGG.

[ianmgull]

I've built several GGG kits with good results. The boards are great, components sorted, and he even throws in hookup wire and solder. If you're looking for an "all in one" kit I can't say enough good things about GGG.

[george]

great RTS PCBs ... I've bought AD-3208, Deluxe Electric Mistress and Neovibe PCBs and the quality and finish are first rate.

no hesitations here either!

[blester]

I bought the Mod Wah board, the MBB and the EA tremolo kits.  The kits were great, had everything included and the instructions were good. I used red and yellow dunlop inductors on the mod wah and a friend likes it better than his Fulltone Clyde.

[REGNAD]

i decided to build the BMP on a breadboard to try te different versions before i soldered to the pcb.... i buit the ramshead first but im not getting any distortion. i dont know what the problem is the tone and all works but theres just no distortion. any ideas?
regnad

[R.G.]

To be blunt, you either made a mistake in the circuit or wiring on the breadboard, or the breadboard has a problem.

There's really no ideas to be had beyond that. The same old process applies: Measure the no-signal voltage on all the active device pins and we can from that deduce what is the most likely failure.

[REGNAD]

"Measure the no-signal voltage on all the active device pins and we can from that deduce what is the most likely failure. "
could you elaborate a little? this is my first build/troubleshoot.
regnad

   

[R.G.]

"Measure the no-signal voltage on all the active device pins and we can from that deduce what is the most likely failure. "
could you elaborate a little? this is my first build/troubleshoot.

Sorry - I was shooting too high.

First, breadboards are prone to a number of problems, like intermittent contacts, components accidentally touching, and easy miswiring.
Second, all of the normal problems, such as getting the pinouts wrong, are still available to you.

One way to debug effects that I wrote up a ways back has proven itself to be very effective. It's in the sticky message titled "Debugging: What to do when it doesn't work"; it's one of those messages that are always first in the list of messages in the forum so that everyone can learn to ignore and not read them.

Read the debugging thread, then come back with questions.

[DiamondDog]

He also sells licensed versions of my PCB layouts, and I would not let him do that if I didn't think he did it well.

When I opened the padded envelope containing R.G's Neovibe PCB from General Guitar Gadgets I was amazed by the quality. Just awesome.

I'd have no hesitation buying more PCBs from GGG.

+1 for the GGG neovibe board. It was a joy to work with- almost a shame to sully it with my soldering skills.

[Mark Hammer]

One of the things you have to always keep in mind about the small businesses that have emerged as spinoffs from this forum like GGG or Tonepad or Smallbear.  We KNOW them, and they know us.  That may not be quite as apparent to the many folks who have joined here in recent months and have only minimal history with the other members.  But, it's a bit like buying a used car from the person who owns the house across the street from you.  If they screw you over, they are going to have to look you in the eye every day for years and years to come until one of you dies or leaves the neighbourhood.  Under those circumstances, you can bet your bottom dollar that the quality and service will always be every bit as good as a person might hope for.  I trust JD, not because I have him over a barrel, but because he knows he would be delivering to a friend.  Makes a difference.

At the same time, DO remember that these are generally businesses that do not employ more than a couple people at most, meaning that one individual carries many roles.  When the person who has to haggle with jobbers on the phone is obliged to be the person who sits with the kids in emergency for 5 hours to get a prescription for amoxycillin, they have a difficult time replacing the person who answers the e-mail and fills the orders.   Snazzy web-sites are easy to make, while providing the manpower to back it up is a little harder to accomplish unless you move large quantities of product.  So do be patient.

[REGNAD]

thx for the replies....(tail tucked, no i didnt read the stickys first.)  i'll try building on pcb and go from there. Its really the only way to remove unknown variables!
regnad

[REGNAD]

finally finished the build with pcb....Nothing but slight power noise when active and nothing when not. doesnt even pass signal. 

[REGNAD]

ok, @ 2am i wired the foot switch wrong. Its correct now. signal passes and i get sound with the pedal active but theres not much Muff going on. I will post my voltages soon but this is a kit from GGG. Arnt kits supposed to be spec'd out for correct part values? Or is there enough "drift" in part values that makes something like this common? Asumiong that i just have a psrt value adjustment problem.
regnad

[tiges_ tendres]

ok, @ 2am i wired the foot switch wrong. Its correct now. signal passes and i get sound with the pedal active but theres not much Muff going on. I will post my voltages soon but this is a kit from GGG. Arnt kits supposed to be spec'd out for correct part values? Or is there enough "drift" in part values that makes something like this common? Asumiong that i just have a psrt value adjustment problem.
regnad

Kits are spec'd out for correct part values, we can't say whether you got the wrong parts, or put the wrong parts in the wrong places until you post your voltages.  There isn't likely to be tolerance problems that are going to cause the problems you describe.  Drift in part values happens over time as the components are used and age.

Are you sure you read the resistor bands correctly?  Double check.  Also, check on the orientation of your transistors.  Did you put one in backwards?

Post your voltages and lets see how we can help.

[REGNAD]

ok just checked voltages and here they are:



1. seems to work but hardly any distortion at all
2. GGG BMP kit (rams head)
3. http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=108&Itemid=26        then choose rams head version
4. no mods
5. no part substitutions
6. no power conversions, just GGG stock
7. Batt voltage = 9.33 vdc
8. Voltage at the circuit board end of the red battery lead = 9.29 vdc
9. Voltage at the circuit board end of the black battery lead = 0.00 vdc

Q1
C = 9.18 VDC
B = 1.56 VDC
E = 1.04 VDC

Q2
C= 4.02 VDC
B= .63 VDC
E= .06 VDC

Q3
C= 3.72 VDC
B= .60 VDC
E= .03 VDC

Q4
C= 4.02 VDC
B= 1.68 VDC
E= 1.13 VDC


D1
A (anode, the non-band end) = .52 VDC
K (cathode, the banded end) = .63 VDC

D2
A = .63 VDC
K = .52 VDC

D3
A = .49 VDC 
K = .60 VDC

D4
A = .60 VDC
K = .49 VDC



caps metered while on pcb

C14 HAS 9.2 vdc on the posative side and 0.00 vdc on the negative side

c1 HAS less than 1 volt but it drops on the positive side and 1.52 steady on the negative side<-----i understand this is bad

[slacker]

c1 HAS less than 1 volt but it drops on the positive side and 1.52 steady on the negative side<-----i understand this is bad

That's fine although C1 is the wrong way round the positive end should go towards Q1, C9 and C13 should also be turned round as well, but I don't think any of these will stop it working.

The problem is with the collector of Q1, it should be about 4 or 5 volts. Check around R5 to see if there is a short somewhere. Also check the value of R5 in case you've accidentally used the wrong value.