GGG Brassmaster Kit

[bjlevine]

I ordered the Brassmaster kit from General Guitar Gadgets.  I assembled the board and wired all the compenents, and it worked the first try.  But when I put it in the case, I got no output as if something was shorting out.  I unscrewed the input and output jacks from the case and tried again, and this time I got output.  The problem is that everything is really crammed tight into the provided case, which is predrilled, so theres not a whole lot I can do to move things around..  Anyone else run into this problem and have any suggestions?

[R.G.]

Anyone else run into this problem and have any suggestions?

Yes, and yes.

Practically everyone who's put an effect into a box has had the experience of the box shorting to their signal jacks. This kills the signal, and it promptly starts working when you take it out of the box.

The trick is - there is no trick. You have to find where it's shorting to the case - and this can be any wire, the PCB, the mounting posts,  a "drippy" solder joint, anything that can contact the case - and make it NOT contact the case. That's the only general principle that can apply. Once you find where it touches, you can fix it.

Get out your magnifying glass and go hunting.

[stringsthings]

i have run into this situation in the past .... as R.G. posted, it was a lug of the output jack shorting to the case .....

i've found two methods of solving the problem:

1)  physically moving the lug by either rotating the jack or bending it towards the inside of the enclosure
2)  using some electrical tape to insulate the lug .... applied to the lug and the spot on the enclosure where the short is happening ...

remember that when you plug your guitar lead into the pedal, the lugs will move slightly .... and other than inside potentiomenters and switches, this is the pretty much the only moving part in the pedal ..... [ moving parts = better chance of problem ]