Zvex Super hard on clone.

[vince37]

Hi,

I've built a SHO clone.... All works and sounds nice but I get a significant volume boost at minimal settings? (no unity gain) just wondering if thats normal or if I've thrown a wrong component in there somewhere?

Cheers

[LucifersTrip]

Hi,

I've built a SHO clone.... All works and sounds nice but I get a significant volume boost at minimal settings? (no unity gain) just wondering if thats normal or if I've thrown a wrong component in there somewhere?

Cheers

it brightens up the tone at low setting, which you might consider a boost...watch a couple youtube vids for an idea

[vince37]

I've watched a few demo's, It might just be my ears... It does brighten the tone but I get a big volume jump too..maybe just the way it's meant to be...

Thanks for the reply

[phector2004]

Nope!

Mine's almost unity at low settings...

Then again, how do we know I haven't botched mine? 

[LucifersTrip]

Nope!

Mine's almost unity at low settings...

Then again, how do we know I haven't botched mine? 

by checking who has closer to the proper voltages

[vince37]

Sounds like mines the 'botched' one ..... Google says that some people can even go below unity gain etc so now it's just working out what the hell I've done.

[runmikeyrun]

did you wire in a volume pot?  That will solve your problem, if it's working fine but just too loud then turn it down.  you could even just use a trim pot inside, set it, and forget it.

[vince37]

Sounds interesting, but as I'm new to this that all just went over my head... I'll have to go read up on that

Thanks

[phector2004]

Just out of curiosity, what schematic/layout are you using?

I think I've seen 2-3 variants of this circuit...

[LucifersTrip]

Sounds interesting, but as I'm new to this that all just went over my head... I'll have to go read up on that

Thanks

look at a schematic for another volume pot and just copy it. most are the same. the only thing you have to experiment with is the size.

look at the one on the Fuzz Face


now look at the SHO (thanx analogguru):


...so, copying it, center lug of vol pot goes to output, lug 1 goes to ground and lug 3 goes to 100K/10u junction

good luck

[vince37]

I used this one... It was the first one I came across

http://melxfx.blogspot.com/2010/07/big-fat-pink-boost-part-two.html

[vince37]

I used this one... It was the first one I came across

http://melxfx.blogspot.com/2010/07/big-fat-pink-boost-part-two.html

Thanks for that! I'll have a look into that.

[vince37]

Sorry quoted wrong comment....

Was meant for 'Fuzzy skull'

Cheers, I'll look into it

[deadastronaut]

i'd go with what runmikey suggested,

stick a trim pot on the output wire before it goes to you output/3pdt switch, this way you can set it to unity (matched to bypass) , then forget about it..

ive had to do this on a few builds myself......

so...  output wire from pcb> lug 3 of  100k trim pot then a wire from lug 2 of trimpot to your 3pdt switch.....turn till you get unity...sorted!..

[MichelP]

'I've built a SHO clone.... All works and sounds nice but I get a significant volume boost at minimal settings? (no unity gain) just wondering if thats normal or if I've thrown a wrong component in there somewhere? '

I had the same problem with my DIY SHO.  I had used for R3 a 51 K resistor instead of 5K1. When I changed it unity at minimum setting.

[vince37]

Really, I'll have a look at my resistors and double check and if not, I think maybe a trim pot might be an answer... just bugs me that something must be wrong somewhere... I have OCD (not the pedal) like that l0l ;-)

Thanks...

[pinkjimiphoton]

i've built 4 of them, all with bone-stock components and the usual 1% metal film resistors...

and every one gives AT LEAST a 6DB boost when engaged..probably twice that, to the point where i added master volumes to the ones i use live.

[vince37]

Well reading about them, it does say they can react differently with guitar/amp combinations. I've built two now with the same results so I'm just going to throw a trim pot in and be done with it

[LucifersTrip]

just checked mine and it is almost perfectly at unity at lowest setting with neck pickup...with more brightness, of course.

[LucifersTrip]

here are the voltages on mine:

           G      D      S
min   2.81, 7.36, 2.48
max  1.49,  2.98,  .13