Catalinbread - WIIO [guts]

General documentation, gut shot, schematic links, ongoing circuit tracing, deep thoughts ... all about boutique stompboxes.
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azrael
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Post by azrael »

I dunno, I know that someone asked Nick if they could run their WIIO at higher voltages, and he recommended against it, something to do with the transistors. We'll know for sure in a couple of weeks. ;)

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Post by HEAD »

... "recommended against it"? Whether it is technically possible or not. There's nothing in between. If it's soundwise "recommended" is a different question. They mostly use 2N5457 in their designs which can take much more current than 18V. So the only thing is that they have used low rated electrolytics which can not take 18V - and that is something I realy doubt!;)

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Post by azrael »

Well, I don't know the exact specifics of the conversation....so I'm speaking a bit generally.

In any case, this is all speculation. We won't know until we know. :D

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Post by HEAD »

azrael wrote:Well, I don't know the exact specifics of the conversation....so I'm speaking a bit generally.

In any case, this is all speculation. We won't know until we know. :D
:applause:
That means you'll get one?

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Post by azrael »

That is the plan. Soon, hopefully. :thumbsup

I almost got a V1 in a trade for a Tonebender. One day late!

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Post by HEAD »

azrael wrote:That is the plan. Soon, hopefully. :thumbsup

I almost got a V1 in a trade for a Tonebender. One day late!
Hi,

any news? :D

Helge

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Post by mustang »

I'd love to have a go at building one of these... the clips sound just the kind of thing I like. 8)

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azrael
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Post by azrael »

HEAD wrote:
azrael wrote:That is the plan. Soon, hopefully. :thumbsup

I almost got a V1 in a trade for a Tonebender. One day late!
Hi,

any news? :D

Helge
Yes, I have taken some photos, and am just trying to figure out the best way to show it clearly.
I'm going to draw some lines on the pictures to show the PCB traces clearly I think.


I'll give you a hint from my cursory glance at the circuit...three FETs, not Dirty Little Secret based at all!

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Post by mustang »

azrael wrote:
HEAD wrote:
azrael wrote:That is the plan. Soon, hopefully. :thumbsup

I almost got a V1 in a trade for a Tonebender. One day late!
Hi,

any news? :D

Helge
Yes, I have taken some photos, and am just trying to figure out the best way to show it clearly.
I'm going to draw some lines on the pictures to show the PCB traces clearly I think.


I'll give you a hint from my cursory glance at the circuit...three FETs, not Dirty Little Secret based at all!
I'm excited... thanks in advance. :horsey:

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Post by HEAD »

azrael wrote:
HEAD wrote:
azrael wrote:That is the plan. Soon, hopefully. :thumbsup

I almost got a V1 in a trade for a Tonebender. One day late!
Hi,

any news? :D

Helge
Yes, I have taken some photos, and am just trying to figure out the best way to show it clearly.
I'm going to draw some lines on the pictures to show the PCB traces clearly I think.


I'll give you a hint from my cursory glance at the circuit...three FETs, not Dirty Little Secret based at all!
Thanks for your reply! I'm looking forward to it. :)

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Post by caspercody »

I also what like to say thanks in advance!

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azrael
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Post by azrael »

It begins!
Give me any tips to make for better pics, this is my first time trying to help trace a circuit. :)
wiiotopside1.jpg
wiiotopside1.jpg (506.6 KiB) Viewed 2180 times
topside, added some labels.
Looks a like 3 SHOs?
wiiobottom.jpg
wiiobottom.jpg (519.85 KiB) Viewed 2180 times
bottom side
IMG_3952.jpg
IMG_3952.jpg (414.88 KiB) Viewed 2180 times
IMG_3952x.jpg
IMG_3952x.jpg (434.27 KiB) Viewed 2180 times
red is the topside trace, purple is the underside. not complete, but i thought it might help makes things clearer...
IMG_3981.jpg
IMG_3981.jpg (339.5 KiB) Viewed 2180 times
IMG_3982.jpg
IMG_3982.jpg (326.52 KiB) Viewed 2180 times
IMG_3986.jpg
IMG_3986.jpg (325.01 KiB) Viewed 2180 times
IMG_3990.jpg
IMG_3990.jpg (340.45 KiB) Viewed 2180 times
IMG_3993.jpg
IMG_3993.jpg (336.28 KiB) Viewed 2180 times
And the value for the pots are...
Master, Gain, Bass: A500K
Treble: B500K

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Post by batteryacidtea »

Dude! That's just great! Thank you very much :applause:

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Post by HEAD »

Great! Looks like they did it better than Mr. Zachary spending every BS170 a protection diode. Or am I wrong with that? To me it looks pretty much like they did.

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Post by gilmour_pugliese »

hi guys...
here are some pics of my V2... I've owned this pedal for some days... but IMHO there's a great difference between the sound of samples and the real thing :slap:

the V2 is pretty useless with the gain under 70-75%... in fact it sounds clean as a simple clean booster like MXR Microamp :slap:
at full gain the pedal sounds decent, but it's a mid-gain OD, non a high-gain pedal like samples!!!
Also, if you turn down the volume on your axe the sound became too dark and useless :hmmm:

So, I've sold this because my Colorsound Powerboost clone is better, both in boost and OD settings :horsey:

Also, I have a DR504 and this pedal doesn't REALLY nails the Hiwatt sound...
IMHO this WIIO is highly overrated :wink:
Attachments
WIIO_V2_8.jpg
WIIO_V2_7.jpg
WIIO_V2_6.jpg
WIIO_V2_5.jpg
WIIO_V2_4.jpg
WIIO_V2_3.jpg
WIIO_V2_2.jpg
WIIO_V2_1.jpg

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Post by azrael »

HEAD wrote:Great! Looks like they did it better than Mr. Zachary spending every BS170 a protection diode. Or am I wrong with that? To me it looks pretty much like they did.
Ya I see zeners connected to every transistor.

Anyone wanna try taking a whack at a schem? I may try after this week, I have finals coming up in a couple of days... :shock:

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Post by mustang »

azrael wrote:
HEAD wrote:Great! Looks like they did it better than Mr. Zachary spending every BS170 a protection diode. Or am I wrong with that? To me it looks pretty much like they did.
Ya I see zeners connected to every transistor.

Anyone wanna try taking a whack at a schem? I may try after this week, I have finals coming up in a couple of days... :shock:
good luck with the exams... :block:


I'd love to build the V1, does anyone know what the differences are circuit-wise?

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Post by azrael »

^Supposedly has more gain and top end, so probably if there's a resistor at the outputs of each show, it would have a smaller value in the V1. And the treble could be anything, hard to tell without a schem just yet.
gilmour_pugliese wrote: Also, if you turn down the volume on your axe the sound became too dark and useless :hmmm:
Isn't that more your guitar's fault for not having a treble bleed capacitor? :horsey:

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Post by gilmour_pugliese »

azrael wrote:^Supposedly has more gain and top end, so probably if there's a resistor at the outputs of each show, it would have a smaller value in the V1. And the treble could be anything, hard to tell without a schem just yet.
gilmour_pugliese wrote: Also, if you turn down the volume on your axe the sound became too dark and useless :hmmm:
Isn't that more your guitar's fault for not having a treble bleed capacitor? :horsey:
it's not a treble bleed cap issue :wink:
I've tested the pedal in various setups (hiwatt-laney-marshall amps, single coils-hb pups) and the result is still the same :mrgreen:

IMHO a CS powerboost is better :horsey:

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azrael
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Post by azrael »

Well, the Powerboost is a completely different pedal...that's just your opinion.

And yes, it's a treble bleed issue, IMO. When you roll down your guitar's highs, it loses treble. A treble bleed cap on your volume pot will allow treble to return to your signal. So, no longer overly dark and muddy. :thumbsup

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