NEWBIE FIRST BUILD: NIGHTMAREE !!

pedal_pete · Post by **pedal_pete** » 24 Feb 2012, 17:42

Hi guys, no idea if this is the right place to post this.

Basically i ordered a DIY fuzz factory clone kit from ebay thinking it would be great to build my own fuzz, i love fuzz factories so i thought why not.

The problem is, i cannot for the life of me get it to do anything ! (i get a lower volume guitar sound coming through to my amp,
even on distortion channel there is no or little distortion.)

Its only at board stage at the moment and in testing only the volume and gate pots seem to affect the sound

Stability comp and drive do nothing.

Any ideas on where i may have gone wrong guys? Thanks alot

THE KIT: http://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/DIY_Fuzz_F ... 39185.aspx

bato001 · Post by **bato001** » 24 Feb 2012, 18:59

Double check the orientation of all your transistors.

pedal_pete · Post by **pedal_pete** » 25 Feb 2012, 20:37

Due to never working with transistors before, I checked from pics on the net which prongs were c b and e. is there a more accurate way? Thanks for the reply

Zokk · Post by **Zokk** » 25 Feb 2012, 21:07

yes: datasheets

http://www.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-p ... AC128.html
http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datashe ... 2N3904.pdf

pedal_pete · Post by **pedal_pete** » 27 Feb 2012, 09:30

either im very stupid or.. well god knows ! but i cant seem to locate the ac128 i have on that sheet? anything else ive found on the internet leads me to believe that they are all in correctly.

So... now i am stumped ! anyone got any other ideas why it is not working ? thanks

pedal_pete · Post by **pedal_pete** » 27 Feb 2012, 13:12

Just noticed id stupidly ignored that there were 5k and 10k pots. 5k for stab and volume

Doubt thats gonna make a difference though..

Very helpfully my soldering iron tip has given out on me so im stuck with theory till thursday !

is it a good idea to disconnect and start again? i cant see what i could do differently though.

pedal_pete · Post by **pedal_pete** » 05 Mar 2012, 14:43

Right after going through this again i am stumped.

With or without power the circuit does nothing.

i have a weak signal coming through and with my knowledge i can't see ANYTHING wrong.

Ihave a multimeter but im not sure where to begin tracing the circuit?

can someone PLEASE set me off in the right direction?

Much appreciated

pt1911 · Post by **pt1911** » 09 Apr 2012, 19:17

From my limited experience you won't get any sound unless the input and output jacks are grounded to the case. I tried a boost I built and I didn't work unroll they were grounded.Hope this helps.

DaveKerr · Post by **DaveKerr** » 09 Apr 2012, 20:26

Drop about $2 on the parts to make an audio probe:
http://www.diyguitarist.com/PDF_Files/D ... Tester.pdf
You're very likely to figure it out on your own, or to at least isolate where in the circuit things are going wrong, if you give it a try.

bato001 · Post by **bato001** » 09 Apr 2012, 21:10

Ok, don't get frustrated. Definitely get an audio probe and see where the signal stops. Also---Double check your pot wiring. I have seen bad or mis-wired pots cause this problem. Also make sure you didn't slop some solder between solder pads that are close together.