Catalinbread - Formula No. 5  [traced]

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G5120fx
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Post by G5120fx »

I´ve built the no 5 yesterday, and it works, but even when the volume is turned all the way down its about 3 times louder than in Bypass?

Maybe I made a mistake with the volume pot? Thats how I connected it:
Lug 3 -> board
Lug 2 -> Out
Lug 1 -> Grnd

Any Ideas?

That´s why they call me dork :wink:

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Post by Nocentelli »

Check your lug 1 -> ground connection. When fully CCW, the output will be grounded and you should hear only silence.
modman wrote: Let's hope it's not a hit, because soldering up the same pedal everyday, is a sad life. It's that same ole devilish double bind again...

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G5120fx
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Post by G5120fx »

Thanks, that was the problem, I had a cold soldering joint! :hug:
Wow very nice sounding pedal :thumbsup

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Seiche
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Post by Seiche »

How did you apply the tweed? It looks awesome! :thumbsup

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Post by roseblood11 »

Contact cement. But it´s only tolex...

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Post by Tonetweaker »

roseblood11 wrote:Contact cement. But it´s only tolex...
Great looking build! It doesn't get much "tweedier" than that... :thumbsup
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Post by bigmufffuzzwizz »

Nice thread guys! You fellows really dissect these pedals! Grabbed the layout can't wait to throw one together!
Thanks
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Post by shiner_man »

Just finished building this using roseblood's vero.

Image

Image

I let me 5 year old paint it. What the hell, he does a better job than me.

Anyway, I can't really turn up my amp at all since the kids are asleep but with the 2m2 resistor in place (as in the original schematic) I'm not hearing a lot of gain
even with the gain knob all the way up. Granted, I don't have the amp turned up at all and I can't turn the volume knob up on the pedal much past unity gain. I guess this is just the nature of the beast?

With the 2m2 resistor taken out it's got TONS of gain.

Thanks for this one guys and gals!

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Post by Nocentelli »

Hmmmm... Even with the 2M2 in place, mine is pretty distorted at maximum gain.
modman wrote: Let's hope it's not a hit, because soldering up the same pedal everyday, is a sad life. It's that same ole devilish double bind again...

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joeboo88
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Post by joeboo88 »

Hi Shiner man thats a nice paint scheme, kinda Van Goish :wink:
I'm with Nocelli, i cant turn my gain all the way up, well i guess i can but the bass string sounds like a T-rex running through the forest. I like have my sound with gain at 2 and volume halfway. Sounds really warm.
Here is a pic of my build, the left side is the F #5 (orange led) and right side is a cranked AC (blue led). I was going to put a dirty lil secret in instead of the cranked Ac , but i didnt like the sound as much so I scrapped it. I just wish i wasnt so allergic to paint that why all my build are colorless, oh well.
IMG_2965.JPG
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Post by shiner_man »

Yeah, something weird is going on. Have a listen. I play the bypass signal, then the signal with the 2m2 resistor in place, then without the 2m2 resistor. Withe the resistor
in place, it just kind of beefs up the sound like a boost. There is almost no distortion at all. Without the 2m2 it gets pretty distorted.



I'm not really sure what the issue is.

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joeboo88
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Post by joeboo88 »

Shiner man, with the switch down, sounds sorta like mine, and sounds good too. With it up just boosts like you said.
I have 2 j201's and 2 (2n5484's ?), I'm not sure about those 2.
I can meter the volatges of the 4 trannies if you need it.
How i gauged my build is it does sound like Cinnamon girl. (Neil Young). I didnt put a switch in for the 2M2, i socketed it and was just happy with that.
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Post by shiner_man »

Interesting. So you're saying with the 2m2 in place you got the same effect as I did. that's weird since it's in the original trace and the stock formula no 5 doesn't sound like that.

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joeboo88
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Post by joeboo88 »

Shiner man, Sorry you lost me. I have the 2M2 socketed, but no switch.
What I'm saying is that the pedal sounds really bass heavy like Cinnamon girl. I wish i could record the pedal but I dont have a mic.
Maybe i should put a switch in there. I used Rosebloods vero, and the 2M2 resistor was there.
I'll pop the resistor out and see what it sounds like. I built this a few months ago, and my memory isnt what it should be. :cry:
I'll have to re read the thread again now you got me doubting myself.....thanks bro :scratch:
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joeboo88
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Post by joeboo88 »

Nocelli maybe you can shine some light on this.
I dont want to steer Siner man down the wrong path. Help an old man out (me) :mrgreen:
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Post by shiner_man »

No, you're right. I was just confused.

Something is wrong with my build. Here's what I got:

Q1:
D = 4.08
S = 0
G = 0

Q2:
D = 9.46
S = 1.07
G = 4.39

Q3:
D = 5.01
S = 0
G = 0

Q4:
D = 9.46
S = 8.15
G = 4.50

I'm not really sure how to troubleshoot this. I'm going to double check that everything is in the right place but I could have sworn it was correct.

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Post by joeboo88 »

Shiner man i'll go measure my voltages.
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Post by joeboo88 »

Shiner man from what i see we are vey similar, i dont think there is anything wrong with your pedal (unless we are both screwed)
I like the sound with the switch thrown from your youtube video.
I dont know why they sound different, mine just seems to be really bass heavy, but i like that. Maybe i changed something, I am an old man and forget really easy. I should write crap down when i build. :hmmm:
Good luck, maybe someone else more experienced can help too.

Battery 8.27

Q1: D = 2.42
S = 0
G = 0

Q2: D = 8.26
S = 2.40
G = 2.50

Q4: D = 8.25
S = 4.06
G = 2.75

Q3: D = 4.06
S = 0
G = 0
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Post by Nocentelli »

Judging from the vid, yours has far less gain than mine: With the resistor in place, mine goes from Keith Richards-ish gritty overdrive at minimum gain, to Neil Young filth at maximum (I believe this is what the stock Catalinbread sounds like) - It won't do at all clean unless I pull the gain right back and lower my guitar volume - Bear in mind I'm using humbuckers. With the resistor removed, there's noticeable increase in gain and sustain, it's a bit smoother too. With or without the resistor, maximum gain is really quite distorted, really long sustain etc.

The build looks good from what I can see, electro's and fets the right way round etc - Are you using 2N5457's btw?

I'll go measure my voltages...
modman wrote: Let's hope it's not a hit, because soldering up the same pedal everyday, is a sad life. It's that same ole devilish double bind again...

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Post by joeboo88 »

Thanks Nocelli :thumbsup
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