In a previous entry I questioned whether or not my Maxon DS-830 Distortion Master clone was truly a master of distortion. I can definitively say it is, but after some testing I've come to find that things aren't exactly perfect with my build. When I tested the circuit through my Noisy Cricket it sounded ok, but I was merely looking to see whether or not the circuit and controls worked. When I tested the circuit through Kali there was an odd sag that seemed to oscillate. I would hit a chord and the distortion would slowly swell in and out. I started troubleshooting the build by first checking the input JFET. The circuit requires a 2SK246Y, but I don't have any clue where to get one of those. Instead I went with a JFET from the same parts board I sourced the SC1815 transistors this build also requires and used a K223.
Since I had the foresight to socket the JFET I started testing others that I had. I tried my J112, J113, another K223 and even a 2N5457, but the K223s were the only ones that worked. For completeness sake I turned the K223 around and it works either way. *Shrug* While I was swapping the K223's direction I had forgotten to unplug the power, which I usually do as a precaution, and the sag wasn't there. This told me that it probably wasn't the JFET at all, so it's probably a crappy electrolytic capacitor. When the circuit is powered off and back on the oscillating sag returns, but if the circuit is left powered up for a while it comes to life and works just fine. I'll need to test some of the capacitors and see which one might be causing the issue, or what else it may be. Aside from that I'm happy with how good this circuit sounds when it's firing on all cylinders.
Next up we have the super secret project I've been working on, which requires a screamer type circuit as the heart of the overall build. Since I built my Screaming Pumpkin I've found I'm not a fan of the clean bleed, or whatever you call it, that is common with 808 style circuits. Don't get me wrong, I love my Screaming Pumpkin, and TS808 circuits can sound great in the right circumstance, but this project is most certainly not that circumstance. I listened to demos of TS9, TS10, TS7, TS5 and even other kinds of TS circuits. I finally settled on the TS9 as my circuit of choice. As TS circuits go it didn't take long to put together and once I was done I went through my normal pre-test jitters. I'm anxious whether the circuit will work, and if it doesn't what will I need to troubleshoot/fix. Luckily for me everything went off without a hitch.
This circuit sounds really good, but as always I'm not sure it sounds as close as I wanted to the project circuit I'm going to end up building. Regardless, it is what it is and I will be moving ahead with it anyway. This project also requires a boost, which I just so happens to have a LPB-1 circuit laying around. I will also need to work on adding a blend circuit, which is something I got into earlier this year and built a few. Finally I need to work on some sort of bass boost switch to go along with it. So the project is a TS style overdrive, with a clean blend, a boost and a bass switch. Does that sound familiar?
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