This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

[Surgeon]

Back in ’97, a friend gave me an old Ross distortion pedal (black taiwanese version). A couple of years later I lent it to a friend. During that period, he told me it stopped working and tried to make it work, without any success.

Now, ever since that day (around 2000), once or twice a year I try to fix it and still to no avail… this is getting (*&%?%$% frustrating.

So far I’ve:

Changed the footswitch 3 times
Changed the pots
Changed all components that don’t look brand new (so almost everything since the pedal’s quite old) to new and identical value components
Changed the battery clip
Changed the OP amp
Checked the solder joints
Checked the tracings on the PCB

I know the jacks aren’t faulty ‘cause when the pedal’s off I get the clean tone.

It’s not like it’s a complicated pedal for pete’s sake… there are like 10 components.

I spent 2 hours yesterday night working on it. Changed the switch to a dpdt one (and rewired for it), changed the OPamp, changed a pot again... Still yielded a freakin’ lot of buzzing and no sound when the unit’s switched on.

Until: For whatever reason I laid the pedal on it’s side (I kept it open to be able to probe inside and see/feel if anything’s touching) for no good reason and there, for 1 second, I got the full distortion tone. Of course then it cut and I was never able to make it work again…

I’ve checked all the solder joints, connections and so on… about 15 times…

This is so ridiculously frustrating it’s not even funny… I just wanna gut the pedal, turn it upside down and start smoking so I can use it as an ashtray.

See, I’m not the kind of guy who can just have something not working around and I’m definitely not the kind of guy who gives up but that cycle has to end. I work for a day or two, get uber-frustrated, put the pedal back on the shelf for 6 months and then the cycle starts again.

This is frustrating but almost insulting too…

[VanDerchuck]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

Sounds like something is touching ground. Check all the components and the jacks with a chopstick. Give them a little wiggle. With everything you've done to it, I wouldn't be surprised if you fixed the original problem and caused a new one. You are almost there. Don't give up, and don't change anything else for now.

[DankStar]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

you been using a multimeter to check? gonna be essential to see where the signal stops/is goofy. hope I'm not adding insult to injury - I dislike troubleshooting too, but would have given up a few steps back and said the unit was haunted by an evil spirit named "Jerry."

[GuitarStv]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

Whenever working on electronics it's important to properly prepare your workspace. Make sure everything's neat and tidy, you've got proper lighting and ventilation, your soldering iron and multimeter are in close range. I also like to strip naked, draw a large pentagram on the floor in battery acid, and sit in the center of the pentagram. It's best to invoke the names of the Gods of Electrical Engineering . . . Tesla, Faraday, Ampère, and the rest. Remembering that they are capricious Gods, a small sacrifice of several transistors/resistors (typically done by heating them until their magic smoke comes out) may also be necessary.

[lex666]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

Whenever working on electronics it's important to properly prepare your workspace. Make sure everything's neat and tidy, you've got proper lighting and ventilation, your soldering iron and multimeter are in close range. I also like to strip naked, draw a large pentagram on the floor in battery acid, and sit in the center of the pentagram. It's best to invoke the names of the Gods of Electrical Engineering . . . Tesla, Faraday, Ampère, and the rest. Remembering that they are capricious Gods, a small sacrifice of several transistors/resistors (typically done by heating them until their magic smoke comes out) may also be necessary.

LOL, no virgin sacrifice? That's why its not working.

[guitfiddle]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

1. field

2. Cherry Bomb, or Silver Salute

3. 20 ft back after lighting the fuse.

4. Profit!!

[Kam]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

I actually like that ashtray idea. I think I'm gonna pick up a broken pedal just for that purpose.

But yeah, in my extremely limited electronic experience, I agree with VanDerchuck.

Best of luck sorting it, man. I hope it's worth it. It would suck to spend 10 years fixing something that turned out to be a Boss Metal Zone...

[Surgeon]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

It's only much more frustrating considering that:
-I fix pedals for other people (always more complex than that stupid thing)
-I've build many things that were way more complex than that funking pedal

And still, I'm stumped and angry at a early '80s mxr dist. plus variant...

[lex666]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

...call me up if you wanna smoke a "J" and just chill for a while.

We'll find a way to turn that pedal into a bong or something useful.

[Surgeon]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

...call me up if you wanna smoke a "J" and just chill for a while.

We'll find a way to turn that pedal into a bong or something useful.

That's the smartest thing I've heard all day...

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

Some trace is done for!
Nothing to do but check all connections with the beeper on the multimeter..

[ratherdashing]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

Some trace is done for!
Nothing to do but check all connections with the beeper on the multimeter..

That's what I was gonna say.

I feel your pain though ... I have a dead Boss GE-7 that I've never gotten working again. I have never really put in a serious effort though ... probably because I don't actually want it.

[GuitarDoc]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

Comes the law of diminishing returns.

[Surgeon]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

Ok, thanks guys...

NOW: I tried it again tonight (I'm a masochist) and I realized that I can hear the distorted signal VERY FAINTLY through a wall of static I believe comes from the ground...

What do you guys say about this?

I've double checked with the schematics I can find and every pot I use is the right value....

[ratherdashing]

Re: This is so "/%$"/$% frustrating... I can't do it anymore

Ok, thanks guys...

NOW: I tried it again tonight (I'm a masochist) and I realized that I can hear the distorted signal VERY FAINTLY through a wall of static I believe comes from the ground...

What do you guys say about this?

I've double checked with the schematics I can find and every pot I use is the right value....

Check for exposed connections touching the casing.