Help! - Gain knob not working

[waltschwarzkopf]

Hi guys,

I recently bought a used TC electronic Röttweiler distorsion pedal. It’s in mint condition and came with the original packaging. I plug it in, sounds great, bass/treble work, level works but the gain does not work.

I tried different amps and cable, the pedal alone and with others but the gain does not increase nor decrease.

I managed to take it apart to look at the board and at first sight nothing looked burnt or rusty. Put it back and the problem was still there.

Any advise on what I could do? Or how to check things further?

Cheers,
Walter

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

Could be a bad solder joint, you can just heat up the joints around the pot and let the solder reflow to fix that. Could be dust in the pot (which would require a new one soldered in).

 

[BlakeC27]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

Try reflowing the solder joints as GuitarStv suggests if you can. Easier said than done without having seen the inside of the pedal however. The same could be said for replacing the pot in question. Couldn't find an image online of a gutshot for the Röttweiler so I'm 100% sure of the degree of difficulty. If you could post one that would determine how hard it would be.

 

[waltschwarzkopf]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

Hi guys,
Thanks for the suggestions!
I’ll try to post some inside pictures tomorrow.
On Monday I can try to reflow the joints with the tools at work.

 

[devastone]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

In the meantime, just try twisting the knob back and forth fairly aggressively a dozen or so times, if there is some corrosion in the pot that might clean it up enough to get it working.

 

[BlakeC27]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

Hi guys,
Thanks for the suggestions!
I’ll try to post some inside pictures tomorrow.
On Monday I can try to reflow the joints with the tools at work.

This is an image of the pots from the TC Electronic MojoMojo:



Probably very similar or if not the same build specs in terms of layout as the Röttweiler. Will be very easy to reflow the solder joints and replace the pot if need be. They're 9mm Alpha right-angle pots, quite common so getting a replacement won't be too difficult. Will run you a couple of bucks from somewhere like Small Bear Electronics. The value will be written on the pot itself. They're sealed pots, so you won't be able to use any contact cleaning if reflowing the joint doesn't work.

 

[waltschwarzkopf]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

Hi guys,
Thanks again! I reopened it and saw some dust/White substance/powder on the board. What could it be and how do I clean it? Toothbrush? Compressed air? Indeed, looks almost identical to the MojoMojo. Have a look for yourselves!

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[waltschwarzkopf]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

BTW, I contacted the seller and he said it worked fine for him. THEN, he put it in its box for two years and sold it...

I guess he didn’t stored it in a cool-dry-place nor he tested it before shipping...


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[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

I’ve seen that kind of residue inside a fair number of products that worked fine. I always thought it was an manufacturing artifact. Anyone know for sure?

 

[BlakeC27]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

I’ve seen that kind of residue inside a fair number of products that worked fine. I always thought it was an manufacturing artifact. Anyone know for sure?

For the photos Walt posted, it looks like flux residue to me. Left behind from the manufacturing process.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

What did you expect to hear? From my experience gain knob does nothing noticeable if any. Pan that knob from min to max see if you notice a change in sound. Also, check out the demo on youtube.

 

[waltschwarzkopf]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

What did you expect to hear? From my experience gain knob does nothing noticeable if any. Pan that knob from min to max see if you notice a change in sound. Also, check out the demo on youtube.

I expected to hear crunch to lead while turning the knob... but now Im thinking this is a balls to the wall full time full gain pedal (which is ok).

I took a toothbrush and brushed the board carefully to remove most of those residues. Then, I plugged the pedal alone to the amp and a guitar. I strummed the low e and let it ring while turning the knobs. Treble, Bass, level and the switch do change very noticeable. The gain knob now does change the sound, but very faintly. The saturation seems to increase as it turn it up (CW), although the gain remains pretty much the same.

Is this normal? I’m gonna check the demos again, maybe I missed that... Since I have oder OD and distortion pedals, I’m ok if this is full gain, as that it was my main purpose. I just didn’t want to get ripped off.


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[BlakeC27]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

I expected to hear crunch to lead while turning the knob... but now Im thinking this is a balls to the wall full time full gain pedal (which is ok).

I took a toothbrush and brushed the board carefully to remove most of those residues. Then, I plugged the pedal alone to the amp and a guitar. I strummed the low e and let it ring while turning the knobs. Treble, Bass, level and the switch do change very noticeable. The gain knob now does change the sound, but very faintly. The saturation seems to increase as it turn it up (CW), although the gain remains pretty much the same.

Is this normal? I’m gonna check the demos again, maybe I missed that... Since I have oder OD and distortion pedals, I’m ok if this is full gain, as that it was my main purpose. I just didn’t want to get ripped off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not familiar with this pedal so it could quite possible be the case. We were assuming the gain control had range of a more traditional OD/Distortion pedal in the first place.

 

[devastone]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

I’ve seen that kind of residue inside a fair number of products that worked fine. I always thought it was an manufacturing artifact. Anyone know for sure?

For the photos Walt posted, it looks like flux residue to me. Left behind from the manufacturing process.

Exactly, just residue from puttin' it together, won't hurt anything. If it really bugs you, some alcohol on a toothbrush will take care of it.

 

[devastone]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

...but now Im thinking this is a balls to the wall full time full gain pedal (which is ok).

I took a toothbrush and brushed the board carefully to remove most of those residues. Then, I plugged the pedal alone to the amp and a guitar. I strummed the low e and let it ring while turning the knobs. Treble, Bass, level and the switch do change very noticeable. The gain knob now does change the sound, but very faintly. The saturation seems to increase as it turn it up (CW), although the gain remains pretty much the same.

Checking a few utube reviews on the pedal, that's how it seems to work.

 

[BlakeC27]

Re: Help! - Gain knob not working

I once tried the Mad Professor 1 and the 'Brown' control was like that. Didn't have any affect on the amount of gain, just a very change in the tone probably similar to what you described.