Is my Pretty Years broken?

[digi2t]

Just picked up a PY, and I found that there's no sound passing is several toggle positions. Comparing to some YT vids, and while they pass sound in certain positions, mine is stone quiet.

One that is really jumping out at me is the clipping switch. With both gains and volume at max, center position is dead, while the two other positions are faint and fainter. The only point were it comes to life is when stages I and IV are on.

I'm going to start tracing it out so I can figure out where to audio probe, but if anyone can give me a quick pointer of where to start checking, would be greatly appreciated.

[oldangelmidnight]

I don't have anything useful to contribute but I'm interested to see what happens now that you have one in your hands.

[digi2t]

Repaired! The tube pins were not even passed all the way through the pads! They were just soldered to the tops of the pads. One of the pins was disconnected because the solder broke. Pulled all the tube pins, cleaned up the solder, reinstalled the pins (all the way through the pads this time!), and resoldered everything. Everything works now. Must have been a Friday afternoon, "let's go, it's happy hour" build.

I don't have anything useful to contribute but I'm interested to see what happens now that you have one in your hands.

[Bellyheart]

i didn't realize you were behind deadendfx but it all makes sense now

[digi2t]

Yes. Pmowdes and I are deadendfx.

[Eric!]

Pretty Years pcb from DeadEndFX plz

[digi2t]

Validation build board on the bench now....

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IBkRG2 ... sp=sharing

[digi2t]

I don't have anything useful to contribute but I'm interested to see what happens now that you have one in your hands.

This is what happens when you have too much time, and two of them on your hands ). Any other question?

[oldangelmidnight]

This is what happens when you have too much time, and two of them on your hands ). Any other question?

How does it sound?
And do you want to build me one?

[oldangelmidnight]

Were the tubes soldered in the original? Would the ever need to be replaced?

[digi2t]

How does it sound?
And do you want to build me one?

Sounds in the same ballpark as the two others. From what I've heard so far, and logically deduced from the fact that there can, and will be variances between tubes, no two sound exactly the same. There's no "good" or "bad" mind you, just different personalities. Like children. For example, the black knob original is very stable, and not microphonic at all, while the pink knob one is less stable, and exhibits some microphonic ringing from the tubes at certain settings (or, from any external vibrations). My clone sits right in between them, decent stability, with only a touch of microphonic ringing. I must admit though, I didn't spend any time rolling a bunch of different tubes through the clone. The first 3 that I grabbed are what went into it, and they sound fine. It does whatever the two originals can do. The only upgrade we made with the clone was beefing up the tube filament power regulator to a TO220 size unit. I found that the originals created too much load on the small TO92 size regulator, which in turn created quite a voltage sag on the entire supply side, which then trickled down to everything downstream.

Sorry, I just have to much work on the bench at the moment to take on any build commissions. Lots of great builders around though, maybe hit the Shark Tank, and see if someone nibbles on your request. If I had to choose someone to build mine, it would be govmnt_lacky (he mostly hangs over at DIYSB). He's not cheap, but his build work is top notch, in every respect. He has my AAAAA seal of approval.

Were the tubes soldered in the original? Would the ever need to be replaced?

Yes, they are soldered in the originals, with small pads. A real PITA to work on, since they were a source of issues with both the originals. On both units, I found tube pins that were not even completely passed through the board when soldered. Just a lump of solder between the pin and the top side of board, which eventually cracked, creating a non-connection. While I used sockets in mine for potential testing, Phil also designed the DEFX PCB with bigger beefier pads to allow for potential reworking in the future. I simply soldered the pins to the sockets when I was done, like I always do. But, to be honest, these tubes are not operating anywhere near their maximum capacities, so unless you really abuse it physically/mechanically, the tubes should outlive you.

The other major source of issues with the originals is broken solder joints where the pots connect to the board. Due the height of the rotary switch deck, the right angle pins on the pots that were used for these builds are too short, and are barely inserted into the board. They don't even make it out the other side, but end up sitting flush, so the only place you have to build up any solder joint is on the pot side of the board. Unfortunately, this creates a lot of stress on the joint, which ends up cracking the solder, or in some cases (as with the pink knobber) the pot breaks free completely. I had to reflow all the pot joints on both original units, and the Gain 2 pot in the pink unit had broken off completely, falling back into the enclosure when I pulled the board! Needless to say, I suspect more unit failures will appear as time goes on.

[oldangelmidnight]

It seems like most of the SS/BS pedals out there have developed issues at this point. Like all of us, creaky at the joints as they get older.

[oldangelmidnight]

How hot does it get after being on in a closed enclosure for a while? Might it benefit from some ventilation?

[digi2t]

It seems like most of the SS/BS pedals out there have developed issues at this point. Like all of us, creaky at the joints as they get older.

Some more creaky than others (that was my knees ).

How hot does it get after being on in a closed enclosure for a while? Might it benefit from some ventilation?

Barely above ambient. The filament voltage is only 1.25vdc, at 50mA per tube. These tubes were designed for battery powered portable radios and such, so ventilation isn't an issue.