Safe to run Quaverato at higher voltage?

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  • #42477 Reply
    Fanyo
    Guest

    Hey Brach.
    It’s me again ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Still working on the volume jump issue. I have some guys on another forum trying to help me figure it out. I didn’t want to gunk up my old thread with a seperate issue, so here goes:

    I noticed some distortion coming from the Quaverato. With the depth and speed dialed all the way down, its easily distinguishable. Guitar pickups are low-medium output Firebird type. No other pedals in the chain, and the output level can be decreased to a whisper, running into a 100w clean amp, and the distortion is still present.
    It’s the Quaverato for sure.

    Can I safely run it at 12v or 18v to increase headroom?

    #42483 Reply
    brach
    Moderator

    Is the Quaverato the only thing in the signal path or are you still using your loop switcher? I remember when we talked last, that switcher seemed to have some weird things going on with it, so you may want to test the pedal without that in the signal path, if you haven’t yet.
    I highly doubt that that the Quaverato’s voltage is the cause for the distortion. It currently uses 9 volts, biased to half supply (4.5V), so the signal would have to get pushed beyond those rails (+/-4.5Vpp) to distort. Guitar signals are usually much less than 1Vpp, so it’s very doubtful that an unamplified guitar signal would run out of headroom. Most likely, (if the distortion is happening internal to the Quaverato) the problem is related to an issue with the opamp (TL074) circuit. Check the ins and outs of those opamps to see if they are biased correctly around 4.5V. The schematic in the back of the assembly manual is useful for tracking down signal and voltage problems.
    If you really feel compelled to use higher voltage in the Quaverato, 12V will probably be ok to use. The only thing to watch out for is the 5V regulator. If, after a while it starts getting hot, go back to 9V….I can’t remember off the top of my head what the max voltage differential (or wattage) that regulator can stand.
    Good luck.
    -Brach

    #42484 Reply
    Fanyo
    Guest

    No I temporarily took it off the board. Guitar-> Quaverato-> amp.
    I can eliminate the distortion by decreasing the guitar signal level going into the Quaverato (Boss EQ, drop the level slider only), and the make up for the signal level loss by raising the output level on the Quaverato. Again, depth and speed all the way down.
    The Walrus Audio Monument does this too, just not quite as drastically. Not to say that the Quaverato’s distortion is drastic, because it’s barely noticeable…..but alas, it is noticeable.
    I don’t know if the Quaverato was inspired by that circuit, or both of you guys drew inspiration from some other circuit…but every single issue I find myself having with the Quaverato is repeated in the Monument, just to a slightly lesser degree.

    I want to make damn sure that I don’t sound like I’m trashing your design. I love the Quaverato. The design is great, the flexibility is stellar, the kit was super fun, the build instructions were absolutely impeccable and crystal clear, its laid out very well, and it sounds great. I am doing some goofy stuff with a bunch of cheap gear, and the Quaverato doesn’t like it.

    The distortion is a separate thing though. I’ll check those bias voltages. Thank you for your help!

    Updates on my other post commencing directly.

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