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Hmmm, sneaky. Your KEY pot behaves like it is not connected somewhere. The microcontroller polls the eight knobs and reads their voltage, so many times per second. It maps the voltage onto a table to decide what value is desired. If it reads 0 volts, as when a pot is disconected, it will always display the first value in the table, in this case C. So since the pot seems completely unresponsive, we think there is a broken connection somewhere. Here’s how to check.
1. With the unit off, measure the resistance between the two outer pins of the pot. If it IS properly connected into the circuit, you should read 1.9kOhms. If the pot is NOT properly connected, you will read something higher.
2. If that’s the case, check all the solder connections associated with this pot, including its corresponding pin on the multiplexer.
3. Look also for solder bridges. This is an unintended connection causing a short. A bridge can consist of even a tiny whisp of solder touching two pads together that are not meant to touch. Tiny bridges can be popped off with a little gentle scraping. Larger bridges may require melting and removing the excess solder.Aha! You do have an extraordinary unit! That pot is probably bad, or the microcontroller may be poorly seated.
1. Re-seat the microcontroller. Carefully pop it out and seat it back into the socket.
2. Turn on the unit. Gently but firmly press down on the shaft of that fussy pot, and sweep it through its full range. You should see the numbers 1-8 appear smoothly. Your video reveals that the pot does not seem to behave as it should. Another way to verify is this: set Function to 6, X-Y mode. Now the last pot is used to set the MIDI value, 1-127, transmitted when the right sensor senses your hand at the far limit of its range. Turn the knob smoothly without pressing. Do you get a jumble of jerky 1274numbers? Do you get something other than at full left and 127 at full right? Try again while pressing down. The numbers should scroll smoothly across the range.
If these tests are positive, then the pot is bad and must be replaced and we will send you a new one.
Please run the test and let us know!
The spinning numbers indicate you are in Play mode, not Articulation mode. The “1. 8” indicates the positron of the last two knobs, Octave Near and Octave Far. The 8 tells us that the last knob, Octave Far, is turned to the right, not the left. All knobs must be full left when powered on to enter Articulation Mode.
If you tell me “But the last knob IS full left!”, then I will say “Extraordinary! It is behaving backwards! Turn it until the display shows ‘1. 1’, then power of then on. Now at last you should be in Articulation Mode. “
Are you following the “Easter Egg” instruction? Turn unit off, turn all knobs full left, turn back on. First you should see three digits: what are they? After a few seconds the display should change to a number divisible by 15: what is it?
JustNickMusic demo video: “May I just say, this thing is sexy as hell. This is the sexiest pedal I have had the pleasure to mess with in a long time, and I mess with a lot of sexy pedals.”
ShnobelTone demo video: “Very great sounding tremolo pedal…”
CoolGuitarGear, aka Brian Johnston, demo video. I really dig the zeppelin footage.
So good to hear from you, and congratulations! Thanks for participating in the contest. The Quaverato wants a 9V DC center negative supply with a capacity of at least 100 ma [milliamps). There is a little symbol on the label. Look at it closely. It represents “Negative voltage on the center pin, positive voltage on the outer sleeve.” Make sure your supply has a matching symbol. This is typical to any guitar pedal supply; they are largely interchangeable. If you plug in a center positive, such as you might find powering your clock radio or hair clippers, the Quaverato simply won’t turn on. We sell a power supply like this info our web store, in the Parts department.
There is a terrific, detailed owners manual available on the Quaverato product page, info the Documentation tab. Please check it out!
Pedal of the Day calls the Quaverato “absolutely one of the most resourceful and accomplished tremolo pedals we’ve had the pleasure to come across.” Read the complete review here.
Two things to check: Is the OCTAVE knob way down low, to the left? The speaker cannot reproduce sounds in the lowest register. You might feel it vibrate, but you won’t hear much. Next, is the CUTOFF all the way down (left)? If so, crank it around to the right. With the cutoff frequency set very low, the low pass filter cuts off most of the signal — hence quiet output!
Earl, write to me so I can get your fix underway. And one last question: what are you using for a power supply? A low 9V battery could produce the effect you see — no effect at all!
Got it! This sounds like shipping damage. I’ll send you a return postage label and we will repair or replace the unit and get it back to you. We’ll finish up outside the forum; if we discover anything of general interest, I’ll post it here as a follow-up. meantime, email me your shipping address at info”at”zeppelindesignlabs”dot”com.
So sorry for the disappointment. We’ll fix you up good.
–glen
OK, one more question, and then maybe another. Can you give me the last name of the gift-giver? Something to help me tie down the sale. (there’s a gap in my serial-number record-keeping.) I take it the gift was a complete Altura, not a kit, correct?
Sorry to hear this, Earl. Let’s get you up and waving. First, what’s the serial number on your unit? It’s on the circuit board, on a round sticker. Second, do I understand the display displays nothing? Nothing at all? Always dark, even when you gently press on it and rock it a little with your fingertip? Third, what do you have the Altura connected to? A synthesizer or a computer? With the synth or computer set to OMNI, meaning it is listening for MIDI data on all channels, do you see any signs of life? On the synth there is usually a LED that flickers as MIDI data passes through. On a computer, of course, you should be able to display the entire data stream, even if you don’t hear anything yet.
If the display is not working at all, it’s tricky to know what the Altura is up to, or how it is set. Make sure the OCTAVE NEAR and FAR knobs are both set to more or less the 12 o’clock position. This will cause the Altura to transmit notes over one octave, right in the middle of the piano. If the knobs are all far-left (as they sometimes leave the Lab), then the Altura will be set to Octave 1, which is mostly subsonic.
“I’m a sound designer and do a lot of sound fx recording with lots of different mics, including contact mics and hydrophones. I was on a video game shoot last week and one of the guys had one of your contact mics that he had built; of course mic junkie that I am, I had to have one but with no time before my next job decided to get the pre-built version. I’m also intrigued with the reference to hydrophones in the piezo explanation paragraph.”
— John F, Santa Monica, CA
I do electro-acoustic music, and I want to use it for a lot of different application.
My first test will be a test for a circus creation. I want to try to amplify a wood floor which will vibrate under Cyr wheel’s movement.
the second test will be the string of a funambulist.–Fabien, Montreuil France
Hey Grant! Glen here. Sorry your Percolator did not fire up on the first try. Brach the Percolator designer will chime in on Monday. Meanwhile you may want to take a look at this thread for an example of a troubleshoot in progress. Short answer: examine that solder very carefully! Look for bridges — globs of solder that connect things that should not be connected. Look for “cold joints” where the solder did not flow smoothly into the pad and may not be making a good connection where it should.
We’ll get you there.
