# Box 66 switch doesn't seem to change anything



## usurp (Oct 14, 2021)

Hey everyone,

I just finished up building a Box 66 and for some reason the toggle switch doesn't appear to change the tone in any way. I want to say there is a minuscule difference but I almost feel like I'm making that up in my head to try and convince myself I didn't mess up. After watching some demos of the pedal it is based off of I feel like the switch should make a pretty substantial tone change and it's not here on this build.

Here are some gut pics to help;







I can't seem to see anything physically that I did wrong but I can't for the life of me read schematics so I don't even know where I would start to troubleshoot something like this.

For reference this is the switch I used in the build;








						Taiway SPDT On On Switch - PCB Mount - Short Shaft
					

Sturdy, reliable, and fun to click! The SPDT On-On switch with PCB mount pins and short actuator from Taiway. Part number 100-3P1-T200B1M2QE.




					lovemyswitches.com
				




Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!


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## Bricksnbeatles (Oct 14, 2021)

First thing I’d do is check to make sure there’s only continuity between the middle and top lug of the switch when it’s in the down position, and the middle and bottom lug when it’s in the up position. If the switch is busted there’s a chance the mechanism is stuck in one position (or shorting between both sides of the switch) regardless of the switch position.


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## fig (Oct 14, 2021)

It's possible the caps are closer together in actual value, given the tolerance.

C3 4n7 & C7 10n. You could try raising C7 to a 22n?


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## usurp (Oct 14, 2021)

Bricksnbeatles said:


> First thing I’d do is check to make sure there’s only continuity between the middle and top lug of the switch when it’s in the down position, and the middle and bottom lug when it’s in the up position. If the switch is busted there’s a chance the mechanism is stuck in one position (or shorting between both sides of the switch) regardless of the switch position.



Interesting you say that, when I first flipped the switch I heard a _POP _noise come from my amp which, in my ignorant opinion, could possibly mean something shorted/busted in the switch. Does that kind of thinking make any sense?


fig said:


> It's possible the caps are closer together in actual value, given the tolerance.
> 
> C3 4n7 & C7 10n. You could try raising C7 to a 22n?



I might give that a go anyway that sounds interesting. I have one of those Chinese component testers so I can check the actual values. Good idea!


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## usurp (Oct 16, 2021)

Alright so I am back with some results and hopefully a bit more help!

I opened this piece of crap back open and I replaced the SPDT switch with another one thinking it might have been busted. While I had the pedal gutted I decided to take fig's suggestion and replace C7 with a 22nf capacitor. I get it all back together and the toggle switch still isn't doing jack. SOMETIMES I can hear a little tiny itsy bitsy pop but 99% of the time when I am listening there is zero diserable difference in the tone. There is no way two switches in a row could be busted, right??

I even swapped out the IC chip in a longshot effort to see if that fixed anything and it did not.

Would anyone else have any other suggestions as to why this is wouldn't be working? ANY help would be greatly appreciated. The pedal sounds awesome which is the only saving grace but I would love to, you know, use that switch I installed and drilled in 

Thanks!

EDIT: One more thing to note; when i installed the switch i forgot to install the metal washer between the enclosure and the switch itself. Since it's a metal washer I don't think that should be shorting anything but I have no clue at this point and I don't want to leave any details out.


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## fig (Oct 16, 2021)

usurp said:


> Alright so I am back with some results and hopefully a bit more help!
> 
> I opened this piece of crap back open and I replaced the SPDT switch with another one thinking it might have been busted. While I had the pedal gutted I decided to take fig's suggestion and replace C7 with a 22nf capacitor. I get it all back together and the toggle switch still isn't doing jack. SOMETIMES I can hear a little tiny itsy bitsy pop but 99% of the time when I am listening there is zero diserable difference in the tone. There is no way two switches in a row could be busted, right??
> 
> ...


I'm sorry that wasn't any help. I hope you are able to get your "piece of crap" sorted.


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## Coda (Oct 16, 2021)

Is the tone as is the ‘66 tone or the Super Bee tone?…


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## usurp (Oct 16, 2021)

fig said:


> I'm sorry that wasn't any help. I hope you are able to get your "piece of crap" sorted.



Don't apologize! You helped me learn a bit by reading the schematic and understanding a bit more of pedal building! Thank you so much.

Also the "piece of crap" mention probably has more to do with my incompetence than any of the components mentioned haha.


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## usurp (Oct 16, 2021)

Coda said:


> Is the tone as is the ‘66 tone or the Super Bee tone?…



Well I guess technically both...

Not sure how to answer this since I don't know what the "default" tone is that I am hearing. I get a killer tone out of this pedal the way it is right now but I don't know if I am hearing the '66 tone or the Super Bee tone. The only thing I know is that when I flip the switch there is zero change in tone. 

Would a video/demo of what I am experiencing help troubleshoot this issue?


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## Coda (Oct 16, 2021)

That would help. Is the tone more bassy or is it thinner and more trebly? The former is the Super Bee, and the latter the ToneBender…


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## Sturdag Lagernathy (Oct 17, 2021)

Do you know how to test continuity?


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## music6000 (Oct 17, 2021)

usurp said:


> Well I guess technically both...
> 
> Not sure how to answer this since I don't know what the "default" tone is that I am hearing. I get a killer tone out of this pedal the way it is right now but I don't know if I am hearing the '66 tone or the Super Bee tone. The only thing I know is that when I flip the switch there is zero change in tone.
> 
> Would a video/demo of what I am experiencing help troubleshoot this issue?


The switch is working in both positions otherwise you would have no sound coming from the pedal in each mode!!!


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## Kroars (Oct 17, 2021)

usurp said:


> Hey everyone,
> 
> I just finished up building a Box 66 and for some reason the toggle switch doesn't appear to change the tone in any way. I want to say there is a minuscule difference but I almost feel like I'm making that up in my head to try and convince myself I didn't mess up. After watching some demos of the pedal it is based off of I feel like the switch should make a pretty substantial tone change and it's not here on this build.
> 
> ...


I built two of these and found the switch didn’t seem to change much at all.  I suppose there might be a very, very subtle change in tone.


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## usurp (Oct 17, 2021)

Sturdag Lagernathy said:


> Do you know how to test continuity?



Yes I believe so. That is the same test when you're building stripboards and you test to make sure when you put a hole in it the multi-meter doesn't make the _BEEP.

(yes i know how nooby that sounds lmaoooo)_


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## usurp (Oct 17, 2021)

Kroars said:


> I built two of these and found the switch didn’t seem to change much at all.  I suppose there might be a very, very subtle change in tone.



Ohh for real? The only reason I decided to spend this much time troubleshooting is because I was basing what I should hear off of the demos the pedal is made off of.


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## usurp (Oct 17, 2021)

Coda said:


> That would help. Is the tone more bassy or is it thinner and more trebly? The former is the Super Bee, and the latter the ToneBender…



Yeah if this pedal is supposed to switch between the two there is no way the sound is right. Let me see if I can post a sound demo in a few and I'll ping you!


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## Kroars (Oct 17, 2021)

usurp said:


> Ohh for real? The only reason I decided to spend this much time troubleshooting is because I was basing what I should hear off of the demos the pedal is made off of.


Yeah, I built two of them side by side.  Tested all components prior to installation (aside from the charge pump) and while I did like the fuzz, the switch didn’t seem to change anything.  Same as you I thought maybe I could hear a difference, but also it could be in my head.


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## usurp (Oct 17, 2021)

Kroars said:


> Yeah, I built two of them side by side.  Tested all components prior to installation (aside from the charge pump) and while I did like the fuzz, the switch didn’t seem to change anything.  Same as you I thought maybe I could hear a difference, but also it could be in my head.


 Oh boy oh boy.

I wonder if anyone else who built this pedal has had the switch do something. I tested the swapped out components and they seemed to work. There HAS to be a way to have the switch do something....

Maybe this can be my pedal test project. Call me Dr. Frankenstein mwahahahaha 😈


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## Barry (Oct 17, 2021)

Have you set the bias on the transistor?


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## fig (Oct 17, 2021)

Curious, I opened mine up and connected my much loved o'scope...here is the difference it "hears" when you flip dat switch.












Edit: That's a 400Hz sine @ 1.000 Vpp


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## usurp (Oct 14, 2021)

Hey everyone,

I just finished up building a Box 66 and for some reason the toggle switch doesn't appear to change the tone in any way. I want to say there is a minuscule difference but I almost feel like I'm making that up in my head to try and convince myself I didn't mess up. After watching some demos of the pedal it is based off of I feel like the switch should make a pretty substantial tone change and it's not here on this build.

Here are some gut pics to help;







I can't seem to see anything physically that I did wrong but I can't for the life of me read schematics so I don't even know where I would start to troubleshoot something like this.

For reference this is the switch I used in the build;








						Taiway SPDT On On Switch - PCB Mount - Short Shaft
					

Sturdy, reliable, and fun to click! The SPDT On-On switch with PCB mount pins and short actuator from Taiway. Part number 100-3P1-T200B1M2QE.




					lovemyswitches.com
				




Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!


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## Harry Klippton (Oct 17, 2021)

Scopeman to the rescue!


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## Coda (Oct 17, 2021)

In the sake of helping out, I just built a Box 66...(I was actually planning on building one today all along). The switch on mine doesn't do much either. In Super Bee mode, its a little thicker...fatter. In 66 mode, is a tad thinner. That's about it. I imagine changing C3 and C7 (to like 2n2 and 15n or so) would make a bigger difference.


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## Coda (Oct 17, 2021)

I was doing a bit of research, and apparently there were a few different versions of the D*A*M 1966. The earliest is the version the PCB was based on. There was another that switch the two different output caps for different resistors across the output pot. I believe there was a third version as well. There was also a stand-alone Super Bee pedal that was based on the Vox ToneBender, but considerably different from the Super Bee setting on the 66…


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