Sheer raw power. Dynamics that feel like a roundhouse kick to the chest. Incredibly responsive clean up with the flick of the wrist. This is the WIIO.
The WIIO is an overdrive inspired by the powerfully unforgiving British amps from the ‘70s. Its all right there at your fingertips - your picking attack determines how much gain is delivered to the speakers. There is none of the typical compression found in most other overdrives to hide behind or to soften the blow - this is brass knuckle to the jaw type sonic impact we‘re talking here - you literally feel as though you plugged straight into the power section.
Like the amps, the WIIO has a wide freq spread so if your amp can deliver you’ll be rewarded with crisp clear highs and a very full tight low end. Lower gain settings are very clean and linear - you can hear every pick stroke and fingerprint, and the headroom allows for some very rich sounds when using modulation pedals. As you crank up the Gain the breakup is aggressive, powerful, punchy, and immediate then it decays quickly to a full clean sound. The midrange bark particular to the amps on which we based the WIIO is right there too as you crank it up. This pedal cuts like a broadsword so no need to fear being lost in the fray. It respects the integrity of your pickups, and loves being slammed with other overdrives or your favorite fuzz too.
The EQ controls on the WIIO are interactive with the Gain knob - increasing the Treble will not only give you more highs but also more grit to the gain. Likewise, increasing the Bass control will not only deliver more lows but will also alter the feel and attack. Plenty of output to smack your amp into submission as well.
The whole point of the WIIO experience is the dynamic interaction between you and the pedal. It reacts immediately to your picking hand, so cleans are easily attainable just by lightening up your attack. Conversely, you can get to the raging power chord stuff just by hitting the guitar harder. Running the WIIO at full gain will give you pushed transformer-style saturation for leads as well, so in reality you can have three levels of gain available just by using your wrist and your guitar’s volume control. It was designed to be intuitive with a minimum of tweaking, freeing you to follow your inspiration to wherever it takes you.
The WIIO won’t be for everybody and we‘re cool with that - hell, Nic has the real deal 100w full stack with eight Fanes and many of us in Teh Bunker cower and lose continence when its at full bore. Its unique sonic structure is very unforgiving and due to the responsiveness allows EVERYTHING you put into it to come through. But as the players who have had the experience of playing the amps know, there are great rewards to be had once you’re able to grab hold of the reins and attempt to ride the mighty beast.Sheer raw power. Dynamics that feel like a roundhouse kick to the chest. Incredibly responsive clean up with the flick of the wrist. This is the WIIO.
The WIIO is an overdrive inspired by the powerfully unforgiving British amps from the ‘70s. Its all right there at your fingertips - your picking attack determines how much gain is delivered to the speakers. There is none of the typical compression found in most other overdrives to hide behind or to soften the blow - this is brass knuckle to the jaw type sonic impact we‘re talking here - you literally feel as though you plugged straight into the power section.
Like the amps, the WIIO has a wide freq spread so if your amp can deliver you’ll be rewarded with crisp clear highs and a very full tight low end. Lower gain settings are very clean and linear - you can hear every pick stroke and fingerprint, and the headroom allows for some very rich sounds when using modulation pedals. As you crank up the Gain the breakup is aggressive, powerful, punchy, and immediate then it decays quickly to a full clean sound. The midrange bark particular to the amps on which we based the WIIO is right there too as you crank it up. This pedal cuts like a broadsword so no need to fear being lost in the fray. It respects the integrity of your pickups, and loves being slammed with other overdrives or your favorite fuzz too.
The EQ controls on the WIIO are interactive with the Gain knob - increasing the Treble will not only give you more highs but also more grit to the gain. Likewise, increasing the Bass control will not only deliver more lows but will also alter the feel and attack. Plenty of output to smack your amp into submission as well.
The whole point of the WIIO experience is the dynamic interaction between you and the pedal. It reacts immediately to your picking hand, so cleans are easily attainable just by lightening up your attack. Conversely, you can get to the raging power chord stuff just by hitting the guitar harder. Running the WIIO at full gain will give you pushed transformer-style saturation for leads as well, so in reality you can have three levels of gain available just by using your wrist and your guitar’s volume control. It was designed to be intuitive with a minimum of tweaking, freeing you to follow your inspiration to wherever it takes you.
The WIIO won’t be for everybody and we‘re cool with that - hell, Nic has the real deal 100w full stack with eight Fanes and many of us in Teh Bunker cower and lose continence when its at full bore. Its unique sonic structure is very unforgiving and due to the responsiveness allows EVERYTHING you put into it to come through. But as the players who have had the experience of playing the amps know, there are great rewards to be had once you’re able to grab hold of the reins and attempt to ride the mighty beast.
The WIIO is an overdrive inspired by the powerfully unforgiving British amps from the ‘70s. Its all right there at your fingertips - your picking attack determines how much gain is delivered to the speakers. There is none of the typical compression found in most other overdrives to hide behind or to soften the blow - this is brass knuckle to the jaw type sonic impact we‘re talking here - you literally feel as though you plugged straight into the power section.
Like the amps, the WIIO has a wide freq spread so if your amp can deliver you’ll be rewarded with crisp clear highs and a very full tight low end. Lower gain settings are very clean and linear - you can hear every pick stroke and fingerprint, and the headroom allows for some very rich sounds when using modulation pedals. As you crank up the Gain the breakup is aggressive, powerful, punchy, and immediate then it decays quickly to a full clean sound. The midrange bark particular to the amps on which we based the WIIO is right there too as you crank it up. This pedal cuts like a broadsword so no need to fear being lost in the fray. It respects the integrity of your pickups, and loves being slammed with other overdrives or your favorite fuzz too.
The EQ controls on the WIIO are interactive with the Gain knob - increasing the Treble will not only give you more highs but also more grit to the gain. Likewise, increasing the Bass control will not only deliver more lows but will also alter the feel and attack. Plenty of output to smack your amp into submission as well.
The whole point of the WIIO experience is the dynamic interaction between you and the pedal. It reacts immediately to your picking hand, so cleans are easily attainable just by lightening up your attack. Conversely, you can get to the raging power chord stuff just by hitting the guitar harder. Running the WIIO at full gain will give you pushed transformer-style saturation for leads as well, so in reality you can have three levels of gain available just by using your wrist and your guitar’s volume control. It was designed to be intuitive with a minimum of tweaking, freeing you to follow your inspiration to wherever it takes you.
The WIIO won’t be for everybody and we‘re cool with that - hell, Nic has the real deal 100w full stack with eight Fanes and many of us in Teh Bunker cower and lose continence when its at full bore. Its unique sonic structure is very unforgiving and due to the responsiveness allows EVERYTHING you put into it to come through. But as the players who have had the experience of playing the amps know, there are great rewards to be had once you’re able to grab hold of the reins and attempt to ride the mighty beast.Sheer raw power. Dynamics that feel like a roundhouse kick to the chest. Incredibly responsive clean up with the flick of the wrist. This is the WIIO.
The WIIO is an overdrive inspired by the powerfully unforgiving British amps from the ‘70s. Its all right there at your fingertips - your picking attack determines how much gain is delivered to the speakers. There is none of the typical compression found in most other overdrives to hide behind or to soften the blow - this is brass knuckle to the jaw type sonic impact we‘re talking here - you literally feel as though you plugged straight into the power section.
Like the amps, the WIIO has a wide freq spread so if your amp can deliver you’ll be rewarded with crisp clear highs and a very full tight low end. Lower gain settings are very clean and linear - you can hear every pick stroke and fingerprint, and the headroom allows for some very rich sounds when using modulation pedals. As you crank up the Gain the breakup is aggressive, powerful, punchy, and immediate then it decays quickly to a full clean sound. The midrange bark particular to the amps on which we based the WIIO is right there too as you crank it up. This pedal cuts like a broadsword so no need to fear being lost in the fray. It respects the integrity of your pickups, and loves being slammed with other overdrives or your favorite fuzz too.
The EQ controls on the WIIO are interactive with the Gain knob - increasing the Treble will not only give you more highs but also more grit to the gain. Likewise, increasing the Bass control will not only deliver more lows but will also alter the feel and attack. Plenty of output to smack your amp into submission as well.
The whole point of the WIIO experience is the dynamic interaction between you and the pedal. It reacts immediately to your picking hand, so cleans are easily attainable just by lightening up your attack. Conversely, you can get to the raging power chord stuff just by hitting the guitar harder. Running the WIIO at full gain will give you pushed transformer-style saturation for leads as well, so in reality you can have three levels of gain available just by using your wrist and your guitar’s volume control. It was designed to be intuitive with a minimum of tweaking, freeing you to follow your inspiration to wherever it takes you.
The WIIO won’t be for everybody and we‘re cool with that - hell, Nic has the real deal 100w full stack with eight Fanes and many of us in Teh Bunker cower and lose continence when its at full bore. Its unique sonic structure is very unforgiving and due to the responsiveness allows EVERYTHING you put into it to come through. But as the players who have had the experience of playing the amps know, there are great rewards to be had once you’re able to grab hold of the reins and attempt to ride the mighty beast.
[24th May 2014 - new revised layout]
Verified :)
ReplyDeleteHero!
DeleteHi..any ideas on this...pedal works and sounds great...but i have almost no drive until the final smige of the sweep on the drive
ReplyDeleteTry a linear pot instead of log
Deletescrub my last...it really is interactive with the EQ...low gain setting is boosted into over drive by treble and bass...Windmill chords coming up !!!
ReplyDeleteJust built this and I'm very impressed so far by Catalinbread.. The RAH is an excellent recreation of Pages tone and this is a fantastic drive too.
ReplyDeleteProbably prefer this to the RAH just for the extra gain on this. And its sharper with more pick attack.
Cheers mate ;o)
Nice one Vince
Deleteany ideas on biasing the jfets? or is this a mu guy?
ReplyDeleteMarks away for a week, To my ears, mine sounds great straight off the bat so I'm not sure if any biasing is needed. Not in mine anyway ;)
Deletei was still wondering if anyone had ything definitive about biasing the jfets... and i am wondering if anyone has tried this at 18v yet... what are the purpose of the zeners? would those prevent 18v operation from being possible?
ReplyDeleteZeners are used as static protection diodes with MOSFETs.
DeleteHi Mark do you have voltage reading for the BS170 s I was getting 0.01 for D&G for q1 & q2 and 0 for S and 0.01 for S&D of Q3 and 0 for g , first time Ive used mos fets ???
ReplyDeleteI haven't built this but hopefully someone who has will post. 0.1V is very low for a drain which is only separated from the 9V supply with a 3K3 resistor. What voltage are you getting at the right hand side of the 47R on the 9V row?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark I fixed the problem with the voltage to the transistors they are getting decent voltage now , but cant seem to get any sound at all .If I touch the output and output jack lugs on the switch I get some noise so thats fine? where would I use a audio probe on this,also this circuit has a 4.7k resistor for the led yet I cant get the led to work I dont think I need another resistor , Im getting 9v on the pcb side of the led seems a little high.
ReplyDeleteTo use an audio probe you need to follow the schematic:
Deletehttp://freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8046&hilit=wiio&start=60#p124670
Plug the input cable in but leave the output, and use the audio probe plugged into the amp. Then as you follow the circuit through the signal path on both sides of the components, you'll get to a point where the sound stops, and that's where the issue is.
Hi, should the 22u on the layout be 100u per the referenced schematic?
Deletethis is calling for 1n4739 (9.1v)...I have 1n4738 (8.2v)...will it affect the sound if I use those?
ReplyDeletethanks!
No, as those zeners are only being used for static dissipation on the MOSFETs.
DeleteYup. And i believe some designs use red LEDs for that purpose too.
Delete+m
Hi.
ReplyDeleteI seem to have succeeded in wiring the Bypass correctly. Unfortunately there's something wrong in the circuit, as no sound comes through when I switch the effect on. ;)
As bass 2 & 3 connect to the same spot on the board, I connected them with one wire, is that ok? I don't see a problem, but may well be mistaken.
Secondly, is it ok just to wire from the board to the switch as per http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/StompboxWiring/
without using a led? Again, I thought it should work, but am second guessing my reasoning.
Yes 1 wire for Bass 2 and 3 is fine providing you're linking the lugs at the pot. You can omit the LED if you want, the 2K2 current limiting resistor shown offboard in the Beavis layout has been included on the board (4K7) for people who do want LED indication but there's no problem in not using it.
DeleteCheck all the JFET pin voltages to ground and it should give an indication where the problem starts.
Thanks a lot for your help. Amazing service :)
DeleteI measured the pin voltages. The Jfets on the bottom of the board show just under 4,5 volts, but the on on the top of the board shows just under 9. To be honest I don't know what to make out of that.
I'll start studuying the web for help, any tips are most appreciated.
Paavo
Verified, and awesome. Thank you Mark for the schematic and you help earlier today.
ReplyDeletehttps://soundcloud.com/paavo-kuukasjarvi/diy-wiio
Paavo
Thanks for the clip
DeleteDoes the 220n cap that goes to D -q1 and lug 3 on the gain pot help put out more overdrive , Ive seen other versions of this pedal with 100n cap whats the best way to get a little more saturation .
ReplyDeleteNo it won't affect the gain. Using a 220n cap may potentially pass more bass frequencies onto the next stage and it was definitely a 220n on the schematic I did it from.
DeleteWould increasing the 3k3 resistor on the S of the transistors give a little more overdrive Mark or decreasing to a lower value.??
ReplyDeleteTry experimenting with the 1K at the bottom of the board
DeleteGot it boxed, so only the hardest part left:
ReplyDeleteChoosing the pot caps!
Anyway, managed to fit it into a 111 x 60 x 27 box, might even be able to fit in a battery if I needed to. No led yet, maybe later.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HLDH6xQHqso/USe26k51AOI/AAAAAAAABRM/PCOsWdA4fAk/s512/20130222-DSC_1289.jpg
Thanks for the pic, you're one of the very few people I know who use the pot's keyway tabs
DeleteAs long as you've got knobs covering the holes, It's actually a pretty good idea. Prevents the pots from ever turning (and causing damage!).
DeleteYes it is definitely, most people just don't bother even though it makes the pots much sturdier and less reliant on the nut tension.
DeleteI've never used them before because I drill holes by hand and it's all too easy for the drill to slip into the pot hole but I just got my hands on a drill press so I'll probably give them a go.
DeleteI changed the 1k for 390r Mark for more gain managed to get a little , the 200k resistor was changed to a 250k trimmer this helps to adjust the pedal so I can get clarity with my neck pickup, and and the bridge not to be too bright .500k may have been even better.The 220n was changed to 270n or 330n this gave the pedal more mid and body its got has a big amp sound now and medium gain . The further down you go with the 1k resistor the more mid range was lost and the pedal sounded anemic .I may box this with uni vox super fuzz for a live at leeds combination .
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info Peter
DeleteNo problem Mark , I used 2 2N7000 s and 1 BS170 ,The 7000s have a cleaner tone but are harder to drive and the pins need to be bent to suit . .Using a 250k or 500k trimmer is a brilliant replacement for the 200k resistor .
ReplyDeletePardon me for the newbie question but what are those half-moons with DGS on them? I couldn't figure out what they mean even after reading the Vero Build & Layout guides along with the Components guide, as they're not clear enough for a dumb-head like meself.
ReplyDeleteBS170 mosfets
DeleteThank you! Are there other good image guides on building circuits on veroboards you know of?
Deletemy build report:
ReplyDeletehttp://fuzzquest.blogspot.com/2014/03/king-watt-hiwatt-grinder-king.html
Great stuff, I love reading your write ups
DeleteHi. I was looking for some information about modding a WIIO, when this place showed up.
ReplyDeleteIve got one of the latest wiio v2 pedal, (the one with the who logo). The lay out is not exactly the same like the diagram posted here, but I guess that they share most of the parts. When I plug it to my dr103, it sounds great, but I miss some air. Even if I crank the treble, there is an audible lack of "presence" on the pedal sound in comparison with the actual sound of the amp. In order to balance the sound, I have to roll off the presence control of the amp from 3 to 12 oclock, what is annoying. I readed here that playing with the negative feedback circuit values could solve the problem. I was thinking on swapping the 200k resistor and installing a 500k pot. Do I have to play with the cap value as well, or would the resistor swapping do¿
Cheers, Gilberto.
Hi, for those who need the voltages here they are. Wall @9,04v.
ReplyDeleteR01=47R Drain Gate Source
Q01 5,69v 2,71v 3,21v
Q02 5,68v 2,75v 3,22v
Q03 5,67v 2,73v 3,24v
Hi guys, really need help with this one. Circuit is all fine, no solder bridges or anything. Master, treble and gain work. Wont get any overdrive with treble set before 3 o clock. Bass knob is not responding. I did swap the 5 pf condensor for a 5,7 pf greenie cause my supplier didnt have a 5 pf. Any suggestions on what to do?
ReplyDelete5nf for 5,7nf greenie
DeleteUpdate/ Voltages of Q1 and Q3 were 5.65v, but Q2 was only 3.65v.
DeleteThere was a very tiny solderbridge between row 4 and the 10k resistor ending in row 3. This totally explains the non responsive bass, gain bleed and massive treble.
Anyone have a source for the 5n cap at the top right of the layout? I'm having difficulty locating and sourcing one.
ReplyDeleteUse a 4n7 (4.7nF), it won't make any difference.
DeleteI'm getting almost no output when I have both Treble and Bass turned all the way down. Turning up wither control brings back some output.
ReplyDeleteThe WIIO schematic looks like the Bass control is shorted out when turned all the way down, and the Treble control looks like a blend control.
So maybe this is normal?
Completed as per layout. Works fine although the gain is very thin/absent almost until the last last quarter turn even with the bass and treble maxxed. Thanks for the layout!
ReplyDeleteThat is how it is advertised to function on some demos, "active tone controls" or something like that.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axowMrDhPU4 change 1k for 330ohm and pote 500kb in 200k resistor really good, but pot 500kb there is no difference
ReplyDeleteI think I found a mistake. The 270p cap on the input should go to ground (according to http://revolutiondeux.blogspot.com/2012/05/catalinbread-wiio-rah.html) currently it doesn’t.
ReplyDeleteI know that it's often said about pedals like this but this thing really does feel like a tube amp. Especially when the gain is set around noon. Wow.
ReplyDeleteI've built this twice now, and for some reason I can't get the voltage on the drain right for any of the transistors. I've been over it in photoshop to make sure everything is in place. I also went over it with my DMM -- there are no solder bridges, and everything that needs to connect is connected. for some reason, all the 170 drains read around 8v. would it be enough to change out the 3.3k resistors or is it likely there's some other underlying problem?
ReplyDeletehere's what I'm getting:
9.04v from the wall, 9.01v after the 47r
Q1
d 8.06
g 1.43
s 0.93
Q2
d 8.05
g 1.43
s 0.93
Q3
d 8.01
g 1.47
s 0.96
would appreciate any help!! thanks
Hey Brain,
DeleteAll 3 mosfets are independent of each other, if the 3k3 resistors at both the drains and source are indeed 3k3, and the voltage reading on the 9v side of the 3k3 drain resistors 3k3 is around 9v, and the ground side of the 3k3 source resistors is 0v, then most likely those BS170s are out of spec.
You can try to increase the drain resistors value OR decrease the source resistors to dial in the drain voltage, however doing either will inrease the gain of that stage...which may or may not be an issue. Have to try and see.
Easiest way to do it is remove one of the resistors (drain or source) and hook up a small value pot in its place, like 5k or 10k. (Just lugs 1 and 2) Then adjust the pot till you get the desired drain voltage. Then disconnect the pot and take a resistance reading across lugs 1 and 2. That would be your new resistor value. Just use the closest value you have.
Not sure which would sound better, but id probably try the source resistors 1st.
Good news is, once you get one of them dialed in, the same resistor value will probably do the same for the other two.
If the pedal doesnt sound right with the drain voltage dialed in, restore the source 3k3 values and try the drain resistors. If it still doesnt sound right, try another set of BS170s from a known supplier.
Good luck, this pedal sounds great, it will be worth the time to sort it out.
Thanks for the great reply, MAO! I'd actually started doing what you suggested before I saw it, but I started with the drain resistors. I got those all around 4.5-5v, but the output had a highly compressed quality to it. So, I switched back to 3.3v and took a stab at the source resistors. Got those dialed in, went back to and adjusted the drains again, and now I've got no audio :(
DeleteI'm thinking you're right and the MOSFETs were just horribly out of spec (which is a bummer 'cause they came from Tayda). Not giving up on this circuit yet tho. I'm gonna try to source them from another supplier then start again from scratch.
Again, really appreciate your help!!
Interesting, I've never had trouble with Tayda parts.
DeleteAnd all 3 seem to have the same specs as your readings were very similar.
I guess its possible the Tayda BS170 are indeed BS
I just measured mine and with a 9.28v supply, I have 6v at the drains and 3v at the source.
Long shot, but any chance they are installed backwards?
I have a few extra BS170s, are you in the states? If so, I can send you a set that biases correctly, may save you some time and headache.
oh wow, thanks for the offer! I actually picked some up the other day from the dude at GuitarPCB (had a few other things in my cart there already). I've always had a good experience with parts I get from him. I'll report back when (hopefully) I've got this circuit working.
Deletegot the new BS170s. rebuilt the circuit. fired right up, first try. sounds fantastic! thanks again for the help!!!
Delete