The Hyperion is a titan fuzz God in guitar geek mythology, literally translating to ‘I can’t hear anything anymore’. Imagine, if you will, a Big Muff with enough steroids in its system to kill an ox with its proverbial little finger. The new Hyperion 2 also adds oscillation to this heavy-hitter’s already impressive resumé, opening Pandora’s Box for all sorts of sonic mayhem, mischief and whimsy. The Hyperion 2 also shares its name with a legendary British thoroughbred stallion. It’s no coincidence that it’s just as well-equipped in the trouser department. Isn’t it about time that your pedalboard got hung like a horse?
Bloody hell, don't mess about do you?!
ReplyDeleteCheers, I'll have a crack at this tomorrow :o)
This looks exactly like version 1 with Osc 2 instead of ground. My v1 build is yet to be boxed, so I'll just add the pot tomorrow and see if it works.
ReplyDeleteYep, that's exactly what it is. In the fully clockwise position of the oscillation pot the ground connection is made. As you move counter clockwise more and more resistance is put between ground and the ground point of the board causing the oscillation.
DeleteSo basically the ground for all your offboard hardware remains intact always, and so the oscillation pot is only affecting the ground connections on the board.
If you'd prefer ground to be connected in the counter clockwise position and then oscillation to start as you rotate clockwise, then take Oscillation 1 to (permanent) ground instead of 3.
So if I'm using a stereo jack for my input, would I want to put the ground coming off the sleeve to where Osc 2 also is?
DeleteHmmm.. I do have everything i need. I'll build this right away. Boxing is going to be done tomorrow though. I don't think my neighbours in this apartment building would like me very much if i drilled the enclosure at 1 o'clock in the morning...
ReplyDeleteI'll let you know.
+m
Aaaand verified.
ReplyDeleteDamn this thing is mean. I liked V1 a lot, but this thing is even meaner. Thought about adding the pot to the original, but i think i need to have these both...
+m
You're a star! Thanks for verifying
DeleteMine isn't working?!? The intense knobs crackles loudly when adjusting. The oscillation knob makes no difference apart from when it's on full, then it just make the pedal act like a regular Hyperion?
ReplyDeleteAnd sometimes there is a second delay when activating the effect?
To add, I have wired the circuit as the Hyperion 1 to check and it works as it should but as soon as I introduce the osc pot, I get the effect I've mentioned?
DeleteHeh. The night i built this, i wondered why my oscillation was much much milder than the one in Devi's demo. Since the circuit worked ok (but not perfectly) i figured that the fault has to be mine and left the board bagged and waiting to be boxed.
DeleteNow i saw Vince's problem and opened the bag. I got some oscillation, but like stated above, much milder. I checked the schematics and original layout, tried different hfe's for MPSA18s and then it hit me.
The schematics do not have 100uF cap for power filtering.
So. Either you're going to need very unstable power source, or you can just remove that 100uF cap...
So i guess that while i originally verified the board, everyone who build this should omit that 100uF cap or you're going to end up with really mild (or none at all) oscillations.
+m
Actually. After testing it, one could try much smaller caps for filtering. That way one could control the amount of oscillation... :)
Delete(Yup. I'm thinking swithable caps again.... :))
+m
I have very little patience when it comes to fault finding. I just threw in a switchable 2N2222A for Q2 and it gives a really 'spitty' alterative... So you think removing the 100uf cap would give the oscillation?
DeleteIt does. Removed it myself couple of hours ago..
Delete+m
Makes sense I suppose. I put a 100u in automatically even if one didn't appear in the original, but in this case you really don't want something that may tame oscillation. I think I'll start leaving it out of fuzzes in future.
DeleteSince it tames it in this case, i wonder if it should be removed from the layout? Of course Vince should try it out too and see if it fixes the problem, like it did fix mine.
DeleteI think that adding power filtering is usually very good thing. For example, it smoothens the H1 and eliminates unwanted oscillation and excess noise. Except when it comes to wanted oscillation. Apparently. It may be good idea to drop filtering from circuits that are supposed to oscillate.
This makes me wonder if my failed Fuzz Factory build had the same problem.. Now that i think of it, it did work on a few settings, but ones that were supposed to oscillate just weren't there... I have the circuit in "jar of horror" - Pasta sauce glass jar - Currently holdind six failed builds.
Oh well. I'm quite happy that this got solved. On to the next one....
+m
Yes I agree, layout changed (and the Fuzz Factory one) :o)
DeleteI might give it a try if I build it again but listening to the demo, I really don't think I'll ever use the oscillation...The original Hyperion is a monster as it is :o).. And since getting my SG, the only thing between my guitar and amp is a cable lol.. pure bliss :o)
DeleteAnyone know if you could add a gate to this thing?
ReplyDeleteOk..confusion reigns again..fancy building this but didnt have the transistors..when I went on the bay to get some...MPSA18 is NPN and 2N2907A is PNP..I am new to this but can someone please tell me this is correct...NPN and PNP in the same circuit ??
ReplyDeleteYes, they do that kind of thing quite a lot in their pedals. It's an NPN effect though so just don't think about it :o)
Deletelol...thanks mark
ReplyDeleteSorry to drag this up, but regarding the smoothing cap - If I were to add the smoothing cap across the 9v barrel input with the vero above, would I succeed in smoothing the voltage from my wall wart but still get the oscillation? Or is my thinking wrong?
ReplyDeleteIt is. Your oscillation would get tamed down so much, that it wouldn't be any use. Power filtering makes this exactly hyperion 1 with useless pot.
Delete+m
The power supply filter cap will remove noise as well as smooth ripple, and this oscillation is just noise so it tames the beast.
DeleteGotcha. I thought because the power filtering would be off the board and connected after the oscillation pot that i could get the best of both. Thanks for the help. G
DeleteIs anyone using a TO-92 version of the 2n2907A for Q3, and if so is it orientated the same as the MPSA18's as in the diagram or should it be back to front? I'm getting 8v on the collector of Q1 and 1v on the collectors of Q2 and Q3 and very low output. The guy who designs all the circuits at work took one look at the schematic this layout is based on and said that the Q3 should be flipped 180 degrees because it is causing the very low gain. Can anyone veify this?
ReplyDeleteThe orientation is right for the 2N2907A and it certainly matches the schematic:
Deletehttp://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j6/IvIark_2006/Layouts/Schematics/hyperionh70n.gif
Thanks for the reply!
DeleteI must be doing something crazy as I built this layout and this one and had similar voltage readings on both boards:
http://www.abload.de/img/hyperionh70n.gif
Could be the transistors as I swapped them between boards as I didn't have any replacements (more on the way). All resistors and caps are correct values and all joints look good to me. All cuts are in correct places too, and I've checked they have no continuety with my meter.
Bit of a lomg shot but do you have any ideas why I would get such low gain and volume drop when using it? Are there any classic rookie mistakes I could have made?
Built this up the other day and I get nothing from the Oscillation except slow, to fast ticking, until the knob is cranked all the way. At that point I get Hyperion 1. Thoughts?
ReplyDeletehttp://mirosol.kapsi.fi/varasto/boxes/PastelFuzzor.jpg
ReplyDeleteThis is my stock clone, that i built just to see how it would react with starve pot. Thought that it takes the same time to build or breadboard.. :D
If i'm going to build this the third time, i want to point out that 20K is plenty for oscillation pot, and volume+intensity should both be log..
+m
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletethanks for the layout!
DeleteFollowing the layout, oscillation is not working, rest is good and sounds pretty good! so it's the hyperion 1(for 2N2907A orientation, check datasheet, emitter shall go to ground! on TO92 small leg looks to the right). I do not have the 100µF cap...
any idea? Osc1 is not connected to anything else..
osc2 goes to ground abd osc3 goes to ground ...????
Osc 1 is unconnected, osc 2 connects in the place shown on the layout and osc 3 connects to ground ie your - on battery or dc jack. A key thing here is to make sure all your off board hardware ie jacks are connected straight to ground NOT via your board.
DeleteHope that helps a bit
Dave
i'm pretty new to veroboard soldering, where do i put ground to DC on the board?
ReplyDeleteDo i have to skip that cable?
i'm using this as guide to offobard wiring guide
http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.it/2012/02/offboard-wiring.html
With DC you have two wires - Red, which is +9V and black, which is 0V. Ground is 0V, so you need to have all 0V connections (or grounds) connected together.
Delete+m
I'm not sure i understood completely
DeleteDo i have to add a ground cable on the board somewhere or is this scheme complete? (Using just VOL 1 and OSC 3 as ground connections from the board? )
This one does not have ground on the board. The supply black wire needs to connect to Vol 1, Osc 3 (i use osc1 instead) and to the stomp switch.
Delete+m
many thanks ;)
DeleteEhrm... i've finished building this pedal and it gives me a constant loud sound when powered. The pots are not very responsive, just a little modication to the sound except when full OFF/ON. What could be the problem? the solderings seems all good and the wiring correct.
ReplyDelete(used this offboard wiring scheme http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.it/2012/02/offboard-wiring.html )
Maybe a wrong wiring on the input jack?
Delete1. battery snap's ground wired to the tip
2. output jack's ground and switch ground wired to the sleeve
3. switch's output wired to the ring
is that correct?
Alessandro: Your jack wiring is off and that's the reason for your box's behaviour. I assume you have stereo jack for the input and mono jack for the output..
DeleteInput jack: 1. Sleeve to ground. 2. Ring to battery minus. 3. Input from tip to switch input(s).
Output jack: 1. Sleeve to ground. 2. Output from switch output to tip.
+m
many thanks for the support. may i suggest to add an offboard wiring diagram with battery snap and DC connector in the wiring guide? thanks again ;)
DeleteOK i checked the wiring and was correct the first time (i just inverted name of the lugs when explaining to you, my bad). so the problem isn't the battery snap wiring. what else it could be?
DeleteThe problem still is a loud noise in output when turned on and the guitar sound seems does not affect it, just the Intense pot
i triple-checked the board and the transistors are in the correct position. what it could be?
here's how i wired (sorry for the ugliness of the diagram but that was the faster way i have to draw it)
http://i.imgur.com/1WeICOn.jpg
thanks for the support
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteis it normal that the fuzz behave as an actual pedal only when the OSC pot is all the way shut? otherwise i get a continuous annoying sound and nothing else
ReplyDeleteaaaaaand now the OSC pot is burnt O_o
DeleteThat is normal. It's meant to oscillate with that pot.
Delete+m
LOL, now i took a deeper view on the demo video and mine is equal to that. thanks
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, 10K or 20K pot for the Osc would give much more usable control. The sweetest and most usable part of that pot is from 0 to about 20K. After that it doesn't really care if you're playing or not :)
Delete+m
Just built this one for a client. Works fine and oscillation is just like the demo's one. Of course, no filtering cap. I was tempted to use a slow value one to see the effect (1uf) but finally did not.
ReplyDeleteTwo little points for easier offboard wiring:
- Osc 3 to Vol 1.
- Led resistor: You can easily fit one in the up row if you put the +9v wire on the first right hole, and the +Led on the hole it shows now the +9 wire (hate to see my led's resitor hanging around wrapped in heat shrink)
BR
Oh, and I agree with miro, vol pot should be log if you want to use it after 9 o'clock (by the way, on Devi's notes appear as log anyway). Pregain one I think works fine with both log and lin, so choose whatever you want (or have :P)
DeleteJust a quick question on this one, is the second strip (osc 2) the ground connection? and should the ground connections for the jacks etc be made on that strip or should you just leave it on osc and connect osc 3 to the ground on the jacks?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much in advance, i really wanna build this!
Ground in this circuit goes through the Oscillation pot, so Osc 3 would be connected to the battery or DC socket ground. All the jacks would be connected to the battery/DC socket rather than the board otherwise as you turn the oscillation knob you'd cut them off from ground and the pedal would stop working. Good luck with the build :D
DeleteThanks! That really helps!
DeleteHi, just made this pedal and it seems to be working ok but has no bottom end, it just sounds really thin. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteSo I checked all the board cuts re flowed the solder and checked the component values and changed the transistors. It sounds a bit better but really I need to try it through a larger amp I think to see if the bass is there.
ReplyDeleteHi all! I just built this today and the pedal works but it seems like there is a problem with it. The Fuzz works when the oscillation knob is all the way up. However, I don't get much oscillation when I turn the oscillation knob counter clockwise. I only get oscillation in the first 5%. After that, I can't hear my guitar anymore and the pedal produces a sound that is similar to a chopper. But no guitar... Is it normal? If not, any idea about what I should be looking for in the circuit? Thanks! Love your blog!!!
ReplyDeleteHave you compared oit to the demos of original unit?
DeleteYes and the Fuzz sounds of my pedal is identical to the sound I here in youtube demos of the real hyperion 2. However, the oscillation knob doesn't behave the same. I get a chopper sound and no guitar past a certain point (instead of crazy oscillation). Another thing: the oscillation knob seems to behave the right way only when the volume knob of my guitar is at about 65%. So it seems like I need to reduce the sound of my guitar to get the pedal to work as it should. Do you know what I could do to make it work with my guitar volume all the way up? Thanks in advance!
DeleteHello hello, just to say that I have exactly the same problem. Also, when I use the oscillation, I can hear it even when the pedal is turned off. Strange, because I'm pretty sure I wired everything like I should.
DeleteHi there guys! I made the Hyperion II and it works like charm, sounds amazing. The thing is:I want to put the Oscilation control on a momentary switch - and get it to oscilate like crazy just when I press the switch. The only problem is I'm getting a very loud pop when in hit the momentary footswitch. Do you guys have any idea to help me tame this pop? Thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteI placed 2m resistors instead of 2m2. Is that going to prevent my circuit from working? as of now I have little sound through the circuit with all the knobs turned max.
ReplyDeleteFirst build! Many newbie troubles such as confusing 'input' on switch for 'input' on jacks, transistors socketed wrong, etc. Think I've got it licked now. However, have a high pitched whine when first plugging in and pedal is in bypass. Goes away after I've switched pedal on and played a while. Also wondering if I could sub in a 50k pot for Volume and a 20k for Oscillation to get a bit more range out of the pots. Thanks so much for the site.
ReplyDelete100k for volume should be sufficient. I personally like the 10k for Osc pot to get it a lot better control...
DeleteIf your pedal makes any noise when in bypass, you must have some type of short or burnt switch in there...
+m
When Osc pot is all the way clockwise, no whine. Bump it back and it returns and gets higher pitched. Switched pot out for 10k and re-soldered ground. Still whining... Any ideas?
DeleteHey guys,
ReplyDeleteI would like to get rid of the Osc. Pot and put a expression pedal jack in the box so I can foot control the Oscillation.
How could I do this?
regards
I built this last night and it works as it should. This afternoon i decided to swap out the 2n2907a transistor for a Russian MP41 germanium i had sitting around. The fuzz stayed mostly the same (possibly a bit meatier, might just be hearing things though), but i love what it did to the oscillation. It's still pretty similar, but now i can clearly hear nicely defined notes through the oscillation whereas before it was just a thick heavy drone and not much from my guitar was coming through.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello! I know this is a post that's literally over a decade old now, but I was wondering about the lack of filtering for this circuit and honestly I can't wrap my head around it. A lot of other places online (most notably PedalPCB's Ionizer 2) have an input filtering cap of 47uf to 100uf across 9v to ground, as, well, most other pedals do in some form or another. I was wondering has anyone here tried the PedalPCB version of this pedal and if they've had to remove the filtering cap or no? Can anyone explain to me why this might even be an issue and why it seems to have effected the oscillation control of many people in this thread? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou can add a filter cap but it may limit or even eliminate the oscillation effect. Part of the point of Devi's circuits are about embracing the noise. If you want to tame it just throw a filter cap on it. This is one of her better fuzzes.
DeleteI started to build the Hyperion without Oscillation control long time ago. I'm including a 100uF filter cap, I tried a sort of Oscillation control, but just approximately.
DeleteYou could try some change with this layout:
- Leave off the longer jumper
- Osc 2 stripe have to be the Ground stripe
- Osc 2 goes to the last stripe, now.
So you can see what happens if you add a filter cap between 9v stripe and the new Ground stripe.
Thanks for both of your responses. I'll definitely want to try and get some sort of filtering on this thing because I am very particular about certain noise in my signal chain :P. I'll defo try your suggestion, Elijah! But if it doesn't work as expected I'll just take Tom's advice and just embrace the noise. I will report back with my findings once I have the parts for this pedal haha.
Delete