N.E.W. Apostle kit

This build was a bit more challenging than expected, but with some patience and some help from diystompboxes forum, I am pleased with the final result.

First I had some trouble with the FAC switch, because there arent any wiring instructions in the build docs.
I had to look for exemples on the GCI facebook group to figure it out.

You need to solder one leg of each of the six capacitors to the six first rotary switch terminals, and connect together all the remaining legs with some jumper. One pcb pad is connected to the jumper, the other to the middle rotary switch terminal.

Then, I noticed an noticeable popping noise on activation, despite all the usual tricks (AMZ led popping fix, 10k led resistor...).
I managed to get rid of it thanks to an extra 10n DC blocking capacitor in series with R2, see reply #13 :
https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=130089.msg1260487#msg1260487

Caution with transistors, 2N5457 datasheet mentions that 25V is the max limit :
https://www.onsemi.com/pdf/datasheet/2n5457-d.pdf

Moreover, with a 36V charge pump, any slight offset, when using various power supplies, will be increased 4 times. So with 0.50V difference, there is a 2V offset in transistors biasing.
On my build, Q3 shows some voltage oscillations. I biased it around 18V on the top of the oscillation, when the pedal was engaged, with a signal and some gain going through the circuit. I think the effect sounds a bit more precise and sharper this way.

I should also mention that the drilling templates are slightly wrong on my build : tips of both jacks are touching the board when plugged. Not really a big issue, but if the pots holes were 3 or 4mm lower, it would be perfect.

The mod toggleswitch is a nice addition, there is some subtle and interesting changes in the sound character.

With boost and gain at high settings, it easily goes into fuzz territory. FAC switch allows to add more thickness to the sound. I tried it with guitar and bass, Id say it is more suited for guitar, but it can easily be very pleasant on bass on low gain settings, thanks to the powerful Bass control and the FAC switch.

Drill template is a bit off and no wiring instructions for the rotary switch. But i still give

All my thanks to GCI and musikding for this great kit !

justin a., 23.02.2023