my dod fx 72 flanger doesnt not switch off!!

[varunkapahi]

two days back it was just fine. today i plug into my board, power it up and the flanger just wont turn off! i hit it soft and i hit i hard, i hit it long and short but the switching system just doesn't work.
i could buy a looper a separate TBP looper for it but i think its just too unreliable now. i did face this issues occasionally but i'd just press it again and it will switch on/off but now its just stoned!
is there anything i can do to fix it??

[rant] i have a gig after two weeks and i really need a flanger for a couple of songs. i sold my boss bf-3 for this and am feeling like **** now. even if i buy another flanger i cant get it before august from the US. hell! looks like 40$ gone down the drain[/rant]

anyway i found bf-3 a little too metallic sounding, this dod was nice and warm but didnt really stand out in a mix. would bf-2 be somewhere in between??

[bassman03]

Have you opened it up and looked there to see if you could fix anything?

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

anyway i found bf-3 a little too metallic sounding, this dod was nice and warm but didnt really stand out in a mix. would bf-2 be somewhere in between??

no. the bf-2 sounds just as metallic as the bf-3, if not moreso.

also, i'm perplexed by the fact that you couldn't find a use for a phaser, yet you "need" a flanger for a couple songs?

back to the DOD - thos footswitches stick all the time. did the seller inform you that the switch was sticking? you can have a switch added pretty cheaply if you decide you like the sound of it - I'd have it TBP modded while you're at it but that's because I hate the bypass on those DODs

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

would bf-2 be somewhere in between??

everyone says the bf-3 sounds metallic. ive never tried one, but i just got a bf-2 and love it, i wouldent describe it as metallic. i havent played with it alone yet, but i used it for a rehearsal last night- just set all the knobs to noon and was thrilled with the sound i was getting. i dont think im ever going to replace this flange.

i'd say browse ebay for a used bf-2. overall, i'd rate it 7/10. (5 being a good pedal, 1 sucking)

the DOD is known to sound warmer, or more organic than the boss- but, the bypass was a deal breaker for me.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by groooooove

everyone says the bf-3 sounds metallic. ive never tried one, but i just got a bf-2 and love it, i wouldent describe it as metallic. i havent played with it alone yet, but i used it for a rehearsal last night- just set all the knobs to noon and was thrilled with the sound i was getting. i dont think im ever going to replace this flange.

i'd say browse ebay for a used bf-2. overall, i'd rate it 7/10. (5 being a good pedal, 1 sucking)

the DOD is known to sound warmer, or more organic than the boss- but, the bypass was a deal breaker for me.

right. the dod bypass did take a little life out of your tone. it also sounded a little too warm to stand out imo

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by groooooove

everyone says the bf-3 sounds metallic. ive never tried one, but i just got a bf-2 and love it, i wouldent describe it as metallic. i havent played with it alone yet

my emphasis

describe it however you want, the BF-2 is the archetype of a "metallic sounding flanger" - that doesn't mean it's crap or anything, in fact, it is a classic flanger that is one of the most practical and best for "cutting through the mix". but until someone knows of a MORE metallic sounding common flanger, can we agree to call it "metallic"?

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

my emphasis

describe it however you want, the BF-2 is the archetype of a "metallic sounding flanger" - that doesn't mean it's crap or anything, in fact, it is a classic flanger that is one of the most practical and best for "cutting through the mix". but until someone knows of a MORE metallic sounding common flanger, can we agree to call it "metallic"?

haha, i suppose your right. i litterally did zero knob-turning or anything, it was all at noon and only played with the band.

but, in the mix of the band, it did sound pretty warm. and isint "in the mix" what matters anyway?

i guess i stand corrected.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

my emphasis

describe it however you want, the BF-2 is the archetype of a "metallic sounding flanger" - that doesn't mean it's crap or anything, in fact, it is a classic flanger that is one of the most practical and best for "cutting through the mix". but until someone knows of a MORE metallic sounding common flanger, can we agree to call it "metallic"?

heh isnt the new stereo electric mistress more "metallic" or icy sounding??

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by groooooove

haha, i suppose your right. i litterally did zero knob-turning or anything, it was all at noon and only played with the band.

but, in the mix of the band, it did sound pretty warm. and isint "in the mix" what matters anyway?

i guess i stand corrected.

I posted a clip of the Cure doing "Holy Hour" live in the first post of the "Videos with bass effects" thread. You can hear how well it cuts through the mix. But also you can hear the metallic nature of the BF-2. That metallic tone is WHY is cuts through the mix so well IMO. Some other flangers can get close (Maxon FL9, Frostbite, maybe the Mistress - I don't think I've tried it) but the Boss is the standard for "metallic" flangers.

But as RC said, that doesn't make it bad. It's not for me and my style, but I do dig it when other people use it well.

[bigchiefbc]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

heh isnt the new stereo electric mistress more "metallic" or icy sounding??

Well yeah, if you crank the flanger depth up to max on a SEM, it will sound like someone is rolling ball bearings down copper piping. But I rarely turn it up anywhere close to that high, unless I'm using it in filter matrix to get the crazy bell sounds.

I have played both a BF-2, and BF-3 and the DOD. I found both Boss's to be considerably more cold and metallic than the DOD, and I currently own and use the DOD in a band setting every week. (The SEM is for my electronic board) I just deal with the bypass, and someday I'll probably mod it for TBP.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by bigchiefbc

Well yeah, if you crank the flanger depth up to max on a SEM, it will sound like someone is rolling ball bearings down copper piping. But I rarely turn it up anywhere close to that high, unless I'm using it in filter matrix to get the crazy bell sounds.

I have played both a BF-2, and BF-3 and the DOD. I found both Boss's to be considerably more cold and metallic than the DOD, and I currently own and use the DOD in a band setting every week. (The SEM is for my electronic board) I just deal with the bypass, and someday I'll probably mod it for TBP.

yeah i think i should learn to mod it too, any help there? links, pdfs or anything on how to do this?
i might just buy a bf-2 since i love flangers and another wont hurt too bad

[cheapbasslovin]

You are just having no luck at all lately, are you?

Yeah, the plastic top has a small stick at the bottom of it that pushes a tiny button that controls your switch. Like RC said, those switches are very easy to fix, but a more permanent and versatile solution would be to buy/ make a true bypass looper.

Trying to mod a DOD for TBP is a pain in the butt. They just didn't make enough room in them to do it right. You need to mount a piece of channel or something similar on top and do some serious modification to the housing to do it without rehousing the pedal completely. In addition the stereo function (if you use it ) is rendered useless in bypass.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by cheapbasslovin

You are just having no luck at all lately, are you?

Yeah, the plastic top has a small stick at the bottom of it that pushes a tiny button that controls your switch. Like RC said, those switches are very easy to fix, but a more permanent and versatile solution would be to buy/ make a true bypass looper.

Trying to mod a DOD for TBP is a pain in the butt. They just didn't make enough room in them to do it right. You need to mount a piece of channel or something similar on top and do some serious modification to the housing to do it without rehousing the pedal completely. In addition the stereo function (if you use it ) is rendered useless in bypass.

yep no luck at all i dont think i want to mod the pedal and make it even more unreliable. the choice now is between buying a bf-2 or buying a tbp looper and having a unreliable flanger on board in a tbp loop. i think i'd go for a bf-2, hope i dont get unlucky again. but thanks for the info.

i tried opening the dod but it only opens from the lowerside and i cant see the switch from there as the whole pcb is stuck with the pots and knobs joined to the upper side. any idea if i can open the footswitch or something?

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

yep no luck at all i dont think i want to mod the pedal and make it even more unreliable. the choice now is between buying a bf-2 or buying a tbp looper and having a unreliable flanger on board in a tbp loop. i think i'd go for a bf-2, hope i dont get unlucky again. but thanks for the info.

i tried opening the dod but it only opens from the lowerside and i cant see the switch from there as the whole pcb is stuck with the pots and knobs joined to the upper side. any idea if i can open the footswitch or something?

if you were to have a TBP switch installed, how would that make it less reliable?

[cheapbasslovin]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

yep no luck at all i dont think i want to mod the pedal and make it even more unreliable. the choice now is between buying a bf-2 or buying a tbp looper and having a unreliable flanger on board in a tbp loop. i think i'd go for a bf-2, hope i dont get unlucky again. but thanks for the info.

i tried opening the dod but it only opens from the lowerside and i cant see the switch from there as the whole pcb is stuck with the pots and knobs joined to the upper side. any idea if i can open the footswitch or something?

I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty that if you don't hit that switch it will never turn off, and probably wont fail. It is simply a trigger for the circuitry to go buffered. It is the only moving part on the thing other than the pots and it is the primary fail point for all DOD pedals. If the switch has failed in the open position, will not close, and doesn't do any crazy intermittent stuff, you have a very reliable, always on pedal. IMO.

If you're bent on getting a Boss then do it and don't look back, but I'd wager that this failure is the only one your likely to encounter with this pedal. If you like the tone better, it may be worth it to take a chance. Then you'll have the bypass looper for any future tone suck purposes. I know that I'm really giving you the hard sell on this, but I like DOD pedals, and I kind of sold you on this one. I feel a little bad that it went on you so quickly.

[Couvy]

Yeah, what they said, there's a little stick under the part you step on that engages the switch. If it isn't hitting it straight on for whatever reason, you can stomp and stomp and it isn't touching the actual switch. The little allen screws, if I recall, let you get underneath there to make sure it's lined up. This was not a new pedal when I bought it, so I can't really say anything other than that I never had a problem with the switch while I had it.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

if you were to have a TBP switch installed, how would that make it less reliable?

there are no pedal repair professionals here who can install the TBP switch for me. if i dabble with the innards i'll always be unsure about some solder joints i made or whatever since am no good at this stuff

Originally Posted by cheapbasslovin

I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty that if you don't hit that switch it will never turn off, and probably wont fail. It is simply a trigger for the circuitry to go buffered. It is the only moving part on the thing other than the pots and it is the primary fail point for all DOD pedals. If the switch has failed in the open position, will not close, and doesn't do any crazy intermittent stuff, you have a very reliable, always on pedal. IMO.

If you're bent on getting a Boss then do it and don't look back, but I'd wager that this failure is the only one your likely to encounter with this pedal. If you like the tone better, it may be worth it to take a chance. Then you'll have the bypass looper for any future tone suck purposes. I know that I'm really giving you the hard sell on this, but I like DOD pedals, and I kind of sold you on this one. I feel a little bad that it went on you so quickly.

Originally Posted by Couvy

Yeah, what they said, there's a little stick under the part you step on that engages the switch. If it isn't hitting it straight on for whatever reason, you can stomp and stomp and it isn't touching the actual switch. The little allen screws, if I recall, let you get underneath there to make sure it's lined up. This was not a new pedal when I bought it, so I can't really say anything other than that I never had a problem with the switch while I had it.

hmmm thanks. i will checkout that part to see if the stick is not aligned. if thats all i have to do, man i will be so relieved!
i just dont like my pedal so frickin empty and no more swlirly low end made me all totally depressed and angry when i was writing this thread. i hope its just the stick not hitting the switch, its likely that this is it. will get back regarding this tomorrow once, i get hold of some allen wrenches to open the footswitch

[cheapbasslovin]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

i hope its just the stick not hitting the switch, its likely that this is it. will get back regarding this tomorrow once, i get hold of some allen wrenches to open the footswitch

If it is anything like my FX53, those allen screws won't come loose. They were mounted with some springs and held on with nylon insert nuts. The only way to get at it IIRC is to remove the knobs and locknuts on the pots and gingerly slide the board out. It will have wires attached to every piece still attached to the pedal so you'll need to be able to set it close. Then you can get in and take a look. Removing the switch at that point isn't too tough based on my memory and you can test the quality of the switch. If you've written the pedal off already the worst you could do to it is break it more. If you think you can sell it to someone in its current condition then maybe you want to avoid all this trouble.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by cheapbasslovin

If it is anything like my FX53, those allen screws won't come loose. They were mounted with some springs and held on with nylon insert nuts. The only way to get at it IIRC is to remove the knobs and locknuts on the pots and gingerly slide the board out. It will have wires attached to every piece still attached to the pedal so you'll need to be able to set it close. Then you can get in and take a look. Removing the switch at that point isn't too tough based on my memory and you can test the quality of the switch. If you've written the pedal off already the worst you could do to it is break it more. If you think you can sell it to someone in its current condition then maybe you want to avoid all this trouble.

hmmmmmm am going to try and open it up. you know what two weeks back when i sold my phaser, the guy wanted my flanger too but i said i want to keep it! damn it! should have sold i

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by cheapbasslovin

If it is anything like my FX53, those allen screws won't come loose. They were mounted with some springs and held on with nylon insert nuts. The only way to get at it IIRC is to remove the knobs and locknuts on the pots and gingerly slide the board out. It will have wires attached to every piece still attached to the pedal so you'll need to be able to set it close. Then you can get in and take a look. Removing the switch at that point isn't too tough based on my memory and you can test the quality of the switch. If you've written the pedal off already the worst you could do to it is break it more. If you think you can sell it to someone in its current condition then maybe you want to avoid all this trouble.

i think you are right, i have been turning those screws on the footswitch for a while now. they keep going round and round but arent getting any tighter or looser, i mean they arent coming out. will try and open it up from the bottom side now