Name:	chuonghoang
Date:	5/21/2009
Build Report:	hey,i'm Vietnamese and i just wanna say thanks to tonepad.i've built this noisegate pedal.i used sk30A instead of 2N5952 couse it's impossible to find in my country.afterall it works awesome.Thanks again.

Name:	Iwan
Date:	3/8/2009
Build Report:	With the PCB made by tonepad, boarding all components is rather easy. At first I only put the parts on the PCB that were on the parts list, the 2M2 and 47pF are not on the list so I couldn't put them on the board...(duh). During the first runs the noise gate worked as it should, responding good on the sensitivity pot. However...the volume was dropped 3db or so. By reading some of the reports below I saw that there is an easy fix for this. I replaced the 1M with a 1.5K resistor between the FET gate and the Ra (I didn't have a 1.8k available) and I found an unused 2M2 so added that as well. Now the noise gate works as I want, with the knob at approx. 10'o clock it does the trick really very well!! Thanks tonepad, and the reports from the other builders below. Rgds, Iwan

Name:	Anders
Date:	1/24/2008
Build Report:	Hi global community of DIY stompbox cockers. This was my 15th box (most of them from here THANX A MILL EVERYONE AT TONEPAD) and with no comparison the hardest to tweek to my liking. I didn’t do any of the mods described. I etched the PCB from the 2.Jul.24.2006 Rev. First consider what kind of input range this gadget has to handle and still close and open smoothly. From mere but a breeze from finger picking on a single coil neck PU with no effects to strumming on a high output bridge HB with distortion boxes etc. I used Brett’s findings to solve most of the problems I run in to. Thanks a bunch Brett, you did a splendid job and saved me a lot of gray hair. Some things did not work for me though. - I used a 2N5485 and two 2N3904s (had only two) to start with. They where quite far apart (240 265) in hFE, witch resulted in a “choppy” decay. Changed to two 2N5088 with 462 and 465 hFE and I had a smooth decay when the gate kicked in. So I found the same thing as Brett, hFE value does not matter as long as they are matched. - To get a god level for release I tested a lot of different values for Ra. 2M2 worked best for me. - I tried the “680R and 1mF tweek” to cure the pot range problem. In the end I found that bridging the 680R and put the electrolyte 1 mF back gave the best result. (I tried both NP, film end tantal Caps of different value). This could be a result of me using a 4558. TL072 might react in a different way. Now I am extremely satisfied with this one. I can handle a wide range of situations. From me doing some soft finger picking on my strat (max sensitivity) to the bridge HB on my LP with a Ge Fuzz a MXR Dist+ and a TS808 all engaged and on MAX (almost min sensitivity. If the pot is turned to the end an earthquake would not open it.). This setup is of cause unusable but the gate opens and closes very nicely and gates 95% of the hizz and humm. I haven’t run it through a scope but to my ears I can’t find any tonal or level difference when it’s engaged compared to not. Even if bridging the 680R theoretically should change the high end. Summary; A very worth while build but not if you are a total beginner or if you lack patience. A tip is to use sockets for the trannis and the Ra and 680R restitor/1mF cap. When you test/tweek it do it with the load of the guitar PU and dist boxes etc you think you will use it with. At the end of the day the most useful situation for this box might be to use it to gate hizz from heavy distortion on high volume in a live setup. Thanks again Tonepad for the absolute bets DIY site for FX pedals.

Name:	Brett Miller (5thumbs)
Date:	1/5/2008
Build Report:	This is a minor update to my build report (so you can add it to my 12/28 report if you'd like, Francisco.) I solved the issue with oscillation in my previous build report. Once again, the fix focuses upon the 680-ohm / 1uF combo in the IC1a feedback loop. By raising the value of the resistor, you can eliminate oscillations that may occur when you set the gate to trigger at lower signal levels. I ended up replacing the 680-ohm resistor with a 4.7K-ohm resistor to get rid of the oscillations and allow use of the full 300-degree sweep of the Sensitivity pot. The by changing the value of the capacitor in that combo, you can control how quickly the gate clamps down. At the stock value of 1uF, I had problems with the gate shutting too early, even with the Sensitivity pot turned to have the gate shut at very low signal levels. While testing, I tried a 0.47uF cap in that spot and it made the problem worse. A 1.44uF (or 1.5uF) cap made things better, but I ultimately settled on a 2uF cap in that position. With the 2uF cap, the gate will allow notes to ring to natural extinction without shutting the gate (with the Sensitivity pot turned to have the gate shut at very low signal levels.) So in the end, a 4.7K-ohm resistor coupled with a 2uF Xicon film cap got rid of the oscillations and made the entire 300-degree sweep of the Sensitivity pot usable. These changes took my MXR Noise Gate build from merely good to "I'm-Keeping-This-One-Forever" status. Even if you're having issues on this build, don't give up on it, folks. The results can be very impressive. Good luck!

Name:	Brett Miller (5thumbs)
Date:	12/28/2007
Build Report:	I built this project after reading many of the build reports here. As always, the board was very nicely done and easy to populate and solder. (Thanks Francisco!) My only suggestion would be to add the 2M2 resistor and 47pF cap to the parts list in the documentation, since these parts are listed on the top-side silkscreen. As recommended in several build reports, I replaced the 1M resistor between Q3 Gate and Attack with a 1.8K resistor. (I tried it with both values and found the 1.8K resulted in better non-gated volume output.) I tried the mods, but found that I did not need them. On my build, I only have 1 pot for Sensitivity, which works pretty well once you get all the bugs worked out. Initially, the gate would not release except with the loudest playing, and even then it was very staccato. I quickly discovered that I hadn't removed Ra after trying the Attack/Release mods. *blush* After I removed Ra, things worked better, but the gate still kicked in way too early. I then scoured the diystompboxes.com forum for possible causes (and there are a LOT of threads there about problems with this project.) I found a post by Mark Hammer in which he talked about the original MXR noise gate being made primarily for +4dB inputs so it could be used with mixers/etc. Seeing that low gain from the IC1a op amp could be my problem, I decided to tinker with the cap/resistor in the feedback loop. I replaced the 680-ohm and 1uF cap in the feedback loop with a 470-ohm and 1.44uF cap, respectively. This combination increased the gain of IC1a while almost matching the low-pass corner frequency of the 680ohm/1uF combination. I tried at 340-ohm/2uF combination, but it increased the gain too much, causing oscillation to set in earlier and further reducing the useable range of the Sensitivity control.) I used a 2N5485 and two 2N3904s in this build. After reading here about having matched Q1/Q2 with hFEs of 150, I measured mine. I had 3 around 180 and one around 200. As long as I used two that were almost the same hFE, I had a smooth decay when the gate kicked in. (When I tried the 200 hFE with a 180 hFE, the decay was more jagged and stuttery.) While I don't have two 2N3904s at 150 hFE, having two that match up pretty closely seems to be the important part in getting a smooth decay. The usable range on my Sensitivity control is from 6:30 to about 11 o'clock (with 6:30 being the "zero" value to the user.) Beyond 11 o'clock, oscillation sets in. This is a minor issue, because with Sensitivity at 11 o’clock, the guitar signal rings to almost complete inaudibility before the gate kicks in. To me, this is about perfect, as I can turn the Sensitivity control to 11 o'clock when playing quiet Strat neck single-coil parts, but then crank it down to 6:30 for high-gain stuff. I'd like to find a way to tweak the pot to make the entire 300-degree sweep of the pot useable, but since the pedal sounds so good right now, I'm not sure I'll risk screwing it up to address this minor issue. Final thoughts on this build...if this project is going to be your first build, you'd be wise to pick something easier to start with. This noise gate is probably one of the best I've used with guitar in terms of smoothness of decay. But to be honest, the MXR Smart Gate is pretty good and doesn't cost much more to buy. (I built this because I had most of the parts sitting on my workbench.) I used film caps for everything except the three 10uF caps. (I used an electrolytic for the power coupling cap in the upper-right corner and two 10uF tantalum caps in the middle-bottom of the board.) The TL072IP op amp worked out well, giving only the slightest mid-range bump (which it adds to pretty much everything anyway.) Matching the hFEs of the NPN transistors appears to be important in getting a clean attack/release. Tweaking the gain of IC1a appears to be important in getting proper engagement of the gate when opening and closing. If you have no idea how to tweak these parts (and aren't really willing to learn), do yourself a favor and skip this build. If you decide to pursue this build, it has the potential to be challenging, but certainly wasn't the hardest build t-shoot/tweak I've had to do. If you stick with it and do your homework, you'll end up with a nice sounding gate in the end (and the satisfaction that you built and tweaked it yourself.) Good luck!

Name:	neil
Date:	11/28/2007
Build Report:	we build on no mods or whatsoever no realeas and attack pots 100% working.. no vulme drop.. when engaged,at 50% setting we can feel the effect, at 75%-100%,zero noise but doesnt affect the tone and vol.. BRILLIANT PROJECT.. GREAT PEDAL.. MORE POWER TO TONEPAD

Name:	Olivier
Date:	11/19/2007
Build Report:	Hi all, Just finished this callate gate 2 and it really is efficient. Impressive. At first, I encountered the same problem as Andy and Jasper : important volume loss when playing the guitar and no clear cut when not playing. I fixed it by replacing the 1M resistor between gate and attack/Ra/1uF with a 1.8k. Measurement showed that anything higher didn't shut the Q3 gate fully. Note, the 10uF cap between Q3 and the 22k resistor is shown with the + towards the FET on the layout but in the opposite direction on the schematic. I measured 3 V at the 22k and 2.5V atQ3 so I decided to put it as in the layout, + towards Q3. Not sure if I was right but it works. Now I have no volume loss at all when playing and complete mute otherwise. I think Attenuation doesn't really require a pot and E-F could just be linked. Excellent and useful, Thanx Tonepad

Name:	Jasper
Date:	4/13/2007
Build Report:	I built the effect with the 2N5485. It did not work, I had similar problems that Andy had (previous build report). The 2n5485 has a different threshold voltage then the original. I fixed it by replacing the 1M from G3 to Ra with a 470k resistor. No other mods were performed. Everything workes fine now!

Name:	one leg
Date:	12/31/2006
Build Report:	I'm a chinese.I finish the project with a lot of changes.I use the k30a.It works well.Thankes to tonepad !!!

Name:	Andy
Date:	2/22/2006
Build Report:	I built the callate gate 2 to the schematic and layout with a 2N5485 FET. When I tried it the output volume was reduced and the noise still present with no guitar playing (ie it did not work) I fixed this by refitting the FET so that: Gate remained in the same location. Source was connected to the junction of 1M resistor and the 10uF capacitor Drain connected to Vb (I linked the attenuation pot pads E-F) This gave me a circuit which cancelled the noise when the threshold pot was set correctly with no guitar playing, but still left the problem of a drastically reduced volume when playing. This was solved by changing the 1M resistor connected between Q3 gate and attack/150k(Ra) to 1.8K this allows the gate of the FET to come down to zero allowing the FET to fully switch off. Attack and Release pot pads I linked and Ra was replaced with a 47k resistor. Now it works satisfactorily.

Name:	*-ARG-* SK8FEDERICO *-ARG-*
Date:	12/23/2005
Build Report:	ARG*- A R G E N T I N A *-ARG bueno, solo para las personas que hablen castellano este post. resulta que en mi pais argentina, es imposible conseguir los 2n5952 ni los 2n5485, por lo cual me recomendaron poner mpf102 que NO SIRVEN, sin enbargo el marabilloso fet que ya me salvo en el mxrphaser45 (BF245)anda perfecto con el zener de 5.1v , si te parece que tendria que dejar sonar mas al instrumento y cortar menos y no te alcansa con el giro del pote, aumentando el valor del zener (sin pasarse de 8.2v) se logra que el efecto mutee el instrumento mas tarde, y lo contrario sucede disminuyendo el valor del zener (minimo 3.3v). Exelente efecto, NO sibe para bajo, pero para viola va terrible. Exelente proyecto, no se olviden BF245 les va a salvar la vida mas de una ves. saludos desde argentina Sk8federico ARG*- A R G E N T I N A *-ARG Argentina precente. Latinoamerica precente.

Name:	Toshi Okada
Date:	12/6/2005
Build Report:	Hi guys, I'm very glad to inform that I could completed to build the MXR NOISE GATE by Tonepad's schematic. First, I built it according to the schematic faithfully but it did not work. I repeated cut-and-error and I found a mistake in the schematic. And the PCB layout seems to be incorrect as well. The schematic shows that the "-" output of IC1b goes thru to 0.047 cap and 1M reg, and it is fed to the GATE of Q3(JFET). That 1M reg should be connected to SOURCE of Q3 but to GATE. I think the principle of this circuit is that IC1b works as a differential amp, Q3 shorts only the "-" input to IC1b when feeding guitar signal. I revised the circuit connection and it became to work fine. I tested with a stratcaster with single coil pickup. I think the gain of IC1a should be a little bit larger. Just in case, the D shape picture of Q3 on PCB layout should be reversed. ( This already has been informed by anyone else. ) Anyway, I really appreciate for tonepad's job. -Toshi Okada

Name:	Stevie
Date:	4/5/2005
Build Report:	Hello! Very great one! It was my first one that I built myself and I´m very happy with it. I added a switch to be able to bridge the diodes, but didn´t change any caps or resistors, except the 56pF cap (couldn´t find the 51pF one). I have foto-documented the whole project from beginning to the end, if anybody´s interested in it, feel free to email me! Maybe I will ask tonepad, if they want it for the photo-essay section. Along with the tonepad bluesbreaker, a very nice pedal! So long, S.

Name:	Hammer
Date:	3/30/2005
Build Report:	Hi !!!! i´m very glad to write this, having a new experience with the Tonepad's release Callate 2. The effect works perfectly, even applying hard distortions on the chain. I used 2n5952 FET (Smallbear, because is not available in Argentina, my country) to switch the signal, but my first try did not work. I placed that one as is drawn at the project layout, with the flat face toward the output pad, regardless of the others inscriptions. But in this position, the FET gate does not match the "G" mark beside the gate pin at the picture. Then, after seen the datasheet at Fairchild, the FET's position was inverted(flat face toward input pad), and no problem at all !!!!.... Mods for my build: attack: 1K linear pot release: 500 k linear pot. Thank you again Tonepad !!! but I suggest modify the relative position of the 2n5952 at the layout to avoid other mistakes as I've got.

Name:	Kurt Smith
Date:	12/11/2004
Build Report:	This was my first pedal and it works real good, a little choppy on the decay. I used the 2N3904s (don’t know what hfe) and maybe I’ll try the 2N3904’s with a real hfe of 150 as the first build report stated it was smooth. I used the 2N5485 and finally concluded that the TL072 IC worked the best. I socketed the Transistors and the IC and tried several to get the best quality parts in place. The 2N5485 took several attempts before I found one that would equal the bypass volume. I etched the first Layout and did all of the mods. Definitely use the smaller pots as you won’t need much R on the mods. I used Ra 100K with 250K pot for the release mod and a 5K pot on the attack mod. I used a 100K pot on the attenuation mod and took it back off as it decreased my volume too much, but it did work and it will solve the choppy decay problem with considerable loss of signal. I tried to find a place for the 66pf cap (suggested in another build report) to work but no luck. The attack and release mods help to smooth out the decay somewhat. The release is more for strength of release and the attack is more for strength of attack instead “longer” release and attack times. Not in the box yet. With a preamp this thing will be a good addition to any chain. It definitely kills the noise when you mute your strings and it stays muted until you play again with no noticeable beginning of the note chopped off even when the release is set on max resistance. The decay comes pretty fast for the higher frequency notes (you know up around fret 19). A preamp will be needed in front of this thing for the six string crowd. All in all, I don’t have any more noise problems.

Name:	JOHN WHITE
Date:	9/11/2004
Build Report:	The first impression is: Hey, what happened to the amp?!? Is the Noise Gate working???!? Just a turn of a knob and WWWOOOWWW!!! When you don´t play, it mutes as if the amp is actually off. Excelent job you guys!!! THANX EVERYONE AT TONEPAD

Name:	Tony Bell
Date:	7/18/2004
Build Report:	I would definitely recommend socketing the JFET. I had to try over 10 2N5952's to no avail. I finally put in a 2N5484 and it snapped to life. I also am using a NE5532 as the IC. The performance is great-no more of that annoying hiss out of those high gain distortions in my line. I can't notice any beginning of my notes chopped off, either. It will allow a good deal of sustain, too. My favorite thing about it is that one can set it so your guitar can get all feedbacky still, but will mute as soon you mute your srings. Definitely add the 68pf cap to stop the "chattering" at the decay threshold. I unfortunately have not tried the Attenuation, Release and Attack mods, but will on my next one. Craig Anderton noted in his EPFM book that a noise gate will do well to clean up reasonably quiet signals, and by no means are noise gates cure-alls for all noise problems. That noted, this project really exceeded my expectations. Thanks again, this device has saved me a lot of time and frustration!

Name:	Andrey Potapov
Date:	7/28/2003
Build Report:	I have ust finished the project. It was impossible to find 2N JFETs in my region so I used Toshiba 2SK369. Its cut off voltage is 1.2 Volt against 3.5 for the schematic. So I used 2.5 Volt zenner instead. This gate is really good thing. It operates very carefully with input signal and does not add any additional distortion like Boss does. I am giong to install it inside my tube amp for overdriven channel. Thank You very much.

Name:	David Chumpitaz
Date:	3/5/2003
Build Report:	Hey!!!A good project :). I´m from Peru, so I prefer to write in Spanish. Sorry: Me tomó un poco más de tiempo construir este proyecto, debido a que en el layout de F. Peña no caben los resistores de 0.25 watt que son los más pequeños que puedo encontrar en mi país, así que decidí hacer otro layout ligeramente más grande. Al final de la construcción el resultado fue muy bueno, aunque noté que el "release" del efecto depende mucho del tipo de JFET usado, pero a pesar que probé 10 tipos diferentes (aquí no encuentro el 2N5485) el release o es muy largo o muy corto, quedándome en un punto intermedio con un K168, pero aún no es perfecto. Quisiera saber además si el release depende también del zener, y si el esquemático corresponde al original de MXR o ha sufrido variaciones (true bypass o algo por el estilo). A ver F. Peña si me pasas el dato por favor. Finalmente, es un efecto muy necesario y éste si cumple su función, sobretodo al ponerlo después de mi Metal Zone clonado y antes de mi Digital Delay/Pitch Shifter PS-3 Boss. Sólo queda tocar y olvidarse de los molestos zumbidos :).

Name:	Francisco Peña
Date:	11/23/2002
Build Report:	I just finished mine. Works very nice. Fp

Name:	Brett
Date:	9/9/2002
Build Report:	Another very handy effect. I also used a 2N5485 FET (for its mid-range Vgss). This should keep the volume up until the signal gets fairly low. For those that want to play, 2N54854s need 1V less signal, and 2n5486s need 1 V more (MPF102s are about = 2n5485, but all FETs vary a lot anyway). My box works fine with the threshold control about half way. The gate is especially good for cleaning up unavoidable noise from transistor-based pedals. On the downside, I wonder if that big electrolytic capacitor is necessary, or desirable, in the audio line? A couple of large value monolithic caps might do the AC coupling job without the sound degradation that electro caps are known for (???).

Name:	Matt Burnside
Date:	9/5/2002
Build Report:	Good quick and simple build, no problems to note. I was able to get away with using 2N5484 for the FET and a 4.7V zener with no problems. The "sensitivity" pot may NOT be backwards, depending on how you think about it. Not having owned an original unit, I can't say. Just turn the knob until your background noise goes away. :) I was impressed with how quickly it clamps down and releases. I have little doubt that I'll find use for this in my chain.

Name:	A Colman
Date:	5/20/2002
Build Report:	As always a fairly easy build thaks to Francisco's layout and PCB.Used 2N5485 for the FET and 2n3904s with an hfe of 150.All I'm going to say is this gate is smoother than the HUSH in my Rocktron preamp!.A MUST for any guitar fx arsenal. A Colman