Dead Vintage Ibanez Pedal...Can It Be Fixed? - 1982 Ibanez PT-9 Phaser

[@dougreynolds4721]

Hey! After a year it is still working great! Thanks again!

[@TheGuitologist]

Awesome!

[@va.syndicate2ndam862]

Is it still going?

[@lespaulcustom7309]

Ya update..please. lol

[@Wh33lsofFortune]

Update! Update!

[@jasonpitre1249]

Finally, the world's first slide whistle pedal for guitars.

[@TheGuitologist]

NEW! Electronic Slide Whistle by Ibanez. Endorsed by Zamfir, the Pan Flautist and that guy from Blues Traveler.

[@jasonpitre1249]

Revolutionary step in musical technology I should say!

[@jasonpitre1249]

In all seriousness, great video by the way. I recently rekindled my interest in electronics. Subscribed friend!

[@TheGuitologist]

Thanks, Jason.

[@slidey1000]

I was thinking of adding a volume pedal to it and making a faux theremin

[@seenbelow]

I've learned about transistors and capacitors back in high school, forgot almost everything since, but I enjoy watching your videos so much, they are more informative than any class I had on the topic. Thank you for making these!

[@Dr_Satan]

The back to back 47uF are a way to make a bipolar cap without using what used to be an expensive part. Those 2 caps do the job of one 22uF bipolar cap.

[@russellhltn1396]

Exactly. From what I can tell, they are in series. Putting caps in series decreases their value. So two 47 would be 23.5uF. (22 is close enough). And since they're for audio, not power filtering, you may not see any voltage on them. Some op amp designs will have both the input and outputs at 0V DC.

[@TheGuitologist]

What was confusing me is why on the schematic they had two arrows both pointing the same direction.

[@68MalKontent]

These are not arrows, these are plus signs. Voltage in the op amp feedback loop swings both ways, so a standard polarized electrolytic cap is not a good idea, so they use a reverse-series connection which results in a makeshift non-polarized capacitor. However, electrolytic caps like to work with a DC voltage component applied to them all the time, which in this connection is obviously impossible, so they will degrade over time much faster than usual.

[@TheGuitologist]

I wish not to lose anonymity. Some great replies here. Thanks.

[@glasstronic]

You stole me thunder, wish.. . ;-)

[@dmlink]

Can we have more pedal fixes please

[@AstroAF]

Nice job Brad! My dogs send you their sincere thank you for fixing that screech! Interesting on the battery connector, I've never used batteries in it, always power supply (which is in the junk pile now).

[@russellhltn1396]

It had an external power connector, but it looked pretty rusty. I was wondering if the problem would turn out to be a bad switch in the connector causing poor power.

[@arensel84]

Definitely do more pedals! Love seeing you demo them after the fix. A lot of old pedals have died from crappy components. The ones that were point to point would be easier to work on than thin cheap printed boards. Keep it up!

[@TelecasterLPGTop]

My local guitar shop, "Guitar Jungle" at Redfern N.S.W. gave me an Ibanez Stereo Chorus as a bonus when I purchased a BOSS SD-1 a couple of days ago. He said it wasn't working and he coudn't be bothered fixing it. I came straight to your website and it looks like the " Tone Home " web site may have the answer. Thanks.

[@CPUTests]

That board is like that because it was destroyed by the electrolite that came of some capacitor. Some capacitor had leaked out some of that corrosive substance on that board and the disaster is done. But as always you've been able to save it and bring it back to life. Thank you for your very good work. Best regards.

[@skycarl]

Brad, thanks so much for the tonehome link. I've been trying to find a schematic for my Ibanez DS10 Distortion Charger that I bought back around 1988. It needs some tlc so this is great. Good vid as always bro.

[@poot111111]

Holy Moly! Never knew pedals had such a complicated boards! Love the channel.

[@charliefoxtrotthe3rd335]

RIP headphone users @ 5:19

[@TheGuitologist]

I will have to keep the headphone people in mind. It isn't too bad over my sound system, but I get a glimpse of the badness watching on my iphone.

[@escalator9734]

Try to put a normalizer or limiter in your editing/audio software, or if you can find a way to get the waveform (RMS if possible) of the whole vid , that's the best way to see if you've got a volume jump

[@blithe74]

thank you for the warning

[@bobbyberetta4206]

Charlie Foxtrot The 3rd Huh?....What?....I just saw this a little too late.

[@bakstabbath]

That's a cool sounding pedal. Great job Brad, I didn't think that one was gonna make it.

[@grxzy7950]

I found a Roland kr-33 on the side of the road 6 months ago and it didn't work. You inspired me to pull it apart and it was a simple cable unplugged. THANK YOU!

[@kenpowilliamson]

I bought one of these through GC. Plugged it in and it howled!. Thanks for the video, you saved me some trouble shooting time. I see GC's inspection of used gear has slipped a bit but it was cheap and is an easy fix.

[@TheGuitologist]

I'd still let them know about it. They might give you a gift card or something.

[@kenpowilliamson]

Thanks for the reply. I will most likely let the repair department know of the issue and give them your link to this great info on what to look out for on known issues with this particular pedal. ;) P.S. you were spot on, my issue was in fact the 47 uf @ 6.3v electrolytic next to the feedback trim pot. The two large 47uf 10v caps were fine and measured about 52uf each but I replaced them as well. The P.C. trace between them lifted and I just used the leads that connected them on the new ones to each other as a strong bridge. Thanks again.

[@audiotechlabs4650]

I think the factory mis-packaged this pedal, Its a Tube Screamer! Ha Ha. Great save and a great heads up on the pedal site! Thankz

[@TheGuitologist]

FET Screamer!

[@SianaGearz]

Everyone's a screamer if the pain is just strong enough.

[@kenpowilliamson]

I'd call it a tube Shreaker ;)

[@gregaltenhofel7326]

@@SianaGearz I dated a German chick that said that all the time. Crazy bitch.

[@SianaGearz]

@@gregaltenhofel7326 I promise it wasn't me. I don't even identify as a German.

[@lego40404]

Totally forgot I bought one of these to repair after seeing this video 2 years ago Brad. I’ve done a few DIY phasers over the years but I’ve always been a fan of the Ibanez series from this era. Man do wish I still had some of them

[@Tonnsfabrication]

After reading the comments below from the Devry master students I realized how incredibly uneducated I am. But man I sure do like watching this guy trouble shoot this stuff then actually make it work again. Awesome.

[@tinyb69]

Listening to the finished product, reminds me why I never had mine repaired when it had a meltdown in the late 80's.

[@DTGuitarTech]

I know this is an old video, but excellent. I build boutique pedals for a living and you did a great job!

[@ryananthony4840]

I need a micro thumpinator

[@Bencarelle]

IDK if anyone said this before, but the caps at 14:40 are probably like that to create a non-polarized cap in the feedback path.

[@TheGuitologist]

It had been mentioned, yes. And DUH! Of course I should have recognized that was the case. Forest for the trees.

[@DonCrowder]

Those two electrolytics in series amount to a 23 uF non-polar capacitor. Whether the negatives are tied together or the positives, it amounts to the same thing. Just noticed that someone else made the same observation but I'll post this anyway, by way of confirmation. :)

[@waynegram8907]

I thought you were going to do the whole test procedure because I was ready to make a cup of coffee and watch you use an oscilloscope and got step by step of the test procedure which would have been cool to see done. I love all those Roland boss and Ibanez test procedures they technical writers and engineers were real back in the days.

[@RiffHarvester]

My buddy gifted me with a malfunctioning Ibanez TS9DX pedal. It was squealing just like this and kept cutting out with tiny bumps to the pedal. I took it apart and didn't see anything that looked damaged. Since I didn't know much about electronics or pedals, I put it back together and left it in a drawer for a couple of years. Fast forward to 2020, I know a little about pedals now so I took it apart one more time and put it together, and amazingly, it works fine now! I think it may have been shorting out somewhere inside under the knobs because I noticed that the pedal started playing correctly after seriously tightening down the pot nuts.

[@krang07]

Awesome! Fix that guys old phaser and make a great demo with it. Great stuff senior.

[@TheGuitologist]

Thanks August, as always.

[@SnahLhug]

I've worked on a lot of old machinery control pcb's, and they are very frail like this one. Using a solder sucker is a quicker job and helps avoiding those paths from coming off. One has to be fast in and out so that components don't get heated too much for too long. Solder points should be taken out in steps, specially the bigger ones. Low wattage or temperature controlled soldering irons can help.

[@SnahLhug]

Although keeping those suckers clean and properly lubricated can be a nasty job

[@s10belowu]

I was going to say the same Thing. A desoldering pump is great for not burning up the traces in those boards. too much heat with braid will surely toast them and you hand wiring it from the back. $8 on ebay maybe less. get the spring loaded one and not the bulb that radioshack has for like $2

[@TheGuitologist]

Thanks for the comments! I have a solder sucker. A couple of them, in fact. In this case it was really a matter of no good solution. That board had already been worked at that point by someone or had gotten hot and because of age the traces were delaminating and falling apart. You can see sort of early in the video where the green protective covering on the traces was rubbed completely off in spots and the traces were bare. Any working on those whatsoever, even with a pump, was going to mar them up. I replaced several other caps on the board and didn't have trouble, it was just in that one spot.

[@russellhltn1396]

And some board are just junk and will come apart anyway. What size iron were you using? A good iron for "rat's nest" wiring may be too strong for delicate PCBs.

[@joshmakeshift]

i do as well. old diax stuff... i wont touch it without a sucker handy.

[@SuperHeliboy]

I wish I knew about you when my Crate died and the shop told me it was unrepairable. I really liked that 12".

[@ConkysGhost]

I've had one of these Ibanez PT9 Phasers for about 25+ years and it works great. Bought it as a Secondhand music shop. I wonder if this problem is lurking around waiting to pounce.

[@eatingplaydoh]

Love that tone and playing near the end of your video.

[@noname-zn8fm]

Brad,.. Seriously,.. anyone that has a sandy va jay jay behind your work is obviously some kind of,.. something or other,..?, it's very easy to sit back and cast stones, wish you were around in Toronto to work on my shit back in the day, I'm a skilled and handy type, been tearing things apart and re building and re-purposing equipment since I was a kid, you rock man, you have your own method and you dive in and have the stones to put it on the internet, I actually learn something useful or remembering something I forgot watching you plow through, and you're a badass picker to boot! Happy holidays brother! Keep up the good work, cheers!

[@MrUltraworld]

I learned how to repair effects by putting an ad in a local paper " Will buy any guitar/bass pedal in any condition for $20" I got lots of takers. I learned how to trouble shoot and repair them. Lots of stupid simple issues were easily fixed. This phaser sounds great.

[@TheGuitologist]

That's a great idea.

[@Intrinsic.Recording]

Hey, let me say too, I watched probably 30 of your vids. All are great! This one thing, I just felt I could give some input on. I am not a hater. Love your stuff, trying to help. Best man

[@guitarnut7438]

great channel and always a pleasure to watch you fix things!

[@DoRC]

In a situation like this where there are only a few caps that are easy to get to and the board is older I suggest just changing out all the caps without even wasting time testing them. Especially being off brand if they aren't bad now they will be soon.

[@TheGuitologist]

Well, they are Nichicon, so good brand, but you're right, all the polarized 'lytics got the boot.

[@SianaGearz]

Good plan, except when the board is delaminating.

[@jokinmyass9446]

When I sent my Cs9 to get repaired ( one of 2 instances where I swallowed my pride and sent it to a smarter tech 😕)I thought he had "bloobed solder as well. But honestly Ibanez has crammed SO MUCH onto these pcb that the components themselves are kind of blibbed together. I wish they would have just sprung for a complimentary enclosure

[@lespaulcustom7309]

Man I've been binge watching the hell out of Brad's videos while in quarantine..am I alone? I do have a guitar in hand so it's a great day. 😎😎🎼🎵🎶🎙🎛🎤🎧🎸🎺🎻🥁🎹🎸🎸🎸🎸

[@-davidolivares]

justin Thenicoftime Nope, me too. He can get pretty whiny but, I love old gear.

[@helmespc]

I had to make that exact same trace fix with the wire to get one working. It was funny watching you go through the same debugging procedure I did a few months back. It’s a good sounding pedal when it’s working...

[@ClarenceHW]

Nice phaser sound... I relate that sound to the "Meeting of the Spirits" intro. Good fix!

[@drewjohnson4794]

I love your videos. It's getting harder and harder to find real content. Meaning that it wasn't paid for by some Chinese corporation. You're real and not just doing this for a buck. If anything you're probably losing time for this. Which is way more valuable than any amount of money. Ignore the haters. They're brainwashed bad.

[@NicverAZ]

I love how you courageously put your fingers close to the terminals of a capacitor you believe is probably linked to the power supply.

[@1961jscofield]

New subscriber, wanted to say thanks for the link to that pedal website, will really be a great resource.

[@DeadKoby]

I just soldered my last of about 350 caps on my 79' peavey mixer board... and I come here for a break.. and it's MORE CAPACITORS.... Ack.

[@Will-dt3yg]

Nice Job! I learn every time I watch you do your thing! Awesome!

[@MichaelLloyd]

The "chips" were quad op amps. The heart of a lot of pedals (and other things).

[@MusicMindset]

Nice work man ;-) Congrats with your new pedal!

[@russellhltn1396]

Interesting, starting out I would have guessed bad power or bad ground. How did you find that the 10uF was the problem? You jumped from troubleshooting to the end solution.

[@TheGuitologist]

I checked the voltages at the test points and those were all ok and rather than digging out my scope which is buried, I started testing components - transistors, diodes (all good), then just started replacing polarized caps, checking the pedal after each one. That 10uf beside the Feedback adjust pot allowed the pot to dial out the squeal after that. Sorry for that clunky edit.

[@JohnShalamskas]

@@TheGuitologist This posting should be pinned to the top of the comments. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

[@joshuataft5541]

Another great piece saved .hope your having a good night 🖤😷👍

[@stephenbarton2625]

I love your channel. Good info Brad! Cheers from Indianapolis IN!

[@Intrinsic.Recording]

You rock man. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've learned a ton from you BTW. I appreciate it.

[@BadChizzle]

Coming in very late to this video... but nice job. I understand the challenges, as I have been given old pedals to repair that had traces that were eaten by moisture and time and had to be replaced by wires running to and fro. All the components were fine... just no longer connected by traces. Yikes! Then I had to clean and cote the entire board with something to stop future degradation. Got it all going, though. Again... nice work.

[@jasonsomerville2504]

For geeky interest (I include myself here) Maxon are known for 2 way radio, from my PMR VHF /UHF days in the 80s and 90s

[@GeorgeChristofi]

Pedals are either great to fix or a pain. I have a Line 6 HT distortion, a nasty mix of a 12ax7 and modern surface mount devices... apart from discharging the valves psu cap with my finger a couple of times it seems to be more of an issue with the modern side. I'll fix it one day. Some of the prices that are charged for brand name pedals, let alone the boutique stuff makes it worthwhile to fix but you get caught out by the obsolete ic's. I'm also working on a pair of Boss ME-10's from the 80's which are also a pain, you fix one bit and then the next part of the chain dies. Anyway, be good to see more pedal stuff. Thanks for the video.

[@TheGuitologist]

Anything IC or transistor is very touchy. Voltages want to be in a narrow band, can't handle spikes, one part goes and transistors sometimes don't survive. They are a PIA, for sure. Give me a tube amp any day!

[@wildbillhackett]

Really? SS amps are tougher to work on? I assumed they would be easier. I know op-amps commonly blow, but it was my understanding that op-amp technology hadn't changed much the past 40 or 50 years, so I figured this meant they would be easy to find replacements for. Regular transistors too. I know Uncle Doug refuses to work on SS amps altogether, so what you say must be true.

[@audiotechlabs4650]

The Guitologist Man I TOTALLY concur! I have a Fender Champion 40 I'm going to(if I can)keep the effects and the rest will become a BF Deluxe Reverb. Tubes, tubes, tubes. Nuttin' better! Thankz

[@TheGuitologist]

I have been consciously making myself work on more of the SS stuff to get better familiar. It's outside my confort zone, which is precisely why I need to do more of it. And yes, it's more difficult. Tube stuff is very tolerant. You can have voltages and biases WAY off and stuff will still work. I can listen to a lot of noises a tube amp will make and have a good idea what might be causing it, but this screaming siren whine stuff...not really.

[@donrutter6765]

Try using your finger on a fender ab763 circuit on the power supply. I accidentally slipped and caught full DC voltage. My arms literally locked up for about 5 minutes and I couldnt use them at all for a while. Barefoot on the garage floor. It wont happen again.

[@tonymeman9041]

So I have a Rocktron orange peel guitar pedal phaser. It doesn't phase. It has great clean signs coming through but nothing except volume works. Any ideas what I could check for? Inside circuit board looks intact and fine, smells fine.

[@akokJ619]

I have a boss Power stack which produces noise as I try to crank up the drive. Any suggestions?

[@matty-qi6nf]

im assuming from the brief glimpse of your guitars headstock that it was a fender telecaster?

[@YellowJack6]

Man, that phaser sounds perfect for some of the early recordings of strange world by Iron Maiden.

[@sophiemilton5939]

There are non-polarised electrolytic capacitors which are often used in crossover networks. They tend to be expensive. Putting two electrolytic caps in series in that way, linking either the two -v or the two +v together produces a non-polarised capacitor. (- obviously, you need to double the cap values as caps in series divide in value)

[@123spleege]

pedals are a whole world now. there is a great documentary on the flood of "boutique" pedals. Much of them have their circuit board covered with resin concealing the components. A lot of rip offs and copies exist. It is a documentary on the fuzz pedal but they go into all the newer boutique makers.

[@islanderwinder]

Another great video Brad .

[@MrBrymstond]

So why is the battery still connected while the solder points are touching the metal housing?

[@TheGuitologist]

There's no power in the circuit unless a 1/4" cable is plugged in.

[@mike5058]

just found this channel - really great work and super interesting stuff!

[@dragannestorovic01]

Maxon is a Japanese pedal manufacturer. They make their own line of pedals as well as for other companys like Ibanez.

[@B3Band]

18:12 How do you spell that?

[@Paul-gz5dp]

If the power supply filter capacitor is bad, it allows feedback to cause oscillation. Also the fluid in an electrolytic capacitor leaks out it is very messy.

[@Maharani1991]

Beautiful demo at the end. :3

[@MrGTO-ze7vb]

Good repair...!! always inspect for smoked parts and overheated traces first

[@CED3]

"Hey, wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?" 5:40

[@suburbandiyguy661]

Anti-quitsies. You're it! Quitsies, no anti-quitsies, no startsies!

[@lvrxplt397]

Hey! I think I know that song!! BAHAHAHAHAHA

[@erkundfx]

Ts9 actually have a same problem like this...did I have to change a whole elco capacitor..?

[@deadheadbetty6663]

My laney ironheart petal does not work smells burns would ot be worth fixing its a 60 watt apm petal

[@tolliverag1425]

I've got a Fender super 60 red Knob series combo tubes are lighting up blue and the reverb is not working if you can get back at me

[@darrenwilliams8837]

Would you be interested in resurrecting a late 60s Maestro Fuzztone? I have one that needs help.

[@bradhargis2261]

I have an old ibanez cp9 compressor/limiter pedal and it has a little dial inside on the board like this phaser but I can't for the life of me figure out what it does.

[@Ottonic6]

That piece sounded familiar at 21:20, just couldn't figure out what song. Nice job on the pedal.

[@zingsting9595]

If you are desoldering components for a living and time is money, you will really appreciate a powered vacuum desoldering tool like the Hakko 808. Trust me on that. The thing you have to watch out for is sucking strands of loose wire/lead . That will probably jam up the tube requiring you to clear it with the wire rod.

[@TheGuitologist]

When I get in my new house and have my bench set up like it's going to be (videos to come on all that, I'm sure) that may have to get near the top of the list of acquisitions. Thanks for the comment!

[@gloryman3634]

I've just inherited a Fulltone Fulldrive black 3. "Drive" side light comes on but there is no sound. Boost side works fine. Any thoughts?

[@sundiabolo]

I had an MXR Phase 90 did the same squeals , but i just needed to spray it with a contact cleaner and it was working again still dont know why it happen and the worst is that there is just no info on the problem

[@JohnShalamskas]

Could be some glue or solder flux on the board was creating an unwanted electrical path for the signal to feed back across adjacent traces.

[@dr.johnpaladinshow9747]

Since I am unable to donate to your channel at this time, I am playing your videos while I go out. Hope this helps.

[@JammyCrackcorn]

I have a Fender STC-1 Pedal that I would like to get repaired…Any chance you can find the schematic for this pedal…

[@circeo12]

Points for Mojo Jojo! Plus, always cool vids.

[@TheGuitologist]

You gave me points for Mojo Jojo, that is to say I received those points you gave me, which were extended by you, to me, the guy with the Mojo Jojo. :D

[@circeo12]

And how many eggs are required for a nutritious breakfast?

[@zepp3lin]

Sounds like Iron Maiden on a Phaser. Awesome.

[@kampfkustomer2343]

These are cool phasers for people looking for something more subtle than a Small Stone.

[@ccgsales]

What was the cost of repair vs just buying a new pedal? Diag and labor probably cost more then the pedal.

[@johnb5519]

Cant anyone make capacitors that will last? I have an old acetone fuzz master that never worked since someone gave it to me back in the 60's. Supposedly it has germanium transistors in it, are they still available.

[@marksadventures3889]

had that scream in the past it was the wrong power connection, blew it out. Where it should have been + it was - and visa versa. A real dude at a electronics shop in Bristol (uk) fixed it for me. did you fix the LED light too?

[@glass4495]

Slightly unrelated, but does anyone know how one would clean an old Ibanez pedal? Mine has lost the shine on the metal and I'd like to spruce it up a bit.

[@piggybackride89]

YES! Do more pedals!

[@mikespainting291]

cut your finger nails dude

[@fortj3]

Brad plays guitar fingerstyle. Short fingernails don't work as well for that.

[@willmorrison1022]

If the pedal is plugged into a battery as the power source, I can't see how those caps should be burning the board. There isn't enough power in a 9V to burn fiberglass, certainly not for long enough, how did it do that? I am confused.

[@boulder89984]

You have invented the Theremin effect pedal. Jam on!

[@daniellang3782]

Nice find on the German website ! That's going to be very helpful. BTW, Job well done !!

[@TheGuitologist]

Yes, that's a fabulous site. Lots of great info there.

[@stevehogan8829]

Hey KY, maybe you can answer me a question. I'm new to guitars and the electronics concerned with them. I have a Peavy classic 20 mini head. Can I play that through the speakers in my combo amps? I have several.. One is a Mesa 5.25 combo. and a couple of others. I've looked on the Internet but no luck.

[@TheGuitologist]

Sorry for the late reply... Of course! You'll need a speaker cable like this one: amzn.to/2qlKdAg Unplug the speaker leads from the Mesa chassis and hook up your new speaker cable to the speaker terminals and plug the other end to your Peavey Head. You'll just want to make sure your impedance is matched to the head. It isn't a huge deal if it's off by 4 ohms, just don't go any more than that.

[@matteframe]

I don't get it. Wouldn't you test the capacitors before replacing them? Can't they be tested in circuit?

[@mikeharnett2410]

Maxon made the Radio Shack HTX-202 & HTX-404 VHF/UHF ham radios. Very well regarded radios.

[@irishwanderer4206]

what scope do you mean ?

[@1stBENNYANDHISGUITAR]

Is it the lighting, or did the red diode die out? on/off

[@alkoenig85]

I did a cap replacement on a Sholtz Rockman...man, was I talking to myself...seemed like a hundred in there. Works fine now, not so sure about the technician.

[@yngvai777]

I think the two 47uF caps in series with their positive pins connected form a bipolar cap.

[@Jediroller]

Please do more pedals!

[@enriquetrejo3003]

Great video. Think you can fix some old Ibanez WH-10 pedals for me?

[@veepedaldude9404]

How hot do you se t your iron when working on these old boards?

[@dambuster6387]

The chip J R C 2007 is Japan Radio Corporation and I think they are no longer trading ?.

[@Zelleram55]

Nice fix! What amp and guitar did you do the demo with? Looks like your Subscribers have been going way up lately, everyone is taking notice of your cool channel.

[@TheGuitologist]

Zelleram55 Amp was a 50s Magnatone Ray Meany. Guitar was 2000s American STD Tele

[@TheGuitologist]

Zelleram55 ...and yeah, picked up a lot of new viewers. Kinda happened like someone threw a switch.

[@mogwix]

It was the Mesa Roadster vid, man.

[@copstache]

it was actually. youtube recommended it out of the blue and I kept watching.