SOME NOTES ABOUT FAILLE TEMPORELLE MK2

A FT user pointed out that there’s a slight DC pop when you turn the LEVEL knob past around 80%. It’s something you’ll never hear when actual audio is passing through but I agree it can be annoying for some, so because I want a 100% happy Soso gang, I prefer to let you know before buying FAILLE TEMPORELLE MK2!

The easy solution: Just avoid that zone and compensate the volume drop with the GAIN, which is what it’s intended for anyway, but please keep reading for more context so you understand the real deal I was facing!

FAILLE TEMPORELLE is by far the circuit I’ve spent the most time on. Based on the classic PT2399, the ultimate alternative to bbd, this chip has been used and re-used in countless pedals and my challenge was to actually make something new out of this prehistoric baby… and I did it.

But, like any challenge, it came with trade-offs.

For instance, V1 had power issues in certain setups. The MK2 fixed that, at the cost of some tonal ranges I really liked, but your happiness was worth the pain!

So back to the DC pop when turning the LEVEL knob past 80%…

After reanalyzing the circuit, I totally get it now (again ):

It’s caused by the DRY OVERLOAD function, that weird and wonderful behavior that creates FT’s unique, self-titled Time Warping Distortion. It’s a tricky zone. When voltage enters this area interconnected with the input, the VCA behind the LEVEL makes a short click in the 20hz range around -80db. That’s expected with VCAs. Normally, you’d minimize this with an internal high-pass filter, BUT in my notes, I wrote that filtering was affecting the power of the other functions…So yeah, sometimes you have to make tough choices in life:

A uniq module with a DC pop that can act as a delay, reverb, distortion, limiter…

Or a clean module with no pop that only does delay.

I chose the first option.

Pour finir : No, I won’t change it  because that would mean shrinking the distortion and limiting the full sonic power of this beast again.

I’m stubborn, and I didn’t quit my corpo job for nothing! NHAA NHAAA !

HAIL TO THE NOISE.

Love !

Mike