AMZ Q&D Compressor 2 PC BOARD

COMPRESSOR, LIMITER AND GATE

BASIC PC BOARD
This is the AMZ Q&D 2 Compressor PC Board.
The DIP through-hole version of the SSM2166 chip has
been discontinued, but Small Bear Electronics has bought
some of the surface mount versions of the 2166 and had
them soldered to DIP adapters.
This makes handling easy, without having to solder fine
pitch pins, which many builders may not have practiced.

Parts List
R1,R2,R3

2.2M

C1,C9,C12

0.1 uF

R4,R6,R7

10k

C2,C4,C10

1.0 uF

R5

4.7k

C3

47 pF

R8,R9

1k

C5,C7,C8

10 uF

R10

100k

C6

4.7 uF

R11

270 ohms

C11

0.01 uF

R14

2k or 2.5k linear taper

C13

see text

R15

25k linear taper

U1

SSM2166

R16

50k linear taper

U2

78L05

R17

500k linear taper

Q1

Jfet transistor (2N5457,

J201 or similar)

D1

1N5817 (or similar)

All resistors are 1/4w and capacitors are in uF unless marked otherwise.
Some resistor part numbers are not used.

NOTES
The potentiometers are shown connected to the pcb by short wires and this is an acceptable way to wire
them, but the pcb was designed so that special pots designed for direct mounting to circuit boards can be
used, as illustrated below. When the pots are mounted in the holes in the enclosure, the pcb is held
suspended above the board by the legs of the four pots.

These pictures are not the SSM2166 pcb but the mounting method for the pots is exactly the same.

BRIGHTER SOUND
The C13 capacitor is optional and is used to add a slight high frequency boost. The squashing of the signal
in a compressor often gives the listener the impression that some highs are being lost, and this capacitor
can restore the sparkle. A starting value of 0.01 to 0.022 uF is recommended if you chose to use this
feature.

WIRING DIAGRAM
Here is a diagram for basic stompbox wiring that shows how to add a footswitch and power jack.

POWER REQUIREMENTS
Since the SSM chip requires 5v DC for proper operation, a 78L05 has been used to provide a clean stable
voltage source for the circuit. The power input to the 78L05 can be any 9v or higher dc source, such as a
wall wart. Current requirements are quite low (less than 15ma) and a 9v battery can easily power the
project.
TROUBLESHOOTING

The first step to take when troubleshooting is to measure the DC voltages of the circuit to get a starting
point. Set the DC voltmeter on a convenient range (10v to 25v) and put the black probe (negative) on a
ground point in the pedal or on the pcb. Use the red probe (positive) to measure the voltages at the places
shown on the image to the left. The voltages do not have to be exactly the same, but should be close to
those listed.

A good ground connection is essential, and the GND pad on the pcb should be 0v since it is connected to a
common ground in the pedal, such as the ground lug on the input or output jack.
POWER SUPPLY HUM
When using a cheap AC wall adapter, hum from the power supply will sometimes creep into the circuit,
especially since it is high gain and will amplify any noise on the voltage rail. The value of C8 may be
increased to 100uF, or even larger, to help with this problem. This mod should never be required when
using battery power only.
REDUCING INPUT GAIN
Some guitars may not need the +2 gain that is provided by the internal opamp of the SSM2166. If your
guitar has high output pickups, or you plan to run a booster or other pedal in front of the compressor, the
gain can be reduced to unity (gain=1) by removing C4. You can also remove R6 as it will not be part of the
circuit when C4 is deleted but that is optional.
DECAY TIME MODS
While the attack response of the compressor is fixed by the internal circuitry, the value of C6 is controlling
the decay time of the VCA. You can increase the value to lengthen the decay, or make it smaller for faster
response. I would definitely change C6 to 10uF for use with bass guitars.
MUTING THE AUDIO
There is a small pad to the right of the R14 part number on the pcb. If you ground this pad, it will mute the
output of the compressor. Connect the pad to one side of an SPST switch and the middle pole of the switch
is wired to ground, When the switch is open, the compressor will pass audio but when the switch is toggled
on, the circuit will be muted.
The mute function could be controlled with a footswitch also. You can even use the blue 3PDT and ignore
the other switch poles that are not being used. The AMZ DPDT soft touch switch is also a good way to
activate the mute control. Connect switch contact 1 to the mute pad and pad 2 to ground. The
microprocessor will activate the relay that toggles the muting.
If the Mute function is not used, then R11 is not necessary to the circuit and can be omitted.