Danelectro Cool Cat mods

Danelectro Cool Cat mods

My last post dealt with taking the circuit board and parts we want to keep out of the Cool Cat Vibe enclosure.

This post will look at the few changes we want to make to improve the Cool Cats functionality.

First off, Ive removed the on-board pots. Why? I want to be flexible about the mounting of this board in a new enclosure so Im going to add wires to where the pots were located and solder them to some new pots. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the replacement pots were clearly labelled and pretty easy to find. So Ive sourced 3 new pots: two 50kB and a single 50kC.

Removing the on-board pots was a little tricky, mostly because I suspect the solder used on the board is a lead-free type. I dont have any solder wick or solder sucker so heres a tip from me on how to get this stuff to run so you can loosen the components.

Its simple really. Tin your soldering iron with a small blob of leaded solder (the good old fashioned stuff) and apply this to the solder on the board. The heat will begin to amalgamate the old and new solder, mixing in a little of the leaded stuff making it easier to deal with. Heat all the pads that hold the pot in place and wriggle it free. It takes some care and patience but you can do it!

In their place Ive soldered three wires per pot with enough length so I can locate the controls where I like in my enclosure. Heres the pic of progress so far:

Pots removed, offboard wiring in place

Next well look at replacing the bulb in the vactrol unit, and preparing the wiring for the indicator bulb. Then well address the issues surrounding the lag in the effect firing up and the unwelcome volume boost.


Danelectro Cool Cat mods