Mutron Flanger - Weak Effect

[Ted]

I have a Mutron Flanger here. The effect is present but seems very weak - the signal is noticeably lower with the effect switched in than when it's bypassed. Would this be a symptom of the SAD1024 bucket brigade delay chip starting to fail?
Any suggestions?

[Mick Bailey]

I've only ever had these chips where they've failed to produce any delay and give no output. The fact you're getting any effect suggests that your problem lies elsewhere. The first think I'd check is to make sure the DC voltages are all correct. I get plenty of older pedals where the electrolytics have high ESR. Sometimes they bulge, but this isn't always the case. A bad cap can give you serious signal loss, depending where it is.

Can you post a link to the schematic?

[Ted]

Schematic

Schematic enclosed.

Lots of small coupling electrolytics

[Mick Bailey]

If you have an in-circuit ESR meter you can quickly eliminate the caps. If not then tracing a test signal though would be my next step. I find an audio probe is often a quick way to locate where a signal is dropping with FX pedals. Just be sure to check the DC voltages are correct before any further troubleshooting.