hulika

Author Topic: DIY boutique amps, pedals, mod kits, proto-type circuits, etc - Post them here!  (Read 1795602 times)

Offline Musikerochan

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I think its more on the gain stages that makes it distort more or less. Diodes clipper creates distinct character on the distorted sound, you can actually take out the clipping diodes and still you can hear it distorts right?

then that would be opamp/transistor distortion then. im not talking about the diodes per se, but the general assumption when distinction between od, dist and fuzz is discussed. although OD and fuzz are all forms of distortion (signal "distortion"), it's just that people most people classify OD and distortion pedals based on their clipping characteristics.

to the TS, skip the OD and dist. go all out fuzz hehehehe

Offline fvckn.deathwish

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thanx for the replies bro! nakatulong ! hehehe

kaso napakaKomplikado tignan ng diarams nila! hahahaha
maybe ang kaibahan is sa gagamiting diodes?
i'm a FVCK!NG GENIUS!

SomeDay! haha

Offline Musikerochan

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nope. it's how you arrange the components that matter, not just parts - particularly the diodes.

Offline fvckn.deathwish

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nope. it's how you arrange the components that matter, not just parts - particularly the diodes.

btw pare, kasi pagtumitingin ako sa diagram, anggulo kung saan ba dumadaqan yung signal.
saan ba yun dumadaan? sa positive diba? dun sa "J part" ng jack?
i'm a FVCK!NG GENIUS!

SomeDay! haha

Offline Musikerochan

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 dun sa tip ng jack kadalasan, usually labeled "input".


Offline pie-key

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then that would be opamp/transistor distortion then. im not talking about the diodes per se, but the general assumption when distinction between od, dist and fuzz is discussed. although OD and fuzz are all forms of distortion (signal "distortion"), it's just that people most people classify OD and distortion pedals based on their clipping characteristics.

to the TS, skip the OD and dist. go all out fuzz hehehehe

Fuzz pala hahahaha!, yan saturation na yan kaya ganyan ang tunog nila hahahaha.
References:
BossingBoss/Spudmusic/Xelly/Poundcake/Fonzy/Joel_marcelo/Micsis/Voidman/Free2rock/
'57 Strat/DIY OD/Strymon TL/Eventide MF/Hardwire SN/TCE Polytune Mini/Princeton Chorus

Offline ubersam

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....you can actually take out the clipping diodes and still you can hear it distorts right?
I saw a schem for a dist/od that was all opamp distortion, no clipping diodes. Three gain stages, filtering in between, 3 knob tone stack (ala Marshall) after the third gain stage, followed by a recovery stage after the tone stack. I can't remember now if it was for an existing effect or if was still theoretical. Anyway, I wan't to try that next after my current project.

Offline pie-key

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I saw a schem for a dist/od that was all opamp distortion, no clipping diodes. Three gain stages, filtering in between, 3 knob tone stack (ala Marshall) after the third gain stage, followed by a recovery stage after the tone stack. I can't remember now if it was for an existing effect or if was still theoretical. Anyway, I wan't to try that next after my current project.

Yes it is possible. You will get a big sounding uncompresed OD.
References:
BossingBoss/Spudmusic/Xelly/Poundcake/Fonzy/Joel_marcelo/Micsis/Voidman/Free2rock/
'57 Strat/DIY OD/Strymon TL/Eventide MF/Hardwire SN/TCE Polytune Mini/Princeton Chorus

Offline Musikerochan

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that can also result to compression. using clean boosters in series will also yield distortion.

Offline Musikerochan

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anybody used a photo-resistor as expression method for the PS-3?





gotta find an LDR with a lower dark resistance and near-zero ohm light resistance since the one im using has a 1Meg+ dark resistance in parallel to a 47K resistor lang eh. try ko parallel sa 10K sa weekend.

Offline r_chino18

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^^

Uy parang yung night light ko sa kwarto.. may photoresistor din para automatic iilaw yung LED pag madilim na tapos mamamatay pag maliwanag..  :-)

Offline Musikerochan

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^yep. kanina pagkagising i tried something na di ko pa nasubukan with the PS-3. usually i use an expression pedal (a voltage divider) for its mode 11. i found out that shorting the tip and the sleeve (leaving out the ring) yields almost the same result.

here, i used the zabfxtap to toy with the expression input.


take note of the slide switch on the side (normally-closed, normally-open). in NC operation, the tip is shunted to sleeve, depressing the stomp switch opens up the connection. the reverse happens in NO operation. what im wary though is if the PS-3 could handle this method (shunting the sleeve to the tip). i understand the PEEP connects the Ring and Tip soldered to an LDR with resistance to the Sleeve varied by light. i still wonder about the implication kung iwan ko na lang yung Ring and instead solder the LDR across the tip and Sleeve.

EDIT: read the PS-3 manual. it says pwede ang FS-5u which means pwede ang tap switch ko, and the LDR across the tip and sleeve configuration, leaving the ring terminal unconnected. in theory pwede rin ang expression pedal na variable resistance lang ang config, imbis na voltage divider like the EV-5.

hmmm, pwede kaya ang CV control dito?

MORE EDIT: guys, check this link, http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f36/behringer-fcv100-362747/ refer to reply #13.

sumasakit ulo ko sa internal operation nitong PS-3 since this morning.
« Last Edit: February 15, 2013, 04:12:23 PM by Musikerochan »

Offline Musikerochan

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follow-up:

1) tested last night the expression input of the PS-3. found out that shorting the Ring and Sleeve or Ring and Tip did nothing, but connecting the Tip and Sleeve produces the desired octave effect as per knob settings. sabi sa manual, you can use the FS-5u for the expression input; ibig sabihin a mono cable is is fine which basically shunts the Ring to the sleeve, and using only the tip as the trigger. so by using an FS-5u, you are basically connecting the 3 terminals together to create the pitch shift effect. gotta look at the schem later as i dont feel this is safe for the unit.

2) i decided to just use a stereo cable and hooked up a pot to vary the resistance between the Sleeve and Tip, leaving the Ring not connected. found out that a resistance of about 200-300K works well.

3) may Roland EV-5 ako i got from a trade which i modified dati to have a detachable stereo cable. however, the biggest bummer was that it used an ordinary (think normal) pot which had a 7:00 to 5:00 sweep while Roland uses a special pot for the EV-5 which a narrower sweep. kumbaga, a pot with a 9:00 to 3:00 lang na sweep ang naka-install for the EV-5 (and those similar FV-50 pedals). initially i installed a 100K pot wired as a voltage divider (bridged by a 10K fixed resistor to drop the resistance due to the narrow sweep of the pot), but felt parang may kulang, lalo na sa sweep ng rotation pag-apak sa treadle.

this is when i idea came to me: pwede akong gumamit ng 1Meg pot wired as a variable resistor since ang kailangan ko lang naman eh 200K-300K na sa tantya ko e papatak sa 7-12:00 na limited sweep ng pot. bam! swabe, mas maganda yung sweep ng treadle. i'll compare this sa totoong EV-5 in the future.



as for the optical expression plug, an LDR with a dark resistance of 1M+ is fine, but connect the leads to the sleeve and tip lang of the stereo plug. IIRC, devi - for her PEEPlug - wires the LDR with the Ring and Tip connected, and the other leg of the LDR dun sa sleeve connected. tried her method initially, pero bitin.

Offline johnravacio

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Hey guys,

Do you know where can we buy J201 except epektos? If none, are there substitute parts that still available locally?

Thanks!
good judgement comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgement...

Offline pie-key

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Hey guys,

Do you know where can we buy J201 except epektos? If none, are there substitute parts that still available locally?

Thanks!

Those bastards are hard to find locally. But there are subs like J202, 2N5859.... etc. You just need to research the circuit your building ot might need biasing voltage adjustments.
References:
BossingBoss/Spudmusic/Xelly/Poundcake/Fonzy/Joel_marcelo/Micsis/Voidman/Free2rock/
'57 Strat/DIY OD/Strymon TL/Eventide MF/Hardwire SN/TCE Polytune Mini/Princeton Chorus

Offline johnravacio

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Thanks Pie-key. Hanap nlng ako ng subs instead, I don't have problems with proper biasing since available naman sa datasheets.
good judgement comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgement...

Offline deliciouspapa

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Thanks Pie-key. Hanap nlng ako ng subs instead, I don't have problems with proper biasing since available naman sa datasheets.

2N5457.  meron sa e-gizmo last time i checked.

Offline ubersam

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See if you can find some Vishay/Siliconix J204. They are the closest I've found, in terms of specs, to a J201.


Offline johnravacio

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@ubersam and @deliciouspapa

Thanks for the info. From your experience, is using a substitute JFETs will alter the tone of the stompbox?
good judgement comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgement...

Offline Musikerochan

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depende sa topology, pero IME mas malakas output ng J201 kesa sa 5457

Offline johnravacio

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depende sa topology, pero IME mas malakas output ng J201 kesa sa 5457

Thanks sa advise pre .. Mukhang kailangan ko mas malakas na output. :)
good judgement comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgement...

Offline ubersam

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J201s have a low Vgs(off), IME, typically around 0.8-0.9v. This makes it susceptible to clipping the input signals from strong sources (i.e. hot humbuckers) if it is larger than the Vgs(off). It can add some grit even when used as a buffer. In a common-source amplifier circuit, you can have two stages of clipping, one at the input, and one when the device amplifies the signal and it hits the supply rails. It's not a bad thing, just might not be what you want if you are looking for something clean. If I'm going for something clean, I would use a 2N5457, 2N3819, or my fave so far, a J305. These all have higher Vgs(off) than a J201. Another thing I would do if I wanted something clean, I would double the supply voltage (with proper bias adjustment). This also increases the volume (loudness) of the circuit.

Offline johnravacio

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J201s have a low Vgs(off), IME, typically around 0.8-0.9v. This makes it susceptible to clipping the input signals from strong sources (i.e. hot humbuckers) if it is larger than the Vgs(off). It can add some grit even when used as a buffer. In a common-source amplifier circuit, you can have two stages of clipping, one at the input, and one when the device amplifies the signal and it hits the supply rails. It's not a bad thing, just might not be what you want if you are looking for something clean. If I'm going for something clean, I would use a 2N5457, 2N3819, or my fave so far, a J305. These all have higher Vgs(off) than a J201. Another thing I would do if I wanted something clean, I would double the supply voltage (with proper bias adjustment). This also increases the volume (loudness) of the circuit.

Thanks for the info. So for builds like High Gain distortions using Humbucker pick-up its best to use J305 instead?

good judgement comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgement...

Offline ubersam

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Thanks for the info. So for builds like High Gain distortions using Humbucker pick-up its best to use J305 instead?
Not necessarily, maybe in the first stage and/or as a recovery stage after a passive tone stack. But as MC (Musikerochan) already mentioned, it depends sa topology. I will just add that it also depends on what your ears tell you. For example: first time I built the BSIAB I used all J201s. It was a nice sounding distortion but got too saturated and was a little too hissy. So, I pulled the J201s from the 1st mu-amp stage and replaced them with 2N5457s (similarly high Vgs(off) as a J305). I kept the 2nd mu-amp and common-source stage J201s. The result, to my ears, still a nice sounding distortion, not overly saturated, and less noisy/hissy.

Offline xaeroblade

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Noob question here, been quite away from electronics for quite a while. OK lang gumamit ng mga components (resistors, capacitors, diodes, etc) from Alexan or Deeco, compared to those from epektos? Would it affect the tone of the pedal, planning on making some pedals myself :)
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