Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelStrummer
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that I really like the stock DS-1, despite the critisism (constructive, I dare say...) I'll get.
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The stock DS-1 isn't that bad, and IMO most of the mainstream mods for the pedal go overboard, IMO. Most offer more gain, more of this, more of that, blah blah...
The problem with the LED's for clippers mod IMO is that while you get a huge volume boost, the op amp slams the rails so hard (at saturation) that the thing can sound terrible. JMO.
If we are talking shortcomings to the stock pedal, I categorize them as such:
- not enough midrange
- overly compressed tone and can be hard to get very high above unity gain
- too much nasty stuff in the upper frequencies
The midrange issue is fairly easily fixed. Simply increase C11 (stock value of .022uF), and decrease C12 (stock value of .1uF). Just go in small increments, increasing C11 first.
The compression/limiting can be reduced by giving D4 and D5 just a bit of a nudge. I personally like using the 2 outer pins of an ordinary NPN bipolar transistor (the collector and emmiter) in place of the 1N4148's. And I'll typically push the threshold just a little higher by using Schottky barrier diodes (BAT41, BAT42, etc.) in series with the "transistor diode."
The upper frequency nasties can be tamed by increasing R9 (stock value 22 ohms), but you'll have to increase R6 (stock value 100K) as well. They're both responsible for biasing Q2, which drives the op amp into oblivion (when modded, especially) at higher drive settings, IMO. The popular mod of late on the 'net is R9 upped to 1K and R6 to 150K, IIRC. But bipolar transistors are pretty flexible regarding biasing. Note that by rebiasing Q2 cooler that you'll lose gain as well as the top end splat. This can be counteracted by reducing the compression at D4 and D5 further than described above, but LED's may be going overboard.
I know that the above reads like a novel, but if you break it down, it's very minimal changes. Do them one at a time and stop when it sounds good.