Boss OD-3 Mods

[leonard d rock]

probably what the OP was hearing was the high mids that the od3 was pushing as pointed out by .11Gauge in an old post as compared to the mids the bd2 had.

.11 Gauge: which would be a better mod: changing the D10,D11 to 1n400x or D6,D7 to 1n4148? i understand each set are the 2 gain stages of the od3. thanks for your patience and sharing your knowledge.

 

[souped-up]

I can tell you exactly why. No two nervous systems are the same.
And we're not all using identical equipment. So those two things mean
that we're all hearing something similar, but yet, different.

Or as Einstein was overheard to once have said: "It's all relative, baby."

It's subjective, dig?

That's a good observation.I dig

 

[Grateful Ape]

Another one of those pedals I dislike at home volumes, but live or on a recording it proves its worth to me.

You can hear it with a strat and YCV40 Traynor amp on this badly-recorded jam, especially after the 6 min mark.

 

[cousinpaul]

TTBOMK, the OD-3 doesn't have the "simulated Fender tonestack" like the BD-2. If it's too bright for you, why not try increasing the .033uf tone cap for a stronger tone control? I wouldn't mess with the clipping diodes. There's a lot going on in the OD-3. It would probably affect the other stages, possibly in a bad way.

BTW, I used .068uf caps to trim the bass. Worked pretty well.

 

[souped-up]

TTBOMK, the OD-3 doesn't have the "simulated Fender tonestack" like the BD-2. If it's too bright for you, why not try increasing the .033uf tone cap for a stronger tone control? I wouldn't mess with the clipping diodes. There's a lot going on in the OD-3. It would probably affect the other stages, possibly in a bad way.

BTW, I used .068uf caps to trim the bass. Worked pretty well.

Cool!I don't have the schematic in front of me.Do you know what's the cap number the .033uf cap is?Thanks!

 

[cousinpaul]

Cool!I don't have the schematic in front of me.Do you know what's the cap number the .033uf cap is?Thanks!

It's C13 and should be mounted on the small board that the pots mount to, like on the BD-2. Somewhere between .047uf and .1uf ought to work. The idea is to get it sounding right with the tone control set at noon. That should give you the most range up or down.

 

[souped-up]

It's C13 and should be mounted on the small board that the pots mount to, like on the BD-2. Somewhere between .047uf and .1uf ought to work. The idea is to get it sounding right with the tone control set at noon. That should give you the most range up or down.

Thank Cousin Paul!I was in Nasville a couple of months ago.Some good picker's down there.

 

[cousinpaul]

Thank Cousin Paul!I was in Nasville a couple of months ago.Some good picker's down there.

Some good ones out your way, too. Good luck with the OD-3.

 

[leonard d rock]

It's C13 and should be mounted on the small board that the pots mount to, like on the BD-2. Somewhere between .047uf and .1uf ought to work. The idea is to get it sounding right with the tone control set at noon. That should give you the most range up or down.

just to clarify cousinpaul, on the od3, its c17 on the small board with 223. c13 333 on the main board. which is it? thanks

 

[cousinpaul]

My bad. Looking at the schematic, I'd still go with C13. Compare the OD-3 schematic to C100 and C101 on the BD-2. The values are a little different but the tone control circuit is essentially the same. Raising C100 is part of every BD-2 mod I've ever seen. Raising C13ought to work on the OD-3.

 

[leonard d rock]

my od3 mods which make it sound great to my ears and thru my gear:
C12, C15 to .01 uf to lower bass
D6>1n4148
D10>1n4001
C13>>.47uf
the sound is better than the stock pedal through my solid state amp. i think the stock sound would be great for a tube amp. i can use the od3 now as a stand alone od from clean boost to distortion, or stack it as a booster or main drive with the OCD, SD1,BD2 or even my old OD1 and TS-5.
i can also play it at home low volume or on stage with high volume. my favorite at home pedals before was the SD1 and TS-5. with 6 useable pedals, my problem now is what to bring/ use since i have only board space for 2 drives.
i also modded my bd2 further. c100 to 47uf for better tone control.

 

[souped-up]

my od3 mods which make it sound great to my ears and thru my gear:
C12, C15 to .01 uf to lower bass
D6>1n4148
D10>1n4001
C13>>.47uf
the sound is better than the stock pedal through my solid state amp. i think the stock sound would be great for a tube amp. i can use the od3 now as a stand alone od from clean boost to distortion, or stack it as a booster or main drive with the OCD, SD1,BD2 or even my old OD1 and TS-5.
i can also play it at home low volume or on stage with high volume. my favorite at home pedals before was the SD1 and TS-5. with 6 useable pedals, my problem now is what to bring/ use since i have only board space for 2 drives.
i also modded my bd2 further. c100 to 47uf for better tone control.

Cool sounding mod!I was wondering what the C13 change to .47 did?

 

[leonard d rock]

thanks. i think it affects the tone control for the better. there's still some treble emphasis on it which affects certain guitars on certain specific pickups and positions: bridge pickup on tele (single coils and SCs) but not on strats and les pauls. but probably not noticeable live, only on home playing.

 

[souped-up]

thanks. i think it affects the tone control for the better. there's still some treble emphasis on it which affects certain guitars on certain specific pickups and positions: bridge pickup on tele (single coils and SCs) but not on strats and les pauls. but probably not noticeable live, only on home playing.

Cool!I'll have to try out your mod!

 

[cousinpaul]

thanks. i think it affects the tone control for the better. there's still some treble emphasis on it which affects certain guitars on certain specific pickups and positions: bridge pickup on tele (single coils and SCs) but not on strats and les pauls. but probably not noticeable live, only on home playing.

You could always go higher with C13 if .047uf isn't enough of a change. For example, Keeley uses .033uf on his BD-2 but adds a .068uf cap in parallel when the Phat switch is engaged for a whopping total of .1uf. Wampler also likes the .1uf tone cap on his BD-2 mods and goes even larger (1uf!) on a couple of his OD-3 mods. Don't be timid. Keep experimenting until you find the value that works best for you.

 

[leonard d rock]

thanks cousin paul. thats what i'm planning to do on my next free time!

 

[leonard d rock]

hey souped up. try putting a small .47 ceramic cap across d10 and d11, in the underside or solder-side of the pedal. it smooths out the pedal some more, removing that artifact that you're hearing. its like a smoothing cap put across the clipping diodes in ds1 mods

 

[czech-one-2]

hey souped up. try putting a small .47 ceramic cap across d10 and d11, in the underside or solder-side of the pedal. it smooths out the pedal some more, removing that artifact that you're hearing. its like a smoothing cap put across the clipping diodes in ds1 mods

You mean .0047

 

[985plowboy]

I wouldn't futz with it. If you don't like it, try a different model.
Go cable straight into amp for a while.
It's spring. Get outdoors.
The G.A.S. will fade.

 

[AngelStrummer]

I wouldn't futz with it. If you don't like it, try a different model.
Go cable straight into amp for a while.
It's spring. Get outdoors.
The G.A.S. will fade.