Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on August 5, 2016 at 4:55pm

I can't read schematics so I have no clue what i'm looking at. I had to read the comments on the website. if I'm reading this right it creates clipping by dumping both positive and negative energy to ground? Creating a distortion of the original signal. There are plenty of vids out there explaining what clipping and distortion is. They would do a way better job and I at explaining it. in a nutshell it's like cutting off the top and bottom of a sound wave.  I have some major questions,

Will a piezo disk put out enough energy to allow this to work?

If a piezo wont power this could this be recreated in an active circuit? Active only to power itself and not add energy to the original piezo signal? 

If this is possible any CBG could have a distorted sound without the hassle of feedback. Or that annoying ever present high frequency squall. At any volume. Because your not adding energy to the signal. Your modifying the original energy. 

Gatta go to my favorite place to find out about stuff. Youtube! 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fomhorach on August 5, 2016 at 10:04pm

I think it won't matter what output the source is because it's not clipping in the true sense, if I think about it, it seems that this is more like a signal bleeding/blocking to produce the same waveform as overdrive.

I'm not sure how this thing goes into the electrics but I believe something similar to a tone capacitor so it must be pot variable.

Anybody figure this out?

We could really use this mod. It looks ultra simple.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Regan on August 5, 2016 at 10:15pm

Its a diode clipper that you place between the signal and ground of your guitar's jack, you could use a switch to bypass. These are done with Schottky diodes when its a passive circuit like this. I have never built one, but I have also never heard good reviews of them, if anything it will be a really mild clip, like the edge of overdrive, and not sure if a piezo can drive it. Stewart Macdonald used to sell one of these cast into resin called the "black ice passive overdrive"

Regan

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Regan on August 6, 2016 at 4:52am

2 of them are grounds and can be connected together, and then on the ground on the jack,  one of them is the in, and the other the out.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fomhorach on August 6, 2016 at 5:07am

That makes sense.

If I get it working as a straight through then I could start to figure out 'adjustability and opions'.

No wait.. Something's wrong with that diagram.
One of the components becomes useless. Both ends of it are connected to ground.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Regan on August 6, 2016 at 5:11am

Thats what I would do. Your volume will drop some if it clips at all.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on August 7, 2016 at 6:42am

I bought a Black Ice from Stewmac a few years ago, they cost around 20 bucks. They work okay. You can replace the capacitor on your tone pot with one of these or do what I did and put the cap and the Black Ice on a 2-way switch or you can put a Black Ice in a pedal enclosure to make your own OD pedal.

Didn't see this DIY until after I got the Black Ice, so I don't know if it works just as good or not.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fomhorach on August 5, 2016 at 10:14pm

I've ordered these from fleebay to try it out.. I figure a few penny's is worth loosing and I can always use them for signal blockers on multiple pickup set ups if they are the wrong type.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Regan on August 5, 2016 at 10:18pm

Sorry Fomhorach, those won't do it. If you used a simple preamp first you could use these after to get clipping though.

Regan

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fomhorach on August 5, 2016 at 10:27pm

I'll try it anyway.. If anything happens then it's a bonus.

I need more research. These things exist. And I want to figure it out.

If I can get anything to change the guitar signal in any way that is switchable and doesn't need a battery and costs a couple of pence to build then that would just be fantastic.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fomhorach on August 5, 2016 at 10:45pm

Oh I see them now. They are all over fleebay as fuzz pedal mods as item 1N34A still just a few pence each :)

Now I just need to figure out a couple of rig mods.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Regan on August 6, 2016 at 7:05am

That's it, other than you forgot to connect one of the diodes to the ground :)

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• …
• 6
• Next ›
• Page