Hello,

I just finished a distortion circuit.  It is based on a web article called "Cook Your Own Distortion."

My first attempt had two sets of diodes and a switch to change between soft and hard clipping.  I ended up with too many wires and never got it to work.  So I started over and took some of the parts out of the schematic.  I voted for soft clipping only.  The circuit was easier to assemble and it works.  

I built a small box to put it in and away we went.  I learned a lot.

The little board has a power supply that provides both 9V and 4.5V to the circuit.  The op amp is a NE5532 that I had laying around.  The circuit has volume and OD controls and an on/off switch.  

I plugged it into a two watt CB Gitty amp board and it lit that thing up.  It got a lot louder and created some serious overdrive.  The speaker came from an old boom box.

No more clean sounds for me.  Here are some pics of my messy little circuit and the guitar.

I just put this on the comment wall by mistake.  Sorry about my blogging confusion. -- Paul