Reducing Noise in the MXR Distortion+

[Steve Mavronis]

I found an interesting article on reducing noise in a 741-based pedal. Has anyone tried this technique in a real pedal?

Reducing Noise in the MXR Distortion+
http://www.arcticfoxaudio.com/blog/articles/7/reducing-noise-in-the-mxr-distortion

[CynicalMan]

Looks reasonable for the most part. I don't know why he has a 100F capacitor in the feedback loop, but that shouldn't change much. The resistor in series with the input should be unnecessary. I wouldn't reduce the input resistor to Vb, as that will reduce the input impedance and roll off a lot of treble if a pickup is used as the input. Other than that, the changes look fine.

[Mark Hammer]

I'm of the opinion that distortion circuits frequently do less than they could to limit bandwidth in productive ways.  One can frequently improve the noise in distortionpedals by simply rolling off more of the unused top end via the odd strategically-placed cap here and there.

The Dist+ is a perfect case in point.  Stock, there is not feedback cap.  Why is that?  I don't know.

[Steve Mavronis]

I'm of the opinion that distortion circuits frequently do less than they could to limit bandwidth in productive ways.  One can frequently improve the noise in distortionpedals by simply rolling off more of the unused top end via the odd strategically-placed cap here and there.

That's why I like this article. This is instructive and can apply to other noisey pedals too. I need to get myself a breadboard and experiment.