What are the cleanest diodes?

[BowerR64]

I have a marshall amp ive been tinkering with and it had 2 LEDs in the OD2 stage and 2 1448s in the OD1 stage.

I wanted a more classic sound so i clipped em out, the volume really increased so im wondering if there are any diodes i can stick back in it that will bring the volume back down a little but keep the gain clean?

The amp has a 12AX7 tube in the preamp and then the clippers are before the tube to sort of add a little more gain sort of like putting a tube screamer infront of a classic tube amp (im guessing)

It sounds great with the diodes out of the circuit its just now i can barley crack it open and its really loud.

[aron]

Too bad the Wiki is down right now. Put the diodes back but instead of one, put 2 or 3 in series.

[Electron Tornado]

Not sure which amp you've got. You can probably change other components in either one or both stages to reduce the gain so it's a bit more manageable.

[Electron Tornado]

Too bad the Wiki is down right now. Put the diodes back but instead of one, put 2 or 3 in series.

I guess it depends on how "clean" he wants it to be.

[petemoore]

  Measure threshold voltage of the back to back clipping diodes as they were in there, or just ballpark it...
  Twist up some diodes !
  The foreward threshold voltage is shown on data sheets, but with a few types of diodes in series, "polarized in-line: "> >"  using different materials [SI, LED, GE] pretty much any ballpark voltage can be added up to.

[aron]

Again, please be careful when working with tube amps.

[petemoore]

  OUtside the HV box is a fine place to experiment and diddle with diodes.
 The voltage at which the diodes begin conducting is as important as the voltage they see.
 To get an idea of the ballpark Marshall intended to drop the diode voltage into, measure the BTB diodes, one side at a time, the same way they came out.
 Because we don't know what peak voltages are being input to the diode [amps have DC voltages other than 9vdc], going just above what the stock diodes added up to might fall into the range where they're still conducting, just not as much as stock.
 A good platform for messing with and diddling around with diodes for a while is recommended if the final result is to follow through with the intention.
 Another good source to get some sound impressions of various clipping configurations is soundclips of pedals, the Distortion+ is a great platform to switch and or socket diodes into, re-solders / experiments are best pressed to the minimum, especially in amps.
 It is interesting [IIUC] the design would have signal clipping wired globally, reducing amplifier power.
  Most diodes can't conduct at guitar output voltages,

[digi2t]

The ones that wash behind their ears. 

I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. Carry on.

[anchovie]

I have a marshall amp ive been tinkering with and it had 2 LEDs in the OD2 stage and 2 1448s in the OD1 stage.

I wanted a more classic sound so i clipped em out, the volume really increased so im wondering if there are any diodes i can stick back in it that will bring the volume back down a little but keep the gain clean?

The amp has a 12AX7 tube in the preamp and then the clippers are before the tube to sort of add a little more gain sort of like putting a tube screamer infront of a classic tube amp (im guessing)

It sounds great with the diodes out of the circuit its just now i can barley crack it open and its really loud.

No, there are no diodes that will give you the sound you have now at the volume you had before. The diodes reduced the signal level by chopping off the top and bottom of the waveform, hence distortion. To get them same lower signal level but keep the sound clean, you'll have to attenuate. Without knowing the model of the amp (what you've described suggests Valvestate, but which era I can't guess) or seeing a schematic it's hard to say what to do. You could try putting a resistor in series with the hot pin of that channel's volume pot, but if you can find a schematic I'm sure there'll be a neater way to do it.