Roland AD-50 Double Beat request

[FrodeK]

Hi!

I found this old thread over at another forum about modifying the Roland AD-50 Double Beat Fuzz-Wah pedal. I own one, and I wold like to perform some mods to it.


There are two changes I would like to make:

1. Change the order of the wah circuit and the fuzz circuit.

By default the fuzz is placed before the wah. That is quite cool for special occations, but in general I like it better the other way around.

I have tried to change the input (hot) chain from going "input->wah->fuzz->output" to "input->fuzz->wah->output" but it resulted in strange noise from the wah. I guess there is some more rewiring to be done. I have only swapped the signal cable, not the ground.

Does anybody have some information they can share on this?



2. Remove the dB-drop from the wah-circuit.

This part I think I have control over. I found this information on another forum:

"-Snip out / desolder the 33k resistor (Orange/Orange/Orange) and discard
-Solder a jumper across the 47k resistor (Yellow/Violet/Orange)
Alternatively, snip out / desolder that resistor too and move the yellow wire (Wah input, from the wah switch) to the pad on the other side of the resistor"


_____



I am new to modding, but I am learning quick. If someone has some information to share I'll be much obliged. I can post photos also, If you wish.

Regards from Norway!

[11-90-an]

Hi and welcome to the forum...

2. Remove the dB-drop from the wah-circuit.

This part I think I have control over. I found this information on another forum:

"-Snip out / desolder the 33k resistor (Orange/Orange/Orange) and discard
-Solder a jumper across the 47k resistor (Yellow/Violet/Orange)
Alternatively, snip out / desolder that resistor too and move the yellow wire (Wah input, from the wah switch) to the pad on the other side of the resistor"

Yes, this will work, but the should have been a reason why they placed those components... maybe this might cause unwanted distortion... not sure, just a hunch

Not sure about the first... maybe a buffer would solve the problem...

p.s. here's the schem:

[Mark Hammer]

Many fuzz-wah combos of the era hardwired the wah after the fuzz, because it produced the most robust and obvious filtering effects.

Wah-before-distortion works well when the distortion is what one might call "full-bandwidth" or relatively unselective.  The wah will emphasize clipping at different resonant frequencies, which can lend itself to a certain kind of expressiveness.  In the case of the AD 50, the three voicings of the fuzz ARE highly selective, filtering out this and that part of the spectrum, such that I'm not sure use of wah ahead of them will yield something desirable.

[FrodeK]

Thanks for the scheme 11-90-an!

I will test out the mod and share how it goes. Waiting for a new soldering pen atm, so nothing has been done since I posted here. I am still a rookie.. How do I add a buffer?

And Mark Hammer, I see what you are saying. But still, this fuzz sounds good with a crybaby after it, and I think it is worth the try. I will post the results here.

[skyled]

If you like the fuzz section maybe try building this highly modded version.

[FrodeK]

Thanks!

I just might do that!

[skyled]

If you do build your own, use SMD j201's with through hole adapters. Any through hole j201 you can still find is either fake or junk. Don't waste your time with them.

[FrodeK]

I have ditched the circuit-swap. But I did the mod to the wah-circuit and it works fine. Now the wah does not drop the signal and I have not experienced any unwanted distortion in the wah-circuit.

Before I start any builds I will insert a buffer to this pedal.

Thanks for all the useful info guys!