Build Report: Sonic Distortion

[RDV]

An Easter build on a very full easter stomach, on a piece of RS pad per hole(the one with the two strips down the middle which I found handy to put the 9v & 4.5v rails). After about an hour of dumb mistake de-bugging, it sounds pretty good through the double Ruby(each driving a 10" eminence). I didn't have a 2N3904 for the input buffer thingy so I socketed it and used a 2N5088. Is this too high gain for this? I could scavenge a 2N4401 if I have to. I just don't know how critical the tranny selection there is. I know a bunch of you have built this one and I'd like to know what you used.

Regards

RDV

[Doug H]

If it's a buffer it won't make a dramatic difference wrt the gain. Good to hear you like this one. It is on my list, I've heard many good things about it.

Doug

[RDV]

Does anyone know why the 22uF/470 ohm combo in the FB loop would be going to the bias v instead of ground? It seemed a bit funny, so I wired it to ground instead & seems to work fine, I'm guessing that it doesn't make any difference.

I like the sound, but it would be hard for a diode to ground clipper to sound better than my DOD 250/Dist+ clone with Ge diodes. It's just so present and clear.

I may like it better through the big amp, as I've only tried it through the dual Ruby. What makes it a little wooly through the Ruby may make rock on the Marshall. I learned a long time ago not to judge pedals by the way they sound through a JRC386, it's just not the real world. All my feedback loop clippers sound like dirt through the mini-amps, but rock the Marshall. The diode clippers tend to be the opposite, but the SD-9 seems to be a diode to ground clipper with some of the tonal characteristics of a feedback loop clipper also, if that makes any sense. I'm more player than tech! :wink:  

Regards

RDV

[RDV]

If it's a buffer it won't make a dramatic difference with the gain. Good to hear you like this one. It is on my list, I've heard many good things about it.

I like it, but the bass is a little wooly. The treble notes sound really good though, I don't think metal players would care for, which means you'll probably dig it.

Regards

RDV

[petemoore]

Gets a good grind.
 I just tried it out, my buddy was not getting anything out of it cause the battery wire broke... lol No biggie, a quick solder job.
 I still have the NTE858, and at least one GE diode in it, the other diode is red glass, looks like a 1n914 sorta but fatter.. sounds pretty good and has a cool mush on the chords.
 A good solid basic distorter.

[aron]

I liked it a lot. I'm not sure where it went. It was one of my first builds.

[RDV]

I wanted to add a little something else. This pedal has a very different sound. I can only compare it to like a Eric Johnson sort of lead tone(especially with some analog delay). Double stops and melody lines just flow with this pedal. Why it hasn't really become the next big thing in DIY, I couldn't tell you.

RDV

[TheBigMan]

It was my first "proper" build too.  Don't use it much, I keep it for noodling at home when I'm not at University.  Very, for want of a better word, grungey distortion.  Dark and opaque Alice in Chains sounds are what mine sounds best for.

[RDV]

This is not a pedal for power chords. Fragments of chords and lead lines sound great on it though.

RDV