Which Stompboxes to Choose?

[Joyeuse]

Hello, all.

I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the schematics available to me, so I thought I'd ask this here.  Basically there are two different-sounding pedals I'm searching for.  For a more low-key overdrive, I've pretty much settled on the Blue Magic.  But I also am looking for another pedal that will provide a much more powerful distortion.  I mostly play rhythm stuff, so the screaming lead stuff isn't as important to me as having it sound full, really chunky and grungy.  Preferably something not TOO horribly complex to build, since I'm not extremely experienced at this sort of thing.  Any and all help is appreciated.

-Joyeuse

[axr]

ibanez sd9
brownsound in a box

[petemoore]

For the tube Screamer...Tube Screamer or Blue Magic? I think the magic is easier and sounds great, TS's tone knobs always give me fits withat weird taper, I deal with it, the knob barely works, setup to sound the way I like it though.
 I'm liking the SD-1 these days for Rythms.
 All these things sound a little different, The Jfets are just plain likable sounding for the most part to my ears, plus they make for fairly easy great builds.
 I would say get some nice OpAmps if you're going to tryt that....I like 5532's and 4558's, Tl072's are cool...probly easier to try some transistor builds to start off with.
 I recommend Booster, Fet boosters are easy and sound great. Mosfet Boost is great very clean BOOSt, Stratoblaster or Fetzer valves are nice.
 What kind of amp is probably less critical for these builds than some others like FF etc.
 What kind of amp will this be used on? Guitar type makes a difference also.
 So...Jfets builds and Opamp feedback clippers [TS types like SD-1 etc.] are easy to recommend for rythm sound with some original guitars' timbre in the tone, note definition etc.

[Joyeuse]

Guitar and amp are both somewhat subject to change, but right now I'm just playing through small cheap stuff...a Fender Frontman amp and a Danelectro '56 U2 Reissue guitar.

[jimbob]

Blue Magic-in my opinion sounds better than my ts-808. Give both a try.

[bwanasonic]

One approach to keep in mind is to have one OD pedal and then a *clean* boost to pound the input of the OD pedal. This can be more versatile than two "distortion" pedals with some setups. Don't neglect the role your guitar's volume knob can play in the spectrum from medium OD to more extreme full-on distortion. You may just need one pedal if you find the right one that works with your rig. For a long time I used a GT2 into a compressor. This allowed me to roll back the guitar volume knob for my clean sounds, and the compressor would keep the volume level consistent.

Kerry M

[RDV]

The Ibanez SD-9 is very cool(check my mods in Schematics 2), but if you haven't done OpAmp circuits, it could be daunting. The Blackfire by Joe Davisson will yield a lot of distortion & is a pretty easy build.

Distortions are like potato chips though, you can't have just one. You'll likely build them all! :wink:

Regards

RDV

[jimbob]

[/quote]Distortions are like potato chips though, you can't have just one. You'll likely build them all!  


Very true! thats me. Its funny cause i read someone saying something like that when i 1st started and thought whatever--and now i cant stop..Ha ha.. Serious. :lol:

[Joyeuse]

The idea of using just a boost interests me.  Usually the way I play I'd have a mild OD on almost all the time, just to make the sound more bluesy and dirty, and then sometimes I'd need to switch right into a heavier sound.  Pretty simple really, but if I can do that by stepping on just one switch that'd be great.