Recomendations for Distortion Build

Johnny G · February 03, 2005, 11:59:46 AM

Im looking to build a new distortion box since everything ive used so far has been great but not quite what im looking for.

i currentlly want a good distortion/overdrive sound with a fair bit of gain but with a real together and tight sound if that makes any sense. atm my trusty Boss DS-1 is just sounding a bit flabby and loose.

ideally if people could recomend a good build that may fill the void then thatd be great. hope thats not all to vague lol

cheers

JG

smashinator · February 03, 2005, 12:08:02 PM

Check out the sound samples of the big daddy at www.runoffgroove.com.

Johnny G · February 03, 2005, 12:28:10 PM

now that does sound promising. i shall definatelly have to give that a whirl as soon as i get my grubby little paws on some 386s

lethargytartare · February 03, 2005, 12:46:36 PM

I built the BSIAB and my guitarist loved it -- but for the oscillation problem that it gets at higher settings. I'm currently building the BSIAB II specifically for him for that reason. He stacks it up against his Keely modded Blues Driver and Boss DS-1. To his ears he doesn't think it's got a marshall style distortion, as it's described, but in any event he loves it. And he's not a fan of the tube-screamer sound (which our other guitarist relies on), so that may be a good point of contrast.

And in another thread I saw someone say that it (BSIAB 2) was generating some buzz on some other lists, so it's definitely got some fans!

cheers!

ltt

petemoore · February 03, 2005, 01:37:31 PM

OT
Speaking of the BSIAB, I can't find the schematic, need to alter voicing and can't figure out which socket is which now...
Anyone know where to look ?...I thought I got it from GGG, but see only the BSIAB II there.

NaBo · February 03, 2005, 01:47:42 PM

have you tried the DOD250? if you haven't, or even if you have, might i suggest the YJM308? it's not quite as similar as you'd think! it's incredible in front of an overdriven amp! HIGH gain, huge sustain, crisp attacks, not at all flabby... depending on your setup and style it might be just what you're looking for

dosmun · February 03, 2005, 02:22:00 PM

Another vote for the BSIAB II

Fret Wire · February 03, 2005, 02:26:12 PM

http://www.runoffgroove.com/3leggeddog.html

http://www.diystompboxes.com/analogalchemy/pedals/obsidian.html

ragtime8922 · February 03, 2005, 04:41:07 PM

Anything and everything by Joe Davisson

http://www.diystompboxes.com/analogalchemy/

phillip · February 03, 2005, 05:08:48 PM

Liquid Drive!

http://fuzzcentral.tripod.com/liquid.html

Phillip

brett · February 03, 2005, 06:59:22 PM

Hi. For a tight, tough sound (which I don't particularly like, but I've built a few), try the MXR Distortion + (see tonepad.com). The Buzztone at my site is another option (it's a Bosstone with significant mods).

have fun

scottosan · February 03, 2005, 07:05:01 PM

BSIAB II

Johnny G · February 03, 2005, 08:07:06 PM

thanks for all the replies guys. atm it seems that its the BSIABII coming out ontop tho there seem to be significant calls on the Liquid Drive/Distortion + type affairs.

if i can scrounge the bits together ill give them a go. also i think i may give some of the Joe Davidson stuff a try. i can probablly sort out the time to make a few different circuits and test them out

Hal · February 03, 2005, 09:11:39 PM

multiface with mosfet and darlington

WorkBench · February 03, 2005, 10:35:26 PM

Ya' know, I don't know what you want exactly, but the Dist.+ is an easy, basic build, and you can really go wild with the clipping diode configurement to get all kinds of distortion types. I use it with 2 silicon diodes with the distortion turned all the way down and the level all the way up. It is on all the time in my rig acting as a boost of sorts I guess, but it punches my guitar tone through my amp, other pedals, and my 5 piece band rather nicely!
Chris

rubberlips · February 03, 2005, 11:16:20 PM

I built a screamer+ which has all the overdrive of a ts9 (or 808 whatever your flavour is), but you've also got the boost to knock it to 11!
http://www.geocities.com/greene_pedals/scrmr.html
I also added some different sets of diodes for clipping which goes from TS9 to fuzzed out
It takes a while to build but I think worth it.

Cheers

Pete

petemoore · February 04, 2005, 12:35:23 AM

For an SS amp, I'd think something with less drive, and more internal distortion [hard or soft] and good impedance specs would be applicable.
I should have phrased this one as a question, because I've done little testing with SS amp 'n DIY Boxes, but the FF's I'd tuned through tubes didn't fare well through a Frontman 15, in fact nothing I tried through it couldn't really compete with the amps internal distortion, that amps distortion is pretty fierce.
I've never really tried to tune a box through an SS amp, so I don't know what would work good.
I do know that the Distortion Sound I get from one amp to the other can vary alot.

lethargytartare · February 04, 2005, 11:26:26 AM

Check out this thread:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/sboxforum/viewtopic.php?t=29497&sid=6277fdf8dfa8f3aa02173914e9ceddea
(subject: pic and clips of my pedal)

sound clips of a BSIAB II in action...

Banjotaz · February 04, 2005, 11:36:23 AM

For les flab in any overdrive pedal I just change the input CAP to a smaller value. It always tightens it right up- especially with humbuckers. The Maxon DS-830 sounds much tighter now that I've done this. But I've done it to many- DOD 250, Distortion +, Ibanez DS7....... If you don't mind drilling a hole in your pedal you can add a switch to toggle between the new input CAP and the old. And try ceramics too for different tones. ROCK ON

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Recomendations for Distortion Build