DS-1 Keeley mod

[Hupla]

Ok so I did the keeley mod for the DS-1 recently and im having some problems with it. The Pedal works fine no problems there, theres just a problem with the sound when playing chords. The lead tones are grand but when I play power chords it sounds really muddy and bassy and just crap really.

Is this a common problem? Any ideas?

The only things I did differently was I used .15uf instead of .1uf in the respective caps, and I didnt put the .47pf cap across the diodes.

[served]

I dont know your problem.
But when I did the mod, I got superb results. The sound was much better. And I didn't noticed any problems with it. I think you have something wrong. Do the full mod and then try to over mod it if you dont like it. Its worth trying.

[BAARON]

Ok so I did the keeley mod for the DS-1 recently and im having some problems with it. The Pedal works fine no problems there, theres just a problem with the sound when playing chords. The lead tones are grand but when I play power chords it sounds really muddy and bassy and just crap really.

Is this a common problem? Any ideas?

The only things I did differently was I used .15uf instead of .1uf in the respective caps, and I didnt put the .47pf cap across the diodes.

If you used a 0.15µF instead of a 0.1µF in the tone control section (C12), it would mess around with the EQ of the pedal a little bit.  The other 0.15µF caps in the Keeley mod won't have any noticeable effect as compared to being 0.1µF, because they're already all for cutoff frequencies far lower than the guitar can play.

The 47 pf cap across the diodes is pretty much pointless, because C10 is already connected across the clipping diodes and it's 10,000pF... Adding another 47pF is completely pointless.  It won't be the reason for your bassy sound.

What amp are you using your DS1 through?  I've found that the Keeley DS1 sounds amazing through some amps (Peavey Classic 30, Vox AC30, most tube Marshalls) and miserable through others (most of the Mesa Boogies and Fenders I've tried have been a bad match for it).

Btw, if you read through the Harmony Central reviews of his mod, there are certainly some people who agree that the pedal is too bassy and mushy for rhythm work once it's modded.

[Hupla]

Ok so I did the keeley mod for the DS-1 recently and im having some problems with it. The Pedal works fine no problems there, theres just a problem with the sound when playing chords. The lead tones are grand but when I play power chords it sounds really muddy and bassy and just crap really.

Is this a common problem? Any ideas?

The only things I did differently was I used .15uf instead of .1uf in the respective caps, and I didnt put the .47pf cap across the diodes.

If you used a 0.15µF instead of a 0.1µF in the tone control section (C12), it would mess around with the EQ of the pedal a little bit.  The other 0.15µF caps in the Keeley mod won't have any noticeable effect as compared to being 0.1µF, because they're already all for cutoff frequencies far lower than the guitar can play.

The 47 pf cap across the diodes is pretty much pointless, because C10 is already connected across the clipping diodes and it's 10,000pF... Adding another 47pF is completely pointless.  It won't be the reason for your bassy sound.

What amp are you using your DS1 through?  I've found that the Keeley DS1 sounds amazing through some amps (Peavey Classic 30, Vox AC30, most tube Marshalls) and miserable through others (most of the Mesa Boogies and Fenders I've tried have been a bad match for it).

Btw, if you read through the Harmony Central reviews of his mod, there are certainly some people who agree that the pedal is too bassy and mushy for rhythm work once it's modded.

Didnt use it in the tone section as u were advising me along the way in another thread ha

I haven't used it through a valve amp as of yet but I cant imagine there would be too much difference.

If it is just something that occurs after the mod it is very annoying. Its great for lead tones but the for rhythm work it really isn't good, and I need it for rhythm work aswell.

Any ideas on how to change it? without modding it back ha

[BAARON]

You might be surprised at how different a pedal can sound through different amps.

If you like the way it sounds for lead now, but you change it to make it more suitable for rhythm, there's a good chance it's not going to sound the same way for lead playing.

Do you think there's too much bass in the output signal when you're chording, but the clipping itself is okay?
- If so, where is your tone knob set?  When you turn the tone knob higher on a DS-1 it will cut out some of the lows and tighten up the output.  It may be possible to tweak the tone knob a bit to change the response.

Or is there too much bass in the clipping too, leading to ugly distortion in the lows with your full chords?
If so, you might have some luck in just tightening up the low end before/during the clipping stage.
- Try a 0.47µF cap in place of C8 and see if that helps (but don't throw out the cap that's in there now, in case you want to change it back).
- Or, try 0.01µF for C5.  Either one will tighten up the low end considerably, but I'd try the other one before this.

[Hupla]

Im almost certain its the second one you mentioned. Ill give it a go when I can and see if it helps. I really hope it does.

[Hupla]

You might be surprised at how different a pedal can sound through different amps.

If you like the way it sounds for lead now, but you change it to make it more suitable for rhythm, there's a good chance it's not going to sound the same way for lead playing.

Do you think there's too much bass in the output signal when you're chording, but the clipping itself is okay?
- If so, where is your tone knob set?  When you turn the tone knob higher on a DS-1 it will cut out some of the lows and tighten up the output.  It may be possible to tweak the tone knob a bit to change the response.

Or is there too much bass in the clipping too, leading to ugly distortion in the lows with your full chords?
If so, you might have some luck in just tightening up the low end before/during the clipping stage.
- Try a 0.47µF cap in place of C8 and see if that helps (but don't throw out the cap that's in there now, in case you want to change it back).
- Or, try 0.01µF for C5.  Either one will tighten up the low end considerably, but I'd try the other one before this.

Right so i tried replacing C8 with its original cap cause thats the only one i had of that value which is electrolytic and it has made a difference but still not where I want it.

Through this pedal I really cant use my neck humbucker cause it is just far to muddy. It all sounds great until you get to the D A and E strings.

I thik ill leave as is for now. Should I try changing C5?