Which LED color looks better?

[jfrabat]

Hi, guys.  I am re-building my first pedal (my Screechy Cat Overdrive), and I am also building one for a friend of mine.  And yes, I did drop the pedal, so I have to retouch the paint now.

I am wondering which color LED to use; at this time, I am between green and white.  Which one do you think looks better?  Both are high intensity (sorry for the crappy pictures; the cel phone camera has a hard time adjusting for the LED brightness!):



(stomp switch is not green; it is chromed.  Not sure why it looks green here!)



(the bright spot blow and to the left of the LED is just a reflection; the actual color of the pedal is closer to this green)

So, which do I use?

[EBK]

I'd say white.  Green is a complicated color.  The human eye can distinguish between more different shades of green than any other color.  If the LED's shade of green is different from the box, it might not feel right....  Just a thought.

[rutabaga bob]

I'm going along with Eric - white.  Perhaps with a larger resistor to limit retinal abuse...   

[mth5044]

My issue with white is it's always so damn bright. Then when it becomes not bring enough to lobotomize, it's really dull. If I had to chose, I'd go green. BUT if we could do anything else, it would be cool with matching knobs/led. Purple or blue.

[digi2t]

I'd say white.  Green is a complicated color.  The human eye can distinguish between more different shades of green than any other color.  If the LED's shade of green is different from the box, it might not feel right....  Just a thought.

Seriously... Dude... If you're spending that much time analyzing a color, then you're probably not playing guitar anymore.

Personally, I like both. They tell me if it's on.... or off. Now get busy riffing already!

Yea on the bigger resistor.

[EBK]

Seriously... Dude... If you're spending that much time analyzing a color, then you're probably not playing guitar anymore.

I'm an engineer.  I've been trained to analyze everything.  It's a disease I paid good money for.   

[OT rant]Right now, I'm not playing guitar because I've been camped out at my old, cold house waiting for the gas company to turn the gas back on after a leak was fixed.  They eventually showed up, fifteen hours into my campout, then refused to turn the gas back on because I didn't have paperwork no one told me I would need in the first place.
[/OT rant]

[Jdansti]

Seriously... Dude... If you're spending that much time analyzing a color, then you're probably not playing guitar anymore.

I'm an engineer.  I've been trained to analyze everything.  It's a disease I paid good money for.   

[OT rant]Right now, I'm not playing guitar because I've been camped out at my old, cold house waiting for the gas company to turn the gas back on after a leak was fixed.  They eventually showed up, fifteen hours into my campout, then refused to turn the gas back on because I didn't have paperwork no one told me I would need in the first place.
[/OT rant]

I can guess what color you are!

[J0K3RX]

I hate high intensity ultra bright LED's in pedals! Try to play on a dark stage or dark pratice space with a pedal that has super bright LED... You can't see anything but a bright ass light blinding you.. and, when you finally look up from your pedal board you now have  blue, green or red dots burned into your retinas as you stumble off the edge of the stage and fall on some drunk chick and her sasquatch boyfriend takes offence to and thinks you are trying to give her a flying @$#&.. So he stomps yer silly blind @ss into a deep sleep.. When you finally come out of the coma you can't remember anything and have violent fits when you see bright lights and then lose control of your bodily functions... The nurses tell visitors to only bring you action figures, crayons, sippy cups and any small toys with No Lights! 

[amptramp]

Choose what you want for colour but add a photoresistive photocell in series with the LED.  When it is dark, the resistance is high and your retinas are safe.  When it is bright, the resistance goes down and you get a bit more brightness.  You may need series and parallel resistors to set the light output where you want it but this is simple DIY experimentation and you end up with something you can use anywhere.  Of course, that would need another hole in the enclosure...

As for colour, a contrasting colour may be more visible.  Red would look good.

[ElectricDruid]

Choose what you want for colour but add a photoresistive photocell in series with the LED.

Now there's an idea I've never heard before! Nice!

Personally, I liked the green better, and I second what lots of others have said - dimmer is much better.

Tom

[armdnrdy]

The nurses tell visitors to only bring you action figures, crayons, sippy cups and any small toys with No Lights! 

Which color sippy cups?   

[EBK]

The nurses tell visitors to only bring you action figures, crayons, sippy cups and any small toys with No Lights! 

Which color sippy cups?   

Black.

[digi2t]

Seriously... Dude... If you're spending that much time analyzing a color, then you're probably not playing guitar anymore.

I'm an engineer.  I've been trained to analyze everything.  It's a disease I paid good money for.   

Ahhhh, I see. Well, I'm a maintenance coordinator. I get paid to steer engineers in the right direction. 

[OT rant]Right now, I'm not playing guitar because I've been camped out at my old, cold house waiting for the gas company to turn the gas back on after a leak was fixed.  They eventually showed up, fifteen hours into my campout, then refused to turn the gas back on because I didn't have paperwork no one told me I would need in the first place.
[/OT rant]

Dang bro, that's harsh! Sorry to hear that. Yes, dealing with monopolies utilities can be very frustrating indeed. I hope it gets sorted out quickly. If it makes you feel better, it was -22 C here last night.

From an "engineering" stand point, maybe you should ditch the LED for an incandescent. At least you'll get some heat off of that. 

[jfrabat]

OK, I think I will go with green (and dim with resistors).  It is not really as bright as the picture shows; that's more a camera issue.  But I will keep the brightness reasonable enough to see it in daylight, but not get blinded at night.  Anothe option I am considering is sanding (400 grit or higher) the LED to make it opaque (dull) and have it bright but not blindingly bright...