led's for extra dist question/clarification

[jimbob]

In the diy mods/tips pages it says:

Increasing gain using diodes
"If you have a circuit like the Jordan Bosstone or MXR Distortion+ or DOD overdrive 250 and others that have a diode pair creating the distortion at the end of a circuit, you can increase the output level of the circuit with the expense of a little distortion by putting two diodes where there were one. So instead of 2 diodes, you now have four."

does this mean solder one end of the diode to the other ? I was trying to understand the pic where there are 4--assuming 2 on 1 side 2 on the other..1 set going  one direction and the other set going the other---i assume it doesnt mean connect cathode to cathode---rather cathose to anode any clarification? or will it make a difference?

[Yun]

Yeah, man.  

Solder one end of the diodes to the other.  To really Kick up the distortion, Put 3 diodes on one side, and and leave one on the other, man.

Note:  Make sure the Diodes are in series, meaning that Make sure that all diodes are pointed the same way.  Like say, the 1N914 diode, is red with a black colour band on the end, Make sure the Band is pointed the same way as the originals were.

Other ways of Boosting the circuit is

1) try HIGHER value pots
2) in SOME circuits, like the Big-Muff, get rid of the Diode Stage All together, and it creats MASSIVE fuzz with LOTS of level (volume) .

Hope i helped, man

-Yun-Jinn Pequesso'

[Yun]

PS:

try different Diodes for Different "shades" of distortion ("clipping")

Like say: Germanium diodes Put out less clipping than Silicoln ones.  LED's are for "buzz and crunch".  my diode of choise is the 1N914.  Preform assymmetrical clipping with Nothing but 1N914 diodes= "Fuzz wall" .

[Peter Snowberg]

The whole idea with adding LEDs is that they have a higher forward voltage than regular diodes. When the signal goes beyond that forward voltage, the LED starts to conduct and the signal gets clipped.

You can use any number and variety of types of diodes to make the forward voltage you want, but they all have to be pointed in the same direction.

Because we (usually) want to clip both halves of the wave, there are (usually) two diodes with one pointed in either direction. More often than not these two diodes (or diode strings) are of equal forward voltage, but you will get more even harmonics if they are different because the sgnal is clipped asymmetrically.

You are correct about the cathode to anode relationship of the diode strings. If they were cathode to cathode, no power would flow and there would be no clipping at all.

I hope that helps.

Take care,
-Peter