New Distortion box project

[fikri]

Hi !

Im working on my new project design. It is a distortion box with a single tube in the final. For the front end, i use the circuit from "Smash Drive" and mod it a little bit by adding a clipping diodes in the back. while the tube circuit is taken from a common High voltage tube preamp and i ran the plate voltage arround 140V. I split the dual triode to make it available as a dual channel preamp. It give a VERY NICE result ! the mid tone from the gain structure is so fat, even when im not applying the tone control yet !. And it is definitely the quietest pedal with such that high gain !. But the problem is, i get a "gating" effect. It is like having a built in noise gate, but it is very annoying, especially when i play with a small amount of gain, the notes are drowning !. How to eliminate this ? i see the Insanity box schematic with a bias pot placed before the CMOS section. do you think i can use the same method ?

[aron]

One of your stages is not biased correctly. It's either the LM386 or the Tube. I'm guessing it might be the tube... You do have a blocking capacitor between the two right?

[fikri]

Thanks for the reply aron !

But after i checked each stages, the problem is on the LM 386 circuit. it should work well without the tone control right ? i need your help to overcome this "gating" effect. Is it because of the poor quality of IC ? And actually, after i review the "Distortion plus " circuit, i think i would consider it as my front end. And it is practically just what i need : one drive pot and a volume. I dont know it but what do you think ? which one have better sounding ? the "Smash drive" or the "Distortion Plus" ?

Thanks

[petemoore]

The Dist+ is cool sounding, Page used it before/after all.
 I like starting with a 'better' IC than the 'ol 741...and use the Liquid Drive for Diode to ground [dist+ type] clipper.
 I think the Smash Drive is much higher output than the DIST+...there Are ways to increase output, if that's what needed [or wanted].
 They are different circuits, the DIST+ and Smash Drive...that's an opinion type thing, which I refrain from using 'better' when comparing.
 If I had to choose one for my rig and tastes, I'd prefer the DIST+.
 Either of these circuit boards are relatively inexpensive and not too difficult to try out...

[fikri]

Thanks Pete

You're right, the smash drive give a very loud output which is difficult for me to controll over my Deluxe Reverb amp  :? . And what are your suggestion for the starting ic ? and what about the gain ammount ? is it higher than the "Smash Drive" ?

Thanks !

[syzygy]

Are there any sound clips of the Smash Drive?

[petemoore]

I suppose I'm talking about the Liquid Drive, I've been using Zakk alot lately, mostly driven with a Minibooster.
 I like heavy distortion And Note definition [if possible]. The ability to play chords...
 "Gain...on the Liquid Drive...it's probably less output than the Smash Drive, certainly a different sound. In my case the LD has plenty of output.
  Ya know...I forget what chip ended up staying in the LD, but I'm sure it was a 4558/4559/maybe a NE5532...anyway the schematic shows a chip type. I used a larger input cap value...hmmm...yupp pretty much like schem other than that.

[fikri]

Now i have already using Liquid drive as my front end.
I need all the advice from you guys who have experienced in combining/cascading gain stages. As i mentioned before, i am trying to build a distortionbox with a single tube circuit in the final to smooth it out.
I have a noise problem in the liquid drive circuit, that give me a noticeable noise when i open the guitar volume. even when im using a 9V battery. And it even getting worst after i combine it to the tube circuit.
Does the liquid drive is so noisy ?