looking for a distortion pedal with midrange bite

[jaguarcat311]

hey, im looking for a schematic for a good pedal that has lots of midrange bite, kind of bright sounding, not a lot of bass, and not too high gain. i want sort of crunchy distortion, kind of like cranking a clean channel on a tube amp, not like zakk wylde crunchy. the pedals i build with germainium diodes and transistors seem to be too fuzzy and deep and kind of chunky, not enough midrange for me. does anyone have any suggestions of pedals? thanks for any help

[markr04]

I think the BSIAB II is very mid-rangey.  I really like that pedal for the tone (I think) you're describing. It emulates Van Halen's "brown sound".

Here's a sample I searched and found:
http://www.martinlister.com/music/TubeBsiab%20II01.mp3

Here's the layout:
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=178

There's a sample on that page too, but there's either misuse of software noise reduction or a bad mp3 encoder on it. Either of which will result in the artifacts you hear. It's not the pedal.

[jaguarcat311]

That sounds pretty nice, i think im gonna try building that. i need to quite bein a slacker and go get some stuff to make boxes out of for my other pedals...

[mojotron]

I think the BSIAB II is very mid-rangey.  I really like that pedal for the tone (I think) you're describing. It emulates Van Halen's "brown sound".

Here's a sample I searched and found:
http://www.martinlister.com/music/TubeBsiab%20II01.mp3

Here's the layout:
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=178

There's a sample on that page too, but there's either misuse of software noise reduction or a bad mp3 encoder on it. Either of which will result in the artifacts you hear. It's not the pedal.

Tell ya what on the BSIAB2, if you want mid-range crunch (refering to this schematic http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/bsiab_2_sc.gif from GGG) do 2 things, maybe 3:

1) Replace R6 with a 500kB pot, as the pot aproaches 0 ohms you boost the mid-range response, you can go with a 1MB pot as well if you want to emasculate the sound a bit going from 500k ohms to 1M. This will give you a range from Mid-70's George Benson meets Eddie sound to kind of a Keith Richards Giging with Mid-80's hair-band - and you have just Eddie right there in the middle  

2) Replace Q5 with a J201 and R15 with a 4k resistor biasing the Q5 drain to 1/2 the voltage source. This is kind of an optional thing, but I like to "feel" crunch and the 2N5457 sound has a upper midrange response that is not powerful enough IMHO. The J201 will add more punch to the sound. I reduce the source resistor (R15) to get the J201 (Q5) current at a higher point with the 4.5VDC bias on the drain - I think this setup for a J201 just sounds better.

3) If you want to add "chime" to the BSIAB2 you can also add an AC bypass around R15 with a 1uF cap + 5kB pot + a 1k resistor in series from the top of R15 to ground.

I really like these mods to the BSIAB2, they reduce the highend a bit and allow me to play with the tone control a bit more wide open - which adds more sensitivity.

[Fret Wire]

The BSIAB II is a great choice. You know whats funny? A TS-808 with a 1M gain pot, and the 51pf smoothing cap reduced in value, makes one very mid-heavy dist. pedal. It's already voiced for the job.

[bwanasonic]

A distortion pedal is only part of the whole equation. It helps to have a least one other variable known, preferably what amp(s) you're using. A TS type pedal certainly sounds like it would fit the bill though.

Kerry M

[black mariah]

http://www.runoffgroove.com
Just build the New Clipper and your quest will be at an end.

[MartyMart]

I also vote for the BSIAB II but also consider Phillips "Liquid Drive" and
Doug H's "Highway '89"  - both superb "mid boosting" OD's IMO

Marty.

[dr.angus]

Why not try a good old Tube Screamer. This thing's got lots of midrange and works great with tube amps. A classic. GGG has layouts and everything.

Have fun!