Very Basic Ring Modulator Questions

[markusw]

I got a new audio transformer and wired it in with the 1N4148s. I plugged the white into the amp and put a guitar into each of the other two sockets. If I I turn down the trim I can hear the guitar comming though OK but quietier than if plugged in direct to the amp. If I play both guitars I get a bit of distortion but nothing that sounds like a ring modulator.

Should I be able to ring mod two guitars or do I need to put a sign wave into one of the inputs?

Some comments: 

* the trim should be around 50% (if you turn it down and run the guitar signal into just one input you basically just hear the bleedthrough of the guitar)
* if you run your guitar signal into both inputs you should get some kind of octavish distortion (that's one of the options of the Ring Stinger)
* you will have to apply quite some gain to the guitar signal (especially if you are using the 1N4181 diodes because they will have at least twice the voltage drop of a Ge diode) so I strongly recommend to put in some Ge or Schottky diodes
* as  Jaicen_solo suggested try to run the oscillator into both inputs (I suppose it will have a higher ouput than your guitar)
* of course you could run two guitars into the ring mod but you needed to amplify both signals

To summarise: give your guitar signal some nice gain (e.g. a booster, a TS or any other distortion pedal set to high output), set the trim to about 50%, feed the oscillator into red and get rid of that 1N4181 diodes I'm sure that you will get your Ring mod sounds this way!

Markus

[Floyd Pepper]

markusw, Thanks for the info.  I swapped the diodes, plugged a synth into one jack and guitar+boot into the other and got nice Ring Mod sounds.   

Next job it to try and convert your Ring Stinger into a perf board layout as I'm yet to venture into the world of PCB etching.