Understanding Circuts

[Dylfish]

Hey,
ive been looking at circuts and layouts and i am wondering how you identify what part is doing what on a circut? EG. (Clipping, Tone, Volume) im thinking of building a sd-1 clone and changing a few elements to it but i wanna know how to tell what is doing what and so on. is there any articles i should read to get a grip on it? i wouldn't mind modding it to suit my own preferences

Cheers in advance,
Dylan

[$uperpuma]

welcome!  The first thing I'd do is READ READ READ... it may be a lot to take in... but will ALL be worth it... click the GEOFEX link at the top of this page and spend a week at that site... you will learn a TON. Then start searchin ghere for the circuits that you are interested in and see what successes/problems/modifications others have posted about... and if you haven't built anything yet, check out the beginner project... it will walk you through a simple, nice sounding, working project... it will also acclimate you to aquiring parts, soldering technique for this particular application, etc...

[Seljer]

First build it without mods, you may like it just the way it is


otherwise, heres a nice page that describes the basics of 'most' distortion pedals http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/richardo/distortion/
and heres a nice page that dissects all the sections of a tube screamer (which is basically the same thing as a Boss SD1) http://geofex.com/Article_Folders/TStech/tsxfram.htm


and like mentioned above, read a lot, theres tons and tons of info out there so you can one day figure out whats going on in other cirucits too:)

[zjokka]

Aron's mods page is kind of nice. But it might get you to add a diode to the protection diode in the hope of changing the clipping 

http://www.diystompboxes.com/wb/pages/build-your-own-stompboxes/stuff-to-read/simple-modstips.php

zj

[zpyder]

Dylfish-

Welcome!

Building FX circuits is not exactly a hobby I would call easy or simple.  It is a very complex art & science.  I am certainly NOT trying to dissuade you from diving in, but rather would like to save you the time and reiterate that it will take a LOT of reading to get below the surface.  I decided earlier this year that I wanted to get into FX pedals.  This corresponded directly with my insatiable desire for more/different/better guitar sounds, and also my burning through 2 distortion pedals in a very short time period.  I met with a friend of mine who has experience in the field, he gave me 3 textbooks ala electrical engineering.  Combined with a small slough of schematics I had downloaded from the internet, I started coming up with specific questions.  Like, "why do I see a capacitor at the beginning and end of almost all these circuits?" and "i know transistors can amplify or switch a signal, but what are the different types, and how do I make a transistor amplify a signal by X amount?".  The textbooks got me into the lingo and gave me the basics.  After that I was fairly unable to advance until I found ... dun dun duuuuuuuu ... this forum!  Suddenly I could ask specific questions and get specific answers from people who actually know what the f*ck they're talking about - and fast.

My suggestion to you:
Print out and read the DIY FAQ: http://www.diystompboxes.com/wiki/index.php?title=DIY_FAQ
Print out and read as many articles as you can at Geofex: www.geofex.com
Read all of the threads here: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?board=10.0
You'll find this one there which'll get you started on components (probably the most direct answer to your question I'm giving you): http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=28016.0
Get your hands on some basic schematics (boosters/buffers, simple distortions are usually less complex).  Try and understand what's going on... my guess is you'll find many things you don't understand.  Come up with a SPECIFIC question.  Do a search here on this forum to try and find your answers, they may already be waiting to be found.  If you can't find the answers you're looking for, make a new thread and ask that specific question.  I bet you'll be pleased.

Answering broad questions like "what do capacitors do?" or "what is doing what in this circuit?" can be tough questions to answer purely because one could speak volumes, and also as components do different things in different circuits.  You'll get better results by asking more specific questions... I certainly recommend printing stuff out.  I've got a couple of binders full of articles and schematics at my house that I've collected over the last 4 months.  I've read every one of them.  In a few months and with a little effort you could be like me- thinking about circuits all day long at work, dreaming about circuits all night, avoiding social functions to build/read/think about circuits, and still only halfway understand what you're doing!  It's great 

cheers!
zpyder

[Rafa]

Hi:
In geofex  theres an article were two cicuits are compared, one has less parts than the other so they analise every part of it and say wahts its function. Easy to understand helps a lot .I dont remeber the name now but its not difficut to find.
Cheers
Rafa

[Rafa]

Hi:
Al the pages which explain how effect work I have found are great but theres one problem I think they analise a particular case( which I think its not the best for beginers like me).
I thoguht that maybe a good physics book which starts from the begining (what is a resistor a cap,  how do they work) and then that all thoes concept are clear explain waht circuits are how they work, etc??
Im interested also in this topic because I have no idea how pedals work,so I could never get a clear idea how distortions work for example.
What do you guys think??
Cheers
Rafa

[zpyder]

what is a resistor a cap,  how do they work

http://www.eleinmec.com/category.asp?4

I could never get a clear idea how distortions work for example.

http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~mpthak/Distortion/

cheers,
zpyder

[GibsonGM]

If you're a TOTAL noob, something easy like "Getting Started in Electronics" or other Forrest Mimms books from Radio Shack will get you started.  Or a basic electrical text from a bookshop (go VERY elementary).  To supplement that, you can also look up "basic electronics tutorial" on the net, and find all kinds of tutorials on what caps, resistors and the like do.   Their functions may seem a little boring in pure electrical terms, but they are CRUCIAL to understanding FX.   Learning the behavior of components, esp. as relates to frequency, is important.   While you're on the net and here, you'd need a little AC theory too (what is AC, what are sine waves, what makes up a guitar signal, etc. don't worry too much about angles/polar coordinates yet, lol). 

It's not incredibly complex once you get Ohm's law and understand voltage division, and what all the parts do (again, look all over GEO, search for "What does that bit do" and you'll find the article mentioned above).

Get a breadboard and play with LED's, potentiometers, and measuring voltage and current.

With all the above, this forum will provide you with LIMITLESS info...but a solid understanding of the basics makes everyone here's life easier, and will get your problems solved quicker!

Welcome, and have fun, most of all!

[markm]

$uperpuma hit the nail on the head.
Read as much as you can. There's sooooo much stuff to look at on the net and once you get started in doing this, gradually things start to make sense and get a bit easier.
One thing though, it addicting as all hell 

[Rafa]

Thanksss guys
all that looks great much better than what I found

[Dylfish]

thank you so much guys.
ive got a little background in electonics, and me and my mate have been messing around with guitars and their electornics and are familiar with what most components do
just now to see how to make my ideas into reality

Regards
Dylan

[Rafa]

Hi: 
amazing page explain everything very clear and detailed

http://allaboutcircuits.com/

Cheers Rafa