simple 2 knob hi gain distortion..collaboration?

[deadastronaut]

hi guys..been messing around on my breadboard again....heres my latest little beast..

its really simple i know, but its got quite a good sound...just wondered if any you guys fancied adding your 2p worth on a

super simple 2 knob hi gainer project ...(but with more gain than mxr+ etc.).. so here goes..super simple..any ideas chuck em in..for all to see, change, or

whatever,..sounclip included too...

heres what ive got so far..which probably breaks all the rules but hey...dont laugh ok...it works.....




and heres what it sounds like..just through a mixer/ no amp..bit of verb n delay...........

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7464107/j201386dist1.wav


suggestions !.. throw em in!...dont be shy!......

[petemoore]

  Floating gate and great soundclip defy my logic.
 

[culturejam]

 

That's one hell of a sound clip.

Maybe you could configure the two fets like the first stage of the BSIAB?

[tiges_ tendres]

I was curious about your choice of leaving out input and output caps. 

[Renegadrian]

That's one hell of a sound clip.

+1!!!
What if you put an electro parallel to the 56k res?! Would it give you too much gain?!

The main thing is...GIVE THIS MONSTER A NAMEEEEE!!! 

[phector2004]

wow, i wasn't expecting THAT to come out of THIS!

why the caps in series, though? is it just to get a value that's 'just right?'

[dmc777]

Link doesn't work for me.  Mind posting it some other way? I"d like to here this. The Lovepedal Purple Plexi is based around a 386IC so you might could take a look at it for some ideas. I've got a few schematics for 386 beginners projects but never really tried them because I'd hear the IC were really too noisey. Please try to post the soundclip in some other form.

[Electron Tornado]

Great sound clip!

How does it sound if you hold a note and allow it to fade out? I built a pedal with a 386 which sounds great - except that notes would fade out at the end with a buzzing noise. If the notes fade out nicely I may take a crack at this when I get some time, as I've got a spare 386. My only addition would be a tone stack with a boost stage afterward.

[deadastronaut]

I was curious about your choice of leaving out input and output caps. 

i took a look at the big daddy..no input caps etc.......

[deadastronaut]

That's one hell of a sound clip.

+1!!!
What if you put an electro parallel to the 56k res?! Would it give you too much gain?!

The main thing is...GIVE THIS MONSTER A NAMEEEEE!!!  

i'll try that.........as for a name!...hmmm....if its a collaboration it should be voted on by all that contribute i think..

the 10uf from pin 1 going to ground really kicks it too much..i had to put a trim on there..but yeah i;ll try the electrolytic

suggestion....

[deadastronaut]

wow, i wasn't expecting THAT to come out of THIS!

why the caps in series, though? is it just to get a value that's 'just right?'

yeah it just sounded better...

[deadastronaut]

Great sound clip!

How does it sound if you hold a note and allow it to fade out? I built a pedal with a 386 which sounds great - except that notes would fade out at the end with a buzzing noise. If the notes fade out nicely I may take a crack at this when I get some time, as I've got a spare 386. My only addition would be a tone stack with a boost stage afterward.

yeah it gets a bit of flutter when it dies..

i had the same problem with 'krank' and a few others..thats why i just gave up and decided to attempt a basic

distortion that worked..then add a suitable tone stack afterwards...keeping it simple to start with........

thats why i threw it up here so you more experienced guys can take a look and experiment on it.....

i just love messing around on breadboards without too much knowledge, but i know what my ears like..

[deadastronaut]

 Floating gate and great soundclip defy my logic.
 

me too....but hey it works...by accident though!..i did say it probably breaks all the rules.ha ha..


the eternal quest for excellent distortion continues........

[deadastronaut]

right heres another soundclip...as you can hear there is a break up n fizz around the dying note..

at the end i switch to rythm pickup...i love that sound..then bridge after....

i added a 100nf from the out of q1...into q2...i also tried the cap to ground off the 56k and it gave me less gain......

however it did clean up the fizz...but that not what we rock/metal heads want is it........

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7464107/j22.mp3

any ideas on getting rid of the fizz.....?...this seems to common with the 386!!!!

[Electron Tornado]

right heres another soundclip...as you can hear there is a break up n fizz around the dying note..

at the end i switch to rythm pickup...i love that sound..then bridge after....

i added a 100nf from the out of q1...into q2...i also tried the cap to ground off the 56k and it gave me less gain......

however it did clean up the fizz...but that not what we rock/metal heads want is it........

any ideas on getting rid of the fizz.....?...this seems to common with the 386!!!!

I had a similar problem with the fizz with my OD 386:

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9281/od386v21schematic.jpg


The tone stack is a modified BMP tone control and works great., however. It allows you to select mids that are humped, flat, or scooped.

The fizz remains a mystery, unfortunately.

[tubelectron]

deadastronaut,

Very good hand-grinder-jigsaw-drill-metalworshop sounding (and playing, indeed !) +

I was waiting for the decay : it cames in your second sample, and is unfortunately bad, blunt, abrupt... I am not surprised : I had the same rotten decay with my LM386 trials, but without the good sounding you achieved ! So I didn't go further. Electron Tornado seems to draw the same conclusion concerning the decay's quality.

I think that the LM386 is probably unable to de-saturate gently, even if you put truckloads of gain at its input. So maybe something can be done at the output, then... As the LM386 is a power amp, do you tested it with a louspeaker directly connected, to see if the decay changes ?

A+!

[paulyy]

Sounds Great! I think I'll give it a try.

[culturejam]

How does it sound with an output cap?

[phector2004]

just out of curiosity, isn't the gate isolated from the drain and source? in other words, doesn't it just use capacitance to pinch off the current? do you really NEED an input cap, or is it just good practice?

[deadastronaut]

How does it sound with an output cap?

sounds great..still has the fizz decay though!...