Rat clipping mod question

[kirs]

I just built a Rat clone and I am happy with it but next to my Keeley rat it seems a little one trick.  All I really want to do is have a switch that switched between classic rat and Turbo Rat clipping.

Would it be as simple as ripping out the existing clipping diodes and doing this..



Or is the above overly complicated?

I've seen some great mods from Beavis Audio Research and Jack Orman with all sorts of clipping option, but I just want to keep it simple.

[Earthscum]

Yes.

Actually, that works great because your diodes have nice solid anchor points, and only 2 wires. In my DS-1, I had a cap to add on switching, so I made a little perfboard that goes near the switch. That's all I had room for, really.

have fun!

[kirs]

Cool.  I suppose I can use a DPDT On/Off/On switch to get a complete diode lift in the middle position.  

It's essentially the Keeley mod except he only solders one diode and one LED to the switch while one stays on the board so his options are:  diode/LED, nothing/diode, and diode/diode.  I'll have: LED/LED, nothing/nothing, diode/diode (Turbo Rat, Boost, Classic Rat).

[sewage666]

I did a clipping mod to my Rat2. I used a DPDT on/off/on with it set to two silicon diodes, two LEDs, and then two germanium diodes, respectively. I wired it similar to your diagram. The LEDs were in the default "off" position, and the other diodes clip before the LEDs, essentially overriding them as clipping pairs. At least, I think that's what happens. I know next to nothing about electronics, but it works and I have three styles of distortion to choose from.

I find it pretty useful as I use the thing for bass and guitar, and I like the different clippers for different applications.

I also took up the Beavis Audio challenge on his mod page for the Rat, and put the LEDs on the outside of the box between the knobs. Because that's rad.

[kirs]

Yeah, that seems to be a popular mod.  The diodes will clip before the LEDs so the LEDs don't come into play on the other positions.

I may go for MOSFETs over LEDs.  LEDs are cool and all but on a RAT I'd like to see what MOSFETs add.

Wondering if BS170s will work.

[sewage666]

Yeah, that seems to be a popular mod.  The diodes will clip before the LEDs so the LEDs don't come into play on the other positions.

I may go for MOSFETs over LEDs.  LEDs are cool and all but on a RAT I'd like to see what MOSFETs add.

Wondering if BS170s will work.

I tried the MOSFET clippers, and to my ears, they sounded just like the LED clipping stage. The volume was more on par with diode clipping, however, unlike the LEDs which allow more signal and volume through. MOSFETs could be the more elegant solution if you're switching back and forth often.