Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Yet to build this myself, I quite like the idea behind this – I am partial to anything with bass / mid/high controls for guitar and a germanium transistor. Bonus points for also including a discrete op-amp, which I’ve been playing with lately. Before I looked at the schematic for this, I was playing around with modding a Boss Blues … Read more
If you’ve read any recent posts, you may have noticed that I’m experimenting with discrete opamps – specifically replacing standard opamps with simplified discrete opamps – I’ve only played with the Joe Davisson diode compression opamp so far (with some success). While I was checking out DIY Stompboxes, I saw Rob Strand was experimenting with the Boss discrete opamp … Read more
I’d already done the Blues Breaker in this format, and it sounded pretty good, so I thought why not try the MI Audio Crunch Box, as it’s a high-gain derivative of the Blues Breaker. They have a similar topology – the Crunch Box has the soft clipping diodes removed and hard clipping LEDs added after the … Read more
I’ve had some success with the Joe Davisson diode compression discrete opamp on some other circuits (namely the Cornish SS-2), so I thought I might try a Blues Breaker – it works… sounds good. Apart from the lack of IC, there are a couple of other minor mods to a stock Blues Breaker, mainly a larger input … Read more
Given that I’ve been playing around with a few circuits using this as a replacement for the opamp, I thought I should make a little vero layout, which can be dropped into an existing circuit to test it. If you are unfamiliar with this, it’s a simplified discrete opamp – basically, build it, and place … Read more
Details of this project can be found here – as I started with a modded Pete Cornish SS-2 using the Joe Davvisson diode-compression op-amp, and then moved on to this. Essentially the same as the SS-2, but with the addition of a lo-cut. After a bit of testing, I’d suggest a C50k for the sustain … Read more
A somewhat polarising classic – the Boss DS-1, with a slight twist, as this has the Joe Davisson discrete diode-compression opamp onboard instead of an IC. BOSS DS-1 DIODE COMP OPAMP – VERO LAYOUT BOSS DS-1 DIODE COMP OPAMP – WAMPLER STYLE JCM MODS This is what I ended up being happy with on the … Read more
This is a Pete Cornish SS-2 using Joe Davisson’s diode-compression op amp. It sounds pretty good – a lot like the regular SS-2, but without any distortion artifacts on sustained notes as it fades outs. It’s also quieter in terms of noise. This one is getting boxed up, and now I want to try a SS-3 … Read more
After the previous post for the Dan Armstrong Red Ranger, I thought I might do layouts for the rest of the series, starting with the Blue Clipper – I then got sidetracked, and now I’m looking at a Blue Clipper using Joe Davisson’s diode-compression opamp. I had to change the bias from the original … Read more