How effective is op amp/cap replacement in exising pedals?

[TimWaldvogel]

Thinking about molding my boss ge7 eq and md2 Mega distortion by replacing all tantalum and electolytics with panasonic film caps I have and I wanna replace the op amps in te ge7 for quitter operation. And possibly the one in te distortion pedal for different flavor

[Mark Hammer]

Tim,

We get along well here.  I think, in the spirit of this forum, you should probably start a less contentious debate about something like, oh I dunno, abortion, foreign policy, which is the "true" religion, immigration, "kids today got no respect", or who shot Kennedy.  You know, something we can all agree on.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

If they're not ceramics I wouldn't bother; you also have to test it double blind or don't bother testing at all

[liddokun]

There's a thread on here started by Martymart about a GE7 Hifi mod, in which he replaced some of the caps and also changes the opamps for lower noise units. According to his tests, it does reduce the floor noise and hiss of his GE7. I did it to my GE7, it's pretty quiet now.

I will post a link to this mod if I can find it.

[kvandekrol]

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=51583.0

[12Bass]

Capacitors, op amps, and even resistors and solder can make a difference in sound.  The question is whether or not you will notice that difference.  I've made extensive modifications of the preamp section (mostly op amps and capacitors) of my Eden WT-500 and would say that the improvement is clearly audible.  For a distortion pedal, however, better quality components may not make for an improvement, and might even sound subjectively worse.

[MmmPedals]

The boss ge-7 is terribly noisy stock. swapping the tl022 for tl072 (or other such as ne5532) is a great idea. For me the ge-7 was useless untill I did. while I was at it I also swapped out the tantalum in the audio path and I think it made a great improvement in the transparency of the sound.

[Ben N]

Tim,

We get along well here.  I think, in the spirit of this forum, you should probably start a less contentious debate about something like, oh I dunno, abortion, foreign policy, which is the "true" religion, immigration, "kids today got no respect", or who shot Kennedy.  You know, something we can all agree on.

Nothing controversial about the propositions that (a) the stock GE7 is too noisy; and (b) it doesn't have to be, and a few component upgrades can pay noticeable dividends. When you start talking about cap types and opamps in distortions, ok, maybe that's something to tread gingerly around.

[TimWaldvogel]

Well I am going to lower the gain and possibly socket the op amps too se I it changed the flavors.

[Paul Marossy]

The boss ge-7 is terribly noisy stock. swapping the tl022 for tl072 (or other such as ne5532) is a great idea.

That's an example of a component change that is actually useful, unlike some other things. OK, a great many other things which are surrounded by hype, misinformation, fallacy, etc.

[Mark Hammer]

That,s what I would have said, if I wasn't in such a playful mood at the time.  Thanks, Paul.

[Paul Marossy]

That,s what I would have said, if I wasn't in such a playful mood at the time.  Thanks, Paul.

I liked your original post. It made me laugh.

[DougH]

Researching an op amp swap for lower noise makes a lot of sense. Other stuff, not so much.

[Mark Hammer]

The noise most of us are concerned with is generally hiss and high-end buzzing.  The attribute we dislike about distortions is fizz.  The attribute we dislike about BBD-based circuits is aliasing and HF clock noise.  When a particular class/category of circuit/effect aims to curb /constrain how much treble escapes via the output jack, searching ceaselessly for a lower-noise op-amp provides little return, because the objectionable part of the signal is going to be filtered out anyway.

This is why op-amp replacement in something like an EQ or compression pedal, which is geared towards permitting the entire spectrum to pass through, IS worth doing.  The design of such circuits allows the objectionable hiss to be heard, so it is worth one's effort to see if there is a way to reduce that audible hiss.

But for 85% of what people here are normally interested in, what you have in your parts box is generally going to be "good enough".

[tubelectron]

Hi,

Re: How effective is op amp/cap replacement in exising pedals?

Replacing an IC may be rewarding. For example, if you replace the OP07DP of a RAT by a LM308N, you will have great improvement in the quality of the distorsion : more dense and harmonically even, less harsh and fizzy (I have done it to say that on a Vintage RAT RI).

Replacing caps of the same value by another from a different technology... Well... auto-persuasion, heardsay, superior ears, etc... will sometimes help ! Often, it's difficult to tell the difference, if it still exists ! Often it's more "Audiophile Matters" than musicians concerns... Here's a citation from a highly qualified tech specialized in high-end and pro audio speakers (Bob Crites - Crites Audio) :

"Audiophile n. A person who claims to hear the inaudible.

Annoying Audiophile - A person who claims that others may be trained to hear the inaudible unless they are deaf.

If it tests good and sounds bad, you might be an audiophile.

If it tests bad and sounds good, you might be an audiophile."

A+:

[WGTP]

Think about the parts used in your soundcard, ipod, cd player, car system, home system etc.  Listen to the difference between a 128kb mp3 and the original wave file.  Do those need to be changed?  Does that make you an audiophile?   Distortion boxes are not meant to be hi-fidelity.  1960's guitar amps are not hi-fidelity.  EQ maybe.  Is there a difference in sound reproduction and sound creation?  If you like the way it sounds, it's good.  

[Johan]

if your main vanue is your bedroom, the differance between different opamps and caps is like night and day.. if you mainly play with others in a rehearsalspace or on stage...dont bother.
J