Little mods!

[carboncomp]

Hey guys, was just wondering if there was a thread or site (apart from beavisaudio.com) with examples of bread and butter little mods like:

Tone controls, capacitor blend knob, pass filters, clean boosts and so on?

just little gems like these:

Tone Stack


Capacitor blend knob


Clipping diodes using a rotary switch

[Suicufnoc]

http://www.muzique.com/lab/main.htm

[R.G.]

I have to admit I'm a little baffled at this.

In my mind, the trick is to know the circuit operation. All possible "mods" are then just a change to the components. What the "mod" accomplishes is then driven by what *you* want. Want more/less treble, more/less bass, notches, peaks, distortion/clipping, gain, attenuation, scoop, whatever? Change the circuit parts to do what you want.

Please don't take this as sarcasm or criticism. It's really how I feel. I've always wanted to know how things work so I can make them do what I want, instead of asking someone else to give me another prepackaged circuit/mod/change tidbit.

This is probably why my posts tend to run on with "how this works is..." and I write so few tidbits of premeasured stuff.

I realize it's a personal quirk.

[head_spaz]

good quirk.
I appreciate ya!

[arawn]

I think it would be fair to say that pretty much everyone loves RG

[DavenPaget]

I think it would be fair to say that pretty much everyone loves RG

You bet .

[petemoore]

  RG may seem quite 'normal' but in fact there are only a very few like him [in my case...extremely rare to 'meet' someone like RG. Generous and enlightened teachers deserve the highest compliments available.
   One perfect E-Apple is now on RG's E-teacher-desk ! ! Thanks RG !

[carboncomp]

I have to admit I'm a little baffled at this.

In my mind, the trick is to know the circuit operation. All possible "mods" are then just a change to the components. What the "mod" accomplishes is then driven by what *you* want. Want more/less treble, more/less bass, notches, peaks, distortion/clipping, gain, attenuation, scoop, whatever? Change the circuit parts to do what you want.

Please don't take this as sarcasm or criticism. It's really how I feel. I've always wanted to know how things work so I can make them do what I want, instead of asking someone else to give me another prepackaged circuit/mod/change tidbit.

This is probably why my posts tend to run on with "how this works is..." and I write so few tidbits of premeasured stuff.

I realize it's a personal quirk.

I totally see you points......But for example, I know how a Rangemaster circuit works, and I know I can change the input cap to get the frequency boost I want.

But if i wanted to control that with say Capacitor blend knob, im going to need to know how to build a Capacitor blend knob as its not a original part of the original circuit operation.   

[alparent]

I agree with R.G. but I also get carboncomp......

Don't know how long carboncomp as been doing this ?.....but when I started...I craved on ready made stuff....'cause some of things I was reading where hard to grasp. Finding ready made stuff (with an explanation of what is what and why), was a wonderfull learning tool.

And if he is like me....I didn't really know what I was looking for....even less how to get it! I was a kid with a guitar that liked to build effects. No training, no great knowledge.....just a desire.

At first I would jam all the mods I could find in a build.......(often these mods where useless 'cause I just did them 'cause others did them) but if these mods are accompanied with knowledge they are wonderfull learning tools.

And after you understand stuff you will want to venture out and try your own mods.

You will start posting more and more questions and the learning/understanding will snowball!

Then this love of building will become a passion then an obsession......you will HAVE to open up everything that uses electricity to see if you can mod it.......you will start neglecting you wife, your kids.....you will spend all your time in your shop with a soldering iron in your hand, sniffing fumes. Your skin will turn grey, all you will have are virtual friends that have the same sickness that you have (DIYstompboxes is a good example). You will stop eating.....they will find you dead in your shop surrounded with parts, boards, half finished projects, gutted pedals.......

OK the last part might not happen.....but.......

[Mark Hammer]

At one level, it is a little like asking the question "Could someone show me when it is okay to use a mino seventh chord in a song instead of a minor?".  It's clear that there ARE a lot of songs where that could happen, but probably every bit as many where the feel of the song is impaired, and still others where it is fine to change THAT minor chord to a minor 7th, but not that OTHER minor chord in the tune.

It's like there are two ropes hanging from the ceiling - one of them is general principles, and the other is specific instances - and you're trying to tie them together.  But you can't grab the end of either one and walk over to where the other is, because it just won't reach that far.

The upshot is that RG is right, and so are those who yearn for general principles.  One really has to study them both concurrently.