Hmmm well I played around a lot with this pedal and after a few weeks and lots of solder here's what I came up with ...
I started with the Keeley Ultra mod but found it way too muddy for my rig .... here's where I ended up. I tried to build a bit of low end in each stage.
All caps are Panasonic Film unless otherwise noted and resistors are 1% metal film.
Some of the caps I left the same value and just replaced them with metal film ( who knows how much difference but what the hell ...)
C1, C10, C11 ---- .047uf
C2 ----------------- .68uf
C3, C5 ------------ .068uF
C4 ----------------- 470pf Silver Mica
C7 ----------------- 220pf Silver Mica
C8, C14 ----------- 1uf
C9 ----------------- .47uf
C12, C13 --------- .1uf
D5 LED ( mounted on the front like the SEM )
R13 ---------------- 2K4
R39 ---------------- 20K
R16 ---------------- 4k7
Sound clip ... I quickly mic'd up my Boogie +22 ( 1X12 ) with an SM57
I played my strat with a humbucker in the bridge ...
Boogie set just to the point of breakup on the clean channel.
DS-1 settings: Tone at 3:00, Level at 1:00, Dist at 2:00 ...
Please ignore my sloppy one take wanking :)
http://users.eastlink.ca/~melanhead/MP3/DS1-demo.mp3
a bit more gain than I usually use but fun anyways!
EDIT: There are more sound clips later in the post...
I love this place !
That sounds incredible. I would never have guessed it was a DS-1. I've never cared for the DS-1, but I might pick one up now. I can't believe how open it sounds. Great playing too.
Yupp !!! Nice Job !!!
Sounds KillER !!!
DS-1 :twisted:
Oh. My. Goodness -- sounds fantastic!!!!!
Thanks,
Brian
I'm not trash talikng the DS-1, but I think the Mesa/Boogie had alot to do with the tone.
Can you record it with a simpler amp (SS maybe)?
BTW - sounds awsome!
The Boogie could explain my amazement.
Melanhead - How did you wire the 47pF cap across the diodes? Is it parallel with them (ground to signal)? What does it do to the sound?
Thanks guys ... The boogie is a nice sounding amp but it's very similar to a fender when on the clean channel just a bit darker sounding .. It's an older one and I set it up just to break up a bit as a fender would. It's capable of more gain but wanted the DS-1 to do the work ... I didn't even turn it up to 2 ( it's only a 22 watt amp ... ) The DS-1 originally sounded like #$%@ on this amp ....
The main thing I found with a DS-1 was the lack of mids and low mids ... it was too scooped ... Thanks to Brian and his mod book ( thanks man, it's great!! ) i was able to get the mids where wanted 'em.
@Phorphas ... what's an SS ???
I'll see what else I can record it through but might take a few days ... All I have at home is the Boogie, a modded marshall and an amp I built called the "Melanhead" :) I could also record the Boogie without the pedal on ...
Quote from: Khas EvetsThe Boogie could explain my amazement.
Melanhead - How did you wire the 47pF cap across the diodes? Is it parallel with them (ground to signal)? What does it do to the sound?
it's in parallel .... Takes out some of the harsh high end of the distortion ... it's part of the Keeley mod.
Isn't their already a cap for this? C10 - 0.01uF (or .047uF on yours). Adding a parallel 47pF cap will add to this slightly making it 0.047047uF. Sorry if I'm missing something obvious.
Quote from: Khas EvetsIsn't their already a cap for this? C10 - 0.01uF (or .047uF on yours). Adding a parallel 47pF cap will add to this slightly making it 0.047047uF. Sorry if I'm missing something obvious.
Hmmmm .... Interesting ... never noticed this before :)
Seems like that extra cap wouldn't make that much difference ....
I just left that cap in there from the original Keeley mods I did ... Changing C10 was an afterthought .... You'd think that even adding the 47pf accross the original value of C10 wouldn't change much but I've seen it mentioned more than once ... hmmmmmm
Anyone ??? ....
Quote from: Khas EvetsIsn't their already a cap for this? C10 - 0.01uF (or .047uF on yours). Adding a parallel 47pF cap will add to this slightly making it 0.047047uF. Sorry if I'm missing something obvious.
IIRC, I don't think c10 is in parallel with the diodes. The 47pf cap here is knocking off a bit of fizzy harmonics, whereas changing c10 will change the eq of the pedal a bit.
Take care,
Brian
weird ... just looked at 2 schematics ( Fuzzcentral and Boss Service manual ) and it appears that it is in parallel .... Now I'm even more confused ... :)
Oh well, I'm finally happy with the pedal and will probably leave it as is ...
You and me both. It probably does nothing, but the mod still sounds great.
Quote from: Khas EvetsYou and me both. It probably does nothing, but the mod still sounds great.
:D ... puzzling though! ... I'll have to check where C10 is connected on the board ...
Quote from: MelanheadQuote from: Khas EvetsYou and me both. It probably does nothing, but the mod still sounds great.
:D ... puzzling though! ... I'll have to check where C10 is connected on the board ...
Wow...well I feel silly now! :lol:
You are correct, it is connected in parallel...
I learn sumfin' every day! :lol:
hmmm so why do so many put a 47pf cap across the diodes then ???
I guess when you read a mod sheet a lot of times we just do without wondering why :)
P.S. ... love your book Brian! ... Too bad you're not able to put all the pedal schematics in there as well ...
Hi melanhead - "SS" means Solid State, i.e. no tubes
Quote from: PhorhasHi melanhead - "SS" means Solid State, i.e. no tubes
I should have known that! :) ...
Well here's a few more soundclips ... just threw a mic up in front of a yamaha 1x12 and used 2 different heads ...
1. my marshall JCM800 ... amp by itself then with the pedal on:
http://users.eastlink.ca/~melanhead/MP3/DS1-Marshall2.mp3
2. my homemade "Melanhead" again without the DS-1 and then with: ( this amp sounds better cranked without a pedal as it's only 12w! )
http://users.eastlink.ca/~melanhead/MP3/DS-1-Melanhead.mp3
It's definitely a different pedal on both amps :) ... Pretty grungy!
I prefer it on the boogie as that's what I use most of the time and was my test amp for the mod ...
I didn't spend any time getting these tones and I'm sure better ones could be had with a 4x12 and a better mic placement ;) and of course a bit of fooling around with eq setting etc ....
Sorry, I didn't have any S.S. amps ...
Hmmmmm .... that was fun ...
How about something direct line-in? No amp.
That would be about as unbiased as you could get on the pedal itself.
In spite of it all--it sounds excellent with those amps, so it definitely gives me confidence that it could sound good in my amp.
thanks for the sound clips--they sound nice. I'm afraid that as much as I suck at guitar, the pedal will sound bad. A guy in an interview with Eric Johnson once said he (Johnson) picked up a cheap guitar and put it through a crappy practice amp that happened to be in the studio, and he still sounded like....Eric Johnson. Still had good tone.
unfortunately you are correct .... a lot of tone is in the fingers, but a great pedal helps ;) ...
If I plugged it in direct it would probably sound awfully as there would be too much high end.... I'd need some kinda cab simulator....
I think this pedal is best suited to add extra gain to an amp that's allready a bit distorted ....
But your best bet is to pick one up used if you don't have one and try it ...
It definitely sounds better than the original! ... I have 2 of 'em ;)
Sounds absolutly awsome
that is a fantastic sounding DS-1. i just missed the chance to get one for $10! damn!
Nice one Melanhead !
I've sold about 30 DS-1's now, similar kind of mod but a bit less of the
"low end" :D
They really can sound fantastic with about 12 bucks of parts in 'em !
It takes a while, and I must have spent about 4 days just "tinkering"
with the values .... !!! ( so not much profit then !! )
Cheers for the sound samples,
Marty. 8)
BTW: Re C10, because of the diode change to LED's using a very small
47 - 80pf cap will still benefit the sound by rolling off a touch of high
"grit" caused by using the LED's ... !! IMO
I have the same idea here but there is a very large cap in parallel with the diodes, if i don't remember the exact value i'm sorry but maybe .01.
Saludos, Marcelo.
Thanks guys! ... It's just a bit of fun and a lot of tweaking ... have to trust the old ears sometimes :)
Marty and Prive ... thanks for the input about the cap accross the LED.
Now I need to buy another ... I have a bunch of idea to make it even more different then the Keeley mods ... I'd love to stick switches all over the thing for the ultimate in tweakability :)
I didn't think I'd be able to use it much but It's finding it's way into my FX board ...
Wow, I just figured out who "Melanhead" is, I live in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada , this guy's hometown.
At first I didn't recognize him, since the last time I seen him he had really BIG hair, back in the late eighties maybe?
This guy was the first guy that I ever seen around here able to absolutely nail Van Halen's thing and really shred. And it turns out that we both have mutual friends too. I'll drop you a line when I get a chance dude.
Oh yeah, and your mods on the Boss DS-1 are very sweet indeed!
8^)
I've been toying with the idea of picking up one of these Boss DS-1 pedals secondhand and trying out some of these mods for myself.
After having done a few mods on a used Boss Metal Zone (a pedal I thought that I'd NEVER own), I'm a believer of taking cheap pedals and tweaking them into something rivalling boutique stuff at a fraction of the cost.
My idea of a really good OD/distortion pedal is one that doesn't mess with your basic EQ, like the Boss BD-2. I used to have a Boss DS-1 a few years ago and I remember it being pretty shrill and harsh. I'd like to make it so that the guitar's natural tone get's through and is treated to a nice tube-like crunch.
I read somewhere that one guy disconnected C12(0.1uF) which is attached to the tone control, which apparently makes the pedal have a less radical effect on the guitar's tone. I'm not sure if this is true however. Does that ring true?
Quote from: Burstbucker on November 25, 2005, 08:17:13 PM
Wow, I just figured out who "Melanhead" is, I live in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada , this guy's hometown.
At first I didn't recognize him, since the last time I seen him he had really BIG hair, back in the late eighties maybe?
This guy was the first guy that I ever seen around here able to absolutely nail Van Halen's thing and really shred. And it turns out that we both have mutual friends too. I'll drop you a line when I get a chance dude.
Oh yeah, and your mods on the Boss DS-1 are very sweet indeed!
8^)
:icon_mrgreen: Got you PM .... Cool! a fellow Monctonian ...
great soundclip , i did this mod today and i'm very pleased with the sounds so far
cant wait to thake it to rehearsal and do a "big" volume -test ( with a yamaha b-212 combo)
so thanks for the info , not "muddy" indeed , it keeps it's character very well !!
thxx!! :icon_biggrin:
Quote from: mhk on December 30, 2005, 06:59:59 PM
great soundclip , i did this mod today and i'm very pleased with the sounds so far
cant wait to thake it to rehearsal and do a "big" volume -test ( with a yamaha b-212 combo)
so thanks for the info , not "muddy" indeed , it keeps it's character very well !!
thxx!! :icon_biggrin:
Gee thanks! ... I'm glad to hear it worked out for you ... I've done this mod to a friends pedal as well and he loves it.
I know this is an older thread but what the heck, the mods are cool and the clips sound great.
Bob, I'm going to be picking up a DS-1 this week (had one before and got rid of it before my DIY days) and doing these mods to it. What color/type/size LED did you use for D5? I'm assuming a 3mm Red.
Quote from: vanhansen on February 13, 2006, 11:26:51 AM
I know this is an older thread but what the heck, the mods are cool and the clips sound great.
Bob, I'm going to be picking up a DS-1 this week (had one before and got rid of it before my DIY days) and doing these mods to it. What color/type/size LED did you use for D5? I'm assuming a 3mm Red.
Cool ... yup a bit old but still good :icon_wink:
I used the Red 3mm on/off LED as I replaced it with a white super bright ...
Quote from: Melanhead on February 13, 2006, 12:49:09 PM
Quote from: vanhansen on February 13, 2006, 11:26:51 AM
I know this is an older thread but what the heck, the mods are cool and the clips sound great.
Bob, I'm going to be picking up a DS-1 this week (had one before and got rid of it before my DIY days) and doing these mods to it. What color/type/size LED did you use for D5? I'm assuming a 3mm Red.
Cool ... yup a bit old but still good :icon_wink:
I used the Red 3mm on/off LED as I replaced it with a white super bright ...
Ahh, that'll work. I'll have to pick up some small LED's. I might try a 1N4001 in that slot too. I have a few of those and some 1N4003's laying around. The 4001's sound great in the SD-1 (D4 & D5).
Would it be Kosher, Melanhead, to ask for a link to the book you are referring to? I'm new to pedal modding and a book about it would significantly help me out! And also, where did you get the information about the Keeley mods? Website or something you could show me? Thanks.
Joe, I think he's referring to the book from www.indyguitarist.com that Brian sells. I haven't gotten a copy yet but I've heard good things about it. The Keeley mods are on his old web site. The page is still up actually, it's just not visable from the new site.
I got my DS-1 today from my favorite local shop. Let the mods begin! :D
Here's my recent mod with www.mouser.com part numbers. When ordering from Mouser on-line, put the board placement letter/number in the information box for each part. When you get the parts, each bag will have the number on it and it makes it really easy to swap parts with the correlating number on the board. Also, thanks to all in this forum for your help!!!
DS-1 Mod with stock red 3mm Diffused LED status indicator kept as stock:
[mouser.com part #]
C1 - 0.1 UFMetal Film [5989-250V.1-F]
C2 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
C5 - 0.1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V.1-F]
C8 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
C9 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
C11 - 0.033 UF Metal Film [5989-250V.033-F]
C12 - 0.1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V.1-F]
C14 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
D5 - Any 3mm LED – will light up when playing
(put in 7/64 hole in front of unit for light show)
R14 - 1.5K, 1% Metal Film [271-1.5K-RC]
R39 - 20K, 1% Metal Film [271-20K-RC]
High gain mod:
D4 - Add any 3mm LED in series with stock diode
*wire in switch for on-the-fly changing
*LED will also light when playing
Overdrive/Treble Booster mod (not popular):
D5 – Remove diode, open connection (I think opening D4 does the same thing)
*use switch for on-the-fly changing
*LED(s) will not light up
*On a new LED the "longer" pin is positive, shorter pin negative.
*On a diode, the striped end is negative.
Good stuff, gulliver.
I started the mods to mine tonight. For C3, I used the silver mica 0.068uf that was from another location since I didn't have any metal film. Mine are a mix of Keeley's and Melanhead's.
C1, C10, C11 ----- .047uf
C2, C8, C14 ------ 1uf
C3 ----------------- .068uF
C5, C12, C13 ----- .1uf
C9 ----------------- .47uf
D4, D5 ------------ Red 3mm LED
So far so good. It sounds 100 times better than stock. Major improvement.
I don't have any 2.4k or 20k metal film resistors for R13 or R39 respectively. Is it ok to use "close enough" values here that are carbon film? I have 2.2k or 2.7k, 22k or 18k. I do have 4.7k in carbon film for R16 and will use that. Just want to be sure about R13 and R39. My hunch is telling me, "sure, why not" but I always appreciate other's opinions.
I'd go ahead and use those resistors. Chances are pretty good that your mod will sound at least 99% perfect with the values you have on hand. You might have a little more noise w/ carbon film rather than metal film, but it shouldn't be too much at all. my $.02...
Quote from: joelap on February 13, 2006, 02:32:21 PM
Would it be Kosher, Melanhead, to ask for a link to the book you are referring to? I'm new to pedal modding and a book about it would significantly help me out! And also, where did you get the information about the Keeley mods? Website or something you could show me? Thanks.
Yup it's Brian's Book ( known here as wampcat1 ) ... you can get it here http://www.guitartone.net/ .... It's a great book and explains what the changes/mods do ...
I bought the Keeley mod sheet from Fuzzcentral but I believe there's one floating around if you look hard enough ... search around here and you'll probably find the old link from Keeley's site ;) ... Good luck!
Quote from: vanhansen on February 13, 2006, 11:00:24 PM
Good stuff, gulliver.
I started the mods to mine tonight. For C3, I used the silver mica 0.068uf that was from another location since I didn't have any metal film. Mine are a mix of Keeley's and Melanhead's.
C1, C10, C11 ----- .047uf
C2, C8, C14 ------ 1uf
C3 ----------------- .068uF
C5, C12, C13 ----- .1uf
C9 ----------------- .47uf
D4, D5 ------------ Red 3mm LED
So far so good. It sounds 100 times better than stock. Major improvement.
I don't have any 2.4k or 20k metal film resistors for R13 or R39 respectively. Is it ok to use "close enough" values here that are carbon film? I have 2.2k or 2.7k, 22k or 18k. I do have 4.7k in carbon film for R16 and will use that. Just want to be sure about R13 and R39. My hunch is telling me, "sure, why not" but I always appreciate other's opinions.
Cool! ... R13 effects the amount of distortion, lower the value to get more, so it's not crucial to the tone of the mod ... R39 is in the signal path but using 1 carbon film shouldn't add noise much to the noise level, if at all ;) ... The close values will be fine.
Quote from: gulliver on February 13, 2006, 10:32:13 PM
Here's my recent mod with www.mouser.com part numbers. When ordering from Mouser on-line, put the board placement letter/number in the information box for each part. When you get the parts, each bag will have the number on it and it makes it really easy to swap parts with the correlating number on the board. Also, thanks to all in this forum for your help!!!
DS-1 Mod with stock red 3mm Diffused LED status indicator kept as stock:
[mouser.com part #]
C1 - 0.1 UFMetal Film [5989-250V.1-F]
C2 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
C5 - 0.1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V.1-F]
C8 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
C9 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
C11 - 0.033 UF Metal Film [5989-250V.033-F]
C12 - 0.1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V.1-F]
C14 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
D5 - Any 3mm LED – will light up when playing
(put in 7/64 hole in front of unit for light show)
R14 - 1.5K, 1% Metal Film [271-1.5K-RC]
R39 - 20K, 1% Metal Film [271-20K-RC]
High gain mod:
D4 - Add any 3mm LED in series with stock diode
*wire in switch for on-the-fly changing
*LED will also light when playing
Overdrive/Treble Booster mod (not popular):
D5 – Remove diode, open connection (I think opening D4 does the same thing)
*use switch for on-the-fly changing
*LED(s) will not light up
*On a new LED the "longer" pin is positive, shorter pin negative.
*On a diode, the striped end is negative.
another cool one! ... there's lots you can do with this pedal ;) ... The only weird thing is the "Overdrive/Treble Booster mod" by removing D5 you're only clipping half the signal and this must get pretty mushy and non-musical. I've done this by mistake a few time and recognize the sound ... it ain't pretty :icon_mrgreen:
Thanks, guys. Now that I know what R13 does, I may play with that value some. It'll be a few days at least before I finish. I might try a 1N4001 in series with one of the clipping LED's but I'll wait until after changing the resistors. The dual red LED's make the thing crunch really nice.
cool! ... tweak away! ... use your ears and have fun ... there's no real right or wrong :icon_wink:
Yeppers. :D That's what I did last night and how I came to have a combo of yours and Keeley's mods in it. Once I have it all done I'll probably make a page for it on my site, and give credit where credit is due of course. ;)
cool man! ... thanks :icon_mrgreen:
Quote from: Melanhead on February 14, 2006, 07:18:58 AM
Quote from: gulliver on February 13, 2006, 10:32:13 PM
Here's my recent mod with www.mouser.com part numbers. When ordering from Mouser on-line, put the board placement letter/number in the information box for each part. When you get the parts, each bag will have the number on it and it makes it really easy to swap parts with the correlating number on the board. Also, thanks to all in this forum for your help!!!
DS-1 Mod with stock red 3mm Diffused LED status indicator kept as stock:
[mouser.com part #]
C1 - 0.1 UFMetal Film [5989-250V.1-F]
C2 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
C5 - 0.1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V.1-F]
C8 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
C9 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
C11 - 0.033 UF Metal Film [5989-250V.033-F]
C12 - 0.1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V.1-F]
C14 - 1 UF Metal Film [5989-250V1.0-F]
D5 - Any 3mm LED – will light up when playing
(put in 7/64 hole in front of unit for light show)
R14 - 1.5K, 1% Metal Film [271-1.5K-RC]
R39 - 20K, 1% Metal Film [271-20K-RC]
High gain mod:
D4 - Add any 3mm LED in series with stock diode
*wire in switch for on-the-fly changing
*LED will also light when playing
Overdrive/Treble Booster mod (not popular):
D5 – Remove diode, open connection (I think opening D4 does the same thing)
*use switch for on-the-fly changing
*LED(s) will not light up
*On a new LED the "longer" pin is positive, shorter pin negative.
*On a diode, the striped end is negative.
another cool one! ... there's lots you can do with this pedal ;) ... The only weird thing is the "Overdrive/Treble Booster mod" by removing D5 you're only clipping half the signal and this must get pretty mushy and non-musical. I've done this by mistake a few time and recognize the sound ... it ain't pretty :icon_mrgreen:
Actually, this mod along with the high gain option is just a version of an extremely popular mod which will go nameless. Some one on this board was nice enough to give me the values.
As far as the overdrive/treble boost mod, this is something I came up with by accident, but think it's been mentioned before. I was under the impression that removing D5 also removes D4, but don't know. I believe I tried it both ways and it sounded the same, so I just removed the one that was easiest. Note, I don't use the high gain mod mentioned, but have a switch to go between the other two. I love the tone of the overdrive/treble booster mod, very transparent with a thin grit that ads a little something to a slightly overdriven clean channel. Also, It does increase the output of the pedal quite a bit when switched in (or out, I should say), so I have to turn down the level when I flick the switch.
nope ... removing D5 leaves D4 in circuit ... they're in parallel ... taking them both out would give you a big volume boost as you describe as there would be no diode clipping just opamp gain/clip ...
I know who "nameless" is :icon_mrgreen:
Quote from: Melanhead on February 14, 2006, 12:12:50 PM
nope ... removing D5 leaves D4 in circuit ... they're in parallel ... taking them both out would give you a big volume boost as you describe as there would be no diode clipping just opamp gain/clip ...
I know who "nameless" is :icon_mrgreen:
I popped the hood and double checked, yes, I'm just disconnecting D5 and leaving D4 stock. I thought I was removing both from the signal path for the booster mod I've read about, but I'll take your word for it that I'm not. But, yes, there is still a volume jump.
Anyway, I strongly recommend trying this mod. Again, you only need to remove D5 and set D4 as stock (assuming many have an added LED in series with the stock D4 diode, which may sound good as well). With a high distortion setting, this mod gives you a similar fast attack, compression and treble grind as when using an LED in D5 and stock D4, but the bouncy note bloom and heavy distortion are fairly removed. The remaining tone kind of reminds me of the MI Audio Tube Zone I recently had, but I think it's even better in that it's more radical in terms of coloration ... it's pretty thin with an almost synthetic type grind, what I consider "boutique" sounding. Awesome with my Strat through My JCM800 clean channel. Give it a go.
One question regarding the other "popular" options. Am I missing out not having the high-gain mod with added LED in series with stock D4 (when D5 is with the LED)? I tried this and didn't like it because it was too muddy, but now I'm wondering if this can do more in lower distortion settings, adding tones that cannot be had with D4 as stock. In other words, if it's only adding gain at the top of the dial, I'm fine without it.
Thanks.
are there any mods to address the terrible tone control? i have done the led mods and it sounds better but the tone control is either mud, or hollow or icepick...
The book they are referring to is titled, "How To Modify Guitar Pedals" by Brian Wampler. You can go to indyguitarist.com and order it. It will save you a lot of headaches and lots of time. For the DS-1 modification, Brian has listed 5 different mods for this pedal alone. It is well worth the price $49 and then some! I used it to modify a Boss GE-7 Equalizer and it sounds great!
Quote from: gulliver on February 14, 2006, 08:34:48 PM
Quote from: Melanhead on February 14, 2006, 12:12:50 PM
nope ... removing D5 leaves D4 in circuit ... they're in parallel ... taking them both out would give you a big volume boost as you describe as there would be no diode clipping just opamp gain/clip ...
I know who "nameless" is :icon_mrgreen:
I popped the hood and double checked, yes, I'm just disconnecting D5 and leaving D4 stock. I thought I was removing both from the signal path for the booster mod I've read about, but I'll take your word for it that I'm not. But, yes, there is still a volume jump.
Anyway, I strongly recommend trying this mod. Again, you only need to remove D5 and set D4 as stock (assuming many have an added LED in series with the stock D4 diode, which may sound good as well). With a high distortion setting, this mod gives you a similar fast attack, compression and treble grind as when using an LED in D5 and stock D4, but the bouncy note bloom and heavy distortion are fairly removed. The remaining tone kind of reminds me of the MI Audio Tube Zone I recently had, but I think it's even better in that it's more radical in terms of coloration ... it's pretty thin with an almost synthetic type grind, what I consider "boutique" sounding. Awesome with my Strat through My JCM800 clean channel. Give it a go.
One question regarding the other "popular" options. Am I missing out not having the high-gain mod with added LED in series with stock D4 (when D5 is with the LED)? I tried this and didn't like it because it was too muddy, but now I'm wondering if this can do more in lower distortion settings, adding tones that cannot be had with D4 as stock. In other words, if it's only adding gain at the top of the dial, I'm fine without it.
Thanks.
Okay, I'm still trying to figure this out ... How are you removing the diode ? Do you have a switch connected to both sides of the diode or do you have one side of the switch connected to the hole the diode was in and the other connected to tthe de-soldered end of the diode... The reason I'm asking is that what you're describing would more than likely happen if you connected both ends of the diode to a switch to bypass it ... Doing it this way would bypass the other diode and most, if not all of the tone control as well, giving you a volume boost, less distortion and more treble as the tone control can no longer function... Just curious ... Just removing the diode doesn't seem to make sense according to the schematic as you'd only clip one side of the signal and it would probably sound like a bad fuzz ;)
You're not missing out adding that extra LED ... I had it on mine as well and removed it .... a bit too mushy.
Hope I'm not being too anal, just trying to understand what you've done :icon_mrgreen:
Quote from: b_rogers on February 14, 2006, 09:11:14 PM
are there any mods to address the terrible tone control? i have done the led mods and it sounds better but the tone control is either mud, or hollow or icepick...
Sorry, but I don't know enough about how it works to help out ... But changing R16 to a lower value ( I used 4.7K ) will give you more mids and make it less hollow sounding overall.
Quote from: Melanhead on February 15, 2006, 06:56:53 AM
Quote from: b_rogers on February 14, 2006, 09:11:14 PM
are there any mods to address the terrible tone control? i have done the led mods and it sounds better but the tone control is either mud, or hollow or icepick...
Sorry, but I don't know enough about how it works to help out ... But changing R16 to a lower value ( I used 4.7K ) will give you more mids and make it less hollow sounding overall.
I found this in an older post. The question was by KORGULL and phillip provided the answer. This should help you out.
Quote
KORGULL:
According to the schematic I have on file, C10 is .01 micro-farad and C12 is .1 micro-farad.
phillip:
Yes, if you have a newer version of the DS-1, with either the BA728N chip or the M5223AL chip, C10 is 0.01uF and C12 is 0.1uF as Korgull said. They're also those values in the older version that had the TA7316 (as in the link posted above) .
Both of those capacitors are in the tone control section, so replacing them with smaller values will alter how the tone control responds. It should work correctly once again if you replace the two 470pF with the original values. You can also try sockets for the tone control capacitors to see if you can alter the "feel" of the tone control more to your liking.
Phillip
I noticed a big difference by changing C10 to 0.047uf and C12 to 0.1uf metal film.
Quote from: Melanhead on February 15, 2006, 06:47:38 AM
Quote from: gulliver on February 14, 2006, 08:34:48 PM
Quote from: Melanhead on February 14, 2006, 12:12:50 PM
nope ... removing D5 leaves D4 in circuit ... they're in parallel ... taking them both out would give you a big volume boost as you describe as there would be no diode clipping just opamp gain/clip ...
I know who "nameless" is :icon_mrgreen:
I popped the hood and double checked, yes, I'm just disconnecting D5 and leaving D4 stock. I thought I was removing both from the signal path for the booster mod I've read about, but I'll take your word for it that I'm not. But, yes, there is still a volume jump.
Anyway, I strongly recommend trying this mod. Again, you only need to remove D5 and set D4 as stock (assuming many have an added LED in series with the stock D4 diode, which may sound good as well). With a high distortion setting, this mod gives you a similar fast attack, compression and treble grind as when using an LED in D5 and stock D4, but the bouncy note bloom and heavy distortion are fairly removed. The remaining tone kind of reminds me of the MI Audio Tube Zone I recently had, but I think it's even better in that it's more radical in terms of coloration ... it's pretty thin with an almost synthetic type grind, what I consider "boutique" sounding. Awesome with my Strat through My JCM800 clean channel. Give it a go.
One question regarding the other "popular" options. Am I missing out not having the high-gain mod with added LED in series with stock D4 (when D5 is with the LED)? I tried this and didn't like it because it was too muddy, but now I'm wondering if this can do more in lower distortion settings, adding tones that cannot be had with D4 as stock. In other words, if it's only adding gain at the top of the dial, I'm fine without it.
Thanks.
Okay, I'm still trying to figure this out ... How are you removing the diode ? Do you have a switch connected to both sides of the diode or do you have one side of the switch connected to the hole the diode was in and the other connected to tthe de-soldered end of the diode... The reason I'm asking is that what you're describing would more than likely happen if you connected both ends of the diode to a switch to bypass it ... Doing it this way would bypass the other diode and most, if not all of the tone control as well, giving you a volume boost, less distortion and more treble as the tone control can no longer function... Just curious ... Just removing the diode doesn't seem to make sense according to the schematic as you'd only clip one side of the signal and it would probably sound like a bad fuzz ;)
You're not missing out adding that extra LED ... I had it on mine as well and removed it .... a bit too mushy.
Hope I'm not being too anal, just trying to understand what you've done :icon_mrgreen:
Here is the exact connection:
One hole in the empty D5>3mm LED>side pin of switch>center pin of switch>other hole in D5. The remaining side pin on the switch is open, which opens D5 when selected, giving the effect in question. D4 is stock.
Please keep in mind that I'm new to modding and don't know flux. :icon_eek:
sounds like you've got it wired like you said, to get rid of D5 ... hmmm, anyways ... enough of that. :icon_mrgreen:
ok.. i just tried the mods to r16, c10 and c12..thanks for the input guys. i like the r16 mod but the c10,c12 one didnt really sound right with my setup. its a little closer to "good" now and a lot better than stock. i havent changed all the caps in the indy/keeley mods so maybe i will do those and see if it helps some more. r16 is a improvement though. thanks guys
For what it's worth, I think the tone control works great with the mod I recently did.
I received my Boss BD-2 today. I think it sounds a lot like my modded DS-1, although less compressed. I'm sure it will sound a lot different once I'm done with it, whatever it is I decide to do.
I have this, another DS-1, and a TS-5 coming, if anyone has suggestions for mods feel free to e-mail me. Of course, the DS-1 advice can remain in this thread as it's appropriate.
Finished the mods tonight. R13 is 2.2k instead of 2.4k, R16 is 4.7k and R39 is 22k instead of 20k.
Now, aside from R13 controlling the amount of distortion, C10 and C12 affecting the tone control, what did all the other changes affect?
BTW, the pedal sounds great now. Even with a SD-1 pushing it a little extra it's INSANE!!! I love the sound of the clipping LED's.
Thanks, Bob. ;) :icon_biggrin:
ok i tried a 3.3k in the r16 and and i think it really helped the tone control. it seemed to extend the sweet spot out quite a bit where as before it only sounded really good in one spot (11oclock) now its about 11oclock to about 2oclock. way less hollow sounding. i also socketed the cap across the leds and tried about 10 values 10pf up to 1uf with no sound difference that i could hea FWIW.
can i just say with leds and a larger cap value for this pedal, sounds really good for bass.
Quote from: b_rogers on February 16, 2006, 12:18:20 AM
ok i tried a 3.3k in the r16 and and i think it really helped the tone control. it seemed to extend the sweet spot out quite a bit where as before it only sounded really good in one spot (11oclock) now its about 11oclock to about 2oclock. way less hollow sounding. i also socketed the cap across the leds and tried about 10 values 10pf up to 1uf with no sound difference that i could hea FWIW.
Yup! ... there was a discussion about it and if you look at the schematic there's allready a large cap across the diodes so adding another small value doesn't do much ... not sure why it's still in the mod sheet :icon_wink:
Quote from: vanhansen on February 15, 2006, 11:50:05 PM
Finished the mods tonight. R13 is 2.2k instead of 2.4k, R16 is 4.7k and R39 is 22k instead of 20k.
Now, aside from R13 controlling the amount of distortion, C10 and C12 affecting the tone control, what did all the other changes affect?
BTW, the pedal sounds great now. Even with a SD-1 pushing it a little extra it's INSANE!!! I love the sound of the clipping LED's.
Thanks, Bob. ;) :icon_biggrin:
I'll take a look at the schematic later as I'm not near it and get as detailed as my knowledge allows, but most of it is just adding a bit of bass in each stage by increasing the value of the coupling cap slightly. All electrolytic caps in the signal path were replaced with the same value metal film caps. Supposedly, although hard to prove via ear tests, electros are supposedly more muffled sounding. I believe most of the other metal film cap replacements we're of the same value but by using metal film caps and resistors in the signal path you decrease the noise/hiss quite a bit, especially in a high gain circuit like the DS-1 ....
oh and you're welcome ...
Hi guy's,
I'd like to try this. Can someone please post the schematics of the DS-1 with a diagram (I paint by numbers). I used to have this someplace but can't seem to find it. :icon_rolleyes:
Most appreciated.
http://www.tonepad.com/getFile.asp?id=78
Found this at tonepad . com but it states "workalike" Boss DS1. Does anyone know if it is a different design or a clone of the DS1.
(knew I should have saved that stuff when I could have)
*edit* dead link removed
Thanks !!!
But I can't open this for some reason ???? :-\
Can you sent it again ??
Quote from: LoudGreg on February 17, 2006, 09:44:25 AM
Thanks !!!
But I can't open this for some reason ???? :-\
Can you sent it again ??
It's because the HTML file is looking at his C: drive for the file. We can't see his C: drive. All that stuff needs to be yanked and just the image name retained, the image file being in the same directory as the HTML file.
It says this:
<img style="width: 1643px; height: 2339px;" alt="" src="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Eirik/Mine%20dokumenter/Skjemaer/Overdrive-Distortion/DS1PG2.jpg">
Make it this:
<img style="width: 1643px; height: 2339px;" alt="" src="DS1PG2.jpg">
:icon_redface: Sorry! I I totally new to uploading stuff. I thought I was getting hang of it.... I was so wrong! :icon_lol:
However, you can find it here: http://www.godiksennet.com/default.asp?main=Schematics
No worries. You can try it again for the heck of it with the fix I posted. You have to use either relative paths or absolute paths as seen from the viewer of the HTML page. Relative paths are much easier because if you ever move sites and keep the same directory structure, everything works. Since this isn't an HTML class, I'll leave it at that. You'll get it. ;)
Thanks for the link to the schematic BTW. I need to look it over and see what all the part changes I made did, with Bob's help I hope. :)
Quote from: vanhansen on February 17, 2006, 10:47:48 AM
No worries. You can try it again for the heck of it with the fix I posted. You have to use either relative paths or absolute paths as seen from the viewer of the HTML page. Relative paths are much easier because if you ever move sites and keep the same directory structure, everything works. Since this isn't an HTML class, I'll leave it at that. You'll get it. ;) WHOA !!! :o (now I'm getting dizzy :icon_cool:)
Thanks for the link to the schematic BTW. I need to look it over and see what all the part changes I made did, with Bob's help I hope. :)
Quote
Yes, thanks as well. (I've got a bid on ones of these things and I'm going to give it a try)
Quote from: vanhansen on February 17, 2006, 10:47:48 AM
Thanks for the link to the schematic BTW. I need to look it over and see what all the part changes I made did, with Bob's help I hope. :)
Okay here goes ... I'll give you the info that I know: I'm an ear tweaker with limited knowledge, tweak 'till it sounds good :icon_mrgreen:
C1 - same value just a better quality metal film cap ( not sure how much better but what the hell ... )
C2 - upped from .47 to .68 to let a little more bass pass through ...
C3 - upped from .047 to .068 to let a little more bass pass through ...
C4 - not sure ... this is from the Keeley mod, beyond my electronics knowledge
C5 - same value just a better quality metal film cap
C7 - raised to cut some of the harsh top end of this opamp stage ( I think anyways ... )
C8 - raised in conjuction with lowering R13 to increase gain but maintain the same frequency response. If you lower the resistor you have to raise the cap ... ( anyone wanna verify this, I'm going from my TS knowledge and this looks to be similar. )
C9 - same value just a better quality metal film cap
C12 - effects the tone circuit but not sure how ...
C13 - upped from .047 to .1 to allow more bass to pass through ...
C14 - same value but change electrolytic to metal film for supposely less muffled sound ...
R16 - affects the mids, lowered for more ...
R39 - not sure but I'm assuming it let more signal flow through as it's a smaller resitance ( anyone ? )
Anyways ... that's about it, I may not be 100% correct but I won't be offended if someone was to correct me ;) I'm still learning :icon_mrgreen:
I've got to ask.....cause I think I'm losing my mind....
Where is R39????? I can't find it anywhere!
Thanks, Bob. It's a start. I'm sure with all of our heads we can get the rest of it. :D Thanks for taking the time to look at them.
R39 is right below R12 in mine. To the right of C5. It's not on the schematic/layout I have, which is from 1980. I need an updated one.
Thanks Vanhansen,
My board looks pretty much like this (there are some small differences but almost identical)...
http://www.godiksennet.com/images/sch/DS1PG2.jpg (http://www.godiksennet.com/images/sch/DS1PG2.jpg)
Numbers on my board are:
ET-28F
ET5205-510B
There is no resistor located there on mine and no R39 listed in the picture above......is it possible that it was either an addition/omission on one of the versions?
Cheers,
BT
It's definitely an addition because I just bought mine on Monday brand new. If you don't see it there, then I wouldn't worry about it.
Thank you :)
Quote from: Melanhead on February 17, 2006, 08:01:14 PM
Quote from: vanhansen on February 17, 2006, 10:47:48 AM
Thanks for the link to the schematic BTW. I need to look it over and see what all the part changes I made did, with Bob's help I hope. :)
Okay here goes ... I'll give you the info that I know: I'm an ear tweaker with limited knowledge, tweak 'till it sounds good :icon_mrgreen:
C1 - same value just a better quality metal film cap ( not sure how much better but what the hell ... )
C2 - upped from .47 to .68 to let a little more bass pass through ...
C3 - upped from .047 to .068 to let a little more bass pass through ...
C4 - not sure ... this is from the Keeley mod, beyond my electronics knowledge
C5 - same value just a better quality metal film cap
C7 - raised to cut some of the harsh top end of this opamp stage ( I think anyways ... )
C8 - raised in conjuction with lowering R13 to increase gain but maintain the same frequency response. If you lower the resistor you have to raise the cap ... ( anyone wanna verify this, I'm going from my TS knowledge and this looks to be similar. )
C9 - same value just a better quality metal film cap
C12 - effects the tone circuit but not sure how ...
C13 - upped from .047 to .1 to allow more bass to pass through ...
C14 - same value but change electrolytic to metal film for supposely less muffled sound ...
R16 - affects the mids, lowered for more ...
R39 - not sure but I'm assuming it let more signal flow through as it's a smaller resitance ( anyone ? )
Anyways ... that's about it, I may not be 100% correct but I won't be offended if someone was to correct me ;) I'm still learning :icon_mrgreen:
All of this is very good for fine tuning, but are there any mods floating around that take the DS-1 in a different direction? Maybe a chip change? Maybe something that brings it into the TS-9 camp?
The DS-1 and TS-9 are pretty different from each other. You'd be much better off modding a SD-1 to get in to the TS category. The SD-1 and TS-9 are practically identical circuits. It's very easy to make one sound like the other.
Quote from: vanhansen on February 19, 2006, 11:09:12 PM
The DS-1 and TS-9 are pretty different from each other. You'd be much better off modding a SD-1 to get in to the TS category. The SD-1 and TS-9 are practically identical circuits. It's very easy to make one sound like the other.
Perhaps my example was a poor choice. When playing my modded DS-1 next to a stock one, the improvements are appreciated, but it's not radically different from stock ... just way better. I'd like to try a good mod that is none of the above, where it brings me is not as important. Maybe a fuzz? Does anyone have anything?
Quote from: vanhansen on February 19, 2006, 11:09:12 PM
The DS-1 and TS-9 are pretty different from each other. You'd be much better off modding a SD-1 to get in to the TS category. The SD-1 and TS-9 are practically identical circuits. It's very easy to make one sound like the other.
Yup ... I have some cool mods for SD-1 as well :icon_wink: ... posted here somewhere ... they're so cheap and worth modding.
Quote from: Melanhead on February 21, 2006, 06:37:31 PM
Quote from: vanhansen on February 19, 2006, 11:09:12 PM
The DS-1 and TS-9 are pretty different from each other. You'd be much better off modding a SD-1 to get in to the TS category. The SD-1 and TS-9 are practically identical circuits. It's very easy to make one sound like the other.
Yup ... I have some cool mods for SD-1 as well :icon_wink: ... posted here somewhere ... they're so cheap and worth modding.
Oh yeah. I've already modded mine. That was one of the first pedals I did mods too. I just recently took out the stock diodes for some 1N4001's. Sounds really nice and smooth now.
Edit: Got the DS-1 Mods page up on my site.
Quote from: vanhansen on February 21, 2006, 07:57:07 PM
Quote from: Melanhead on February 21, 2006, 06:37:31 PM
Quote from: vanhansen on February 19, 2006, 11:09:12 PM
The DS-1 and TS-9 are pretty different from each other. You'd be much better off modding a SD-1 to get in to the TS category. The SD-1 and TS-9 are practically identical circuits. It's very easy to make one sound like the other.
Yup ... I have some cool mods for SD-1 as well :icon_wink: ... posted here somewhere ... they're so cheap and worth modding.
Edit: Got the DS-1 Mods page up on my site.
Way cool dude! :icon_mrgreen: ...
Vanhansen, excellent site... http://diy.erikhansen.net/
I'm going to try some of your Dunlop wah wah mods.
Quote from: gulliver on February 25, 2006, 11:23:29 AM
Vanhansen, excellent site... http://diy.erikhansen.net/
I'm going to try some of your Dunlop wah wah mods.
It's nothing revolutionary by any means but thanks. :) Just sharing my experience with stuff I've done.
Thank Andreas Möller for the Wah mods. He helped me.
Quote from: vanhansen on February 25, 2006, 11:51:10 AM
Quote from: gulliver on February 25, 2006, 11:23:29 AM
Vanhansen, excellent site... http://diy.erikhansen.net/
I'm going to try some of your Dunlop wah wah mods.
It's nothing revolutionary by any means but thanks. :) Just sharing my experience with stuff I've done.
Thank Andreas Möller for the Wah mods. He helped me.
Here's my physical wah-wah mod, so far. I call it the woodpecker as engineer Ron Peck tapped it for me and had the perfect spring in his junk box :icon_lol: You're welcome to post pictures on your site if you feel it's worthy...
http://thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?p=1237571#post1237571
Quote from: LoudGreg on February 16, 2006, 11:44:17 PM
http://www.tonepad.com/getFile.asp?id=78
Found this at tonepad . com but it states "workalike" Boss DS1. Does anyone know if it is a different design or a clone of the DS1.
(knew I should have saved that stuff when I could have)
I'm sure FP could give you a more direct answer, but from looking at the schematics of the DS-1 and Tonepad's I can see that they are effectively the same circuit. The Tonepad version has a a different bypass circuit (true bypass) and a clever adaptation to use easier to find dual opamps. So, they are the same circuit, but the schematic is laid out a bit differently.
I'm modding my Tonepad version, I'll let you know how it goes.
Did you do the Keely mod, then add/change the values you listed in this thread?
I modded a DS-1 with the only the components listed in this thread, and it is really harsh sounding (almost like a fuzz), especially when the strings are attacked hard. When I look at this thread for the keeley mods:
http://www.elixant.com/~stompbox/smfforum/index.php?topic=42637.msg308665#msg308665 (http://www.elixant.com/~stompbox/smfforum/index.php?topic=42637.msg308665#msg308665)
I see some different components were changed for the keeley mod. So my question is again, Do I need to change the rest of the components to the "Keeley" specs, or are the parts listed in this thread all the changes you did?
Your pedal sounds freakin' great on all the amps you used for your sound clips!!!
Man I feel stupid. I was thinking there were things changed in the Keeley mod that weren't changed in this mod. :icon_redface:
Sorry.
I do have something wrong though, I believe. As I said in my previous post, it sounds real buzzy, with no clear articulation of the notes when the strings are attacked firmly. The SEM Led doesn't seem as bright when this while this buzzy sound is happening, but brightens up as the sound becomes better. I put a new battery because the old one was getting low (8.1v), but it does the same with the new battery. Any suggestions?
I did some work to mod my Tonepad DS-1 work-alike - which uses a TL072. I found out that the Tonepad circuit has some changes from the DS-1 to support the TL072, but these mods fit right in place if you replace the same components as on the service manual.
What I ended up with after some experimentation on the Tonepad DS-1 is:
(Note some of the the Tonepad components are not labled)
- From the left - moving right - the first 1 coupling caps I made .47uF
- left C1 alone
- C4 = 220pF
- The .01 cap in parallel with the clipping diodes I made .047uF
- Don't mess with C5 (.47uF) - the gain is high/fat enough with
either a 4k7 or 2k2 resistor above it
- I actually put a 10kB pot in for the 4k7 resistor above C5 - the TL072 to
adjust the knee in the feedback circuit - this adjusts where the distortion
is accentuated as well as the level of distiotion.
Everything else dropped in when comparing the service manual schematic, the mods in this thread and Tonepad's schematic.
Basically, what I liked was to keep the caps about 20% smaller on earlier gain stages (on the left side of the schematic) and fatten up the right side of the schematic - the later stages. The .01 cap in parallel with the clipping diodes sounds great to me with .033 or .047uF
I took C3 and changed it from .068uf to .047uf, and it smoothed everything out real nice. The pedal sounds fantastic now. I have another stock DS-1 here to compare it to, and you can hardly tell it's the same pedal.
Thanks everyone for your help and knowlege!!
Well I got sound samples of my Tonepad DS1 that I modded, however these are a bit rough.. I still don't have a decent mic so I recorded into my Zoom 9002 with just a touch of EQ (to get it to sound normal) and a little reverb using a Ibanez S470 with a Gibson Classic '57+ in the bridge.
Note:
- The mods I did are listed above - 2 posts back.
- In these sound samples:
- The first 15 seconds is identical, just a clean bridge pickup and
that crappy "Zoom" sound - it works... :icon_redface:
- I start playing some chords, back off the volume, then bring the volume back
up
For the first sound sample the gain is a 3 o'clock, tone is at 9 o'clock, and vol at 9 o'clock.
http://mojotronics.com/tunes/ds1-tonepad-demo.mp3 (http://mojotronics.com/tunes/ds1-tonepad-demo.mp3)
I was going for a lot of harmonic complexity - the modded DS1 makes some really cool upper-mids come out - these mids make for some great harmonics...
For the 2nd sound sample the gain is a 1 o'clock, tone is at 12 o'clock, and vol at 9 o'clock.
http://mojotronics.com/tunes/ds1-tonepad-demo2.mp3 (http://mojotronics.com/tunes/ds1-tonepad-demo2.mp3)
the tone is a little lighter - cleans up a little better - still pretty heavy though.
Also, in this one I play with the volume knob a little more, and in the middle I flick over from just bridge to bridge+neck for about 2 seconds - then back to just bridge.
Nice clips.
I spent hours this weekend on the DS-1. I tried all kinds of diode combinations to try to finds something better than the Keeley-one stock diode, one LED, (D4 & D5) seeing eye mod, which is pretty darn good. So now, I have the seeing eye mod switchable to one stock diode and three LEDs in series (D4 & D5).
The tone is close, but much less compressed. Great for adding that little extra boost to an already high gain signal. I like it better than the ultra mod.
I think the best thing to do, as I was doing this weekend, is get two DS-1s and have hard wires coming out of them for quick and non-destructive diode changes. The differences are so small, it's tough to gauge changes without a real-time A/B test.
With the Keeley types mods, I've noticed the presence on this pedal is a little like fingernails on a chalkboard. Maybe it's the LEDs, I don't know. Anyone have any suggestions for fatten or darken the highest of highs on this?
Remember me from the other thread where I made the multiple selectable clipping mod for the DS1? Decided to post on this more popular and accessible thread. Here are *finally* some clips ;)
Stock: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681194&q=hi (http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681194&q=hi)
Germaniums: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681207&q=hi (http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681207&q=hi)
LEDs: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681215&q=hi (http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681215&q=hi)
Tubes: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681221&q=hi (http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681221&q=hi)
LED/Silicon: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681294&q=hi (http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681294&q=hi)
All together in this order: stock --> germaniums --> LEDs --> Tube --> LED/Silicon
http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681224&q=hi (http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681224&q=hi)
Output volume comparison: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681229&q=hi (http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3681229&q=hi)
If I remember I left C10 as stock. So these soundclips reflect changes only in the D4 and D5 diodes.
i did the keeley mod on mine and when i use my telecaster with bill lawrence humbuckers it sags really hard if i strum a chord really hard, especially open g b and e strings. and while this is cool its not entirely useful. it doesnt do it to my other guitars. is there anything i need to do to fix this?
I'm not quite sure what the Keeley mod has in C3, but I did the mods Melenhead suggest here. I had the same problem. I ended up changing C3 from a .068uf to a .047uf. The explaination I found somewhere on this forum was that there was too much bass before the clipping section, causing the "sag". That is, of course, assuming we both mean the same thing when saying "sag". Give it a try, it's real easy to swap out. If that doesn't fix it, try a .022uf or .01uf.
Or maybe someone else will have a better sugguestion. I am but a humble noobie. :icon_redface:
definitely something to try ... There's a lot of bass added in the Keeley, mine not as much, but there's still more than normal. Lower the value of C3 to taste ... that's all I did ;)
I haven't used mine in months, replaced it with my modded to death Rat clone thingy ( The Headcase ) but one thing I did notice about the DS-1 is it's response to the way it's played... I don't really know how to explain it, but you have to play it a certain way to make it sound good ... it's like a feel thing, with me anyways.
Quote from: woulfer on March 23, 2006, 09:19:56 AM
I'm not quite sure what the Keeley mod has in C3, but I did the mods Melenhead suggest here. I had the same problem. I ended up changing C3 from a .068uf to a .047uf. The explaination I found somewhere on this forum was that there was too much bass before the clipping section, causing the "sag". That is, of course, assuming we both mean the same thing when saying "sag". Give it a try, it's real easy to swap out. If that doesn't fix it, try a .022uf or .01uf.
Or maybe someone else will have a better sugguestion. I am but a humble noobie. :icon_redface:
Yep, I ran into the same problem, or at least noticed it a few days ago playing with different guitars. I'll see if this fixes my problem. Thanks!
Another thing you might like to try (I like it) is to change the output buffer to TS808 style
by changing R22 to 100ohm.
Hello, im a newbie into modding. How much volts does the caps have to have? Can anybody list the digikey parts number or mouser numbers for the panasonic caps? Thanks:)
I've been using the Panasonic Metal Film 50v caps but they don't have be anywhere near that voltage as you're not gonna find anything much over 9v in a pedal ... The reason people use the panasonics is 'cause they're small.
here's a few digikey numbers, you should be able to find the rest ;)
.047uf ---------------- P4521-ND
.68uf ------------------ P4673-ND
.068uF ---------------- P4523-ND
1uf ------------------- P4675-ND
.47uf ----------------- P4671-ND
.1uf ------------------- P4525-ND
Three things:
On the same note as the five-way diode switch, I had earlier spent some time drawing complete and total nonsense on a napkin involving SPDTs and a *lot* of diodes. Having two sizes of LEDs, some Zeners, a pair of Schottkys, and a few silicons laying around, I thought I might drill about five or six holes in each side of my DS-1 and hook each diode up to a SPDT, so that I basically end up with five diodes hooked up with on-off switches for each. Would I need to put them in any specific order to have them all do their thing (I was thinking that perhaps they should be arranged a certain way so that the LEDs, with their higher clip level, get hit before the diodes with lower thresholds) or do I just shove them all together and have that be the end of that? If my description made no sense, I will either clarify or further befuddle with a horrible attempt at an ASCII rendering:
SW1 SW2 SW3 SW4 ........
Top Lug: diode----------\ diode----------\ diode----------\ diode----------\
Middle Lug: from board -------------+ ---------+ ---------+ -------------+
Bottom Lug: -----------------/ -----------------/ -----------------/ -----------------/
Second, anyone have any suggestions for making it more liquid and fluid, more like John Petrucci's sound on Images & Words? Probably a bit much to ask from a DS-1, but I had figured that adding more bass and smoothing out a *lot* of high-end grit would get me more in that area, where the sound is full and still clear, but not gritty or fuzzy. Already doubled most of the caps that threads like this say affect bass input, and currently have an LED and an LED/4148 pair as the clipping diode section, any thoughts?
Finally, what would rectifier diodes (I'd be using Radio Shack cheapos) do to the clipping section? I've tried just about everything but those and germaniums, and it may be a while before I get back to the store.
Jeff
Hey melanhead i did your mod on my ds-1 and it's by far better sounding than the sem\ultra, now the pedal really kicks! Good improvement in low\mid freq. I left two red leds as clipping diodes, awesome marshall crunch from my clean fender! Good job, i am really happy with it now, THX!!!!
To Jeff: rectifier diode seems to be a little more "gritty" in the high end than signal diodes on sd-1, never tried it in my ds-1. Bye :)
Wow, really nice mods here guys...I might pickup a DS-1 just to mess with it, sounds great modded...
If anyone would be willing to submit their mod to http://stompboxmods.com/ we'd really appreciate it...its hard getting started. The submission page is right here: http://stompboxmods.com/submit/submitmod.php
Thanks!
Quote from: blustrat on April 22, 2006, 02:46:29 AM
Hey melanhead i did your mod on my ds-1 and it's by far better sounding than the sem\ultra, now the pedal really kicks! Good improvement in low\mid freq. I left two red leds as clipping diodes, awesome marshall crunch from my clean fender! Good job, i am really happy with it now, THX!!!!
To Jeff: rectifier diode seems to be a little more "gritty" in the high end than signal diodes on sd-1, never tried it in my ds-1. Bye :)
Very cool! ... glad you like it ... I haven't played mine in Months but I probably should hook it up and shred :)
Quote from: rockgardenlove on April 22, 2006, 04:52:33 AM
Wow, really nice mods here guys...I might pickup a DS-1 just to mess with it, sounds great modded...
If anyone would be willing to submit their mod to http://stompboxmods.com/ we'd really appreciate it...its hard getting started. The submission page is right here: http://stompboxmods.com/submit/submitmod.php
Thanks!
I'll consider doing that ...
Hey Melanhead i also tried your Ds-1 mods on my pedal. AWSOME sound!!! I had to tweak a little to get it to sound good with my AC30 but it sunds amazing. I was wondering how could I get more sustain out of the pedal with my strat besides lowering the gain resistor. Would a different clipping doide help here? Please give me some suggestions. ;D
Quote from: AC30Dirty on April 22, 2006, 09:26:58 PM
Hey Melanhead i also tried your Ds-1 mods on my pedal. AWSOME sound!!! I had to tweak a little to get it to sound good with my AC30 but it sunds amazing. I was wondering how could I get more sustain out of the pedal with my strat besides lowering the gain resistor. Would a different clipping doide help here? Please give me some suggestions. ;D
You could try silicon ( 1n4148 ) diodes.( the original diodes ... ) or GE (1N34) They're clipping threshold is lower and may do what you want .... But you'll also get a volume drop doing this and a tone change ;) ... You're best bet is to socket the diodes and try some combinations. It's not a good idea to solder/de-solder too much on these PCBs as the traces will lift ...
I asked digikey about the silver mica caps and the ones they recommended me was a 500V one. Are those ok?
Part Digikey#
470pF Silver Mica 338-1043-ND
220pf Silver Mica 338-1046-ND
Quote from: franee on April 25, 2006, 01:30:57 PM
I asked digikey about the silver mica caps and the ones they recommended me was a 500V one. Are those ok?
Part Digikey#
470pF Silver Mica 338-1043-ND
220pf Silver Mica 338-1046-ND
They'll work, but you won't get the circuit board back in the enclosure and the cover back on. Those caps are huge at 500V. You don't need them that big. 25V or 50V caps are fine, and about the right size to work comfortably with.
Quote from: vanhansen on April 25, 2006, 03:25:32 PM
Quote from: franee on April 25, 2006, 01:30:57 PM
I asked digikey about the silver mica caps and the ones they recommended me was a 500V one. Are those ok?
Part Digikey#
470pF Silver Mica 338-1043-ND
220pf Silver Mica 338-1046-ND
They'll work, but you won't get the circuit board back in the enclosure and the cover back on. Those caps are huge at 500V. You don't need them that big. 25V or 50V caps are fine, and about the right size to work comfortably with.
actually they're quite small, the Silver Mica's I have are also the 500v ones and will work fine ... Now if you were talking Metal Film than yup! .. HUGE! ... never seen one though ... :icon_wink:
Quote from: Melanhead on April 25, 2006, 09:21:45 PM
Quote from: vanhansen on April 25, 2006, 03:25:32 PM
Quote from: franee on April 25, 2006, 01:30:57 PM
I asked digikey about the silver mica caps and the ones they recommended me was a 500V one. Are those ok?
Part Digikey#
470pF Silver Mica 338-1043-ND
220pf Silver Mica 338-1046-ND
They'll work, but you won't get the circuit board back in the enclosure and the cover back on. Those caps are huge at 500V. You don't need them that big. 25V or 50V caps are fine, and about the right size to work comfortably with.
actually they're quite small, the Silver Mica's I have are also the 500v ones and will work fine ... Now if you were talking Metal Film than yup! .. HUGE! ... never seen one though ... :icon_wink:
Ok tnx melanhead for clearing things up:)
Quote from: Melanhead on April 25, 2006, 09:21:45 PM
Quote from: vanhansen on April 25, 2006, 03:25:32 PM
Quote from: franee on April 25, 2006, 01:30:57 PM
I asked digikey about the silver mica caps and the ones they recommended me was a 500V one. Are those ok?
Part Digikey#
470pF Silver Mica 338-1043-ND
220pf Silver Mica 338-1046-ND
They'll work, but you won't get the circuit board back in the enclosure and the cover back on. Those caps are huge at 500V. You don't need them that big. 25V or 50V caps are fine, and about the right size to work comfortably with.
actually they're quite small, the Silver Mica's I have are also the 500v ones and will work fine ... Now if you were talking Metal Film than yup! .. HUGE! ... never seen one though ... :icon_wink:
Ahhh, I didn't realize that Silver Mica's were smaller. Thanks for clearing that up.
no prob ... I'd probably buy smaller ones if I could though but haven't seen them. I get mine from Small Bear and they're 500v as well ...
Hello everybody ;)
i have some sound clips of my ds-1 melanhead mod:
enjoy ;D
if links does not work please copy and paste it in a new window.
http://togusa.altervista.org/ds1mod_68.mp3
http://togusa.altervista.org/ds1mod_purple.mp3
http://togusa.altervista.org/ds1mod_texas.mp3
http://togusa.altervista.org/ds1mod_clean__boost.mp3
http://togusa.altervista.org/ds1mod_boogie.mp3
the guitar is my homemade strat trhough my (veeery) clean Fender Deluxe 112 (solid state).
Greetings from Italy.
I would love to try this mod on my DS-1, but mine doesn't have the resistors or caps marked on it, so I don't really know what goes where. I've looked all over and can't seem to find a decent pic to tell me what is what? Any help would be much appreciated.
Just ask for what you need, I'll try and help you find it. You should, however, be able to find a lot of them with a little help from a diagram on the DS-1 schematic sheet - http://www.godiksennet.com/images/sch/DS1PG2.jpg (tilt your head sideways, scroll almost all of the way down, and a top-down view of the board, with components facing up and IC in upper-right, will be there). Also, I can't recall who (may have been analogman), but somebody who runs a DIY mailing list gave out the keeley mod sheet in PDF format, and on there was a picture of the board and a good number of the modifiable components circled, so maybe looking for that would be a good idea, if you can't find the answers here. Feel free to PM.
Jeff
Quote from: blustrat on May 08, 2006, 05:55:20 PM
Hello everybody ;)
i have some sound clips of my ds-1 melanhead mod:
enjoy ;D
if links does not work please copy and paste it in a new window.
http://togusa.altervista.org/ds1mod_68.mp3
http://togusa.altervista.org/ds1mod_purple.mp3
http://togusa.altervista.org/ds1mod_texas.mp3
http://togusa.altervista.org/ds1mod_clean__boost.mp3
http://togusa.altervista.org/ds1mod_boogie.mp3
the guitar is my homemade strat trhough my (veeery) clean Fender Deluxe 112 (solid state).
Greetings from Italy.
Great! ... glad you're having fun :)
Hi,
Do C4 and C7 need to be Mica caps? What would happen if I use other kind of caps (polystyrene for instance). I live in Morocco and mica caps are almost impossible to find here.
I found this:
Polystyrene Film: The Holy Grail of Film Capacitors, polystyrene
has the most desirable electrical characteristics. With
temperature coefficients as low as 30-40ppm (special) and
typically less than 120ppm (standard), they have excellent
linearity of temperature coefficient over the entire temperature
range most equipment ever sees on this planet. Dielectric
Absorption (.02%) is the lowest found in any capacitor variety.
This makes the polystyrene cap the first choice for all critical
timing circuits, such as VCO and VCF timings, and for all Sample
/ Hold circuits. Polystyrene caps cannot tolerate high
temperatures (85 degrees Celsius max.), so they are not
available in the metallized variety. Careless soldering can
destroy them easily, and they are often poorly suited to
automated production equipment. There is a persistent rumor
that the only manufacturer in the world that made capacitor
grade polystyrene film has ceased production. There is still
stock in most values on the market, but people are well advised
to save a few for top of the line circuits. There are some new
polycarbonate caps which will approach the performance of
polystyrene.
So they can´t be very bad can they?
Regards,
Paul
In my pedal i used common ceramic caps instead of micas, the sound doesn't seem so bad.
Bye.
Thanks heaps! Mods done - absoloutely blows a stock DS-1 off the stage. :)
Quote from: petesguitar1 on May 11, 2006, 03:03:38 AM
Thanks heaps! Mods done - absoloutely blows a stock DS-1 off the stage. :)
Cool!
I've now just finished my biggest weekend of fooling and the DS-1 was probably the most noticeable. I'm using it with a Marlique Deluxe (Twin H/B) into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I can get the most awesome sounds out of this rig now.
Just out of interest :
I've sold quite a few DS1/SD1/BD2/TS9's with various improvements for the last three years
I've just got a new "batch" of DS1's in for "upgrading" and use similar tweaks with a few
specific changes.
Comparing to a new "unchanged" one is something that I do a lot, and these kind of changes
including using either LED's or 1N4001's for diodes, produce an overall output level of around
twice the volume of an unmodded one !!
This is with tone/vol/gain all at 12 o'clock and using an A/B box to route to them rather than
in series ( though that is probably just as good )
Not only does this mean that it will "kick" an amp quite nice, also you can keep the levels down
and still be as "loud" as a stock pedal and the noise floor seems better also because of this.
Good stuff :D
MM.
Hey Melanhead, I did your mods to my DS-1. I must say it is a completely different pedal now. It actually is a lot more versatile and the tone (while still having to dial in a sweet spot) is much better.
Quote from: tungngruv on June 13, 2006, 10:43:48 AM
Hey Melanhead, I did your mods to my DS-1. I must say it is a completely different pedal now. It actually is a lot more versatile and the tone (while still having to dial in a sweet spot) is much better.
Cool, Glad you like it! I still have another one sitting around in pieces! ... just haven't had a minute to mod it ... or do anything else for that matter ... haven't built anything in months!
Quote from: lenwood on March 23, 2006, 07:01:40 PM
Another thing you might like to try (I like it) is to change the output buffer to TS808 style
by changing R22 to 100ohm.
Has anybody tried this mod? What will this mod change?
Not a clue what the buffer mod does but I'm about to dig in to my DS-1 again for some more tweaking. ;) Just as soon as I put a new tip in my iron.
I wasnt sure this thing could ever sound good. I thought of modding it like spraying flowery perfume on a turd. :)
Quote from: jimbob on August 29, 2006, 01:10:02 PM
I wasnt sure this thing could ever sound good. I thought of modding it like spraying flowery perfume on a turd. :)
Pretty much! :icon_mrgreen:
It can be made to sound better than stock but it's not my distortion of choice .... :icon_wink:
I started digging around in my DS-1 last night. I've been wanting to try other diode combos for a while. It's got one 1N4001 and one 1N4148 Si (stock type) now. I also changed R13 back to 4.7k. Now, I just need to work on getting rid of the mid scoop that happens and the slight volume drop when hitting a chord. I think too much bass is getting through. Any idea on how the mids can be increased?
I think by lowering R16, IIRC ;)
Quote from: Melanhead on August 31, 2006, 07:16:56 AM
I think by lowering R16, IIRC ;)
I'll try that. Thanks. I've got a couple other changes to make too so I'll do that as well and see what happens.
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=48507.0
Try this for clippers. :icon_cool:
Hey,
I'm new here, I've just made a booster and an overdrive pedal.
But I'd like that pdf of the keeley mod, I've spend the last half hour searching on the net, but I can't seem to find it.
Does anyone have the link? Because it would make things a lot easier for me, I haven't had much experience reading these schematics.
Quote from: Spawn on November 02, 2006, 06:15:58 AM
Hey,
I'm new here, I've just made a booster and an overdrive pedal.
But I'd like that pdf of the keeley mod, I've spend the last half hour searching on the net, but I can't seem to find it.
Does anyone have the link? Because it would make things a lot easier for me, I haven't had much experience reading these schematics.
Quote from: soupbone on April 23, 2014, 10:57:13 PM
Quote from: Spawn on November 02, 2006, 06:15:58 AM
Hey,
I'm new here, I've just made a booster and an overdrive pedal.
But I'd like that pdf of the keeley mod, I've spend the last half hour searching on the net, but I can't seem to find it.
Does anyone have the link? Because it would make things a lot easier for me, I haven't had much experience reading these schematics.
Opps..Just realized this was from '06.