DOD 250 Clone With Bass Mods

c0vin · #1 01-26-2008, 05:29 AM

I know this has been discussed before, but I wanted to share my two cents. In my never-ending quest for the perfect overdrive I have to give credit to buildyourownclone.com for their 250+ kit. If you can solder you can build it.

Basically you can build either a DOD 250 (original GREY specs), or the MXR distortion+. It uses a 741 single op-amp as opposed to the dual amp on the reissue pedals (not much of a difference, but still). It also has true bypass and an LED. The clipping diode section gives you the option to add an extra diode for asymmetrical clipping.

I built mine to DOD 250 grey specs with a couple simple mods to give it a nice bass tone. I changed the input cap to .1uf from the stock .01uf and replaced the two silicon diodes with green LEDs. I love how it sounds at this point.

I've been using it to push a BDI21 into drive with a little gain boost. I also have it running before a modded crybaby wah and a Digitech bass squeeze. I can get a nice deep growl by turning the level all the way up and just letting the compressor take care of the excess volume. It also works great for driving a little tube mic preamp DI box I have. Overall the thing is pretty useful and doesnt at all sound tinny or over-processed.

The whole point of this DOD 250 rehash thread was to show off the inside of the buildyourownclone version because I was impressed with the quality of the kit.

-------

Oh yeah, and this is my first post on TB, though I've been trolling for a while...

i_got_a_mohawk · #2 01-26-2008, 05:41 AM

Nice one

Im building a modded version of the 250, but with switchable input caps, not sure what im doing about the clipping section yet tho.

Do you have any clips of the sound with and without the pedal active?

c0vin · #3 01-26-2008, 01:16 PM

I'll try to get some clips up later. Its hard to hear it in a picture

I thought about putting a little toggle switch on the side for the input cap, but I found that the larger input cap doesn't really deaden the highs so it still works as a guitar overdrive.

What I would like to put a toggle on is the clipping section. the LEDs sound GREAT for bass but the little silicon diodes sound better on guitar. Maybe a rotary switch for diode settings?

(although I'll probably just leave it. if my guitarist wants one I can just build another)

karter2000 · #4 01-26-2008, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c0vin

I can get a nice deep growl by turning the level all the way up and just letting the compressor take care of the excess volume.

Just a quick question, are you running the 250 wide open directly into the BDI21, or the compressor? Just wanting to know the signal path. I've been interested in building a 250 clone for some time, plus I own a BDI21.

Thanks,

Lyle

vigor&kandor · #5 01-26-2008, 05:16 PM

which cap was the input cap?

c0vin · #6 01-26-2008, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vigor&kandor

which cap was the input cap?

It's the large green film cap in the middle. The BYOC board has it marked as ".01uf"

Quote:

Originally Posted by karter2000

Just a quick question, are you running the 250 wide open directly into the BDI21, or the compressor?

Wide open into the compressor works well, wide open into the BDI21 yields too much of a volume difference so I have been backing off the level knob to about 3:00 when I do it that way. Still, it sounds good compressed even at 3:00. I usually back off the drive a bit in either scenario just to sound a bit cleaner.

vigor&kandor · #7 01-26-2008, 06:30 PM

i tried mine with LEDs and it didn't clip barely at all. the pedal basically became a booster.

Trevor.A · #8 01-26-2008, 06:42 PM

How much of a difference did the .1uF cap make for bass? I'm about to mod my 250, but I don't know if I should go with something higher.

c0vin · #9 01-26-2008, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vigor&kandor

i tried mine with LEDs and it didn't clip barely at all. the pedal basically became a booster.

hmmm... when I switched to LEDs I did notice less clipping, plus it became more of a warmer soft clip rather than the harsh straight clip it was before. It still clips pretty nicely with the drive all the way up. The size of the LEDs might affect this, I'm not sure to tell you the truth. Are you running it straight or into other gear?

I'd still like to make a rotary switch version with silicon, germanium, LED, zener, etc.

---------------
EDIT

I just listened with some headphones to get a good feel for the pedal by itself with the amp's gain low. The LED's are a very mild clip compared to the other diodes I tried. If you are not using it to drive something else (ie: compressor, BDI), you may want it to clip more. In my case, more clipping meant it introduced a shrill tinny fuzz like a Boss ODB-3.

c0vin · #10 01-26-2008, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor.A

How much of a difference did the .1uF cap make for bass? I'm about to mod my 250, but I don't know if I should go with something higher.

It actually made a decent difference for me, you might want to experiment to suit your tastes. I had the cap at .047 for a while before going to .1

Then again, what you run the overdrive INTO makes all the difference in the world

vigor&kandor · #11 01-26-2008, 07:27 PM

I used a .22 uf cap on the input and it left all my lowend intact. I have some 1n4001 diodes in her now and they sound really good. they are in between stock and LEDs. I may put an LED with one of the 1n4001s. LEDs sounded GREAT though, they were really warm. An easy way to get an almost identical sound to LEDs is just to clip out the diodes. In my experiments with the DOD 250, having LEDs and have no diodes sounded almost identical.

c0vin · #12 01-26-2008, 08:35 PM

I have a pair of 4001's and also some germaniums that came with the kit, I did like the 4001's a lot when I tried them. Might try adding one asymmetrically with the LEDs.

Tomass · #13 01-26-2008, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c0vin

I have a pair of 4001's and also some germaniums that came with the kit, I did like the 4001's a lot when I tried them. Might try adding one asymmetrically with the LEDs.

What are you crazy, you'll kill us all........kidding. Perhaps you could make it so that you could switch between the two different diodes. or possibly have trims on each set to blend to distortion tones together. Cant wait to hear some sound samples!

c0vin · #14 01-26-2008, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vigor&kandor

I used a .22 uf cap on the input and it left all my lowend intact. I have some 1n4001 diodes in her now and they sound really good. they are in between stock and LEDs. I may put an LED with one of the 1n4001s. LEDs sounded GREAT though, they were really warm. An easy way to get an almost identical sound to LEDs is just to clip out the diodes. In my experiments with the DOD 250, having LEDs and have no diodes sounded almost identical.

I did some more experimenting with it and ended up doing the same thing, dual 4001s. The 4001s are much warmer than anything else I tried (except the LEDs of course), and the grit they add sounds much more natural. A diode switch might still be nice, it could potentially be an all-in-one type of overdrive box that way.

I did try alternating between an LED and a 4001, a germanium and a 4001, and found the two 4001s to be the best. I didn't take the time to play with adding a third diode. The 250 is a circuit I wouldnt mind building on a breadboard and tweaking in real time

I'll post some clips later tonight.

Swimming Bird · #15 01-27-2008, 10:11 AM

Sort of a n00b pedal building question, but how do you choose which diodes/resistors/transistors/what-have-yous to experiment with/swap out?

vigor&kandor · #16 01-27-2008, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swimming Bird

Sort of a n00b pedal building question, but how do you choose which diodes/resistors/transistors/what-have-yous to experiment with/swap out?

I usually search the net for pre-existing mods and start there. usually people have tried many different combinations of caps and diodes for different tones.

Diodes are really the easiest swap, besides desoldering and resoldering. As long as the two diodes are facinge opposite directions then your good to go. LED's are a little different because it can be harder to tell which direction they are facing.

a good place to learn about modding is: diystompboxes.com

also indyguitarist has a book that i think is worth the money to download. http://www.indyguitarist.com/diy/

Zachass · #17 01-28-2008, 12:55 PM

Definitely interested in seeing what you do with a breadboard version of the 250. I just finished replacing the Diodes with LEDs for a warmer sound and liked the end result, less harsh clipping and more of a vintage overdrive sound. After that and the input cap mod, the 250 is a much more useful animal. Keep it up and let us know how it goes.