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overdrive/fuzz quest part 2

#162
liveburning274 said:
Hey John here's a question for you I'm trying to land...I am looking for that next level of distortion past low OD. I'm liking something like a OCD type tone and what I fell in love with at the local GC was a Plimsoul at medium to high gain. It had a ton more mojo to my ears than the OCD even. But the problem remains that it doesn't hold the lows, or at least compresses them really heavily. Any ideas of some bass-friendly alternatives that I can look into? How hard would modding a Plimsoul be? I'm told Fulltones aren't really mod-friendly once you pop the hood.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I would agree that fulltones aren't mod friendly (I've modded several but it wasn't easy). when I built my plimsoul I had to add a switch to boost the low end and it does sound really good now, but without it, I wouldn't recommend one for bass. I think that fulltone's RTO is more suited for bass without mods but I did end up modding mine for no low end loss). I also modded my OCD for more low end. if you want something that does clean, mild OD, beyond an OD, and full blown distortion, i'd recommend the Holy Fire, the KOT, or the Ecstasy/Euphoria.
 
#164
The electro harmonix bass blogger's fuzz mode is gnarly. Sadly I've gone through two of those pedals and it's either power supply issues or just quality control. I don't use one anymore, but it's a really crackled sparkly fuzz, I miss it.
 
#165
BTW, after a few more mods/adjustments, I finally got my Riot where I want it so I boxed it up. it sounds awesome now. :hyper:



Riot-01.jpg
 
#167
well for one, i suppose that you could either change the two 3mm red clipping leds to green or blue ones, or add two more red leds in series with the existing ones.

if it has mylar or ceramic caps in it, you might try metal film ones and i'd replace the ceramic 47pf and two 330pf caps with silver micas. with those mods that should smooth things out quite a bit.
 
#168
hosebass said:
Who has the best mod for the Boss ODB-3? I have one I want to mod.
Click to expand...

I did the Wampler mod (as provided by DazonBass on another thread), and it has works well for me:

C10 0.033 microF change to 1 or 2.2 microF => adds mids warmth and fullness
R31 3.3K change to 1K => adds low mids
C8 300pf change to 0.001 microF => removes shrill highs
d2, d3 from red LED change to 1N4148 diodes => Changing diodes to 4148 will yield less distortion, and more clean tone coming through, though a bit smoother.

Better tone balance, shrill highs gone and smoother distortion.

There are several threads here and some sound clips, so I suggest some search.
 
#170
Stevorebob said:
I did the Wampler mod (as provided by DazonBass on another thread), and it has works well for me:

C10 0.033 microF change to 1 or 2.2 microF => adds mids warmth and fullness
R31 3.3K change to 1K => adds low mids
C8 300pf change to 0.001 microF => removes shrill highs
d2, d3 from red LED change to 1N4148 diodes => Changing diodes to 4148 will yield less distortion, and more clean tone coming through, though a bit smoother.

Better tone balance, shrill highs gone and smoother distortion.

There are several threads here and some sound clips, so I suggest some search.
Click to expand...

wampler does great mods to pedals.

IME, in all of the pedals that I've built (about 150 of them) LED's have a higher forward voltage than 1N4148's so the 4148's have more distortion.
 
#171
johnk_10 said:
wampler does great mods to pedals.

IME, in all of the pedals that I've built (about 150 of them) LED's have a higher forward voltage than 1N4148's so the 4148's have more distortion.
Click to expand...

There may be better mods for the ODB-3. Can't say I know anything about anything here, so I'll defer to your greater know-how and experience. I just followed the listed mods, and I like the results. Less than $5 and a little solder made ODB-3 usable. Stock, it was way too over the top.
 
#172
generally, LEDs are less compresed and less distorted than standard silcon diodes like 1N4148/1N94's, 1N4001's etc. nd germaniums are even more compressed/saturated quicker due to their very low vf (forward voltage.

approximate vf's:
LEDS: 1.4-3V (red thru blue)
1N4148: .6-.7V
1N34A (ge)- .3V
 
#173
johnk_10 said:
I would agree that fulltones aren't mod friendly (I've modded several but it wasn't easy). when I built my plimsoul I had to add a switch to boost the low end and it does sound really good now, but without it, I wouldn't recommend one for bass. I think that fulltone's RTO is more suited for bass without mods but I did end up modding mine for no low end loss). I also modded my OCD for more low end. if you want something that does clean, mild OD, beyond an OD, and full blown distortion, i'd recommend the Holy Fire, the KOT, or the Ecstasy/Euphoria.
Click to expand...

Thanks John. I listened to your plimsoul clips. It sounds good. How easy was it to add the switch and change out the capacitors? Did it take away all of the low end loss?
 
#174
liveburning274 said:
Thanks John. I listened to your plimsoul clips. It sounds good. How easy was it to add the switch and change out the capacitors? Did it take away all of the low end loss?
Click to expand...


mine was built from scratch so it was easy, but it would be tough on an original one. and yep, no low end loss at all on it now.
 
#177
John, in another older thread you commented on the Cusack Screamer Fuzz Bass, remarking that it sounded nice and also did not sound like a tubescreamer variant (which I'm inclined to agree with you on!).



I don't suppose you learned any more about this pedal, in terms of what exactly is going on inside of it. In particular I'm intrigued with the switch - LEDs in the centre position, Germ to the left, and something mysterious and wonderful sounding to the right. I'm curious as to what the third option is.

Anyway, the one youtube vid sure does sound good, with a nice range from mild OD to fuzz. Just thought I'd see if you have any other thoughts or experiences with it, oh great overdrive/fuzz guru! :)
 
#179
johnk_10 said:
Dixie's doing great. she's recovered 110%. thanks for asking.


I was just thinking about my top 10 pedals and so far, in no particular order it's:

the Barbershop
the flipster (or ginger)
the Klon clone (modded for bass)
the Ecstasy
the Xotic RC (bass)
the Cornish SS-2 (modded for bass)
the Timmy
the KOT
the blackstone mosfet overdrive
and the Holy fire.
Click to expand...

What happened to the greedtone that "ended the quest" in the last thread? :) Keep up the good work.
 

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