# Modding effects pedals as a hobby...anyone?



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I don't want to go down the deep rabbit hole of building pedals from scratch (or kits), but I'm wondering about the more shallow rabbit hole of modding *basic and inexpensive *pedals.

I want something to do as a hobby in the area of electronics that is inexpensive, safe, challenging and related to my interest in playing the guitar. I have a dedicated electronics work area and my soldering and schematic reading skills are reasonable. My knowledge of electronics theory/circuit design/nodes/etc is limited but slowly growing. 

Any comments/advice?

There is a Boss DS-1 locally on Kijiji for $40.00 and thought that might be a fun starting point.









Thanks

Cheers

Dave


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

You can mod if for bass, sounds cool! 

Boss DS-1 modded for bass CLIP included.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

IMHO, building from scratch is easier (assuming simpler projects vs the more involved ones; basic fuzzes and filters for example; even some distortions or overdrives). It will also help you build the skills for going at modding. Unless you're really good at (de)soldering, and have a good iron and pump (or even a proper desoldering iron) then you can very easily ruin the PCB. Modern stuff is a bit more robust but older pedals have PCBs with much more delicate traces and if you've never done it before it can be a real pain to remove components (especially ones with more than 2 legs) and you'll end up lifting traces. The worst is vintage single sided stuff where it feels like tin foil glued to the phenolic; lifted a few traces in my Orban compressor years back because of that. Most of the time you can just replace the trace with a jumper, but sometimes it gets complicated (especially with double-sided PCBs ).

Practice on a kit or 3 first. ...though I guess DS-1s are hardly rare and $40 isn't that big a risk.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Granny Gremlin said:


> IMHO, building from scratch is easier (assuming simpler projects vs the more involved ones; basic fuzzes and filters for example; even some distortions or overdrives). It will also help you build the skills for going at modding...................


Thanks for your advice! Much appreciated. 

I certainly respect your knowledge and experience.


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## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

There's a lot of mods you can try with a DS-1, it's a great pedal to play with. 
If you choose one you'd like to try, I can post details:

1] extra bass
2] asymetrical distortion
3] fizz kill


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Ray Cathode said:


> If you choose one you'd like to try, I can post details:
> 
> 3] fizz kill


Welcome to the forum and thanks for your response. 

I haven't actually purchased the DS-1 yet, but I'm curious to see what is involved with any of these mods...so I chose #3

Thanks

Dave


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## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

greco said:


> Welcome to the forum and thanks for your response.
> 
> I haven't actually purchased the DS-1 yet, but I'm curious to see what is involved with any of these mods...so I chose #3
> 
> ...


OK.
There are a few places to tackle fizz in the DS-1.

a] a 1nF cap across the Distortion pot gives a progressive rolloff as the drive is increased.
b] an extra 2-3nf across C10
c] 15nf across the Tone control pin 1-2
d] 18nf across R21 near the output

I've used all of them together with success, but you can try a mix & match as well.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Having dealt with untold hundreds of queries about modding over at the DIYstompbox forum over the past 20 years, one of the more common mistakes is to try to turn one pedal into something else. That is generally reflective of a lack of understanding about what "makes" a given effect what it is. It's akin to someone asking "How can I turn my toaster into a microwave oven?". That's certainly not what Dave is asking, but it's a common enough phenomenon that I had to mention it. 

A second phenomenon is something that I called the B.U.M. syndrome - blind urge to mod. I can't begin tocount the number of posts that begin "Ijust got a <insert pedal name here>. What are some cool mods I can do?". Stompboxes tend to fall into 2 broad categories: those where the manufacturer has developed something intended to work well and please all potential users, and those where the manufacturer has takena proven design and changed something about it to suit a niche market. That certainly doesn't mean mods are moot or to be avoided. It does mean that one needs to have a sensible rationale for modding, and identified goals, before applying iron to PC board.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

I've been playing since 1973. In the 80's I got in to the mod phase that lasted in to the early 90's. I modded just about everything. It was a lot of fun but as the years went on I modded less and less and now I just buy exactly what I want. The 52 tele ri I just bought the only mod I do is swap out the saddles for compensated. 
Pedals I never bothered much with modding. There is so many options I just don't see the point. But I understand those that do as modding can be a lot of fun.


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## BSTheTech (Sep 30, 2015)

I just built my first pedal circuit from scratch. I'm still messing with components with the help of mhammer. The pedal mentioned in my post was easy and fun to build and the documentation taught me a lot. Some kits seem to be just paint by number solder-fests, but if I can do it anybody can.

https://guitarscanada.com/index.php?threads/premier-guitar-diy-distortion-pedal.187641/#post-1877409

* Nevermind Greco I see you already posted in my post that I posted post haste.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

BSTheTech said:


> The pedal mentioned in my post was easy and fun to build and the documentation taught me a lot.


I did read your thread. Congrats!

I was just looking at the documentation. Excellent!!








What does what? 
Fig. 3 explains the basics. 

To get you up and running with minimum theorizing, these explanations are greatly simplified. 

1. Guitar signal enters here. C1 acts as a filter. Smaller capacitors remove more lows.
2. The transistor amplifies your guitar signal—so much so that it distorts. Different transistors provide different amounts of gain.
3. The battery powers the transistor. R2 regulates the amount of current reaching the transistor.
4. R3 regulates the amount of current flowing from the transistor to ground. Lower values equal more gain.
5. R1 adds some current from the battery to the pre-transistor input signal.
6. C2 removes DC signal, preventing it from reaching your amp


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I may have created the false impression that I don't think pedals should be modded. In actuality, modding an existing pedal is a great first step to building, for the simple reason that you start off knowing everything works, and that whatever might go wrong thereafter is because of the specific thing/s you've done. When a novice tries to build an entire pedal, and somehow it doesn't work, or work right, where did things go wrong? Could be a thousand things. So, best to start with a sure thing. It's also a great way to learn what does what and how things work.

One of the nice things about modding is that "mods" can often consist of tacking a component here or there on the copper side of the board. The space between the back of the board and the chassis doesn't always permit adding parts, but sometimes they do. F'rinstance, lots of Tube Screamer-derived pedals use the same 4k7/.047uf combination to set the gain range and roll off the bass. Simply tacking a 0.1uf cap to the pads where the .047uf cap is installed, on the copper side of the board, adds new life to the pedal by restoring more bass. Some folks will make a big deal about cap type, but a plain vanilla ceramic disc cap will do the job admirably and fit nicely in the available space. And AFAIC, it's rock and roll. You don't need anything higher quality.

Other sorts of mods can be equally simple. For instance, say you have a phaser and you find the fastest speed just a tad slower than what you'd like. Find the resistor that sets maximum speed, identify the pads where that resistor is installed, do some simple math, and tack on a second resistor in parallel to reduce their combined resistance. The Boss PH-2 phaser uses a 250k rate pot, in series with a 2k2 fixed resistor to set maximum speed (the higher the resistance, the slower the sweep rate). If max speed is a little too slow, tack on a 10k resistor in parallel with the 2k2, dropping the effective combined resistance to 1k8, providing a slightly faster maximum speed.

And since a DS-1 is on the menu, let's try another one. The DS-1 uses a tonestack similar to a Big Muff. The signal gets split into two paths - lowpass and highpass - and the tone control simply pans between the two paths. The lowpass path rolls off lower mids and above, to help create a bit of a midscoop, using a 6k8 and 0.1uf pair. Lowering the valueof the 6k8 raises the frequency where the rolloff begins. Stock, it begins around 234hz. If we stick a 10k resistor in parallel with the existing 6k8, we end up with an effective resistance of 4k, and bump the rolloff up to just under 400hz, which gives us a little more definition and "vocal" sound in the full bass tone setting.

I mention these sorts of mods because nothing has to be removed to do them, and they are easily reversible. In contrast, removing components tends to require more heat and greater risk to the board. Moreover, one can simply solder one lead from the added component to the copper side, and briefly touch the other "free" lead to the corresponding pad, and listen to what it does. The instant A/B with/without comparison can be very helpful for determining IF it matters, and any fine tuning that may be required. Don't be afraid to use 1/8W resistors, and small ceramic disc caps.

There, I hope that's useful information.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

mhammer said:


> There, I hope that's useful information.


VERY helpful, very interesting and very supportive. 

Thank you!


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## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

I just have to add my 2 cents worth on this one cause I know Dave never listens to what I say but I always say it anyways.

First of all.... 2 facts that I truly hope no one will dispute...
Fact one.... there are a hell of a lot of different pedals in the world these days...I actually stopped counting at 2 zillion.
Fact two.... I am going to assume that a lot of folks who do buy these pedals at some point or other will ask Mr. Google 
to tell them all about the particular pedal they just got and sooner or later they will also come across some interesting mods that 
make the pedal much better.
Here is something that I am certain of.....the VAST MAJORITY of these folks will never be able to make those mods.
Some will know their limitations and just think of the mod as an interesting idea. Others that think they can make the mod will inevitably ruin the pedal and basically just go out and buy another being much wiser.
For those 1 percent of 1 percent that can actually make those mods, good for you but you are not part of my point.

Speaking of making a point....well here it is...
IF anyone ( Dave included) wants to and can make mods to pedals, why not advertise to anyone who may want a specific mod to their existing pedal and for a reasonable price, make the mod for them.
kinda kills a lot of birds with just a couple of stones. Actually, I like birds so that was uncalled for.

cheers 
G.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

GTmaker said:


> I just have to add my 2 cents worth on this one cause I know Dave never listens to what I say but I always say it anyways.


I listen to what you say...I just don't always totally 'agree'. We just move forward after 'agreeing to disagree'...Correct?



GTmaker said:


> ask Mr. Google


Mrs. Greco wants to clarify that if anyone wants to humanize "Google", 
"Ms. Google" is the correct term.



GTmaker said:


> IF anyone ( Dave included) wants to and can make mods to pedals, why not advertise to anyone who may want a specific mod to their existing pedal and for a reasonable price, make the mod for them.


Let me introduce you to Robert Keeley...








There are many, many others in this business, I just don't know their names.

This purpose of this thread is to ask others about their thoughts regarding modding pedals as a potential *hobby* for me. I fully expect that I will never develop the level of knowledge and skills to offer to do this for others to any real extent.
In addition, I do not want to start and develop another business of any sort...ever. Four business 'adventures' in one lifetime is enough.



GTmaker said:


> Others that think they can make the mod will inevitably ruin the pedal


I fully understand that I will make mistakes and ruin some pedals. I know my electronics skills/knowledge are very limited. However, I view this as a way of learning more about electronics and circuits and having some fun with something associated with playing the guitar.

This thread now has me debating the options of:
...modifying an existing pedal 
OR 
...buying a kit from B.Y.O.C. in Brantford. 

Thanks to everyone that has contributed to the thread. Much appreciated.

Cheers

Dave


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

BSTheTech said:


> * Nevermind Greco I see you *already posted in my post that I posted post haste*.


Are you trying to scramble my brains on purpose?

You have been reading too much electronics theory recently and need to take a break!...LOL


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

I'd be happy to give you my older GE-7 for you to do the Sniper Mod on. (try to do?)


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

greco said:


> I did read your thread. Congrats!
> 
> I was just looking at the documentation. Excellent!!
> View attachment 158929
> ...


This is exactly what I mean by starting out with a sinple kit or scratch build. You get an idea of how things work; at the very least you learn to break the circuit down into functional blocks (input, output, gain, filters etc) so you learn something and can then make more meaningful mods. Just modding, adding a cap here or there cuz somone said, teaches you little and so you're just following other peoples instructions. At best you are, for example, as mentioned by @mhammer , changing a cap value (vs the instructions) to filter more/less bass out. Going back to the circuit above, once you've built it (or rather, breadboarded it - I would recomend learning that first - no soldering required and it allows you to make component or even circuit changes easily) you can play with it. 

For example, the 2 obvious 'mods' to the above circuit would be seeing what adding a clipping diode(s) to the NFB would do (more or different dirt; try different diodes, what do they do, why; ah forward voltage what's that and how is it related to clipping threshold?) and adding an output volume (that transistor can raise the signal level quite a bit; the clipping diode may take that back a bit). That's education; when you figure it out yourself vs having someone tell you. Sure, you would look at other circuits, to figure out how/where to do it, but then you bring it back to this one to implement. Both very simple, and the process of looking at the schem of a similarly simple dirt pedal and applying those changes to this one will make a world of difference to your understanding and confidence.The argument that you won't be able to build this basic circuit so start with a working pedal is flawed in the sense that, maybe if you can't handle this (not saying first try - there usually is some troubleshooting involved when you build something; that's an important learning experience as well - and thats why you start simple) then you should not be messing with a working pedal (far more complicated with no hope of you actually understanding the circuit, or tracing it even). At that point sure, just simple well documented, non-destructive mods for you and forget the learning cuz you (the proverbial you, not anyone here specifically) have no aptitude (or alternatively, desire to see things through, which is fair enough). And that's fine too, if it's all you're into.

That's in addition to soldering and other practical skills you will hone or at least refresh before you touch that working pedal that is actually worth something.

As much as I respect @mhammer, I do disagree with him on this - yes modding can learn ya, sure, but only once you have more foundation, which modding does not provide, and there are too many 'shortcuts' to avoid any real learning (the vocab does not count).

That said, it doesn't hurt to start with a quick easy (nondestructive) mod to get your confidence up with a quick win. Those DS-1 mods listed above especially (adding a cap across a pot is pie and the DS-1, as mentioned, is cheap and ubiquitous).


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

If I'm not mistaken, Analogman Mike Piera also started out doing mods. At some point, once I've finished all the backlog of projects I have piled up, I may offer mods. But I'll keep it local since I can't be bothered shipping anything. In many instances, it's also more satisfying to me personally to do the mod in front of the person, ask them whether it does what they want, and tailor if needed.

As for a GE-7 pedal, it's not impossible, but that's a pretty crowded board, wanting a fine soldering tip.

Many older pedals are predicated on conserving battery juice, so they will often sacrifice noise specs for power consumption. As more and more pedalboards use power bricks to supply all pedals, especially with those mini-pedals that have no battery capability to speak of, chip choices are changing. But older GE-7 gutshots show use of op-amps that sacrifice hiss for longer battery life, and those may be worth changing. If a "pedalboard" consists only of a wah and fuzz, that's not an issue, but with so many pedalboards and desired tones consisting of 5+ cascaded pedals, the cumulative hiss can be problematic and worth tackling head on....assuming it is imnprovable.

Still, some folks can go overboard in pursuit of supposedly ideal mods. Is it worth replacing a 4558 chip with something else? In my view, not often. It isn't one of those trade-hiss-for-power chips, so there aren't many applications where swapping it with a $3 Burr-Brown chip does anything useful. And while I will not cast any aspersions on the sincere intent and honest business practices of those who do offer mod services, when one has spent $60+ to send away an $80 pedal for modding and finally gets it back after 5-6 weeks, just about anything the modder may have done is greeted as a _significant_ improvement by the pedal-owner, simply because they miss the damn thing and have so much skin in the game. That's not to say _nothing_ was changed or improved, but the improvement may be much less than a more disinterested party might have noticed, if they were able to make the sonic comparison 10 minutes apart.

Incidentally, sometimes crappier components yield improvements. A local fellow, and former forum member (or maybe he's still around, just silent) brought his Timmy pedal over for modding, because he had read about another chip improving the sound. I unsoldered the JRC4558 chip that was in there, installed a socket, and we spent a big chunk of the evening trying out what must have been a half dozen or more different dual op-amp chips of different classes/categories. When all was said and done, the ultra-cheap pre-modern-era LM1458 was the winner, as relayed in whatever he had read. It was the _shortcomings_ of that chip that shaved off some of the annoying high top-end and made for a more pleasing tone. I had been sceptical at first, but he was intent on making the mod, so I figured I'd go through the motions, and eventually come back to where we started. But I learned something that evening.

If one IS interested in modding, THE place to go is the DIYstompbox forum, where you will encounter an immense community of well-informed people who are extremely generous with their knowledge.

And, as for whether "modding can learn ya", my own approach is to understand the circuit/pedal *first*, and make any mods based on that understanding, not blind circuit-bending. (That is, after all, the basis for identifying the BUM syndrome.) In experimental research, one designs a study in order to hold certain factors constant, such that the impact of _specific_ identifiable factors can be isolated. Modding can be, and should be, similar to that: _here_ is what the pedal does in its natural state, _here_ is the single thing I changed, and _here_ is what it did. In other words, rational and methodical. If THAT doesn't provide a learning opportunity, I don't know what will.

If one has been to my home, you'll see several shelves of binders, containing thousands of schematics. My primary reason for owning a tablet, is so that I can carry about 8 gig of schematics around with me for consultation. It is largely by comparing different designs that stem from the same base, that one can think "Ah, I see what they did there" and come up with useful alternatives or extensions. So yeah, listen to your granny: understand first, and then mod.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

davetcan said:


> I'd be happy to give you my older GE-7 for you to do the Sniper Mod on. (try to do?)


Thanks Dave...This appears to be quite an advanced mod.

I assuming you might have read this thread??...I found it when looking up the 'Sniper Mod'
Anyone else use a GE-7 Sniper Mod EQ?


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Granny Gremlin said:


> You get an idea of how things work; at the very least you learn to break the circuit down into functional blocks (input, output, gain, filters etc) so you learn something and can then make more meaningful mods.





mhammer said:


> And, as for whether "modding can learn ya", my own approach is to understand the circuit/pedal *first*, and make any mods based on that understanding,


OK...Maybe I need to step back/slow down and start reading about basic pedal circuits. What is the recommended best source for this that specifically relates to pedals? 

If the *kit* build documentation was more educational, as @BSTheTech encountered and wrote about in this thread, I would be off to a better start. 
Maybe some kit companies have more educational documentation. I have only looked at BYOC documentation so far.

I prefer not to have to source all the parts on my own and that is why I keep referring to "kit"(s). 

This thread is getting much more traction than I expected. Hopefully it will help others.

Cheers

Dave


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

It's hard to do better than starting out with both Jack Orman's AMZ website ( DIY Guitar Effects Pedals, Schematics, Stompboxes & Electronics ), and RG Keen's GEOFEX website ( New Page 1 ), especially the "Technology of" link you'll see in tiny print at the upper left of the home page. Both of these guys have been at it for over a generation. Great writers with a mastery of the topic


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## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

I won't get involved in the 'To Mod Or Not To Mod' debate this early, but I'll add a word of caution here:
There are cheap pedals to play with and learn (think cheap Chevy you learned car mechanics on by playing with the suspension and carburetor) , and then there are CHEAPLY MADE pedals that will have you pulling your hair and wishing you'd stayed in accounting (think Lada).

E.g., I modded a Danelectro Cool Cat V2 for a harp player the other week. (It's just an awesome combo with blues harp)
But I found the copper traces to be less than tissue paper thin & easily lifted, even with careful soldering work...
I'd recommend a bit of research on the PC board quality before buying anything you're thinking of modding.
BOSS, EHX and JOYO boards are just fine, to name a few. Caline, Danelectro, not so much.

Also, sticking to the TOP of the board, or placing components in Parallel only as someone here mentioned, is a great idea for starts.
The mods I posted for DS-1 Fizz Control are all 'no replacement' mods of this type.

As for books, Horowitz & Hill The Art Of Electronics is a must on the shelf, but more specifically to stompboxes, a lot of DIY pedal sites give you 'Deconstructed' posts that divide up the circuits and do a great job in describing how things work.

E.g., ElectroSmash - Boss DS1 Distortion Analysis

Also I can highly recommend using a free circuit simulator like LT Spice to test your ideas on. This is a surprisingly fast, informative & satisfying way to see how an added cap or tweaked resistor value affects a circuit.


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## sammyr (May 7, 2013)

A great pedal to start learning on is a wah wah. Old crybabys are easily had for 40 bucks and the circuit is quite simple with lots of room to work with. RG Keen has a great article on the technology of wah's and breaks down the whole circuit in laymans terms giving you a chance to see both the how and the why of the mods. Wahs also have a lot of room inside the chassis so you don't have to struggle trying to fit a board in and out everytime you make a change. The Technology of Wah Pedals


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

greco said:


> Thanks Dave...This appears to be quite an advanced mod.
> 
> I assuming you might have read this thread??...I found it when looking up the 'Sniper Mod'
> Anyone else use a GE-7 Sniper Mod EQ?


That's a great read and it seems the real noise culprit is just a couple of op amps.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

davetcan said:


> That's a great read and it seems the real noise culprit is just a couple of op amps.


Correct. And TL022 dual op-amps (and their JRC equivalent) are considered low-power, but NOT low-noise. They are recommended for use as part of an LFO (sweep generator) for chorus, phaser, tremolo, flanger, etc., and reduce risk of audible clicking at the rate set. That application IS a good thing, but it's not part of the audio path, so whatever hiss they also produce doesn't become part of what you get to hear. Again, there was a time when it was assumed ALL pedals would be powered by batteries, so manufacturers tried to get batteries to lastas ong as they could.

I have a Behringer clone of the Boss AC-2. Sadly, Behringer decided to opt for TL064 chips (a quad op-amp) instead of TL074, and in doing so exchanged battery life for hiss. Shoulda used TL074.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Has anyone read this?

I would prefer an old style, hand held, paper pages 'book' , but the few preview pages of this book that are available seem interesting. It is also quite new.

Guitar Effects Explained - Kindle edition by Jack Orman. Arts & Photography Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.










Meanwhile, I will read from the websites mentioned.

@sammyr Thanks! A very detailed and interesting looking read. I just glanced over it quickly.


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## BSTheTech (Sep 30, 2015)

Oh man...I'm going to be in the bathroom a long time getting caught up on this thread.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

greco said:


> Has anyone read this?
> 
> I would prefer an old style, hand held, paper pages 'book' , but the few preview pages of this book that are available seem interesting. It is also quite new.
> 
> ...


Craig Anderton had a terrific book in the early 80's - Guitar Gadgets: Craig Anderton: 9780825622946: Books - Amazon.ca - that essentially marched through every conceivable type of pedal (at least what existed at that point in pedal history; none of the truly bizarre noisemakers were around then) and explained what they did, what options/features did what, etc. Not having seen Jack's book, I can't say what level his addresses effects at. Anderton's was more at a systems level, than examining circuits. Dave Hunter has a book on pedals as well - Guitar Effects Pedals: The Practical Handbook Updated and Expanded Edition: Dave Hunter: 9781617131011: Books - Amazon.ca - which I found to be a tremendous disappointment. Frankly, I expected better from him. It has circuit diagrams but they are erroneous, misleading, and show parts which don't exist. The link here is for the 2nd expanded and improved edition, which may have more useful and accurate information. One can hope it achieves the level of accuracy and informativeness of some of his other books.

Another off-the-beaten-path resource is the interview page at the effectsdatabase site - brand interviews - where the folks behind many of the "boutique" brands are interviewed. Many of them will reference both RG and Jack (and even occasionally me!), but they also talk about how they stumbled onto things, or how they think about modding or extending designs. I think you'll also find that a great many started out by modding pedals, and in many instances hot-rodding a pedal they owned, which came close to what they wanted, but not quite. Great inspiration.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I have found a huge amount of reading material and will now be busy trying to learn how some of these circuits function.

Thanks again to everyone for the help.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

If anyone is interested I found this write up on the GE-7. Does this make sense @mhammer ? Might give this a crack myself.

Guest Post: Boss GE-7 Low noise modification - Effects Bay


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Makes perfect sense, although swapping chips will probably yield a more audible difference. I tend to reserve judgment when it comes to caps. Caps have larger tolerances than either resistors or chips, so people tend to mistake random variation in _value_ for impact of _type_. A polyester and ceramic cap may both say 0.1uf on the outside, but in reality the one may actually measure 0.115uf and the other one measure .092uf. Is what you hear because you switched type or because they have different values?

But, back to the chips. Swapping TL022s for NE5532s is a good idea. They should be available in most places. Though slightly different, a TL072 will also sub well. TL062 will likely reinstate the noise you're trying to eliminate. If push comes to shove, even a 4558 will probably yield less noise than a TL022 or 062.

The caveat is that desoldering chips involves applying a lot of heat to a small space, which bears the risk of dislodging the copper traces from the board. So, how to avoid that risk?

1) DO NOT use a solder sucker. You will not be able to easily get into the small spaces, and end up applying too much heat in the process. I'm not dissing solder suckers. They can be very useful in certain contexts. But this ain't one of them.

2) Get yourself some solder wick. This is a thin gauge braided bare copper, that looks like shielding flattened out. It comes on small rolls of 5ft. I like to use the stuff that is 1.5 to 2.5mm wide. Because it is braided, you can pull it out a bit at the sides to expose more surface area and improve its solder removal capacity.

3) If you, or have it, get some liquid flux. Solder wick works well, but coating it with a bit of flux _supercharges_ it. I use a Q-tip to apply a dab to the solder wick and smear it around.

4) Wait between desoldering a couple of pads. That gives the board a bit of time to cool down, so that it doesn't succumb to cumulative heat buildup. Given that you're desoldering 4 chips, a reasonable strategy is to wick pin 1 of each chip, wait 30 seconds, wick pin 2, etc.

5) As the solder wick absorbs the unwanted solder, it turns into a stiff segment. Clip the filled portions off and try to apply a bare (pre-fluxed) part of the wick to whatever you are trying to desolder at the moment.

6) There are nearly always teensy solder "webs" between the chip pins and the pads. It's a good idea to take your needle nose pliers and give each pin a gentle wiggle to crack any such webs before attempting to lift the chip out.

You should have a noticeably quieter pedal when done.
Clear enough?


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

mhammer said:


> Makes perfect sense, although swapping chips will probably yield a more audible difference. I tend to reserve judgment when it comes to caps. Caps have larger tolerances than either resistors or chips, so people tend to mistake random variation in _value_ for impact of _type_. A polyester and ceramic cap may both say 0.1uf on the outside, but in reality the one may actually measure 0.115uf and the other one measure .092uf. Is what you hear because you switched type or because they have different values?
> 
> But, back to the chips. Swapping TL022s for NE5532s is a good idea. They should be available in most places. Though slightly different, a TL072 will also sub well. TL062 will likely reinstate the noise you're trying to eliminate. If push comes to shove, even a 4558 will probably yield less noise than a TL022 or 062.
> 
> ...


Or I could just buy an MXR EQ 

TEN BAND EQ


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Hey @greco I hope your mods will look like that!


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

@Ti-Ron That is so cool!! 
What is the name of the pedal ?


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

mhammer said:


> Makes perfect sense, although swapping chips will probably yield a more audible difference...............


Great post! 
I learned a lot from it. 
Thanks Mark.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

greco said:


> @Ti-Ron That is so cool!!
> What is the name of the pedal ?


BeetronicsFX - Octahive

Octahive


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

BSTheTech said:


> Oh man...I'm going to be in the bathroom a long time getting caught up on this thread.


The Ultimate Shitter Reader right here.


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## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

Just fyi, added a link in post #23 above re: circuit deconstruction for the DS-1 on ElectroSmash.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Ray Cathode said:


> Just fyi, added a link in post #23 above re: circuit deconstruction for the DS-1 on ElectroSmash.


Thanks...much appreciated.


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## Ronbeast (Nov 11, 2008)

I’m a novice in the mods/repair/building hobby myself, but I’ve got an electronics background (digital mostly, unfortunately) and the proper gear already available to me. 

I’ve done a few crossovers on the ds1 mods; I modded it for bass (a surprisingly good bass distortion) and also did a few other changes to try and even out the brittle distortion. I think the DS1 is a great starting point, because they’re plentiful and they’re built like a brick shithouse. 

I’ve also got one repair under my belt, a Guyatone ps007 phaser pedal which wasn’t powering on; that was a quick fix. I have another pedal to look at now with a similar issue. $20 all in for a great phaser pedal is hard to beat!

I’m getting some parts together now, and I will be doing a clone of the zvex fuzz factory; I recommend that for an easy first scratch build, even easier would be a zvex SHO.

After I build a couple of clones, I plan on making some adjustments to better suit my needs, and once I get good I plan on doing some originals, but that won’t be for a long time.

My advice, just have fun with it! You’ll probably end up with a few paper weights along the way, but hey, it doesn’t hurt to have a few extra enclosures kicking around.


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