Eleventy-bajillion diodes for your Sunking.

[gtr2]

How did you cut the enclosure for that?

Josh

[jtn191]

How did you cut the enclosure for that?

My thought as well. I'm guessing this would also be how one would put in a battery compartment. BTW, why 5 pots?

Very cool switch; let us know your favorite diodes

[thatirishsob]

Yes, that's a combination series and parallel circuit. The top two diodes are in series with each other, and in parallel with the lower diode.

Combining diodes is an interesting thing. Generally, we all use one type of diode for clipping in a pedal. But, it could be interesting to try mixing diodes, for example, using silicon in series and germanium for the parallel diodes in the asymmetric clipping above.

The list of diodes used by Brian and I are earlier inthis thread.

Jacob

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that 3 diodes in series? They are all still Anode to Cathode, for series-parallel wouldn't the "bottom" diode need flipped?

For example

---|>|----|>|----
    d1       d2  

and

     d1
  ---|>|---
--|           |---
  ---|<|---
       d2

are both series since they both are Anode to Cathode

Parallel would be Anode to Anode Cathode to Cathode

---|>|----|<|----
    d1       d2  

   d1
  ---|>|---
--|           |---
  ---|>|---
       d2

So wouldn't    

      d1     d2
  ---|>|-|>|--
--|                |---
  -----|<|----
         d3

be a series circuit? A parallel would be

      d1     d2
  ---|>|-|>|--
--|                |---
  -----|>|----
         d3

[JeffdaMaori]

I cut the hole by first marking the outside with pencil, drilling several holes to open it up wide enough to get into it with a small flat file, working it then to rectengular to fit DIP switch. Takes a bit of filing but rewards are freely changeable diodes in gazzilion ways from out side while playing (get a mate to play while you switch) and hearing difference instantly.
Five pots because this is a Marshall Guvnor MK1 clone, gain/treble/middle/bass/vol knobs.


[attachment deleted by admin]

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

It's a series-parallel combination circuit so to speak. The parallel connection is just referring to how D3 is connected over D1 and D2. Both examples you gave at the bottom have D3 in parallel, its just for the 2nd one D3 wouldn't conduct because the polarity is wrong.

         D1            D2
  --[(+)-(-)]--[(+)-(-)]--
--l                                 l--
  -------[(+)-(-)]---------

Thats how you have it set up on the last diagram. So voltage would flow from D1 + to - then D2 + to - then it would get blocked at the entry of D3 because the first entry point would be reverse polarity(-).

[jkokura]

Directionality doesn't matter for series or parallel, it has nothing to do with the diodes themselves, but how the parts are arranged. You could do the same with resistors or caps, or anything really. Parallel is side by side, series is one after another.

For example, let's look at this:

                   resistor - diode - capacitor
Signal start <            resistor                > signal end
                  diode <             > diode
                             capacitor

So in this case, we've got a whole lot of parallel and series going. But notice that it's all kinds of parts. It doesn't matter, they're still parallel or series.

The top row of resistor - diode - capacitor is in series. But parallel to that is another set of diode, resistor and capacitor, so the two batches are the same parts in parallel to each other. The arrangement of the bottom three parts doesn't matter, they're still in parallel to the top three.

However, to themselves, the bottom three are in a particular order. The diode is in series with both, but the cap and resistor are in parallel with each other.

Do you see how the relationship of parallel and series works now? This is the very beginning of how Electrical circuits work. Cool hey?!?

Jacob

[thatirishsob]

Oh geesh I am a moron! This is what I get for replying to something while I'm sick and my brain is mush. I start mixing and matching electrical concepts that my professors would beat me for misquoting! My apologies guys. Pay no attention to my fevered idiocy

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

Haha. No worries! I totally find myself complicating concepts all the time too. Thats why i love diagrams. Makes its so easy. And Madbean makes damn nice diagrams!!

[jtn191]

Gobstopper's switch idea would work in a Klon, right? How about a Muff? Man, maybe too many options is noncomittal but it's awesome 

[jkokura]

It would work on anything that relies on diode clipping for it's distorition.

A Muff does have some clipping diodes, however, that's not where the distortion is coming from on the Muff.

Any typical opamp overdrive with clipping diodes, the Sunking included, it should work for.

Jacob

[jtn191]

according to Kitrae, "The signature Muff sound comes from the two diode clipping sections in a row in the four stage transistor amplifier design" and a lot of it also comes from the caps

[jkokura]

Yes, without it the circuit doesnt sound anything like it should. My point was that changing the diode type makes little to no difference. You wouldn't hear much difference changing the type. A small change can be heard changing the configuration but you can do that with a toggle switch much easier.

Jacob

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

according to Kitrae, "The signature Muff sound comes from the two diode clipping sections in a row in the four stage transistor amplifier design" and a lot of it also comes from the caps

I'm wondering if that classic, mean raw muff tone heard in triangle, RH, VRH is due to their use of ceramic disc caps. The few muff clones i've built sound good, but not exactly like the demos i hear.

[jtn191]

could somebody re-up the images? I'm trying to install a DIP switch and don't know which pads to connect to...

what's confusing is how in the schematic it goes    -->|---GND--->|
                                                                         |_____________|

[DutchMF]

In the schematic and docs of the Green Bean there's a nice bit on experimenting with diodes. Read it and the whole "series/parallel, symetrical/asymetrical" deal becomes much clearer. There's even a switch to change between sym and asym in there, great example to use in other builds!

Paul