Electra Supreme

[Aleph Null]

I've had this one boxed up for a while and have been hesitant to make another Electra post, but I do think there are some interesting features in this iteration. I started with a list of all the features I wanted in an overdrive pedal and ended up with this: pre-gain bass control, post-gain treble control, a "texture" control (which I'll explain more later), and enough output to boost other pedals downstream.





The texture control was inspired by Jack Orman's articles on "warp" controls, where a potentiometer is used to vary the clipping threshold of different arrays of diodes. I didn't see the arrangement I ended up using, but it definitely inspired me to explore. When the texture control is fully counter-clockwise, you get symmetrical clipping. This is the familiar squishy and harmonically rich sound you'd expect. As the control is turned clockwise, the clipping becomes increasingly asymmetrical. This emphasizes the even-order harmonics, creating a reedy, nasal, and in extreme settings, almost octave-up kind of sound. The advantage of the particular arrangement I've used is that the volume is very consistent across the range, unlike a lot of other diode-switching schemes.



The values above reflect the circuit as I built it. If anyone else is interested in building this circuit, let me know; some of the values could probably be streamlined with little effect on the sound. 

[Bio77]

That's really cool.    That diode arrangement has my wheels spinning. 

[benny_profane]

Dig it. Getting a lot of versatility out of the Electra! The consistent volume with the diode control is particularly useful.