Neutrino too "middley"! How can I change this?

[Ettore_M]

My Neutrino build sounds too middley (you know: Bass - Middle - Treble  ). It kinda sucks the tone. Did anyone of you guys, who have built one, have a similar problem? Could I change any resistors and caps in the tone stack, and which ones? I have built mine on "Burst" specs.

Thanks!
Hector

[Ettore_M]

Bumping? 

Sorry guys, but I want this fixed, if I can, as soon as possible..

BTW, I used a NE5532 as Brian has used on his build, and 4 x 1n4148 (symmetrical) for the clipping diodes. Could it change the tone for the better if I used 2 - 1 asymmetrical (I've seen Jon suggested this on various builds) or germanium or another opamp? I would try this, but from everyone who has built this, I only read that they have great results! 

Hector

[midwayfair]

It's a midsy circuit. Not nearly as extreme as a tube screamer, but it does cut some bass. One thing that might help is to decrease the amount of bass cut in U1. Bump C3 up to 4.7-10uF and you should get a mighty full-range boost out of the first half of the op amp. You may need to increase R3 a little (1.8K maybe) to lower the gain that comes with the larger cap. Do the same kind of changes to C5/R6 and you'll expand the range of the tone pot, possibly de-emphasizing the higher frequencies.

I suggest some sockets to experiment since these are theoretical mods.

Suggested reading material:
http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/TStech/tsxfram.htm

And a tool you'll need:
http://sim.okawa-denshi.jp/en/CRlowkeisan.htm

[Ettore_M]

Jon, thanks so much for the reply! You are really gooda at this, huh? I've seen some of the best explanations of circuits on some of your posts!
I'll try this tomorrow morning, because now it's 11.30pm here. And I'll post results!
Thanks again!

Hector

[Ettore_M]

And midsy! Thanks for that, too!

[oldhousescott]

The problem becomes, if you don't shave the bass at this early point in the circuit, it can get very muddy/woofy. A more elaborate solution would be to tack on some make-up bass later in the circuit, a la the Barber-esque Sparkplug.

[Ettore_M]

So I tried a few modifications.. But in the end, I only changed C3 from 220nF to 100nF. From what I read in the TS technology article (Thanks, Jon!), R3 and C3 form a simple RC high-pass filter with cut-off frequency at 723Hz. I tried increasing the cap to 470nF and 1uF, but it was way too bassy. Cause then the filter had cut-off frequency ~ 150 - 195 Hz. Increasing R3 reduced gain of the clipping opamp (the first one).
Then I tried increasing C5 but again too bassy, and the range of the tone pot just dissapeared.
Finally, I decided to decrease C3 and that did it, because bass decreased, notes are now better pronounced and my opinion is that now it plays far better.
To try different values and mod the pedal to your needs was a great lesson and experience for me. Big thanks to Jon for pointing me out the TS article and the filter tool, which helped me understand what is happening in the circuit.

Hector

[pietro_moog]

i think you don't like the TS sound. it's a common thing, it takes time to realize that.
don't worry. maybe a Timmy? it has bass and treble filters on a couple of pots.
it's very nice. i have both. for me the Timmy is mainly for boosting and TS for overdrive needs.
i also don't like the symmetrical clipping on TS.

[Ettore_M]

i think you don't like the TS sound. it's a common thing, it takes time to realize that.
don't worry. maybe a Timmy? it has bass and treble filters on a couple of pots.
it's very nice. i have both. for me the Timmy is mainly for boosting and TS for overdrive needs.
i also don't like the symmetrical clipping on TS.

I thought of that, too. But then, some of my friends (guitarists, too) played with it and told me the same thing..
Maybe I'll leave it as is for now, and maybe build a Timmy or a Klon (just to see what the fuss is all about)..