Lab rat expanding clipping options?

[drgonzo1969]

would this moonn pcb in link below work for adding more clipping options to lab rat? I havent really modded any circuit on my own before but adding clipping diodes seems pretty straight forward. does anyone else make a part switching board other than Moonn?
https://moonnelectronics.bigcartel.com/product/why-not-more-8-way-part-switcher

 

[derevaun]

It certainly would be an appropriate mod for a pedal called lab rat. I don't fully understand that moonn board though--it looks like it just switches between single diodes instead of pairs? I guess you could stuff two opposed diodes in one space.

Guitarpcb has the Rototone, which looks like it will do diode pairs, among other things.

 

[drgonzo1969]

Nice! Thanks. Ya I think the guitarpcb might work a little easier

 

[Betty Wont]

It looks like if you use an on off on type switch the center position will be no clipping. I think that’s a quick way to get another option.

 

[drgonzo1969]

I want to add asymmetrical clipping if possible. Also I’ve been curious about different colors of LEDs for clipping options. I want try UV and yellow LEDs for clipping. But ya I also like the no clipping option on rats too.

 

[Harry Klippton]

You want to add diode clipping to a tube pedal, am I understanding that right?

 

[benny_profane]

You want to add diode clipping to a tube pedal, am I understanding that right?

The tube here replaces the 2n5458 buffer stage.

 

[Paradox916]

I’m so confused by this on so many levels.

 

[drgonzo1969]

I could be way off base here, but it looks like the Lab Rat PCB has 2 LED clipping diodes and 2 1n4148 diodes. I want to do something similar to the EQD life pedal(PPCB parenthesis) where you have asymetrical clipping and germanium clipping options as as well as the LED and 1n4148 options. also thanks betty wont for the no clipping switch idea. if these are dumb ideas i apologize.

 

[drgonzo1969]

it seems like the roto-tone from guitarpcb that Derevaun suggested should be able to accomplish this but i have never modded anything on my own before and wanted to run it by you pros here first

 

[swyse]

Yeah, nothing stupid about this idea at all. Personally if I were doing it I'd jumper the on board diodes and then run the wires from the rotary switch to the original switch pads because they are a bit more beefy, just keep in mind where the wires are going so you don't introduce noise by them being too close to anything! Also you can totally wire straight to a switch for this easily since one side of all the diodes is just going to ground you can put them all together if you don't mind the less clean look.

 

[drgonzo1969]

I like the idea of a breakout board for this one just because it will help me stay organized with the wires. however, im not completely opposed to wiring direct to switch. Im still in the preliminary stages of this idea.

 

[Betty Wont]

It might be easiest to just socket the diode spots and audition until you find your favorite 2. Most combos are going to sound fairly similar. High forward voltage LEDs like UV might not even noticeably clip at all.

 

[drgonzo1969]

It might be easiest to just socket the diode spots and audition until you find your favorite 2. Most combos are going to sound fairly similar. High forward voltage LEDs like UV might not even noticeably clip at all.

Ya this is probably the most reasonable way of going about it. I still think I will go with the on-off-on switch for the no clipping option. But simply socketing the diodes and choosing the best two seems more reasonable than trying to squeeze in an extra rotary switch. Thanks for the solid advice. I’m gonna roll these ideas around for the next few days until the lab rat gets here. Cheers.

 

[derevaun]

This discussion shows up as a similar thread:

Pack RAT (stock, Turbo, “You Dirty” Rat clipping options)

Not the cleverest idea by any means but not one that I’ve seen before, surprisingly? Lots of Rat mods use an on-off-on switch to change out Rat clipping diodes, but for some reason seems everyone likes to use the off position to just remove the clipping diodes entirely for op-amp clipping. Do...

forum.pedalpcb.com

 

[Feral Feline]

Here's another idea, find your favourites:

Build the pedal but don't populate the diode section.

Hookup your diode selector switch, be it a socketed 4PDT GuitarPCB or a 12-Pole/Vero option — audition all the different clipping options you'd like to try. Narrow that down to the 4 options on a 4PDT GPCB or narrow it even further to 3 options on a DPDT on-off-on toggle, such as
Ge symmetrical / LED / Schottky-Asymmetrical
Si Asymmetrical / no diodes / Symmetrical MOSFET-diodes
etc...
etc.

Solder into the build only the options you'll actually wind up using.

It's great to have a ton of options, IMO, but after a while (often a short while) I find I gravitate towards the same 2-3 favourite options and don't use the other 8 or 12 or whatever options.

 

[vigilante398]

I mentioned this on another thread, figured I should mention it here: on Lab Rat if you want to use an on-off-on switch so you can have a straight op-amp clipping option you will likely need to add a 100k resistor between the middle lug of the switch and ground (doesn't matter where, just wherever it's convenient).

 

[drgonzo1969]

Duly noted! Thanks for the heads up!

 

[TheCrookedMan]

Hey Dr Gonzo, what did you end up doing with the clipping options? I'm about to start ordering parts for a Lab Rat and I'm definitely open to getting crazy with it.