SOLVED Maybe an issue, maybe user error? Triad Distortion volume jump

[mkstewartesq]

OK, cause I’m currently right in the middle of trying to decide if I I’m going to need to start a full troubleshooting thread or instead write a build report (at any given time, on every build, it’s always 50–50) - I’m wondering if maybe what I’m experiencing as an issue isn’t an issue at all other than the fact that I just didn’t know much about the pedal before I built it.

The Triad Distortion is just a Rat which has a switch to flip from the stock diode clipping to LED clipping. I’ve never had a Rat before and I picked this one over the Muroidea just because I figured if I was gonna build one, it might as well have more than just the stock sound.

On my build, with he drive set low, both sides of the switch are the same volume – but as you add more drive, flipping the switch to the LED clipping is a pretty significant jump in volume over the diode clipping. Otherwise, the two modes sound how I think they should throughout the drive range (the diode mode is about as distorted and fizzy as you expect of a Rat, while the LED mode is a lot thicker and full frequency – the only difference is that the LED clipping mode is just significantly louder.

For those who have built this pedal – or just for those who are more knowledgeable than me about the different characteristics of diode clipping versus LED clipping – is this expected behavior or do I need to start posting gut shots because something is amiss?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Brett]

Sounds very much like LED vs silicon clipping to me.

 

[jcpst]

I remember someone demoing the series 3 distortion, and they pointed out that there’s a big jump in volume when you toggle.

 

[mkstewartesq]

I remember someone demoing the series 3 distortion, and they pointed out that there’s a big jump in volume when you toggle.

Good call! I completely brain-farted and didn’t even think about looking for YouTube demos. This video, right about 4:45 in, shows the demo guy being pretty surprised by the volume jump when he hits the switch. Thank you! I’ll mark this (non-) troubleshooting thread solved.

M

 

[Feral Feline]

I can attest to Turbo-Rat LED-clipping being louder than stock Rat SiD-clipping, and that stock Rat clipping was louder than the Phat Rat clipping (Schottky and MOSFET's diode) — I have all three options on a switch on my Rat build.

"...diode clipping versus LED clipping..." — don't forget that LEDs are diodes, too.

 

[mkstewartesq]

"...diode clipping versus LED clipping..." — don't forget that LEDs are diodes, too.

at nyself. Fair enough, thank you.

M

 

[BuddytheReow]

Try an Electra distortion on a breadboard and you see how the forward voltage affects the clipping, volume, and compression with hard clipping diodes. LEDs have higher fV so it sounds more “open” and responsive to dynamics.

 

[Nostradoomus]

Try blue LEDs