Adding a B Breaker additional gain toggle

[HamishR]

What is it that your buddy actually wants? Is it a toggle switch to have a higher gain option available or is he wanting an extra stompswitch to add a boost?

Any time you add diodes you will lose volume. But two pairs of diodes will sound smoother than a single pair of diodes. Different diodes will create different sounding breakup. If you have a switch so you can swap between a pair of diodes or a quartet you will experience a change in volume making it not very usable at a gig. The BB isn't a particularly loud pedal to begin with so adding diodes might not get you where you want to be!

If you want a "better" Bluesbreaker the Protein Blue is excellent. Like the Glory Hole it adds a gain stage at the end (this time with a single opamp chip rather than a transistor) and I think it sounds better than the Glory Hole.

If you want a BB with a stomp boost there are many options - the boost from the Dane is a good one. I've built quite a few dual pedals with an OD and a Red Rooster. The Jackson Amp Mode boost is another good one. But in keeping with the BB inspiration I'd probably go with the Red Rooster because it's based on a Rangemaster Treble Booster (which may or may not have been used on the Bluesbreaker album) and it just sounds great. Very few parts too, especially if you use an NPN transistor.

 

[ChrsGuit]

What is it that your buddy actually wants? Is it a toggle switch to have a higher gain option available or is he wanting an extra stompswitch to add a boost?

Any time you add diodes you will lose volume. But two pairs of diodes will sound smoother than a single pair of diodes. Different diodes will create different sounding breakup. If you have a switch so you can swap between a pair of diodes or a quartet you will experience a change in volume making it not very usable at a gig. The BB isn't a particularly loud pedal to begin with so adding diodes might not get you where you want to be!

If you want a "better" Bluesbreaker the Protein Blue is excellent. Like the Glory Hole it adds a gain stage at the end (this time with a single opamp chip rather than a transistor) and I think it sounds better than the Glory Hole.

If you want a BB with a stomp boost there are many options - the boost from the Dane is a good one. I've built quite a few dual pedals with an OD and a Red Rooster. The Jackson Amp Mode boost is another good one. But in keeping with the BB inspiration I'd probably go with the Red Rooster because it's based on a Rangemaster Treble Booster (which may or may not have been used on the Bluesbreaker album) and it just sounds great. Very few parts too, especially if you use an NPN transistor.

Just a simple toggle that can add a bit more gain if the mood arises.
I'll give you a case in point.

I built the "high gain" version of the "Super Stevie" (Lovepedal super 6) overdrive... I used the 1m pot and omitted R6 to make the higher gain version... I then added jumpers to an On On switch in place of R6 with the 3k3 resistor... I'm not sure how I got the results I did (because others here stated that the difference would be minimal) but in one setting there is a compressed, substantial amount of gain... in the other, a louder signal with lots of headroom and the drive has a much clearer "Bluesbreaker"- like character to it...
So I wanted to try something like that...
He plays clean in church worship, but at home he likes to mess with more overdriven tones, so just something he can flip a switch and add a little bit more gain... Kinda like the Blammo Bluesblaster I mentioned before.