Dirty Sanchez setup question

[simonallaway]

I’m wondering how to use the internal trimmer on the Dirty Sanchez. When set low it the tone sounds like a clean guitar mixed with mild overdrive. But when the trimmer is turned up there’s way more gain that I need. I’m thinking I have an error somewhere but I thought I’d ask here to see if anyone else has had this experience.

 

[Barry]

I would set it to where it sounds best to you, when dialing in anything I like to find the edge of it's maximum effectiveness

 

[simonallaway]

I would set it to where it sounds best to you, when dialing in anything I like to find the edge of it's maximum effectiveness

Good idea. I should take my time and dial it in properly. Including the internal trimmer it has 7 controls so I bet there’s some magic going on in terms of control interaction. I just haven’t found it yet.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

The trimmer is doing what it's supposed to do. The trimmer determines how hard the LEDs in the final distortion stage are driven. With the trimmer at minimum, the LEDs are not driven hard enough to make any noticeable clipping. With the trimmer at maximum, you get substantial clipping for more crunch and compression. The trimmer interacts somewhat with the GAIN & PRESENCE controls. There are no bad settings!

 

[simonallaway]

Thanks for that insight. I will definitely spend some time with that trimmer and explore those interactions. I did notice that one set of LEDs weren’t glowing all that much and looking at the schematic it’s obvious as to why.

 

[simonallaway]

I just had a quick play with the DS and have come to realize that the clean-mixed-with-overdriven tone I mentioned appears to come about by turning down the mid-range control all (or most) of the way.

I am compelled to try modifications to get far less overall gain as that’s just not my thing.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

I just had a quick play with the DS and have come to realize that the clean-mixed-with-overdriven tone I mentioned appears to come about by turning down the mid-range control all (or most) of the way.

I am compelled to try modifications to get far less overall gain as that’s just not my thing.

That's interesting because the MID control affects only the last stage. It comes after the VOLUME control in the signal chain. All of the distortion happens way before the MID control. If you want to make substantial reductions in distortion and gain, try increasing R10. Go in 2x steps until the distortion is low enough. I gotta say that if you're not into high gain, then the Friedman, Diezel and Revv pedals are not for you. Have you considered the Klon? Check out the Sea Monk for the best Klon clone.

 

[simonallaway]

Perhaps I’m wrong about the MID control then. I’ve had builds in the past where there was a bad/missing diode in a clipping pair. This gave me a tone that sounded similar i.e. OD mixed with clean. I’ll check my diodes and clipping LEDs.

Thanks for the gain mitigation idea. I’ll fiddle with different R10 values and perhaps make it switchable if I find something I like.

I already have a Soul Food and an Aion Klon clone. They’re largely identical. Does the Sea Monk have notable differences?

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

Sea Monk has six knobs compared to the usual three. The extra three knobs control the blending of clean and dirty.

 

[simonallaway]

Alright, I’m intrigued. I’ll order it.

 

[BurntFingers]

If it's anything like the thermion, I set mine by putting the gain pot on 10 and then adjusting the internal trimpot to provide a little more gain than I would seem maximum, then you get a nice sweep of usable tones. I agree there's too much gain in the circuit for most applications.

I run mine with the bass on full. Any other setting is too thin.

 

[simonallaway]

What kind of music are you playing with those tones?