First build success! Distortion 250

[swelchy]

Nice Build... I personally use 22 Gauge prebond... I get it in precut strips from stompboxparts.... Makes it so easy and dont have to worry about loose strands.... Bends nice too

 

[coldchain]

Put a 1M resistor across lugs one and three, that will bring the value down to 500k. I forget what I stuck in mine.

Alright so do I stick the resistor across the lugs on the same side I soldered them to the board or on them before they hit the board?

 

[DGWVI]

Alright so do I stick the resistor across the lugs on the same side I soldered them to the board or on them before they hit the board?

Whichever is easiest for you

 

[coldchain]

Whichever is easiest for you

Huh.

Tried it both ways and neither seems to change very much. I'm actually wondering if it's just a bad pot on top of anything else. Feels very loosey goosey compared to pretty much any other pot I have nearby. Probably will just get an extra C500k for it the next time I order parts.

 

[gonzo]

One of my all time favs, the dod 250

 

[coldchain]

One of my all time favs, the dod 250

I'd never played through one before and I quite like it. Definitely going to be tinkering with the pots to see if I can get a little more usable range out of it but it's a nice sounding circuit.

 

[Alan W]

Awesome first build. I recommend C500K pots for this circuit--that's what I've used and no complaints about the range.

Here's a tip: you don't need that lock nut on the outside. I typically use it on the inside of the pedal, right up against the aluminum.


View attachment 42054

It does a better job on the inside too—where it’s sandwiched between metal.

 

[coldchain]

It does a better job on the inside too—where it’s sandwiched between metal.

It was a mistake! It's where it belongs now

 

[Feral Feline]

Man I wish my current builds were as nice let alone my first!

Well done, bravo!



As for apps, I was using "Mila's Tools - Unit Converter" on my old phone, need to get something similar but improved for new phone.

I've used mainly 24AWG pre-bond, as it holds it's shape almost as well as solid-wire, but I've also used 26AWG for 1590A and other crammed builds, but I just gave my 26er stuff to a friend. Have some new 22AWG to try soon...

 

[coldchain]

Man I wish my current builds were as nice let alone my first!

Well done, bravo!



As for apps, I was using "Mila's Tools - Unit Converter" on my old phone, need to get something similar but improved for new phone.

I've used mainly 24AWG pre-bond, as it holds it's shape almost as well as solid-wire, but I've also used 26AWG for 1590A and other crammed builds, but I just gave my 26er stuff to a friend. Have some new 22AWG to try soon...

Appreciate that

Definitely going to be experimenting with different types of wires. I did not enjoy working with the kind I got.

 

[cdwillis]

That's a good first build!

If you have a 1m pot, wiring a 1m resistor across the outside legs will make it a 500k pot. If the pot is linear it retains that same sweep. If it's a logarithmic pot and you do that the sweep will change to reverse logarithmic and vice versa. I had a situation recently where I needed a c5k pot (gain pot on the emitter of a transistor to ground), but the closest I had was a10k. Threw a 10k resistor across the lugs and it worked perfectly.

 

[coldchain]

That's a good first build!

If you have a 1m pot, wiring a 1m resistor across the outside legs will make it a 500k pot. If the pot is linear it retains that same sweep. If it's a logarithmic pot and you do that the sweep will change to reverse logarithmic and vice versa. I had a situation recently where I needed a c5k pot (gain pot on the emitter of a transistor to ground), but the closest I had was a10k. Threw a 10k resistor across the lugs and it worked perfectly.

I actually tried that at least three different ways, even tested the resistance of the pot to make SURE it was reading right after the resistor was installed and just wasn't hearing much (if any) difference. I think I've just got a bad pot. I have a few things on order for this project and the next ones though so will see for sure if the pot is the issue.

 

[cdwillis]

You can use your multimeter to test the pot. Put it at noon on it's rotation then check the resistance between lug 1&2 then 2&3. If they're about even it's a linear pot, if not its log. Either way it should add up to about 500k if you put that resistor on the outer lugs.

The 250 is a fun circuit to build and mod. My friend used red LEDs instead of the silicon diodes and it sounded cool. I haven't done that mod yet.

 

[coldchain]

Got a few extra knobs and swapped out that B1M tone pot for a C500K. Along with a mod that replaced one of the resistors with an extra gain pot, you can really dial in a pretty wide range of grit now. The tone knob on the other hand, proved to be an endless source of befuddlement as the arrangement suggested in Premiere Guitar did... nothing... that I could tell. Sticking in a larger cap finally showed results but as with the old gain pot, only a fraction of the pot really has a perceivable change. Spent the whole day mucking with it and finally just sealed the thing up and called it good, I've got other projects to work on!

Might come back at some point and ditch the tone pot for a switch-based mod of some kind but for now, I'm calling it finito.