Function of transformers in dirt pedals

spi

spi

Well-known member
For pedals like Duocast and Neurocyton, they use a transformer between the gain stages and the outputs.

What does this do to the signal? I assume they can be used like coupling (dc rejection), and maybe stepping up or down the signal. Is there some other function they serve? Change impedance? Do they distort the signal in any way?
 
well the gist of it here is that they're pummeling some poor transformer with signal and it is handling it (or not) in audibly interesting ways ... there's a practicality argument to be had but that's one application ... in a circuit like the tychobrahe octavia, it is used to step up the signal and pummel the diodes in an attempt to get better octaving

there are bound to be more/better examples to discuss but I limited it to two different applications in the realm of dirt

for me, the saturated transformer clips the bottom-end too much (guys like R.G. wrote well-worded explanations of why ages ago) which is why I'm not a fan of either example you provided
 
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I’m not sure if anyone has done it. I’d be curious to see the result of someone bypassing the transformer in the simulcast and comparing with and without. There was some discussion here a while ago, if I remember correctly I think someone knowledgeable said they didn’t expect it to saturate, but it may perform some eq filtering… anyway I could have that backwards. Same with the neurocyton, anyone with technical insight or experiment data can speak up. I’m wondering if it’s contributing a lot to the tone, or hardly at all.

For the octave generating (example is captain bit or octavia with transformer), it’s rectifying the signal (making negative parts positive), which is how the octave is produced, not just stepping up the gain
 
I've been meaning to try the Neurocyton with the transformer on a toggle switch to compare the difference.

I think I recall someone trying the Broadcast circuit without the transformer and there not being a huge impact.
 
Robert said:
I've been meaning to try the Neurocyton with the transformer on a toggle switch to compare the difference.

I think I recall someone trying the Broadcast circuit without the transformer and there not being a huge impact.
Click to expand...
most of what I've seen is that with the transformer the broadcast is slightly darker and more saggy than without (again, the transformer under saturation is frequency-dependent) so this tracks ... but like a lot of other things, are you building the broadcast at that point where you're excluding the transformer?


I wanted to like it because of all the hype but after a dozen or so demos I understood that wasn't going to happen
 
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