Looking for a clipping diode seminar

[Chrisq206]

I do know a few things about diodes and have experimented for years, but the is a lot I don’t know.

I do know that forward voltage is probably the key spec in indicating how much clipping a circuit will have. I’ve used diodes with very low Fwd voltage that clipped a lot, but we’re very quite. I’ve also gone the other way and had such high forward voltage that it was pretty much like having no clipping diodes at all

I’d like to know more about how different diodes might sound beyond their forward Voltage. Do diode types with the same fwd voltage sound different? How? How do different circuits change diode behavior?

The Suhr Riot has resistors in the clipping to keep the volume even across all the diode selections. How does that work while still keeping the clipping time the same? If I wanted a Distortion + to be louder but clip the same could I add a resistor to ground?

I have a bunch of builds with socketed diode sections and would like to go past what I already know.

Any information or thread recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[BuddytheReow]

Check out the diode thread in the test kitchen. It's a smattering of a bunch of good reading material

 

[Chrisq206]

Good articles. I had read a bunch of it. The one about testing Ge diodes for leakage gave me some homework. I’ll have to get more into that.

I may have been lazy on the reading, but it still seems to come down to diode fwd V and not type.

 

[BuddytheReow]

For your Dist + question the short answer is to put a small booster right after output such as an LPB1. You can find a nice stripboard layout for it online and will fit in the enclosure. For direct “hear it to believe it” results try breadboarding it. It’s a pretty simple circuit

 

[Chrisq206]

For your Dist + question the short answer is to put a small booster right after output such as an LPB1. You can find a nice stripboard layout for it online and will fit in the enclosure. For direct “hear it to believe it” results try breadboarding it. It’s a pretty simple circuit

Thank you for the suggestion. I have actually built quite a few boosters (from scratch even, woot woot) including an LPB1.

My question was strictly related to tweaking diode clipping and how combining resistors with the diodes works.

Appreciate the reply

 

[Chrisq206]

For your Dist + question the short answer is to put a small booster right after output such as an LPB1. You can find a nice stripboard layout for it online and will fit in the enclosure. For direct “hear it to believe it” results try breadboarding it. It’s a pretty simple circuit

To give you an idea of what I’m currently working with.

I have multiple Aion Bluesbreaker/Prince of Tones built. They have a loop clipper selector and a hard clipping switch. I have them socketed to try different options. I’ve also played Rat clipping quite a bit, in addition to quite a few others.

I have a ton of other builds too that I could experiment with as well, if there is a better circuit to play with.