Why is a diffused LED needed?

[gregsmakercorner]

I am building a Cannon Fodder MKI. I see that two LED's are needed, a red and green 3mm. The BOM calls for using diffused LEDs. Any reason why it would matter if it's diffused or not? It isn't going to be seen once it is sealed up in the pedal enclosure, so I can't for the life of me figure out why a diffused one would matter. I don't have any diffused LED's but in the past I have sanded them down.. I'm just genuinely curious if anyone knows why diffused are specifically mentioned in the BOM.

 

[Robert]

Usually the BOM just lists what was in the original.

 

[DailyDovetails]

I am building a Cannon Fodder MKI. I see that two LED's are needed, a red and green 3mm. The BOM calls for using diffused LEDs. Any reason why it would matter if it's diffused or not? It isn't going to be seen once it is sealed up in the pedal enclosure, so I can't for the life of me figure out why a diffused one would matter. I don't have any diffused LED's but in the past I have sanded them down.. I'm just genuinely curious if anyone knows why diffused are specifically mentioned in the BOM.

I think diffused or not only matters if you are feeding the light into an LDR. These are clipping diodes so the color matters as they have different forward voltages, it will make the clipping asymmetrical, but diffused or clear doesn’t.