"Build Your Own DS-1 Distortion" doc: Updated with new mod a

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 26 Apr 2009, 00:59

Greetings, y'all. I've been awful busy lately, but I finally got around to documenting my latest DS-1 mod, the "Huevos Grandes" mod. This mod is designed to cut the treble-boost and fizz that is almost a DS-1 hallmark. The resulting sound is much darker and has a lot more balls to it (hence the name.) You'll find the instructions for the Huevos Grandes mod on Pages 25-26.

As for the sound clips, folks have been PMing and e-mailing me for a while, requesting sound clips for my mods. Well, I finally got around to recording sound clips for all my mods, including the Huevos Grandes mod. I recorded several clips for each mod on 3 different amp types: 1) large tube combo; 2) small tube combo; and 3) vintage half-stack. You'll find the links for the sound clips on Page 27.

If you have questions, please PM me (and don't e-mail me without PMing first...it'll take longer that way, trust me.

)

I've attached the updated doc below. Thanks!

Dirk_Hendrik · Post by **Dirk_Hendrik** » 26 Apr 2009, 09:53

Nice!!!!!!!

5 thumbs up!!

Post by **modman** » 26 Apr 2009, 20:01

Wow, I didn't really expect fireworks like this in a DS1 thread.
thanks for contributing

modman

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 26 Apr 2009, 22:44

modman wrote:Wow, I didn't really expect fireworks like this in a DS1 thread.
thanks for contributing

modman

Thanks to both of you (and you're both welcome as well.) I started this doc over at DIYstomp with the help of Muhammad Iqbal's stock DS-1 schem. After that, it's taken on a bit of a life of its own.

Once I found this board, I found folks referencing mods and info I put in this doc, so it only made sense to post and update the doc here as well. While the DS-1 is far from "exciting" for most folks, it is one of the handful of pedals that almost everyone owns (or has owned), making it important in a similar vein as the Ford Model T auto. It is the DS-1's ubiquity, not necessarily its design aspects, that make it an important pedal, IMO. (It also makes it a really cheap pedal to tinker with.)

Thanks for creating and maintaining this site. It's great to have an unfiltered discussion option.

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 29 Apr 2009, 19:59

Minor update: I neglected to document a change to R17 in the Huevos Grandes mod. I've corrected this omission in the attached doc update. Apologies for the oversight.

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 01 May 2009, 22:37

Fixed R13 typo in "Vintage Ripper" & "Huevos Grandes" sections.

screamingdemon · Post by **screamingdemon** » 13 May 2009, 20:41

Hallo you all,i did the Huevos Grandes mod and i must say i'm very happy with it.I love the dark sound and its getting much tighter.The distortion level is going from almost clean till heavey metal.

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 13 May 2009, 21:12

screamingdemon wrote:Hallo you all,i did the Huevos Grandes mod and i must say i'm very happy with it.I love the dark sound and its getting much tighter.The distortion level is going from almost clean till heavey metal.

I'm glad to hear you like it as well.

The Huevos Grandes Mod is my current favorite DS-1 mod when used with amps having larger speaker arrangements (4x10, 4x12, 1x15+piezo, etc). The Mondo-MIJ and MIJ-Plus sound great on 1x12 cabs (and smaller), but to me, those mods can sound a bit trebly and harsh on larger amps, at least when compared to the HG.

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 17 May 2009, 03:07

Slightly major doc update...I added links to sound clips on Page 22 for the Mondo-MIJ Mod blender pot.

eddieod · Post by **eddieod** » 18 May 2009, 06:30

Hi all,

Great document on the DS 1. I'm about to try out the "huevos grandes" mod BUT....what kind of diodes (5) go in to replace D5? 1N4148, 1N34A, 1N4001? This isn't specified in the document..but that's the only bug I could find and therefore mucho compliments for putting out this stuff!
Oh yeah, and I assume the 2.2uf cap isn't a metal film capacitor but an electrolytic....

Have fun,

Edwin

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 18 May 2009, 16:40

eddieod wrote:Hi all,

Great document on the DS 1. I'm about to try out the "huevos grandes" mod BUT....what kind of diodes (5) go in to replace D5? 1N4148, 1N34A, 1N4001? This isn't specified in the document..but that's the only bug I could find and therefore mucho compliments for putting out this stuff!

I stated in Step 12 of the HG mod that I used 1N34A diodes, but I'll clarify that better for the D5 replacement. I can see how that might not be crystal-clear in the current version. Thanks for the feedback.

eddieod wrote: Oh yeah, and I assume the 2.2uf cap isn't a metal film capacitor but an electrolytic....

Nope, 2.2μF for a metal film cap is correct. I use AVX boxed metal film caps in 2.2μF. Cornell-Dubilier (CDE) also make a 2.2μF metal film cap I've used in the past. The AVX is a bit cheaper and a bit more compact, so I use them mostly.

screamingdemon · Post by **screamingdemon** » 18 May 2009, 19:50

He you all,i found out that when i'm switching the effect on there is a strange plop sound.Is there someone here who knowes what that can be? Greetings,Gerrit.

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 18 May 2009, 21:51

screamingdemon wrote:He you all,i found out that when i'm switching the effect on there is a strange plop sound.Is there someone here who knowes what that can be? Greetings,Gerrit.

A little more info would be helpful in hazarding a few guesses...

Do you have the effect as the only pedal in the signal chain? If so, does the problem occur then? If not, does the problem occur then?

Does the problem get change noticeably when put in the signal chain with other pedals? If so, do certain pedals cause the problem to be better or worse?

Is the "plopping" sound continuous or only occurring right after engaging the bypass switch?

Are there any other weird behaviors observed when switching? (e.g., switch doesn't "switch" the first time; pedal randomly switches on and off, even when not being stomped on, etc.)

Any information you can provide along those lines might help get more responses here. Good luck!

screamingdemon · Post by **screamingdemon** » 20 May 2009, 05:01

The pedal is a stand alone,and it is plopping when i'm switching the effect on.

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 20 May 2009, 17:03

Interesting. Has the pedal always "plopped" when engaging the switch or did this happen after modding the pedal?

My first ideas are:

1) Dirty momentary switch. I've bought several BOSS and Ibanez Soundtank pedals for cheap off eBay that had "bad switches" in them. Poppycock I say, as running electronics contact cleaner through the switches got them working properly again. Dirty contacts/debris can cause switching problems and possibly even noise when switching, so this is an easy possibility to eliminate with a few quick squirts of contact cleaner into the bypass switch while working the switch actuator.

2) My next idea would be to check the solders on the grounding caps in the switching network...C18, C19, C20, C21, C22. Touch up the solder pads with a hot iron and a bit of fresh solder and test to see if that causes any change in the "plopping".

3) If #2 doesn't help, then you could try replacing C18 thru C22 to see if there's a leaky cap in the switching network. Mind you, it could be a leaky cap elsewhere in the FX circuit causing the problem, but we're just focusing on the switching section for now.

Hopefully others will chime in with more ideas, but those are a few ideas that come to my mind.

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 08 Aug 2009, 00:13

OK, the sound clips links should once again work in the 'Build Your Own DS-1 Distortion' doc. Mybloop.com (my former host for the DS-1 sound clips) crashed in June 2009 and is likely gone forever. Modman graciously hooked me up with some space to host these sound files, so thanks to him for helping me get this fixed quickly.

Just click on the link in my signature and you'll download the latest version of the doc. Thanks!

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 29 Jan 2010, 03:15

FYI, I've updated the doc again. I learned some info about the 1S2473 diodes used in D4/D5 in the MIJ DS-1 that made me combine the previous MIJ Mod and MIJ-Plus Mod into one updated MIJ Mod. The MIJ Mod now takes the new information about 1S2473 diodes into consideration and applies it to the mod to get a very close approximation of a MIJ DS-1 with a MIT, post-1994 DS-1.

For all the details, you can download the updated doc from the link in my sig. For those of you too lazy to do that, here's the scoop: 1S2473 diodes clip between 0.92V and 1V. This is much higher than the 1N914/1N4148-type diodes (0.65V typical) used in the post-1994 DS-1 pedals. This partly explains why the MIJ DS-1 sounds better than the MIT, post-1994 DS-1. It also means that, if you have your clipping diodes clipping around 0.9V-1.0V, you'll be approximating the proximity-to-clip of the MIJ DS-1. The now-retired MIJ-Plus Mod tweaked the D4/D5 diodes to raise their proximity-to-clip to around the correct forward voltage, so it is no longer necessary, now that the MIJ Mod has raised its proximity-to-clip in the D4/D5 diodes.

Thanks!

owenisyourfriend · Post by **owenisyourfriend** » 21 Feb 2010, 16:41

Hi,
I've been trying to do the huevos grandes mod and I've got to the part where you replace R14 with the 2x 10k resistors and 2x Diodes (and also the replacement of D5 with 5x Diodes).
I'm knew at this and would like to know the best way (assuming there is one) of fitting 2 resistors and 2 diodes into the holes for one resistor. Do you use a seperate board? Drill other holes? I have no clue...
Thanks guys
(And especially to Brett Miller for the amazing DS-1 document)
Owen

5thumbs · Post by **5thumbs** » 22 Feb 2010, 17:22

owenisyourfriend wrote:Hi,
I've been trying to do the huevos grandes mod and I've got to the part where you replace R14 with the 2x 10k resistors and 2x Diodes (and also the replacement of D5 with 5x Diodes).
I'm knew at this and would like to know the best way (assuming there is one) of fitting 2 resistors and 2 diodes into the holes for one resistor. Do you use a seperate board? Drill other holes? I have no clue...
Thanks guys
(And especially to Brett Miller for the amazing DS-1 document)
Owen

You're welcome.

When I put together that assembly of diodes/resistors, I take one of the 10K resistors and use it as the "base" for the rest. I assemble the other 10K resistor in series with the parallel/opposing-polarity diodes, once again, using the resistor as the base and wrapping the leads of the diodes around its leads then soldering. Trim the excess off the soldered, wrapped leads. Take this assembly and repeat, attaching it to the other 10K resistor the same way. Next, wrap around the body of the diodes/resistors with a strip of electrical tape and then install it in the R14 holes. It will all stick up a bit higher than stock (obviously), so take care to make sure you're not shorting against anything else when closing it back up.

Mind you, if you want to make a small board for this assembly using perf or strip board, that would work fine as well. Either way works.

Good luck!

TWANG · Post by **TWANG** » 21 May 2010, 07:40

I replaced some parts.. using the fat mod and the heuvos *sp* grandes .. but not all..
bigmistake I guess.
when I turn the dist past 12:00 it buzzes..
is there a thread on just modding the pedal.. I know I was copying off that thread now I can't find it.