The only reference I can find on line to LED usage in distortion circuits is from an article on modifying the Boss DS-1 with an extra LED for a different sound. Here's some comments from the article:
"Mods to correct the bass response and give you a fuller, more powerful tone. Perfect for Strats now with this mod!"
"Adds another LED to the clipping circuit for a Large Fat Tone."
"The Extra LED increases the volume output of the pedal a bit, great for using the DS-1 as a pre-amp to push the amp or to fine tune a low distortion sound on the unit. The way we engineer the mod, it is has increased 2nd order harmonics and tube-like qualities."
"For sound sample visit: www soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=190415"
I'm no expert, but the way those quotes talk about adding "another LED" and "the extra LED" make me wonder if they're not talking more about the effects of an asymmetrical clipping circuit rather than the effects of using LEDs in the clipping circuit.
Sounds like they are.
Here's a Demeter Fuzzulator pedal that has germanium or LED distortion:
http://www.demeteramps.com/products/pedals/fuz1.html
sound clips:
http://www.demeteramps.com/sounds/index.html
Here's a Keeley pedal that has germanium or germanium/silicon distortion:
http://www.robertkeeley.com/product.php?id=25
sound clips:
http://www.robertkeeley.com/fuzzhead/
All in all, I like the germanium sound.
I'm looking forward to getting my LeoCaster built (too busy on house projects at the moment). It will have the germanium-based Stewart MacDonald Black Ice distortion built in, for use with the series mode. Here's a sound clip of the Black Ice in an SG:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awCcC6U-5K4
I like it.
John
Finally got an hour to get back into the LeoCaster. Slotted the nut and shifted the pickups to be more centered under the strings. Wired the pickups temporarily to check the sound, sounds very very cool. Took some pictures so I can enter it into the staff art show at work (it's a big hospital). The theme this year is "nature". Is a telecaster with a lion pickguard representative of "nature"?
Next steps: shielding, control panel wiring, neck/fret adjustments, gold lettering on headstock, trim the pickguard to be centered, gold strings.
I'm hoping to have it all finished for the 40th anniversary of Woodstock event in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park: a couple of thousand guitarists all playing "Purple Haze" together. Go to steveroby.com to sign up and get the chords. Gotta get my 9 volt powered 1/4 watt Tweed amp fixed up for that. Supposedly, Hendrix played a Telecaster on Purple Haze.
Tahts a great guitar. I was just thinking how cool it would be if you added to red LEDS underneath the pickguard on the lions eyes, and have it so where they were touch sensitive, or just to at least where you could switch them on and off!
Looking good! I'm interested in knowing how the control scheme works out. What does each of the switches do?
"I haven't slept for ten days...because that would be too long." -- Mitch Hedberg
Swithces - left to right:
1 - Black Ice germanium distortion: on/off
2 - Volume: up = off; middle = 7 (a 47K ohm resistor); down = full volume
3 - Pickup selector: up = bridge; middle = both; down = neck
4 - Series/Parallel: up = series; down = parallel
5 - Neck pickup phase: up = normal; down = reverse polarity
The series configuration is required to generate the .3 volt output needed to clip the germanium diode distortion circuit in the Black Ice box.
I'll be trying out various capacitors in parallel with the 47K ohm resistor to maintain the sparkle of the tone with the reduction in volume. My circuit consultant, Rich from Fechter Designs says I should try a .01 or .02 microfarad to start, and adjust it to the input impedence of my amp (a Super Champ XD).
He also recommends finding old NORAD stencils and put "ARM", "TEST", "LAUNCH", "ABORT", etc. above and below the switches.
I posted the schematic on 7-22 in this thread.
A very atypical yet cool tele!
viva la difference!
Tone is in the fingers, eh? Let's hear your Vox, Marshall and Fender fingerings then...
If I put my brown tortoise shell pickguard and gold control plate with the two gold tele knobs on it, it looks extremely traditional and equally cool. I plan to use it both ways. I'll post photos soon.
Tough call on that Tele. Black defintly won't work. I wouldnt like Tortoise on that either. Looks like Parchment (aged white)is your only way out..
Unless you'd want to try a Chrome brass guard?
EDIT_ after further review, looks like black would look very good on that. I'll have to wait to the the tortoise in action. I really like this guitar.
Last edited by jerryjg; 09-01-2009 at 05:04 AM.
Four incarnations of the LeoCaster
SWeet! Yup, looks like Tortoise wins.
the lion is "king"!
Old Rockers never die; we just fade away! 会長
Here is a little sound tease from the LeoCaster. It's the lead guitar in this song (Call a Doctor), running through my Super Champ XD on setting # 3, the "heavily overdiven Tweed" with a touch of reverb.
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8111642
The Strat rhythm riff is my Ash Deluxe (SCN pickups) going through a narrow band eq at +12dB around 10K Hz, going into the SCXD on setting # 16, the "acoustisonic" tone.
Drums and bass are done in Reason.
The Tele sounds strangely like a screaming hawk in parts. That's up around the 15th fret on the G and B strings. Very cool. Probably is the gold lipstick tele bridge pickup from guitarfetish.
The last part for the LeoCaster arrived 2 days ago (the gold headstock LeoCaster decal). Time to put it all together!
Black guard all day long
Different color LEDs have different breakdown voltages, as do different diodes. People use different ones to create different amounts of clipping, or asymmetrical clipping when using different ones on each side of the circuit.
If you don't have an active circuit, they usually sound like ass, because they reduce your output considerably. For example of this, the 'comp cut' switch on a Fulldrive II pulls the clipping diodes out of the circuit. BIG volume increase.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Great tone on the Leocaster. Thats a great tune
"Call a Doctor, the Doctors gonna charge you, but I will come free"
We could be the next Lennon and McCartney...... or not.
Shielding done, fret ends filed smooth, amber shellac applied to bare wood spots, two .002" high frets filed down. Wow, lots of work left. Today is soldering Sunday.
I measured the resistance of the pickups:
bridge: 8.6K
neck: 6.3K
both in parralel: 3.5K
in series: 12.4K
I'm hoping the 12.4K will drive the Black Ice distortion.
You are going to regret shielding the pickup cavities.
Control cavity: good.
Pickup cavities: bad.
Does it reduce the treble frequencies or attack? If so, how does it do that? Is it the grounding or is it the closeness of the copper to the magnetic fields or a combination? In other words, if I just cut the ground wire from the pickup shielding to the control cavity, will it restore the lost tone?
I can easily take it all out even after final assembly. I am looking for that biting Tele tone.
Then don't shield the pickup cavities.
One of my luthier friends did shield all the cavities in his strat and promptly eviscerated the shielding in the pickup cavities. I talked with the luthier who is currently building me a Tele black guard clone and he also is emphatic about not shielding the pickup cavities.
Talk to some Tele luthiers first. You are right though, you can easily pull it out. No harm, no foul.
I read on a couple of websites that if you shield the pickup cavities and connect them with separate wires to the control cavity, you will get a radio antenna effect from ground looping. Is that why luthiers don't do it, or is it tone loss? It might not be so bad if something good is on the radio...
These same websites said that pickup cavity shielding has no effect on tone, other than allowing you to turn it up without hum.
I'm not using pots on the LeoCaster, so there wouldn't be ground loops from redundant wires to the pots and control faceplate.
Guess I'll just fire it up and see what happens, and remove the pickup cavity shielding if it sounds like an SG (I love SG's, but not when they are inhabiting my Tele).
it adds capacitance to the circuit, thus taking away the tele chime and snarl.
i personally don't shield anything. if it comes painted then i'll live with it, if it's copper tape i take it out. i'm really old school in my approach to building and modifying. i'd say to go ahead with firing it up, if you don't like it you can always pull it out.
best of luck.
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I'm not a "Tele" guy per se John, but I agree with Chuck -- go ahead and give the guitar a try as-is. If you find the shielding has exacted a toll on the high end you can always remove it.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Finished the wiring today and put it all together. It sounds great. I especially like the pickups in series. The neck pickup phase switch is very useful, it gives a high jangly sound with certain amp settings. The Black Ice distortion is very subtle, basically it mutes the sound a little like Santana and it only works when the pickups are in series (12K ohm). The GFS gold lipstick bridge pickup sounds very Tele.
I left all the shielding in to try it out and I'm very happy with all the tones. I'll probably take it out to see the difference after it comes back from the art show in two weeks. Wow, it sure is quiet compared to my other Tele.
The 47K resistor is too low to reduce the volume much, so I'll put two in series and see what it does.
Gonna put the LeoCaster headstock decal on tonight and the gold strings, then drop it off for the art show tomorrow. I was going to price it at $2000, but someone might buy it, so I'm selling it for $5000 so nobody buys it.
Here are two photos of the wiring:
Here's the finished LeoCaster, gold strings an' all (and it sounds fabulous):
Mighty fine, John!
Be sure to post a tonal report after you remove the copper sheathing from the cavities. If you find it make little or no difference, I'd re-install it.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
I'm loving the tone of it with the shielding still in so much that I haven't taken the time to remove it and see how it is different. One day I'll try it...
Here's the tone as it is (rhythm and lead): http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8355988
John
San Francisco
yep, lookin good!
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I just think the Lion motiff is soooo unusually attractive!
Great job...
Old Rockers never die; we just fade away! 会長