bsmekanic Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 can somebody give me guidance on how to use two diodes on the tone pot to create the same effect as a black ice. also, im wiring a dimarzio chopper in the bridge position, and would like one tone knob to be solely the volume for that pickup, any help on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 Just wire 'em back to back, anode to cathode, and put 'em where the cap would be. You'll need to use schottky or germanium diodes unless you've got über-hot pickups, and even then the results are (IMO) monumentally unimpressive. A forum search for Strawberry Ice will get you more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsmekanic Posted September 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 Just wire 'em back to back, anode to cathode, and put 'em where the cap would be. You'll need to use schottky or germanium diodes unless you've got über-hot pickups, and even then the results are (IMO) monumentally unimpressive. A forum search for Strawberry Ice will get you more info. ← hot damn youre awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 I've heard that schottky diodes sound a little better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted September 16, 2005 Report Share Posted September 16, 2005 I tried a set of schottkys (BAT41s, I think) and a switch (in place of the pot) with a PRS Deep Dish II bridge pickup and 500K pots in a Yamaha SBG200 (it's my experimenter rig - it's been rewired so many times, I'm not sure anything is still stock! ). It worked, but the results were pretty underwhelming, at least to my ears - kinda like an OD250 turned way down, certainly not anything I wanted. Try it, it might be exactly what you're looking for. It's probably a lot more effective with really hot pickups (Invader, EMGs, 500XLs), and with std single coils it may not do anything at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted September 16, 2005 Report Share Posted September 16, 2005 It's probably a lot more effective with really hot pickups I would think so. Vintage Strat pickups aren't going to give you very good results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted September 16, 2005 Report Share Posted September 16, 2005 But if you have a set of vintage Strat pickups you want to unload, well ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shyanel Posted September 16, 2005 Report Share Posted September 16, 2005 I picked up some diodes today from a friend and i'm looking to do this mod on my bass. Problem is it's a Yamaha RBX760A (an active) can it actually be done with an active? I don't actually have a tone control, I have 1 Vol 1 Treble 1 Bass and 1 Blend. I was hoping I could wire it in place of the blend knob somehow as I almost never use it, but the blend pot doesn't have a capacitor going onto it anywhere, so i'm a little confused as to how i'd do it. I can clearly see a connection from each pickup going onto it (grey jacket containing one red and one white) and there's another wire (maybe two) going onto it as well. That's about it. Any advice anyone can give on ANY way I can get this to work on my bass, would be GREATLY appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted September 16, 2005 Report Share Posted September 16, 2005 If you wanted to do it on a strat w/ single coils. Why not have a switch that both switches on the pot w/ the diodes and makes all of the single coils run in series. That would give the effect of a hot pickup, no? peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 can it actually be done with an active?Yes - just wire them back to back (anti-parallel) to a switch between hot and ground on the output jack. You can use the volme pot as a "gain control" - the output level will be clipped at the diode's forward voltage, so turning up the volume will increase the distortion. This is the way a lot of simple distortion/overdrive units work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 Might work better with active pickups - hotter signal coming out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 (edited) If you wanted to do it on a strat w/ single coils. Why not have a switch that both switches on the pot w/ the diodes and makes all of the single coils run in series. That would give the effect of a hot pickup, no? peace, russ ← A worthy notion. I have a setting for three pups in series on the old Hondo Strat that I have been upgrading. So in the interest of science and making loud noises, I have just rigged this idea up with aligator clips. Unfortunately I only have silicon diodes to hand. I found that with my three fairly powerful ceramic SC pups in series, it does work. It needs a strong signal though, power chords work best, and the bass notes do it more that the high notes. Single string solos cant get enough output to drive the clipping. The sound is a muted sort of distortion, like a loudspeaker about to blow up. Once the signal decays a bit, the effect goes, so the sustaining distortion for searing solos will not happen. It is not a very great effect, at least with these silicon diodes. The germanium or shottkey ones may be better - but only slightly is my guess. But it is so easy to put together a one or two transistor circuit, using diodes for feedback that sounds a lot better. John Edited September 17, 2005 by JohnH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted September 23, 2005 Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 Further to my post above, I just blew 90 cents on two Schottky diodes, to try that test again, with my three fairly hot single coil pups in series. This is much better! (than I expected) - some credible smooth distortion, and possible to play on solos. It takes a strong touch - its not subtle. But I even got some good sounds out of bridge and middle series out of phase. I might find a way to wire them in. With two back to back across the output, you lose some volume (so turn it up), since the whole point is that it clips. Another option is to use just one diode - keeps the volume, with a different sound. Worth a try John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebun Posted November 9, 2005 Report Share Posted November 9, 2005 Further to my post above, I just blew 90 cents on two Schottky diodes, to try that test again, with my three fairly hot single coil pups in series. This is much better! (than I expected) - some credible smooth distortion, and possible to play on solos. It takes a strong touch - its not subtle. But I even got some good sounds out of bridge and middle series out of phase. I might find a way to wire them in. With two back to back across the output, you lose some volume (so turn it up), since the whole point is that it clips. Another option is to use just one diode - keeps the volume, with a different sound. Worth a try John ← what are the ratings on those Schottky diodes? where did you get them? got pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted November 11, 2005 Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 what are the ratings on those Schottky diodes? where did you get them? got pics? ← I used a 2n5819, wired directly in place of a tone cap. It sounds better with a little resistance from the pot is series. One diode sounds much better than two. it doesnt matter which way round you put it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebun Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 i would like to try this out, but im still confused as to where i can get the diodes mentioned above so i went to radioshack to take a look http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp...iodes&kw=diodes can someone point out to me which is a low voltage diode that would be comparable to passive overdirve im not sure what to look for in diodes and why im looking for that particular type im using two dimarzio superD's in a dual humbucker gtr, with a 3 way switch, pretty standard cfg pelase please help me understad what to look for in diodes so i can make a clear choice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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