2:24 - Non Inverting Op Amp - Soft Clipping, High Gain 2:48 - Non Inverting Op Amp - Soft Clipping, Medium Gain 3:14 - Non Inverting Op Amp - Soft Clipping, Low Gain 4:08 - Mosfet Gain Stages, High Gain 5:55 - Mosfet Gain Stages, Medium Gain 6:16 - Mosfet Gain Stages, Low Gain 7:19 - JFET Stages, High Gain 7:52 - JFET Stages, Medium Gain 8:22 - JFET Stages, Low Gain 9:58 - Full Frequency Booster into JFET 10:52 - Full Frequency Booster into Mosfet 11:52 - Full Frequency Booster into Non Inverting Op Amp I did this for me, but, you're welcome...
There needs to be a video like this for Fuzz. A lot of people don’t like Fuzz even though they love the tones of other people that use it. I used to be that way until I stopped using Fuzz into a totally clean amp. Certain fuzzes are still an acquired taste but I love the ones I own now.
Check out That Pedal Show (UK YT channel) they've got several on the different types of fuzz and overdrive including an hour plus show with Josh from JHS on the history germanium to silicon transistors, IC-op amps etc etc. Their website has a searchable database for individual pedals and concepts. Covid crap ever ends and international travel starts back I know the TPS lads have been dying to do a long form talk with Brian like they did a few years back with Analog man.
As an electrical engineer taking classes on all this stuff it’s so useful seeing some applications. You’ve really helped me out in building my own pedals, cheers!
@@obsoletecd-rom good question! First of all how much do you know about electricity and circuit design? If nothing I would try to gain a cursory understanding of that first. Google ohms law and you should find a ton of resources. After that I’d look up op amps and treat them like a black box. Don’t worry about why they work just how. Research circuit transfer functions. What that means is a certain voltage(or current) in will have a corresponding voltage out. We refer to this as gain. Since you’re building guitar pedals it’s important to understand the frequency side of things. (Note this can get complex so if you don’t want to learn it I understand). You can google capacitors and frequency response. Basically frequency responses are derived from transfer functions (Gain equations). You can think of these the same way except certain frequencies are boosted while others are cut (usually). For this google filters- low pass, band pass, and high pass. If you don’t want to learn this just google filters and figure out how to construct them. Now that you’re here you’ll probably want to research FETS and diodes. With these circuit elements you can build a hell of a lot of pedals. Once you’ve done all that you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to learn next. It looks like a lot because it is. I’ve spent years learning this stuff, don’t get frustrated if it takes a while. Just learn step by step and you’ll enrich your understanding greatly.
@@chriscole9098 thank you for such a thorough response. Thanks for the warning too, I know it’s a lot of info but I’m looking at this long term and as a hobbyist. I appreciate it very much!
@@obsoletecd-rom If you're interested in DIY audio, consider joining the Audio Builders group on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/AudioBuildersWorkshop/. This group is affiliated with the Audio Engineering Society (AES); they have meet-ups at AES meetings. People in that group build everything from pedals to DSP units. Another similar discussion group, specifically targeting pedals, is on Reddit: r/DIYPedals. Find the group's web site; the sidebar has a collection of links to get you started. There are also several good web forums. One of my favorites is the DIYAudio-dot-com web site. Have fun! -Tom
any ideas where to get an schematic somewaht similar to the MOSFET gain stages that mr Wampler uses in his breadboard in this video. it sounds just awesome
@@chrismang7440 I bought it for that reason alone lol. Huge fan of the Narnia series, primarily the first one. Hurry, these original art Tumnus are getting pricey.
the fact that he plays straight out of the breadboard goes a long way to bring down all myths and "magic" with pedals... everything is out there to see
@@riniones he didn't exactly disprove that, just showed that "interference or NOISE" is not the reason your playing sloppy and behind the rest of the band lol. A small bit of dirty power isn't an issue if you keep playing. Edit: I got what you meant, and yeah he's consistently shown us what does what in a language anyone can understand. This absolute unit of a legend has inspired more people than the past 15 years of "grammy award winning artists" combined could ever do.
@@officialdirtmcgurt that's what I mean, you see the guy playing in this and other videos and you see the components right there... I like that kind of message
@@riniones he's shown prototype pedals that literally had a usps flat rate cardboard for insulation of the bottom of the veroboard. He showed that and laughed at how well it worked. He's a legit modern day mike matthews
What we/Brian need is a product that is the breadboard with all the differnt possibilities laid out and tweakable, with a big red BUILD IT AND TAKE MY MONEY button for when we've got exactly the tone we want.
So interesting! My favorite was the op amp. What I want now is a big list of OD pedals listed under each of the three circuits - would make shopping so much easier.
it's a 335 dot with Epiphone's Alnico Classic PRO Humbuckers. I pulled mine out and I measured out like Gibsons classic 57 I have put Lollar low wind , mojotone '59 CLONE HUMBUCKER , and Seymour Duncan APH-1n Alnico II Pro Humbucker. and I'm putting the epihone factory pick ups back in I can't find anything else that sounds good in that particular guitar
I understand what you're saying. I have both and the one without the binding is a studio. The dot meaning it has dots in the frets vs gibsons bars. my studio dot came with no dots so I put some in. my first Gibson confused me. as I was used to playing with dots in my guitar so I drill and insalled dots into the bars of my first traditional pro
As an electronics technician, I love this format, talking about the different circuits and showing how they sound. Also, the length is on point, not too long that it becomes tiring, just the right amount of information. Thank you, Brian! As another commenter requested, I would really like to see the same kind of explanation about Fuzzes; I love them (especially for low tunings, stoner rock, that kind of stuff), but always hear about it being difficult to "cut through the mix".
any ideas where to get an schematic somewaht similar to the MOSFET gain stages that mr Wampler uses in his breadboard in this video. it sounds just awesome
Thanks Brian! Can't thank you (uncle doug, the Anderton's and TPS lads) enough for the information and giving a beat up old war horse a new interest/hobby. 4 years ago a random Anderton's video (guitar paradiso with Danish Pete and Mick Taylor) on my YT feed got me to pull out my acoustic guitar after a 30+ year hiatus and has turned into building amp, pedal kits and a few T & S style parts castors without electrocuting myself or burning down the house.
Love it! Finally starting to understand what I like, what I need and what I hear on recordings! Please do more (I. E. Blues breaker, hard clipping, silicone vs led...)
You're right! Some of them are completely different. So different, in fact, that one is a sound and the other is a shoe size. I LOVE it when people use the term "completely different" when they really mean "almost identical". Very informative.
mosfet and jfet both sound good and natural. Opamp always sounds like the clean signal is running in parallel with the clipped signal. Sounds like the pedal is running in an aux loop just adding a little over drive fake effect to the clean signal, and not effecting the whole signal. Tube Screamers always sound this way to me. Love these types of videos you do explaining what circuit sounds like what...... thanks. I love love love the Plexi Drive Deluxe........but sadly can't afford one. Maybe one day.
Absolutely minimal differences that you'd probably never hear in a mix anyway. Great video, it will save me tons of money, too bad I didn't see it 20 years ago.
Probably a silly question here but is it possible to have a TS pedal minus the blend of clean tone? I dig the overdrive from a TS style pedal but I’m not a fan of how loud the clean is blended in.
It's in the design of the circuit and the way it clips with the diodes in the feedback path of the opamp. That partial clean signal won't go away with that type of circuit. Hard clipping like an OCD will get rid of that clean signal.
It did really helps me to choose particular overdrive ! Thanks brian, now i can move on from the Pinnacle and choose what i need to push my amp with another ODs
Here is where I come for real knowledge of a particular circuit, etc. I use three of your pedals,( All I need). Save for my Fulltone OCD. ...You are the man Mr. Wampler.
can anyone recommend me some distortion pedals with that mosfet kind of sound? all i can find is the DOD Gunslinger and i can´t actually find it in stock anywhere.
First, I cannot find words to express how much I appreciate you making the effort to make this video. It probably had the reverse effect you intended when you made it. I am still "NOT" a fan of overdrive pedals. I'm crazy about your Reverb, Delay, and Compressor pedals. I still think your Paisley Deluxe Overdrive pedal as a possibility in the future, but, thank you for confirming not putting it at the top of my list. (Yes I did see the video about how the Paisley Deluxe Overdrive came about, which is what grabbed my attention to Wampler Pedals in the first place.) Again, I do want to thank you more than you can possibly imagine for this video. It keeps me from throwing hard-earned $$$$ away on some sound I am really not only not interested in, but have no desire for. Great Job on this video!!!! Please do not take this as a negative. I view this video as a total positive for me. It just confirms this 70+ year old is not stupid with "I Like What I Like" and what I do "Not" like is overdrive. You've shown the full spectrum...and it is "not" for me!!! Thank you again for giving me the information I need to make an intelligent decision!!! (Which does not mean I may not eventually the Paisley Deluxe Overdrive pedal. It just won't be at the top of my list. Don't think this negative overdrive as a negative...I already have 3 of your Reverb / Delay pedals!!! I am CRAZY about them!!! I guess I'm just too "Old School" for "overdrive.") Great Video!!!!
The OpAmp was my favorite of the three, but all three have their place. For a basic circuit the OpAmp seemed more versatile with less need to tweak. I’d love to see the details on how you put together the breadboard. So what type does the Tumnus fall under??
I struggled with them so much because I am mainly a home player, which is quite common really, but I eventually found if I bought one and initially wasn’t crazy about it, it was just because of not having the volume knob up high enough. Once I moved the volume up just a little more, it brought them to life. I helped a couple buddies out with it, move that knob up one and a half more! I just finally bought a Tumnus classic, and I absolutely love what it can do. It’s just a great little pedal, thanks Bryan!
TY Mr. Wampler! It needed almost 40 years to find my Gain/Overdrive pedal and style. I tried tons of pedals but none survived on my board. Till i found some with the "hint of clean signal". Right now i use a King of Tone and a Morning Glory. That's more than enough for my music genre and i'm totally happy.
Love this vid. J-fet and mosfet are my favs in this comparison I’d LOVE to see another dist-circuit comparison but with other consistent EQs preceding the gain stages (like cutting the bass significantly before clipping etc) and the impact on it all 👍👍 Cheers
Main thing for all three OD types is that I liked all of them better in the mid settings - that way there's nice crunch, but still a lot of chime. I like hearing those chewy legato phrases along with the ringing chord thing going on. Thanks for sharing Dr. Wampler - my wife can attest that I have far too many of your pedals strewn about my music room :)
I lean towards op amp overdrives, mosfet sometimes. It would be great to see a video on inverting vs non-inverting op amps!! Thanks for the great & intuitive vid, sir!
Nice to see you again Brian :) Great video. The lesson here seems to be "don't turn the gain all the way up". Except when it's single coils into non-inverting op amp.
This is killer content dude! When I was a wee young lad I got a TS for Christmas and HATED it. I thought it was broken because I could still hear the clean signal (not a very complimentary sound into a sterile clean Crate amp). It was only after discovering tube amps and running them a bit hot did I awaken to the majesty of these types of drives.
I liked the MOSFET style for mid to higher gain & with a boost. It sounded the most organic. I really liked the JFET as a lower to mid gain drive, but I don't like how it performed when stacked with a boost. I've loved the good old TS (op-amp/soft clipping OD) for years, but I've really become sensitive to the underlying clean signal and it's really put me off. Is there a mod that can be done to block the clean signal from passing through?
Hey, I have an old Epi 335 dot like that. I retired it with good quality pots and TV Jones pups. Also, replaced bridge, stop bar and tuners with better quality stuff. Love it!!!
I love that you've chosen to use an Epiphone ES335 instead of a high end guitar or custom build. It gives people realistic comparisons with their likely used gear. Also they did a really good job making those 335s.
I just got the Inspired by Gibson ES-339 in Cherry Red and it's really impressive straight out of the box. Wanted a smaller body since my strike zone isn't as big as some people 6ft+ and it's perfect.
Thank you for this brilliant description Brian, it's nice to know how overdrives are configured, and the difference in the output signal. I like the idea of talking through the circuitry of effects pedals giving an insight into the function of the stages. The op-amp was the best in my opinion.
I've finally got (3) Gain-stages that I'm in love with: Barber Gain Changer SR, Fulltone OCD (1.7) & Thorpy Fallout Cloud. I can mix, match, stack, and get any sound that I can possibly need. It's been a long-Journey: "Searching for my Ultimate Tone"
I like the op-amp chips with mosfet combo especially with a Marshall JCM800 and hitting it with a sustainer plus Eq and booster I use a simple Maxon OD-808 another Eq in the fx loop and boss delay and a few small other little gadgets I get all I want from cleans to tearing the paint off the walls J-fets have there place all of this is subjective the Pot your using resistor values and just as you said pickups , amp your using EL34 , 6L6 , 34 etc all our going to sound differently. I like what your dong here first time I’ve seen your vids as I’m always playing and nodding my own stuff instead of web searching I’ve learned a few things thumbs up to your showing taking the time to do so
I loved that sound of the MOSFET circuit. A little chunkier sounding. Really cool. Right now I'm using a rat type pedal as an overdrive. it's the Mountain pedals by Frost Giant. It's a rat with three selectable gain stages (I believe anyway) and a distortion/od switch. I'm really loving how it sounds as an od. Highly recommend.
Whatever circuit the Belle is!!! That’s my all time favorite. It is an incredible pedal and thank you for building it! I’ve sold off quite a few other Pedals now and I won’t miss them!
I tend to like Pantheon and Timmy Pedals for running into an amp at the edge of breakup, but I like JFets into a clean amp. I tend to run my amps on the edge of breakup.
Informative video with sound examples. Well done, thank you. Also; Instead of some videos where guitar players are constantly playing leads and noodling, I like your mixture. Rhythm tones/chords really showcase crunch levels and after all, the majority of anyone’s playing is in the rhythm domain. We can tell gain amount and if there’s any clean ‘mix’ in a sound through rhythm playing. Often to quickly check gain/saturation level, I just lightly rub muted strings with the left hand and listen for how much scritzy scritzy sound there is.
@the 92 project. Yes, I agree this is the most enjoyable way to play especially for blues and classic rock. But for the working musician that covers a wide range of covers it’s not practical for most situations. For one thing this type of playing works best with a cranked amp and you can’t always get to that to that sweet spot at a gig without overdrives. And if you’re covering anything from “brown eyed girl” to Metallica pedals give you the flexibility to make it work. If I was playing my own stuff in arenas I’d probably plug straight in. But even some of the greatest tone hounds usually have a OD or two on their boards. There’s really no best way to do it. It’s about making it work for whatever venue you play in cuz they’re all different
@magnus Berger. I’ve been using attenuators for years and still do. But 9 times out of 10 if I’m playing very different types of music in a set I’ll still have a pedal or two to color my tone for flexibility. I’m not disagreeing that plugging straight into a amp and using your guitar controls to control everything isn’t great. In fact it’s my favorite way to play. I’m just saying pedals have their place and sometimes they are essential. And most of the all time greats use them whether in the studio or on stage
@@mygabrielle7477 Ageee! Horses for courses. My favorite setup is a tube amp at a nice breakup combined with a couple different OD’s at moderate settings for flavor.
Brian, just curious, why does it matter if the op amp is set up to use the inverting or non-inverting input? It is a 180 degree phase change, but I thought the human ear couldn't detect (static) phase differences? Is it because the two inputs clip differently?
Brian. it would be interesting to input an A 440 sine curve into the various overdrive devices and view the manner at which the signal is clipped on an oscilloscope.
Distortion was that effect for me. Always preferred to stack ODs with a fuzz. As much as I've always enjoyed overdrive though, I've never enjoyed it as much as I have since I got my Belle a few weeks ago! I never wanna turn it off lol. Kudos on your magicry, Brian!
Really Really great video. You’ve a great way of explaining pedal innards in layman’s terms. I learned soooo much from this video. Amazing to see you on the Guitarist Ireland forum from time to time. A real treat.
Would love to see these types of videos often! Love learning the terminology, as well as the interplay between pickups (type, distance...), volume control on guitar, and the settings of each part of a pedal. Plus, I am a home electronics geek. So it is great that you made them on a breadboard! MOSFET, for me!
Thank you, Wampcat! Thank you, Wampcat! Thank you, Wampcat! I am rebuilding my studio after major theft, and really needed to hear all these! (And I am an EE, so I heard every word meaning.)
This was a fun watch, great video! I'm using FET based overdrives made to sound like classic amps. I boost them with a MOSFET booster. It's all stuff I built from DIY circuit boards. My old Peavey Classic 50/50 amp does not have a preamp to speak of, so it really takes advantage of the fet drives with real tone stacks in them. I have noticed that the mosfet circuits take a full range boost better than the jfet's but the jfets love a top end boost. My board has a Sunn Model T and a 70's Hiwatt preamp pedal at the moment, building a Bandmaster and Ampeg one soon.
Hey - could you possibly locate a ModTone Dyno Drive and run it through your scope? Curious how it's so different from my Boss SD-1. I use the Dyno Drive as an always on in front of all other dirt. My signal chain is Strat/Tele>TU>COMP>DYNODRIVE>SD-1>DS-1>Stage Right 15W AMP With my particular amp the SD-1 seems either too thin, or if the DS-1 is already on then the SD-1 seems to have overly thick mids and I lose articulation. I can't figure out why the SD-1 cuts so much low end compared to the Dyno Drive. The Dyno Drive is supposedly a TS-9 "clone" and the SD-1 is supposed to be akin to the TS as well. I came across some videos out there of others who were suggesting stacking tube screamers but I'm not having a lot of luck with these two pedals. I'd really REALLY like to see the frequency response curve on the Dyno Drive's tone knob. What is the SD-1 doing to the signal that the Dyno Drive isn't?
I still love my Tube Screamer that was modded to the spec's from your pedal Mod booklet ... it was fun doing some of those projects ... Thanks Brian for continuing the "Quest" for Tone ...
That was great. I like these kind of videos. Keep them coming. They're edumacating magicry. Also...can't wait for my Belle overdrive to show up this week. That should answer my question on which circuit I liked the best. Cheers!
This is an awesome video! Your videos are excellent. Brian, what type of circuit is a 90’s Marshall Blues Breaker pedal, the big black box version? Also, that tele is beautiful! 😍 Thanks!
Remember folks, these are all altering/helping the Brovado, which like any quality tube amp is the bedrock of all these tone. Thanks Brian. This is an excellent comparison of these gain stages.
I have tried a ton of OD pedals to the point now that its almost as if they're the same thing over and over and over. What I love about the Timlus deluxe is that Brian gives options, switches to his pedals that make em stand out and most importantly, worth the money!!!!! You know your pedals are good when you have your name on your own batteries lol
@Wampler pedals: Hi got a question. Do you know if the "Way huge over rated special" is just a Green Rhino GR-2 with a 500Hz & tone control?? and another question. Which one of your Wampler pedals is a Tube Screamer Clone? I would like to purchase it. .ty.
Over the years I've changed my preferences a lot. Really depends on the sound I want or the music I'm playing. I always seem to come back to my Rams head Muff, your Plexi. Thanks for posting this was very interesting.
The Hudson Broadcast was the first drive I was happy with.Before that, I used Germanium fuzz circuits for all clipping needs.The Benson Pre, and Bigsound/Small sound Mini are both contenders. IMO, the Boss BD2 is still superior to most of what is available.
