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I have a Digitech Metal Master distortion pedal. It has no gain control and the amount of gain it supplies is WAY TOO MUCH! What would I need to do in order to add a gain control? Thanks for any help.
Modding a pedal to include gain control.
- Thread starter PortionThief
- Start date
Jeff (JBroll) would be the best person to answer your question. I'm sure once he visits the forum and sees "mod" and "pedal" in the subject line he'll be all over this, haha.
~006
~006
R-Stuur
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Try messing with the volume of your pedal as well, you could do less than 'full out' and compensate by raising the volume on your amp.
The digitech is probably harder to mod due to (possible) digital components, a more analog approach might better. Why not consider selling this for something else? What kind of amp do you have?
The digitech is probably harder to mod due to (possible) digital components, a more analog approach might better. Why not consider selling this for something else? What kind of amp do you have?
- May 29, 2008
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JBroll has actually helped me before so I was hoping he might chime in at some point.
I keep the volume on the pedal at about 9 o'clock. Even with less than that it is still just as distorted and undefined sounding. I've even used a volume pedal before the distortion to help cut it down some. It helps a bit but still way too much distortion. I was thinking of selling it but decided to keep it and fiddle around a bit in hopes of learning something(I got it for free from a friend so no loss). My amp is a Spider II, which I've had for much longer than intended.
If I can't do anything about digital components I would like to gut the thing and start from scratch.
I keep the volume on the pedal at about 9 o'clock. Even with less than that it is still just as distorted and undefined sounding. I've even used a volume pedal before the distortion to help cut it down some. It helps a bit but still way too much distortion. I was thinking of selling it but decided to keep it and fiddle around a bit in hopes of learning something(I got it for free from a friend so no loss). My amp is a Spider II, which I've had for much longer than intended.
If I can't do anything about digital components I would like to gut the thing and start from scratch.
R-Stuur
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Oh shit, I meant volume of the GUITAR. Does that work? Gut the thing? Electronics require some knowledge, especially digital. I would just sell the thing and look for something more appropiate. Time/Money wise pedal making/modding isnt efficient. You really gotta pick it up as standalone hobby and invest a lot of time in it to make it work.
Loren Littlejohn
Lover of all boobage.
Depending on the pedal modding isn't hard. But my guess is since it's a digitech it's not PCB but that smaller shit that sucks to work with. I know the bad monkey isn't a mod friendly pedal.
Okay... since I don't have one handy, and I've been carving myself a briar pipe for long enough to not feel like recommending anything requiring drilling holes in shit, the best advice I could give would be just having input model. As said above, I'd suspect that the pedal is not PCB but SMD (printed-circuit-board versus surface-mounted-device - the former is seen in most pedals, the latter is seen in a lot of cheap pedals, the analog Digitech stuff I've seen, and computers) so direct modification would not work.
If you feel like throwing a picture (or ten) of the innards I might be able to figure something out.
Another thing... if you have a TS, try putting that with the drive at 0, the tone wherever you want, and the level as low as you can have sounding good. That'll also help make up for some bad gain staging and maybe help you a lot. If not I can send you a minimal TS clone that would be a good early electronics project - hell, I've fit them in guitars.
Going to go with wrong-o here. Great way to make a lot of money (as I'm considering doing so that I can afford the apartment I'll be moving into and finally get some real fucking monitors at my own place) with very basic work (as basic as matching colors to numbers if you buy a book or two) and KNOW MORE ABOUT SHIT. You're on a forum because you want to KNOW MORE ABOUT SHIT. Pedal modding, or more generally circuit design and application, will be a very good way of understanding how things really work and getting a great understanding of everything you use.
I'd bet that 90% of the mixers in 90% of the places wouldn't know how to set up a multiband compression scheme without a dedicated multiband compressor, and most of the people I know can do so thanks to a rant or three I posted before. This is NOT good. When you have a fundamental failure to understand how things work - and even worse, a dismissal of this understanding because it is thought to be of little relevance - you're going to have problems.
Jeff
If you feel like throwing a picture (or ten) of the innards I might be able to figure something out.
Another thing... if you have a TS, try putting that with the drive at 0, the tone wherever you want, and the level as low as you can have sounding good. That'll also help make up for some bad gain staging and maybe help you a lot. If not I can send you a minimal TS clone that would be a good early electronics project - hell, I've fit them in guitars.
Going to go with wrong-o here. Great way to make a lot of money (as I'm considering doing so that I can afford the apartment I'll be moving into and finally get some real fucking monitors at my own place) with very basic work (as basic as matching colors to numbers if you buy a book or two) and KNOW MORE ABOUT SHIT. You're on a forum because you want to KNOW MORE ABOUT SHIT. Pedal modding, or more generally circuit design and application, will be a very good way of understanding how things really work and getting a great understanding of everything you use.
I'd bet that 90% of the mixers in 90% of the places wouldn't know how to set up a multiband compression scheme without a dedicated multiband compressor, and most of the people I know can do so thanks to a rant or three I posted before. This is NOT good. When you have a fundamental failure to understand how things work - and even worse, a dismissal of this understanding because it is thought to be of little relevance - you're going to have problems.
Jeff
Sloan
Sounds like shit!
I'm guessing that most of it's "magic" is done on a chip or whatever. I don't think there's much you can do there.
It would be awesome if you take the bottom off and post pics of the insides. We could probably help out better with that info.
It would be awesome if you take the bottom off and post pics of the insides. We could probably help out better with that info.
R-Stuur
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I'm not sure how you work but unless you come out with a 'custom' brand and made circuits yourself I'm gonna go with wrong-o on this as well. I dont know how you've set up your business, but most schematics are copyrighted designs which you can't sell for professional purposes.
Anyway, if you're (anybody but Jbroll) interested in pedal making check out the DIY stompboxes forum http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/
Many modders release their mods, so you can learn how things work, and honestly it's very little work to figure out what does what if you know some basic electronics. I don't sell copyrighted designs or claim objects that aren't my own, I just spent enough time tinkering with things that I can do most things that people are after. Oh, and that forum is fucking great - I learned a lot and still point people there when I can't answer something.
The main point was that learning about circuits is a great way of understanding things better. The fewer 'black boxes' (weird devices whose innards you have no understanding of whatsoever) you have, the more control you'll find yourself with.
Jeff
Loren Littlejohn
Lover of all boobage.
R-Stuur
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