Author Topic: Playing around with Boss SD1 (Read 4804 times)

Catalyst77 · « **on:** March 07, 2008, 11:08:05 AM »

I have an SD1 which is not currently part of my pedal board; so I thought I'd just have a play with the circuit and see what happens.

Was thinking about changing the LED just to make it a little different from an appearance perspective; Is it just as simple as soldering in a new LED or are there other things I need to consider when changing the colour or brightness etc.

Was considering one of those xtra bright violet jobs from Maplin.

Cheers

gwEm · « **Reply #1 on:** March 07, 2008, 11:32:06 AM »

those violet ones do look good... but i think they're just available from maplins in 5mm... if you don't want to drill holes, get 3mm.

and why not so some more mods while you've got it open?

indysmith · « **Reply #2 on:** March 07, 2008, 12:10:10 PM »

yeah why not try some mods that actually do something to the tone of it? it's a pedal not a fashion accessory :?

Catalyst77 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 07, 2008, 12:14:47 PM »

Ha Ha, sorry

I meant in addition to the Mods;

obviously I'm gonna play around with the diodes and the chip but i guess there's a vain part of me that wants people to know its been changed; hence the Different Bulb.

Ive got no problems drilling the enclosure up to 5mm.

I'll prob add an ON/ON switch for the diodes as well.

Elliot · « **Reply #4 on:** March 07, 2008, 01:45:30 PM »

Look at the Monte Allums tri-gain mod - turns this pedal into a real brute!

Scott674 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 07, 2008, 09:23:29 PM »

A different LED should not require any other changes. There should be a resistor in front of it in the circuit, and replacing it with a smaller one will make the LED shine brighter, but if you use batteries, it will drain faster. If you're using an adapter, no worries!

Catalyst77 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 07, 2008, 10:57:25 PM »

Great! thanks for that.

There seems to be quite a lot of different opions about which is the best op-amp to use in the circuit. I'm gonna put a socket in there so I can play around a bit and see what sounds best.

Can I use any Op-amp or only certain types?

Ive noticed there seems to be mention of 4 or 5 different ones t hat people use; but theres literally hundreds to chose from - so is there any reason why I can't try any of those?

kellar · « **Reply #7 on:** March 08, 2008, 10:17:49 AM »

I have the 5 star keeley mod on my SD-1 and it is the only overdrive I need. I love it, super transparent. You can really drive your amp with it, sounds great as a boost as well.
Also, with the 5 star keeley mod you get the cool blue led light, looks great! :)

Catalyst77 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 08, 2008, 11:53:59 AM »

Yeah I know about keeley and all the other places you can get the pedal modded, but being that its a cheap pedal i just wanted to play around with it and see what happened.

I guess I was just looking for a few do's and donts etc. - I don't want to fry the circuit (if thats possible)

Lurch · « **Reply #9 on:** March 08, 2008, 06:03:41 PM »

http://www.guitarjam.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7
Decent info on some simple mods there. As for opamps, you want a dual opamp (2 on one chip), then just try a few. I think Keeley's using 2 JRC4558 chips in parallel, one on top of the other. Also try Burr Brown OPA2134, http://www.banzaieffects.com/OPA2134PA-pr-16777.html. Just make sure you put them in the right way round or you will fry them.

Elliot · « **Reply #10 on:** March 08, 2008, 09:39:14 PM »

OP Amps make very subtle changed - The Burr Brown ones do boost things by an audible amount. I find the Burr Brown OPA2134 to be too clean (although as a volume boost its a good option) - something that retains the grunt is the Burr Brown OPA2604AP,

Catalyst77 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 09, 2008, 10:04:38 PM »

Ok so I just finished modding my SD1 from parts I salvaged out of the back of an old TV. (with the exception of the op amp)

Sounds pretty awesome a def improvement and holds its own against my rather expensive Keeley SD1