Excellent guide. I really like the simple audio comparison at the end--no talking or pausing between the samples to throw people off.

@StompBoxParts

4 ай бұрын

We're here to get to the point and not to waste your time!

Clear difference on moderately decent headphones.

Thanks for doing this, after listening through my monitor speakers I now know it's not worth changing the diodes

@GirAiDWinters

2 ай бұрын

If you play through your monitor speaker, you will get the distortion without any pedals.

@2:30 If you aren't going to re-use the diode, a much quicker and less damaging method is to just clip out the diode completely. Then, from the other side, grab the leftover piece with tweezers and melt the solder, pulling the leftover piece out. When pulling it from the diode side the normal way, that bent over piece can rip out the eyelet and/or trace. This way you're pulling it straight out.

@StompBoxParts

4 ай бұрын

This is another totally valid way of removing components! As long as you can commit to destroying the part.

If you put one kind of diode facing one way and another kind of diode facing the other way, would you get an asymmetrical clipping response?

@StompBoxParts

4 ай бұрын

Yup!

I suppose this is sacrilege, but... doesn't sound like it matters that much!

@StompBoxParts

4 ай бұрын

I think they all have their own flavor, probably helps to hear a variety of material instead of just a single big-chord loop! To me, here's how they sound but is in no way definitive of everyone's experience. Stock silicon: sounds compressed, kinda fizzy. Good reference point. Germanium: More compressed than stock but smoother up top. Needs the volume up much higher on the pedal to hit unity. LED's: Much less compressed, responds to playing dynamics very well. Nice clarity, some extra high end that plays nicely with the tone knob rolled back. Much louder than stock. No diodes: The loudest of the bunch. You're probably hearing the amp saturate quite a bit because of how much louder it is. Makes for a very solid boost pedal now.

@keithklassen5320

4 ай бұрын

Even just listening thru my crappy phone speakers, the LEDs sounded completely different.

Ripping out the diodes like that is a great way to destroy the pads. Remove the solder first. Lol turns out stock diodes sound best.

@StompBoxParts

4 ай бұрын

If that works for you, great! With the exception of using a vacuum powered desoldering station (not shown in this video to keep accessible for most viewers), I have found trying to remove the solder first in many scenarios does not aid in removing the component. I've destroyed many pads in my younger years trying to clean all the solder out before removing a part. It works fine if the components legs are straight and not bent over. Frequently though, there are a lot of parts that will have some stubborn solder adhering the part to the pad (especially for double sided pads). I've had much greater success adding fresh solder, heat while gently pulling. Alas, there are many ways to remove a component. As far as the sound goes, everyone has their own preferences!