2:52 clean tone 4:45 3mm LED (~1.5v forward) 5:30 1N4148 Si (.559v forward) 7:32 1N34A Ge (.265v forward) 9:28 1N5818 Schottky (.131 forward) 10:20 AN306 Ge (.193v forward) 11:35 1N270 Ge (.220v forward) 12:38 Japanese White Ge (.213v forward)
The Shotkey diodes and silicon switch faster than the germanium or LED and that generates more high frequency harmonics. Germanium soft knee clipping sounds warmer. Thanks for moving the gain around so we can hear it.
Finally a little love for the Egnater Tweaker amp! I’m just getting started with pedal building and I like the way you breadboarded the diodes to facilitate quick changes.
Talking was ok but I would like to have heard a mix of 1n34a & 1n270 just to hear what effect they had on the overall sound cos I liked both but to my ears the 1n270 were a little 'tighter' sounding compared to the 'loose' 1n34As!
Just a upgrade from Nick Fox version, for future use. --Clean tone - 2:52 --3mm LED (~1.5v forward) Low Gain - 3:21 Middle Gain - 4:50 High Gain - 5:11 --1N4148 Si (.559v forward) Middle Gain - 5:47 High Gain - 7:05 --1N34A Ge (.265v forward) Low Gain - 7:57 Middle Gain - 8:11 Middle Gain 2 - 14:31 High Gain - 9:05 High Gain 2 - 14:37 --1N5818 Schottky (.131 forward) Low Gain - 9:39 Middle Gain - 9:47 High Gain - 10:04 --AN306 Ge (.193v forward) Low Gain - 10:31 Middle Gain - 10:38 Middle Gain 2 - 11:06 High Gain - 10:56 High Gain 2- 14:12 --1N270 Ge (.220v forward) Low Gain - 11:40 Middle Gain - 12:01 Middle Gain 2 - 14:03 High Gain - 12:14 --Japanese White Ge (.213v forward) Low Gain - 12:52 Middle Gain - 13:02 Middle Gain 2 - 13:43 High Gain - 13:20
The 1n34A diodes, being like what's in the KTR are off in their Vf by almost ten. That potentially makes a big difference. The Klon Vf was .35, as determined by the guys at FSB. I still think Bill Finnegan likely used the ITT 1n34A as ITT was very close to him, and were an easy and plentiful source, rather than this mysterious source he's claimed all these years. As well, they are now and have been difficult to obtain for a while. I stumbled into a guy on eBay who had a large amount of them. I bought quite a few from him. Not because I seek to re-create the Klon, but because actual germanium 1n34A can be hard to get a hold of anymore. Just a thought, it might be worth getting a hold of the ITT 1n34A for anyone wanting to nail the Klon sound.
Mix 1n270 with 1n34a. They have similar forward voltage but a bit different clipping. I tried it with 1khz sine generator and osciloscope first... FTT showed more 4th harmonics than 3rd with the same amplitude on each side of wave and while listening it sounds really smooth, tube like.
what type of shag carpet is that? i think if that was real wool shag it could help the sound a lot, im telling you that synthetic rug is killing your tone. i think you need a Berber rug to really make that klon sing, loading at the gig is a pain but the sound is worth it. vid starts at 12:13 for the best sounding in270 diode even with synthetic rugs.
That's the interesting thing about the Klon -- as you note the core of the distortion is closer to a Boss DS-1 or a Pro Co Rat, but people *perceive* it as an overdrive because of the blending.
I liked your 2 favorites best as well. But, also the Schottky just as much, which is surprising because it's curve is much sharper. Maybe it's impedance is different and it lets more of the Klons boosted bass thru. Good video. I don't get the thumbs down.
With LEDs you should try different colours, because they opperate at a different voltage and thereby they don't sound the same. Usually I stay away from the red ones, as an example.
Most of the clipping comes from the opamp. Bill F stated he used the common 1n34a. The diodes are not magic. Any germanium with a forward voltage between .25v and .40 will yield an almost inaudible difference
I lije the ones u originally thouggt were in the klone.. i forget the model name. 2nd was the other ones u liked 3rd were the japanese ones. Very cool video. Ive never seen a comp vid like this before. Well done
click here \/ to skip the fucking blablabla 2:55 clean tone 4:49 3mm LED (~1.5v forward) 5:47 1N4148 Si (.559v forward) 7:57 1N34A Ge (.265v forward) 9:39 1N5818 Schottky (.131 forward) 10:31 AN306 Ge (.193v forward) 11:40 1N270 Ge (.220v forward) 12:52 Japanese White Ge (.213v forward)
The LEDs sound the best. Too bad that circuit is not repeatable in the least... every batch of LEDs is just a little different to be impossible to manufacture more than a handful of pedals. Otherwise, the 1N34 comes in a close second place.
Thanks for the test. Interesting results. Apparently the actual Klon uses a germanium diode with .35 vdc forward. Other diodes that you could try for comparison are, IN277, OA91, which I've heard, although don't quote me, both measure 0.35v. Other popular choices include BAT 46, and Bat 41(mad bean).
+POG FROGULPOP I use the BAT41 in all my Klon builds ... they sound the best to me , and they are close to the original Klon clippers . The 1n34A is close as well ...
@@TheFarout69 I use a pair of 2N7000s, they make it sound smoother. I have to turn the tone control up. Very musical and adds a sweet compression and sustain.
Cool i also thought the first two where the best ,, but for led ,, use red once,, diffent colors have different values ,,, Rockman had two red once , and on an other place on the pcb a red and a green
Any OD will respond better with a buffer in front. The chip is current dependent. Put a buffer in the guitar just for goodness. Mix an LED with a MOSFET transistor set as a clipper-(look it up). Or a red and a blue LED. Harmonic tube squeal from Hell with high gain. Lets you get higher on the gain knob and still be intelligible without as much mush.
ebay have the better and the weirdest but if you shearch in old ussr stock like the D9E for example you can found lot of really good thing ! and try new ones !
They all sound fairly similar to me, hard to tell without being live... seriously doubt anyone listening to someone play in the mix would hear any difference at all... I think the 1n34a has a slight advantage... the tone really isn’t anything you can’t get with green box or OCD... been thinking about building one, but I’m not sure it’s worth the effort... thanks for the vid...
i did all this about a year ago. the proper forward voltage for a Klon is .350 i had a real klon gold i fixed for a friend. the best i found was the russian d9 it was perfect.they measured .340 forward voltage.
909955847736 incorrect. As he pointed out diodes aren’t the only thing that clips within the circuit, the opamp does as well. If you prefer it without the diodes by all means don’t include them. But if you prefer the sound of one of the diodes add them. That’s far from meaningless.
There's no magic value with clipping diodes...it's the materials the dictate the sound...silicon or germanium..forward voltage determines how loud it's is!
You ruined an interesting job, it's a shame! First you listen to the various sounds, and then you make your observations!, but no while you play you take long breaks between one test and another ..., you can not compare any change with your method!, too bad, it was an interesting test!, but you do not understand anything as it is!. Hai rovinato un interessante lavoro, è un peccato! Prima fai ascoltare i vari suoni, e poi fai le tue osservazioni!, ma no mentre suoni fai delle lunghe pause fra un test e un altro..., non si può comparare alcun cambiamento con il tuo metodo!, peccato, era un interessante test!, ma non si capisce niente così come è!.
2:52 clean tone
4:45 3mm LED (~1.5v forward)
5:30 1N4148 Si (.559v forward)
7:32 1N34A Ge (.265v forward)
9:28 1N5818 Schottky (.131 forward)
10:20 AN306 Ge (.193v forward)
11:35 1N270 Ge (.220v forward)
12:38 Japanese White Ge (.213v forward)
Shottky not Shockley, that's the model ;)
I just copied and pasted from the description above. It's been fixed, thanks.
Have you tryed ocd cliping in it ...? + would it be harder to do ( im thinking about ) ?
zadvitsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/bigOCDschematic.png
Most useful comment I've seen in years
The Shotkey diodes and silicon switch faster than the germanium or LED and that generates more high frequency harmonics. Germanium soft knee clipping sounds warmer. Thanks for moving the gain around so we can hear it.
Finally a little love for the Egnater Tweaker amp!
I’m just getting started with pedal building and I like the way you breadboarded the diodes to facilitate quick changes.
There were a lot of comments about too much talk, but I appreciated the explanation. Thanks for your informative video.
Talking was ok but I would like to have heard a mix of 1n34a & 1n270 just to hear what effect they had on the overall sound cos I liked both but to my ears the 1n270 were a little 'tighter' sounding compared to the 'loose' 1n34As!
It's a very interesting video tbh I learned allot as a beginner pedal maker ^^
Just a upgrade from Nick Fox version, for future use.
--Clean tone - 2:52
--3mm LED (~1.5v forward)
Low Gain - 3:21
Middle Gain - 4:50
High Gain - 5:11
--1N4148 Si (.559v forward)
Middle Gain - 5:47
High Gain - 7:05
--1N34A Ge (.265v forward)
Low Gain - 7:57
Middle Gain - 8:11
Middle Gain 2 - 14:31
High Gain - 9:05
High Gain 2 - 14:37
--1N5818 Schottky (.131 forward)
Low Gain - 9:39
Middle Gain - 9:47
High Gain - 10:04
--AN306 Ge (.193v forward)
Low Gain - 10:31
Middle Gain - 10:38
Middle Gain 2 - 11:06
High Gain - 10:56
High Gain 2- 14:12
--1N270 Ge (.220v forward)
Low Gain - 11:40
Middle Gain - 12:01
Middle Gain 2 - 14:03
High Gain - 12:14
--Japanese White Ge (.213v forward)
Low Gain - 12:52
Middle Gain - 13:02
Middle Gain 2 - 13:43
High Gain - 13:20
The 1n34A diodes, being like what's in the KTR are off in their Vf by almost ten. That potentially makes a big difference. The Klon Vf was .35, as determined by the guys at FSB. I still think Bill Finnegan likely used the ITT 1n34A as ITT was very close to him, and were an easy and plentiful source, rather than this mysterious source he's claimed all these years. As well, they are now and have been difficult to obtain for a while. I stumbled into a guy on eBay who had a large amount of them. I bought quite a few from him. Not because I seek to re-create the Klon, but because actual germanium 1n34A can be hard to get a hold of anymore. Just a thought, it might be worth getting a hold of the ITT 1n34A for anyone wanting to nail the Klon sound.
That was very informative! I appreciated the commentary
Mix 1n270 with 1n34a. They have similar forward voltage but a bit different clipping. I tried it with 1khz sine generator and osciloscope first... FTT showed more 4th harmonics than 3rd with the same amplitude on each side of wave and while listening it sounds really smooth, tube like.
This video is incredibly useful. Great sound quality, good explanations. Thank you sir
AN306 and J-White at noon-gain. Good video.
Cheers from Indonesia
what type of shag carpet is that? i think if that was real wool shag it could help the sound a lot, im telling you that synthetic rug is killing your tone. i think you need a Berber rug to really make that klon sing, loading at the gig is a pain but the sound is worth it. vid starts at 12:13 for the best sounding in270 diode even with synthetic rugs.
The Klon Centaur is not an overdrive. It is a diodes to ground hard clipping distortion circuit with a clean blend tied into the gain knob.
That's the interesting thing about the Klon -- as you note the core of the distortion is closer to a Boss DS-1 or a Pro Co Rat, but people *perceive* it as an overdrive because of the blending.
Almost a fuzzy sound with the Small Bear GE's. I dig. Bright and almost fat fuzz.
Thanks for a great geeked out Klon clone video. Like Jimi Hendrix sang,.."What if 9 turns out to be 3?" LOL!
Would have loved to hear also the D9s
I liked your 2 favorites best as well. But, also the Schottky just as much, which is surprising because it's curve is much sharper. Maybe it's impedance is different and it lets more of the Klons boosted bass thru. Good video. I don't get the thumbs down.
With LEDs you should try different colours, because they opperate at a different voltage and thereby they don't sound the same. Usually I stay away from the red ones, as an example.
Definitely, Japanese White Ge (.213v forward) and 1N5818 Shockley (.131 forward).
That's the tone of the Centaur Clone
Great Vid, nice intro to different diode distortion for the layman
Most of the clipping comes from the opamp. Bill F stated he used the common 1n34a. The diodes are not magic. Any germanium with a forward voltage between .25v and .40 will yield an almost inaudible difference
Where can I get a knob with two 9 o'clock? ;)
Yeah oops I kept getting the positions wrong in terms of a clock face :|
Haha, it's cool. We know what you mean.
Millennials and analog clocks, LOL
Interesting concept to test the different options. The difference is hard to discern with UA-cam squashed sound, but I enjoyed this so Thanks 🙏
I lije the ones u originally thouggt were in the klone.. i forget the model name. 2nd was the other ones u liked 3rd were the japanese ones. Very cool video. Ive never seen a comp vid like this before. Well done
Would you be able to mix them? That peaks my curious!
click here \/ to skip the fucking blablabla
2:55 clean tone
4:49 3mm LED (~1.5v forward)
5:47 1N4148 Si (.559v forward)
7:57 1N34A Ge (.265v forward)
9:39 1N5818 Schottky (.131 forward)
10:31 AN306 Ge (.193v forward)
11:40 1N270 Ge (.220v forward)
12:52 Japanese White Ge (.213v forward)
the schottkys had a really interesting clipping pattern... almost asymmetrical. maybe not a true Klon diode but very interesting none the less!
appreciate the knowledge great explanations
The LEDs sound the best. Too bad that circuit is not repeatable in the least... every batch of LEDs is just a little different to be impossible to manufacture more than a handful of pedals. Otherwise, the 1N34 comes in a close second place.
Thanks for this 🔥
Thanks for the test. Interesting results. Apparently the actual Klon uses a germanium diode with .35 vdc forward. Other diodes that you could try for comparison are, IN277, OA91, which I've heard, although don't quote me, both measure 0.35v. Other popular choices include BAT 46, and Bat 41(mad bean).
+POG FROGULPOP I use the BAT41 in all my Klon builds ... they sound the best to me , and they are close to the original Klon clippers . The 1n34A is close as well ...
I used D9E's in my KLON clone.
i see the D9E is the closest diode than the original 1n34a
tnx for this video, now i know what diodes should i use
Thanks for posting. Gives me some directions to explore.
Try JFET transistor clipping..
+DarkVoid , The mosfet style would likely rock. Mix a mosfet with a red LED. Holy Moly.
@@TheFarout69 I use a pair of 2N7000s, they make it sound smoother. I have to turn the tone control up. Very musical and adds a sweet compression and sustain.
Just into building pedals can you supply a schematic of how you set this up 👍
1n270s for my ears
Japanese white are the shizel for me
thanks for post it this has a good sound, im going to try new conection. im brazilian fan excelent project....
Cool i also thought the first two where the best ,, but for led ,, use red once,, diffent colors have different values ,,, Rockman had two red once , and on an other place on the pcb a red and a green
1N270s by a mile. They had "that" sound. The others were just meh. Harsh, unregulated, clipping op-amp but not caressing it.
I think you're right
Any OD will respond better with a buffer in front. The chip is current dependent. Put a buffer in the guitar just for goodness. Mix an LED with a MOSFET transistor set as a clipper-(look it up). Or a red and a blue LED. Harmonic tube squeal from Hell with high gain. Lets you get higher on the gain knob and still be intelligible without as much mush.
Moral of the story: Gain at 9 o'clock
Thank you😃✌wonderful upload🤔
Sweeeet, this is here quuite hidden! What's your favourite?
I went with 1N34A
CAL NYC Nice to know. I want to build a BluesBreaker and add a switch with those to ground!
Who sells diodes with such low voltages? Thanks friend.
ebay have the better and the weirdest but if you shearch in old ussr stock like the D9E for example you can found lot of really good thing ! and try new ones !
They all sound fairly similar to me, hard to tell without being live... seriously doubt anyone listening to someone play in the mix would hear any difference at all... I think the 1n34a has a slight advantage... the tone really isn’t anything you can’t get with green box or OCD... been thinking about building one, but I’m not sure it’s worth the effort... thanks for the vid...
Saweet demo thanks
All sounds same for me :-)
Good demo but too much talking. I liked the White diodes and the 1n34a . It would probably be cool to switch between those for different sounds. :)
i did all this about a year ago. the proper forward voltage for a Klon is .350 i had a real klon gold i fixed for a friend. the best i found was the russian d9 it was perfect.they measured .340 forward voltage.
Have you seen a Clock? Lol, volume on "9" isn't the same as 9 o clock brother.
Oh the Klon aka the Kon
Too much talkin not enough hearing
5:57 - "You can pull the diodes out of the circuit and it you'll hear clipping". -- That guarantees that this diode comparison is meaningless.
909955847736 incorrect. As he pointed out diodes aren’t the only thing that clips within the circuit, the opamp does as well. If you prefer it without the diodes by all means don’t include them. But if you prefer the sound of one of the diodes add them. That’s far from meaningless.
There's no magic value with clipping diodes...it's the materials the dictate the sound...silicon or germanium..forward voltage determines how loud it's is!
You ruined an interesting job, it's a shame! First you listen to the various sounds, and then you make your observations!, but no while you play you take long breaks between one test and another ..., you can not compare any change with your method!, too bad, it was an interesting test!, but you do not understand anything as it is!.
Hai rovinato un interessante lavoro, è un peccato! Prima fai ascoltare i vari suoni, e poi fai le tue osservazioni!, ma no mentre suoni fai delle lunghe pause fra un test e un altro..., non si può comparare alcun cambiamento con il tuo metodo!, peccato, era un interessante test!, ma non si capisce niente così come è!.