Best Distortion+ Type Pedal?

[chuckjaywalk]

Being a huge Bob Mould fan, I love the MXR Distortion+. The problem being that they are not very loud and have no EQ options. Are there better takes on the classic yellow box? Should I just get a D+, an EQ pedal, and a boost?

[Dandolin]

EQD Gray Channel is nice and gives some flexibility.
I *really* dug the Kowloon Walled Bunny I got to play with via Chank (somewhat lower gain I think)
Foxrox Zim with a TAR+ card in the second slot with the notch filter is not ILF mojo, but very useful for the higher end of the gain range.
The Dist + was kind of a rip/adaptiation of the Dan Armstrong Blue Clipper, and Jero's Stomping Stones Haxan is brill and flexi. Again, on the higher gain end of things....
That's all I got. glwt search

Haxan is hella loud. The others are not notably quiet.

[Chankgeez]

KWB sounds great, but is kinda limited like almost any other "Distortion+".

Either build or get someone to build you one. Instructions from Ben Adrian himself:

https://www.electricalaudio.com/phpBB3/ ... =5&t=62873

"I don't know if I've posted this before. I sent this to another person via PM, so I figured I should just make it public. This is how to convert an MXR Distortion+, Ross Distortion, DOD Overdrive 250, or DOD YJM308 into what is essentially a KWB pedal.

The changes are pretty easy. Let's start with this schematic as a reference.
https://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pd ... oss_sc.pdf

1. Change C2 to .1uf.

2. Op amp. I like the Texas Instruments LM741. Really, just any decent LM741 should do. I don't really like the sound of a TL071, TL072, or JRC 4558 as much. If I had to use one of those I'd put a small cap between the inverted in and the out to squash the high frequencies a bit.

3. Put in sockets where the diodes would be soldered.

4. Clip Knob. In the stock circuit both diodes go directly to ground (in opposing directions). For the KWB break one diode's connection to ground. Then reconnect that connection through a 50k pot. I prefer audio taper, but linear should work just fine as well. This makes that specific diode less effective as the resistance is increased.

5. Diode choice. I prefer one LED and one 1N34 germanium diode, and I hook the LED up to the side with the clip knob. Scott from KWC likes two 1n4148 silicon diodes. One of the guys in police teeth likes one LED and one Silicon. Have fun with it.

6. The schematic shows a 50kA volume knob. I like this. The MXR and maybe the DOD 250 use 100kA volume knobs. This adds a touch of brightness. If you have dark guitars, then you can get away with the 100k knobs. I tend to use brighter guitars, so it's 50K for me. If you are modding a pedal and it has a 100k knob, you can just strap a 100k resistor across the two outer terminals of the pot.

Make sense?
Cheers!
Ben"

I like LED clipping because it's louder and more open sounding. Having the clipping socketed means you get to experiment.

This BTMB Gray Box is a lot more versatile than most of the other takes on this circuit:

https://buildyourownclone.com/collectio ... -overdrive



It's powerful, but a bit touchy to dial in. (I forgot to brang this, Dandolin, when we did our 250 shootout. )

(The Haxan is great, btw. )

[Gone Fission]

1458 is supposed to be a dual package 741. MXR switched over to it by the 80s and others may have to, just using one side. Some say it’s not the same, but it should be closer than most other choices in core characteristics. I think I remember Tom Cram stating that one of his favorite 250s was an LF351 (single) or LF353 (dual).

[chuckjaywalk]

KWB sounds great, but is kinda limited like almost any other "Distortion+".

Either build or get someone to build you one. Instructions from Ben Adrian himself:

https://www.electricalaudio.com/phpBB3/ ... =5&t=62873

"I don't know if I've posted this before. I sent this to another person via PM, so I figured I should just make it public. This is how to convert an MXR Distortion+, Ross Distortion, DOD Overdrive 250, or DOD YJM308 into what is essentially a KWB pedal.

The changes are pretty easy. Let's start with this schematic as a reference.
https://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pd ... oss_sc.pdf

1. Change C2 to .1uf.

2. Op amp. I like the Texas Instruments LM741. Really, just any decent LM741 should do. I don't really like the sound of a TL071, TL072, or JRC 4558 as much. If I had to use one of those I'd put a small cap between the inverted in and the out to squash the high frequencies a bit.

3. Put in sockets where the diodes would be soldered.

4. Clip Knob. In the stock circuit both diodes go directly to ground (in opposing directions). For the KWB break one diode's connection to ground. Then reconnect that connection through a 50k pot. I prefer audio taper, but linear should work just fine as well. This makes that specific diode less effective as the resistance is increased.

5. Diode choice. I prefer one LED and one 1N34 germanium diode, and I hook the LED up to the side with the clip knob. Scott from KWC likes two 1n4148 silicon diodes. One of the guys in police teeth likes one LED and one Silicon. Have fun with it.

6. The schematic shows a 50kA volume knob. I like this. The MXR and maybe the DOD 250 use 100kA volume knobs. This adds a touch of brightness. If you have dark guitars, then you can get away with the 100k knobs. I tend to use brighter guitars, so it's 50K for me. If you are modding a pedal and it has a 100k knob, you can just strap a 100k resistor across the two outer terminals of the pot.

Make sense?
Cheers!
Ben"

I like LED clipping because it's louder and more open sounding. Having the clipping socketed means you get to experiment.

This BTMB Gray Box is a lot more versatile than most of the other takes on this circuit:

https://buildyourownclone.com/collectio ... -overdrive



It's powerful, but a bit touchy to dial in. (I forgot to brang this, Dandolin, when we did our 250 shootout. )

(The Haxan is great, btw. )

Sadly, my hands shake too badly to solder. I have a whole box of half-finished fuzz boxes because of this. Otherwise, I'd throw two D+ in series with ganged pots and call it a day.

[coldbrightsunlight]

I've not tried a whole bunch but I'm a big fan of the KWB. Currently using a drod Salt Box (which is a kwb thing with tweaks) a lot and it has some nice options. Not extensive EQ controls but the pedal EQ works well for me and the filter is insane. It is... definitely loud.

[Dandolin]

Ooh. Good stuff here.

[jirodreamsofdank]

I'm on the same hunt, I think I'm going to go for a Gray Channel. I've not had the best luck with pedals that add features to simple pedals.

The LED clipping on the other side sounds pretty good to me as a bonus.

Another option is the Whirlwind Gold Box - basically a straight D+ made by one of MXR's founders.

[lordgalvar]

Yngwie-D8-1080.jpg (99.12 KiB) Viewed 2036 times

Stomp on it!

Chankgeez preachin'! Haxan vote addin'! Jero is dealin'

[MechaGodzilla]

I liked the gray box, but it lacked some je ne sais quoi that my old modded block d+ has.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Interesting. I'd like to try the Gray Box, looks fun.

[jirodreamsofdank]

https://solidgoldfx.com/collections/dri ... -overdrive

[duffmcshark]

I like running overdrives and boosts into my stock, modern Distortion +, messing around with some dying battery voltage attenuation, and then EQing things out in the amp and MXR 10 band. I think that’s the way to go.

[univalve]

The vintage one i own sounds the best to me (the non script one in the front). The script reissue is also good. I love these to add a bit of drive and boost the amp.
Pro tip: a buzzaround in front of a distortion+ gets volume wise tamed and sounds awesome.

[dubkitty]

i have a late 70s-early 80s D+ that i've had for over 30 years. never heard a variant i liked more.