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Maxon D&S muff...Alternatives?

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 10:47 am
by frigid midget
My old D&S is by far my favorite muff style distortion, after buying a whole bunch of 'em over the years, only to sell 'em not long after that.

So it's fair to say I'm extremely picky, and to make things even more difficult: I don't wanna spend (a lot) more than what the D&S could fetch me.

Before you start firing away recommending all kinds of boutique muff clones...I'd rrrrrreally love to find a straight clone of the D&S, if at all possible. The only one I know -not yet sure it's the exact same circiut though- would the Black Cat clone.

If I can't come up with any good ideas, I'll just have the D&S modded. Cause that's really my only gripe: It sucks treble in bypass mode :s
Plus I woudn't mind a DC bus and status led either.

Cheers.

Re: Maxon D&S muff...Alternatives?

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 11:02 am
by repoman
Maxon Earth?

Re: Maxon D&S muff...Alternatives?

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 12:27 pm
by CyaNitrate
Honestly modding it might be your best bet if you like the circuit when it's on. I have a vintage DOD Phasor 490 that wasn't true bypass, had no indicator led, and an antiquated power jack when I got it.

Wiring it for true bypass with led was as simple as getting a 3pdt switch and drilling a hole for the light, and the boss style jack was easy as well, the hole just needed to be slightly enlarged.

If you like the circuit and aren't worried about mods effecting value (I consider these all to be improvements) then that's the route I'd take.

Re: Maxon D&S muff...Alternatives?

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 1:53 pm
by frigid midget
CyaNitrate wrote:Honestly modding it might be your best bet if you like the circuit when it's on. I have a vintage DOD Phasor 490 that wasn't true bypass, had no indicator led, and an antiquated power jack when I got it.

Wiring it for true bypass with led was as simple as getting a 3pdt switch and drilling a hole for the light, and the boss style jack was easy as well, the hole just needed to be slightly enlarged.

If you like the circuit and aren't worried about mods effecting value (I consider these all to be improvements) then that's the route I'd take.
Yeah, that's the route I'm most likely to take. Hunting down some obscure boutique clone that'll probably cost me quite a bit and may not be the exact same thing....vs installing a led and a 3pdt switch on my favorite muff that happens to drip with vintage mojo. Guess that's a no brainer. I just figured it's worth checking if I'm not overlooking anything obvious, something like the Black Cat D&S maybe. Or yeah, like the Maxon Earth for all I know :idk:

Don't suppose anyone happens to know how close the Earth is to the D&S? :idk:

Re: Maxon D&S muff...Alternatives?

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:00 pm
by Tristan
I only know the El Musico Loco 74 Overdrive.

Check this page:
http://www.effectsdatabase.com/model/maxon/808/od801

Re: Maxon D&S muff...Alternatives?

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 11:04 pm
by ALLisNOISE
Image
http://www.blackcatpedals.com/black-cat-ds/
I have this one, and it's aces.
It's been a minute since I've played an original D&S, so I can't compare, but I A/B'd it with my Tym Reverse Mudd (a Ram's Head) and even though the Tym has slightly more "oomph" I like the Black Cat more. It's a little trimmer and cuts a little more with chord clarity.

Re: Maxon D&S muff...Alternatives?

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 10:18 pm
by sultanofswig
My Black Cat D&S is SUPER noisy & pretty much unusable live but I've held on to it cuz it sounds great & I might wanna use it for recording sometime.
Maybe I got a bad one or it didn't like its spot in the chain when I put it on my board. Might revisit.

Re: Maxon D&S muff...Alternatives?

Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 12:31 am
by Boxbie
I've owned a few black cat things. cant really recommend them. most recently the n-fuzz. Completely underwhelming, with a ripped scrap of foam to stop the floating board ground on the case.

My maxon d&s though is awesome. I drilled it for a LED and put in a true bypass switch. :!!!:

Re: Maxon D&S muff...Alternatives?

Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 4:46 am
by frigid midget
Boxbie wrote:I've owned a few black cat things. cant really recommend them. most recently the n-fuzz. Completely underwhelming, with a ripped scrap of foam to stop the floating board ground on the case.

My maxon d&s though is awesome. I drilled it for a LED and put in a true bypass switch. :!!!:
I see...:s

Don't suppose you happen to know where I can find an idiot proof schem or wiring diagram thingy? My soldering skills are decent, and I know that something silly like installing a led and dpdt switch is supposed to be basic noob knowledge...But I tend to mess up when it comes to reading/understanding schematics :s

Re: Maxon D&S muff...Alternatives?

Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:32 am
by Boxbie
frigid midget wrote:
Boxbie wrote:I've owned a few black cat things. cant really recommend them. most recently the n-fuzz. Completely underwhelming, with a ripped scrap of foam to stop the floating board ground on the case.

My maxon d&s though is awesome. I drilled it for a LED and put in a true bypass switch. :!!!:
I see...:s

Don't suppose you happen to know where I can find an idiot proof schem or wiring diagram thingy? My soldering skills are decent, and I know that something silly like installing a led and dpdt switch is supposed to be basic noob knowledge...But I tend to mess up when it comes to reading/understanding schematics :s
I used one of these http://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/3PDT_True_ ... 74515.aspx

no thinking required!!