Build Your Own Clone Message Board

heyo, long time fan. built my first BYOC around 2010, if i recall? Guv'nor. Didn't work (inexperience, impatience) but fixed it when i found it a year later. 2014 & 2015 i believe i did a classic overdrive, shredder, analog delay, and mouse. all worked first time except the mouse, which just needed a couple caps reflowed and i miswired the footswitch. gave all those away to friends and family except the shredder and delay. in the last month or so i've done the 855, blue overdrive, green pony, and crown jewel. all worked first try (rather proud of that CJ, btw - amazing unit, couldn't believe i didn't have any problems).

but now we come to el distorto segundo. it and its functions all work, but it sure sounds like it throws a thick wool blanket over my amp's speaker. compared to everything else even with the filter all the way up, level up, and moving resonance knob around it still sounds muffled. is that this pedal's "sound"? the only MXR i've ever owned was a Distortion+ back in 2001 and sold to a friend in 2002.

i took it out and confirmed the pots and component values, reseated the opamps, and reflowed practically all solder joints. it all checks out to me...

thoughts?

Keith always strives to make his kits as faithful as possible to the original circuit, in this case the MXR Distortion II. Unfortunately, what you describe is pretty much the nature of that circuit's character. But as I recall, Keith has some good modification recommendations to brighten the output and give it more presence, so hopefully he'll stop by with some ideas for you.

P.S. Nice clean build there!

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“My favorite programming language is SOLDER” - Bob Pease (RIP)

My Website * My Musical Gear * My DIY Pedals: Pg.1 - Pg.2

thanks, i had a feeling that was the case. the authenticity is what keeps me coming back, so i'm not upset.

and yeah if he/anyone has ideas to brighten 'er up i'd be eternally grateful

This has happened to me too. Not with the Distorto Segundo specifically, but where I make something, I don't love it, I figure I must have built it wrong, I spend a bunch of time troubleshooting, and it turns out that it's built correctly and just isn't my jam. The good news is that most of these pedals are famous for a reason, and even if it doesn't work for me or my rig, it will probably work for someone else, so these are the ones I unload (or get some practice modding).

One thing to keep in mind with the MXR Dist+II is that when it was made famous, it was stacked with another pedal. I personally, could never get a good sound out of the pedal on its own, ala carte, but can get some really nice sounds when stacked with a big muff or tubescreamer set a little bit bright. I think the whole thing about the Dist+II is the resonanace control.

That being said, if you want to modify the pedal to be brighter, use a smaller value for C7 and/or C12.

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*patience is a virtue*

Please do not PM me. email is prefered. keith@buildyourownclone.com

thanks, friend! i'll take it under advisement