# Muroidea



## reubenreub (Oct 31, 2019)

Really happy with how this one turned out! It's a classic rat with a sweet LM208, tantalum caps, and a 3way clipping switch (1n4148s, red LEDs, bat41 & bat41-1n4148 for asymmetrical). The asymmetrical sounds especially fantastic and is something I'd recommend to try if you haven't already. In hindsight, I should have switched labels for distortion and level but it doesn't bother me much.


----------



## Barry (Nov 1, 2019)

I started my pedal hobby doing mods on Rats and a few others, love the art work!


----------



## chongmagic (Nov 1, 2019)

Looks great, bet it sounds even better!


----------



## Chuck D. Bones (Nov 2, 2019)

Very cool finish.  How did you do that?
Love the lettering.
I see what you did with the clip switch.  What are the black diodes?
Now tell us about the Rat's eyes.  What color and are they modulated?


----------



## reubenreub (Nov 2, 2019)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> Very cool finish.  How did you do that?
> Love the lettering.
> I see what you did with the clip switch.  What are the black diodes?
> Now tell us about the Rat's eyes.  What color and are they modulated?


Thanks Chuck! The finish is a technique I've been working on for a while now. First I use Birchwood Casey aluminum black as a base layer. Then I splotch on some paints that I only let partially dry before running it under water to get those unique textures. Posca paint pens for the lettering. Love the final results I get!

It's a Bat41 antiparallel to a Bat41 + 1n4148 for a really nice asymmetrical option. It's my favorite rat sound now!

For the eyes it's just 3mm red water clear LEDs for bypass indicators. No modulation or anything fancy but that would have been really sweet!


----------



## Chuck D. Bones (Nov 2, 2019)

Now I remember you explaining that once before.  Very very cool.


----------



## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Nov 3, 2019)

Would love to see a tutorial on that finish. It's really cool!!


----------



## reubenreub (Nov 3, 2019)

Jovi Bon Kenobi said:


> Would love to see a tutorial on that finish. It's really cool!!



That's a good idea! I've been doing it in batches and probably won't be making enclosures for another month or so but I'd be happy to share.


----------



## UnusedPortion (Apr 13, 2020)

reubenreub said:


> Really happy with how this one turned out! It's a classic rat with a sweet LM208, tantalum caps, and a 3way clipping switch (1n4148s, red LEDs, bat41 & bat41-1n4148 for asymmetrical). The asymmetrical sounds especially fantastic and is something I'd recommend to try if you haven't already. In hindsight, I should have switched labels for distortion and level but it doesn't bother me much.
> 
> View attachment 2099View attachment 2100View attachment 2101


Possibly dumb question about your diode clipping switch: maybe I'm not understanding the way the toggle switch is working, but won't this always include the red LEDs in the clipping section?  Looks like it would be: position 1: 1n4148 + 2 LEDs in parallel, position 2: 2 LEDs in parallel, position 3: 2 LEDs + bat41 + (bat41->1n4148 series) in parallel.  Is that correct?  Just checking my understanding.


----------



## reubenreub (Apr 13, 2020)

UnusedPortion said:


> Possibly dumb question about your diode clipping switch: maybe I'm not understanding the way the toggle switch is working, but won't this always include the red LEDs in the clipping section?  Looks like it would be: position 1: 1n4148 + 2 LEDs in parallel, position 2: 2 LEDs in parallel, position 3: 2 LEDs + bat41 + (bat41->1n4148 series) in parallel.  Is that correct?  Just checking my understanding.


You are indeed correct that the LEDs are always in the circuit! However, this is a clever trick as when you have the 1n4148s selected, their forward voltage is low enough that there I nothing left for the LEDs to clip. Same with the asymmetrical. You can do this in any clipping setup as long as you have the highest forward voltage diodes in the "off" position.


----------



## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 13, 2020)

I ended up with 1N4148/LED/10K - no diodes - 1N4148/1N4148.  No diodes is considerably louder and less compression.  Asymmetrical is even more asymmetrical if you put a 10K resistor in parallel with the asymmetrical pair.


----------



## UnusedPortion (Apr 13, 2020)

reubenreub said:


> You are indeed correct that the LEDs are always in the circuit! However, this is a clever trick as when you have the 1n4148s selected, their forward voltage is low enough that there I nothing left for the LEDs to clip. Same with the asymmetrical. You can do this in any clipping setup as long as you have the highest forward voltage diodes in the "off" position.


Thanks for the explanation, man.  Makes sense and really helpful!


----------

