# Back to square one...



## HamishR (May 16, 2020)

A few years ago I built my first BJF designed Sparkling Yellow Overdrive. I changed this bit, changed that bit never really got into it so put it aside for a while.  Well this week, after having some success with a couple of other BJF designs I have gently modified I thought I'd look at the Sparkling Yellow again. Changed a bit here again, a bit there agin, then changed out the LED clipping diodes for a pair of 1N4148s and 1N4001s - my go-to diodes.

Viola!  there is the sound I wanted out of it all along!  Pretty proud of myself for "improving" a design by the famous Bjorn.  So I went back and looked at the original scheme - turns out I actually undid all of my changes except the diodes - ended up with exactly the stock circuit except for the diodes. oh, ok.  Maybe Bjorn does know what he's doing after all.   

Anyone else had an experience like this?


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## Barry (May 16, 2020)

I started out modifying effects and I would often test a pedal after each component change and on some I'd find I liked them better with out all the changes, the SD-1 comes to mind doing an 808 mod to them I preferred leaving the original diodes alone


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## steelplayer (May 16, 2020)

Yep, been there too -- especially with diodes. 

I seem to have the same affliction with stock speakers in amps and cabs. I swap em out like a madman and generally go back to the originals.


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## Gordo (May 16, 2020)

Been there.  I've done that to a few boards and fiddled around with them to the point where pads were falling off and I end up replacing the pcb.  I'll start at stock again and think "yeah, that's what I was looking for".


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## phi1 (May 16, 2020)

My personal tendency when modding is to add switches and knobs, but still be able to access the stock circuit (expect for the few times when I’ve set out to make something completely new).

a few reasons for me (not saying these are right... just what i do:
-I do often over time settle in to a favorite setting, but it’s not always the setting I preferred at first playing. So it’s nice to be able to play with the options over time. 
-maybe it’s just fear of missing out...
-I also like having the stock circuit available as a reference point for researching/comparison


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## Barry (May 16, 2020)

I 





phi1 said:


> My personal tendency when modding is to add switches and knobs, but still be able to access the stock circuit (expect for the few times when I’ve set out to make something completely new).
> 
> a few reasons for me (not saying these are right... just what i do:
> -I do often over time settle in to a favorite setting, but it’s not always the setting I preferred at first playing. So it’s nice to be able to play with the options over time.
> ...


I would keep spread sheets on all the mods for a specific pedal when I was studying what each change did


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## Gordo (May 16, 2020)

I just jack stuff up and try to figure out where it all went wrong


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## Gordo (May 16, 2020)

And in that same sentiment I've built damn near every incarnation of the MXR Distortion+ I could get my hands on.  Every mod, every tweak.  I have an old as dirt original but resisted the temptation to defile it, given that there are so many boards out there.  I hit the Aion board not to long ago (don't recall the name) and boom...there's my idyllic Distortion+.  Done.


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## Ratimus (May 16, 2020)

That's frustrating, no doubt abut it. Like doing 3 pages of math and simplifying your answer only to find out you've just proven 1=1.


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## HamishR (May 16, 2020)

Well yeah, it _is_ frustrating and it isn't. At least in the end I got something I like!  And changing the diodes was the answer for me in this case.

I've had experiences where I have experimented with changing almost every part in a circuit only to find I couldn't improve the original - The Rockett 45 Caliber is a bit like that. But i knew where I was going in those. With the Sparkling Yellow I had forgotten what I had done before and ended up reproducing the original.  D'oh!

I feel the experience has not been a waste. I feel that I have learnt something.  Not sure what, but definitely something.


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## music6000 (May 17, 2020)

HamishR said:


> Well yeah, it _is_ frustrating and it isn't. At least in the end I got something I like!  And changing the diodes was the answer for me in this case.
> 
> I've had experiences where I have experimented with changing almost every part in a circuit only to find I couldn't improve the original - The Rockett 45 Caliber is a bit like that. But i knew where I was going in those. With the Sparkling Yellow I had forgotten what I had done before and ended up reproducing the original.  D'oh!
> 
> I feel the experience has not been a waste. I feel that I have learnt something.  Not sure what, but definitely something.


Famous Quote:* If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It!*


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## HamishR (May 17, 2020)

Haha!  Well I did make it better for me.   I just went the long way around. Turns out what I didn't like was the LEDs as clippers. But I changed everything else before thinking to change them. It definitely wasn't broke but I definitely could make it suit me better.  Others i am sure would prefer the LEDs.


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## Chuck D. Bones (May 17, 2020)

music6000 said:


> Famous Quote:* If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It!*



I'm Engineer.  Our mantra is _"Fix it 'til it's broke!"  ?_

I agree with Hamish.  Even if we end up back where we started, we learned something.


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