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Post by Eddie on Feb 9, 2012 1:05:51 GMT -7
Version 4 of the Fulldrive OCD has a germanium diode added into the circuit. This adds a smoother taper to the decay of overdriven tones, but I feel that comes at the price of a less dynamic, touch-sensitive pedal. Some guys have modded their v4 OCD by bypassing the germanium diode. What you do is to replace the diode with a jumper wire. I tried this and found it not "quite right" as the pedal then has less punch overall. A lot less actually. The volume output on the OCD is plentiful enough that you can compensate, but I didn't like it.
To my ears the best tone hands down is to remove the germanium diode altogether and forget the jumper wire. Just leave that spot open on the board. This makes the pedal come alive in every way. It will be punchier, more dynamic, you know all the terms we throw around about good overdrives... It works better as a clean boost also because the pedal will stay clear longer at much higher volume levels. The singular thing you give up by doing this is the smoothness of the decay with the gain set high, but the pros outweigh that by a ton, imo. In fact, I like the decay more now because it seems more natural.
On my pedal, I ran two wires from where the germanium diode was to a switch mounted just beside the stomp switch. Right opposite the dc power jack is plenty of room for a switch. There are simpler ways to wire it, but I used an "On-On" dpdt with each wire going to the center lugs. Then, I left one side of the switch open and soldered the original diode to the other side. That way, you can have the original back if you want. If you do this - be very careful desoldering the original germanium diode. They have glass bodies that will break if you twist them. You could get fancy and try different diodes or an led - I did, but nothing sounded as good as just leaving that spot open to me.
If you have had a love-hate relationship with your v4 OCD like I did, then get that diode outta there and see what you think.
Best, Eddie
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Post by Scott on Feb 9, 2012 2:31:44 GMT -7
Thanks Eddie... I will keep this in mind, as I have an OCD V4, along with a love-hate relationship for it. Mine is running on 18v's too.
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Post by zpilot on Feb 9, 2012 18:40:38 GMT -7
Where on the board is the diode located?
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Post by Eddie on Feb 9, 2012 18:46:48 GMT -7
Where on the board is the diode located? It's right along the edge, typically gooped with a bit of hot glue to protect it from shock. Looking at the pedal with the battery towards you, it will be on the left next to a couple of transistors. If you're committed to the idea of getting rid of it, you could simply snip it out or cut one end of it. Eddie
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Post by BGiannini on Feb 15, 2012 19:26:23 GMT -7
I I'm in the same boat as Scott.. I have put my OCD up for sale about 5 times and every time I chicken out.. Its just reliable. I think I've finally settled on 4 overdrives; the OCD, Zendrive, Paisley, and a Lovepedal Eternity (older version). I keep them all in either light to medium light overdrive, sometimes playing them one at a time or stacking them in various combinations for a nice variety of sounds. I still have my Ecstasy but not on the board at the moment. The OCD and the Zendrive get a really nice crunch stacked together. The Zendrive fattens up the mids on the OCD nicely. The Lovepedal stacks with them all very transparently and is great for situations where I can't totally crank the amp. since I've gone to this setup, I've had more compliments on the tone than I've had in a while!
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Post by Eddie on Feb 15, 2012 20:53:22 GMT -7
I I'm in the same boat as Scott.. I have put my OCD up for sale about 5 times and every time I chicken out.. Its just reliable. I think I've finally settled on 4 overdrives; the OCD, Zendrive, Paisley, and a Lovepedal Eternity (older version). I keep them all in either light to medium light overdrive, sometimes playing them one at a time or stacking them in various combinations for a nice variety of sounds. I still have my Ecstasy but not on the board at the moment. The OCD and the Zendrive get a really nice crunch stacked together. The Zendrive fattens up the mids on the OCD nicely. The Lovepedal stacks with them all very transparently and is great for situations where I can't totally crank the amp. since I've gone to this setup, I've had more compliments on the tone than I've had in a while! I completely get you on this. I think it proves what some have said about overdrive tones that even a great tone can start bore you after a while. The OCD and the Fulldrive sound really good as is, but after using one for a few months I'll start to hear them as "generic" and I'll look around for something else. I think I have owned 3 OCD's and 2 FD's. Stacking them with other drive boxes is a great way to keep them from seeming stale with time. Good post BG. Eddie
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Post by BGiannini on Feb 15, 2012 21:47:23 GMT -7
Thanks Eddie! And I'm with you on the Fulldrive, too! I've owned one twice and sold them . I got offered one for 90 bucks last week! Came so close to buying it!! I think you are exactly right about the getting bored part, too. The Zendrive, the OCD, and the Paisley have been around my board for a while but on and off. I will get a new drive and take one of them out. Then the honeymoon wears off and I go back to this core group. The Lovepedal has been a pleasant surprise (so far!) I acquired in a trade and intended to flip it but it flipped me instead! Haha.
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Post by brayks on Feb 16, 2012 3:41:45 GMT -7
Veeeley Eeentelestink..... Thanks for the post Eddie. Kind of reminds me of this old laugh-in bit. (but I DON'T think its stupid) ;D
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Post by Scott on Feb 19, 2012 0:21:15 GMT -7
(In the above link) I find it interesting about the importance of having a buffer directly AFTER the OCD, or the next pedal might have a Boost or Drop in volume... My current setup is Running out front...Line6 G30 wireless -> Polytune -> Little Dipper -> Visual Sound Open Road OD -> Timmy OD -> OCD -> Lo input Running in the loop...FX Send -> Red Witch Empress Chorus -> EKKO 616 Analog delay -> HardWire RV-7 Reverb -> BBE Boosta Grande -> FX Return My RedWitch, when in Chorus mode has a Jump in volume... Big Jump! The OCD is last going into the amp... And my RedWitch is first in the FX loop... Could the signal issue that causes the jump in volume on the pedal following the OCD, transfer into the loop and affect the first pedal there? Like my Chorus pedal?? Thinking up front I should put the Visual Sound OD directly after my OCD. It has their Pure Tone Buffer built in. The OCD would then have to feed directly into that. It makes no difference if the Open Road is on or off. The Pure Tone buffer is always on, even whe the OD is off.
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Post by Scott on Feb 19, 2012 2:18:21 GMT -7
Will do...
Thanks for the post.
I also now just suspect my that Red Witch, just doesn't do well in un-buffered FX loops.
I think I am going to try just running everything out front. It would be easier...
My Red witch starts my stereo signal, goes to my stereo Reverb, then to another 8 watt amp.
Not sure if it's OK to run the RedWitch out front, starting my stereo signal, then feed 1/2 the signal into a reverb pedal located in the FX loop.
The other 1/2 of my signal would first be going through the preamp stage...
Seems like both stereo pedals should be run out front, or both in the loop, but one of each.
Remembering (Problems arise when you add trems, vibes, and delays after the OCD.) I will keep this in mind and see what happens...
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Post by zpilot on Mar 5, 2012 7:13:28 GMT -7
I removed the diode in my V4 and and changed it's place in the signal chain and it made a world of difference in how the pedal reacts and sounds. Thanks for the tips guys.
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