I just missed buying this on the bay. In the hour or so I was thinking about it someone beat me to the punch.
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?V ... 0337962587
I`m getting the impression that these are worth significantly more than the $100 it just went for.
Does anyone here have one of these that can comment on it`s sonic qualities. I haven`t been able to find much discussion on it on the web, but what I did find leads me to believe that it is a pedal worth building.
Steve
MXR Distortion II
Information
The DII is kind of the sleeper of the original MXR line. I dont think they were big sellers when they were introduced.
The distortion character is very dynamic and woody or resonant sounding. The resonance control is a low frequency parallel gain stage with an input level control. The drive and resonance interact in that higher drive settings result in more output from the resonance stage. The pedal can be too bass heavy depending on your pickups and amp/speaker combination. For higher drive settings I almost always leave the resonance control at 0. For lower gain settings the resonance can be turned up but I never run it past 12 oclock. The filter control is a standard low pass rat style control. I normally leave the filter full up. The minumum gain of the pedal is just a little over unity so not much boost is available with drive at minimum. There are some nice crunchy tones available from 10 to 2 on the drive control. Higher drive settings and the noise floor starts becoming apparent. I have modified several of these pedals for other players. The main complaint is the bass heavy qualities at higher drive settings where the resonance control adds too much even when set very low. I roll off the low end at the drive control and reduce the overall level of the resonance stage. I have also added additional diodes for asymetrical clipping. Lastly I convert the pedal to DC operation with a standard Boss style power connector. This greatly reduces the hum at high gain and the induced hum when on a board with other pedals.
I see good condition D2's going for $200-250 on ebay. Occasionally you may see the 83 anniversary edition with black case and white lettering going for $300 and up. A player condition pedal pedal should not be more than $150. There are several versions of the circuit with some variation in component values and types. It appears the older versions used tantalums for coupling and others used electrolytics. There are some other variations I have seen in the post clipping EQ network. There are also two finishes with the older ones being smooth and later versions have the rough texture like current Dunlop pedals.
The distortion character is very dynamic and woody or resonant sounding. The resonance control is a low frequency parallel gain stage with an input level control. The drive and resonance interact in that higher drive settings result in more output from the resonance stage. The pedal can be too bass heavy depending on your pickups and amp/speaker combination. For higher drive settings I almost always leave the resonance control at 0. For lower gain settings the resonance can be turned up but I never run it past 12 oclock. The filter control is a standard low pass rat style control. I normally leave the filter full up. The minumum gain of the pedal is just a little over unity so not much boost is available with drive at minimum. There are some nice crunchy tones available from 10 to 2 on the drive control. Higher drive settings and the noise floor starts becoming apparent. I have modified several of these pedals for other players. The main complaint is the bass heavy qualities at higher drive settings where the resonance control adds too much even when set very low. I roll off the low end at the drive control and reduce the overall level of the resonance stage. I have also added additional diodes for asymetrical clipping. Lastly I convert the pedal to DC operation with a standard Boss style power connector. This greatly reduces the hum at high gain and the induced hum when on a board with other pedals.
I see good condition D2's going for $200-250 on ebay. Occasionally you may see the 83 anniversary edition with black case and white lettering going for $300 and up. A player condition pedal pedal should not be more than $150. There are several versions of the circuit with some variation in component values and types. It appears the older versions used tantalums for coupling and others used electrolytics. There are some other variations I have seen in the post clipping EQ network. There are also two finishes with the older ones being smooth and later versions have the rough texture like current Dunlop pedals.
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Chappy
- Breadboard Brother
Ironman 28
Thanks for the very detailed reply. Exactly the kind of reply I was hoping for. A few days ago I decided to download LTSpice and give it a go. I used this circuit as my learning tool. The simulations are echoing your comments to a T. With the drive up the parallel resonance circuit has a significant hump at about 52HZ on the frequency plot. When mixed back in with the first circuit the hump is still prominent. With the drive backed off to 1k from 50k the hump is flattened out over a broader frequency range from 20 to 100hz with a resulting flatter overall response across the audio range. Based on your comments, and what I have learned from this circuit in Spice I think that I am going to build one to see how it sounds. I've already figured out that changes to C12 and C13 on the schematic influence the magnitude and frequency of the hump. Maybe shifting it up in freq a little will make the pedal more user friendly with higher drive levels.
I should have bought the one on the bay that went for $100.
Patafix
Thanks for the schematic. I already have it though.
I've got other MXR schematics if you are interested.
Cheers
Chappy
Thanks for the very detailed reply. Exactly the kind of reply I was hoping for. A few days ago I decided to download LTSpice and give it a go. I used this circuit as my learning tool. The simulations are echoing your comments to a T. With the drive up the parallel resonance circuit has a significant hump at about 52HZ on the frequency plot. When mixed back in with the first circuit the hump is still prominent. With the drive backed off to 1k from 50k the hump is flattened out over a broader frequency range from 20 to 100hz with a resulting flatter overall response across the audio range. Based on your comments, and what I have learned from this circuit in Spice I think that I am going to build one to see how it sounds. I've already figured out that changes to C12 and C13 on the schematic influence the magnitude and frequency of the hump. Maybe shifting it up in freq a little will make the pedal more user friendly with higher drive levels.
I should have bought the one on the bay that went for $100.
Patafix
Thanks for the schematic. I already have it though.
I've got other MXR schematics if you are interested.Cheers
Chappy
I've modded a few of these as well. Lots of potential in this one.
One of the mods I've done is to move U1b in series with U1a. Wire it as a series gain stage using the res pot as a gain control like the drive control. Set the gain structure and tone shaping to taste, replace diodes in the fb loop w/LEDs. Pumps up the volume and gives you endless tonal possibilities.
To be clear, I'm saying remove the res ckt completely.
One of the mods I've done is to move U1b in series with U1a. Wire it as a series gain stage using the res pot as a gain control like the drive control. Set the gain structure and tone shaping to taste, replace diodes in the fb loop w/LEDs. Pumps up the volume and gives you endless tonal possibilities.
To be clear, I'm saying remove the res ckt completely.
Hi,
I have one. And i like it a lot. as Ironman said, the only bad issue comes from the resonance pot. If you play with humbuckers (i play a lespaul std) there is too much bass at higher gain level. i always set the resonance at the minimum amount. the filter control stays at 12 o'clock.
This is a great...overdrive! it has really good sounds between 9 and 2 on the gain control. she works great with rock'n'roll or modern style music. She can do blues too (9 o'clock setting). At the max of the gain, there is hum. i don't mind as i don't use it for this type of settings.
i haven't understood all that edster said for the mod. the resonance knob would become another gain knob?
what does "Set the gain structure and tone shaping to taste" mean?
cheers,
Ed.
I have one. And i like it a lot. as Ironman said, the only bad issue comes from the resonance pot. If you play with humbuckers (i play a lespaul std) there is too much bass at higher gain level. i always set the resonance at the minimum amount. the filter control stays at 12 o'clock.
This is a great...overdrive! it has really good sounds between 9 and 2 on the gain control. she works great with rock'n'roll or modern style music. She can do blues too (9 o'clock setting). At the max of the gain, there is hum. i don't mind as i don't use it for this type of settings.
i haven't understood all that edster said for the mod. the resonance knob would become another gain knob?
what does "Set the gain structure and tone shaping to taste" mean?
cheers,
Ed.