I hope you're kidding @0:33 , as ALL should be encouraged to venture forth into seeing how their gear works and finding these things out with their own function.
Op amp chips while subtle definitly change character in sound, as you clearly indicate. The JRC's are very common. The cool thing about Op AMps are they are very cheap if you go to parts suppliers and don't fall for "magic mojo" crap. hehe. Great video, thanks for sharing to those that could not attend.
Personally I believe what he says. I'd be more concerned about poor tolerance resistors and shi^%y capacitors. And on that note, if you LOVE the sound of a 30 year old pedal, it may just end up being that it sounds that way, due to dying capacitors LOL
I have tried this on my Boss DS-1. It does have a big difference, at least in that pedal. I have also tried a Burr brown in my MI audio Blue Boy Deluxe compared with the orignal. A lot difference... IMHO.
Thank you for these Myth Buster, I really truly enjoyed them and learned something at the same time. Thinking about putting those Workhorse amps of yours back into production? People are selling them for way too much on ebay.
I did the same thing last night with a clone overdrive I was doing, had 4 OpAmp IC's and they all sounded alike, but, the output level had a little bit of difference, but not so obvious. But the tone would change if I change the values of capacitors...as well as the clipping diodes. :) Thanks Visual Sound for the enlightenment. :)
A spot on analysis. I totally agree with the statement that the other passive components are where the tonal character is made. All mods that I offer only involve the passive components and their values. One thing I do feel should have been demoed though is the difference between an opamp overdrive and one that uses FETs, FETs are tweakable because you can change their bias.
Awesome...thank you...I will no longer take my OD's apart to change the opamp and try to convince myself I'm not crazy because I can't hear any difference....
VS, you guys rock. More guitar equipment manufacturers should put out educational material like this. The guitar craft would advance far more quickly, and we'd all get to playing out guitars sooner, instead of nitpicking on the internet about what's better than what.
He didn't mention or test the commonly-used 741 op amp, and he didn't compare op amps to transistors. But overall, I think he has a good point that people believe in stuff that doesn't really matter.
This is great. No more voodoo! Thank you VS for making these excellent videos. The 'good will factor' generated by your confident and forward thinking attitude to community engagement is priceless. Open Road will be my next purchase.
I have two grey Jekyll and Hyde pedals. Comparitively, on the first the Jekyll side sounded better. On my second the Hyde sounded better. Why is that?
This is one of the best ids about this debate on the net and one I have shared with fellow guitar techs and players.. Thanks for such open and honest reporting and making such great videos.
I really enjoyed this series of videos. You guys definitely need to do more. It changed how I look at a few things, and I'll definitely be purchasing some Visual Sound stuff in the near future. Kudos. :)
@BRYANABSGMA Haha, correct you are! However, Keeley does generally also upgrade capacitors, resistors and the like in their mods, which does result in an overall better sound.
It's stuff like this that makes me love Visual Sound and angry at other companies that don't stand up for reality with these things, and instead keep myths alive.
Good luck with this, Bob. Guitar gear has become a religion for many - the same affliction that took over the audiophile community before it. Some people just want to believe in mojo & magic boxes. We're all gonna worship something....
Wow that's pretty cool didn't know the old ic's where anything special to anyone got a bunch of old JRC 4558D and you name it . I think your right about the other component's being more critical. Nice video :D
I would agree. I do my own mods to pedals and I have tried switching op amps after hearing for years how big of a difference there was, but I heard no difference. I just thought it was the op amps that I chose to switch were really similar. Good to know its all of them! There are WAY too many myths about pedals out there. So its good to see some of them put to an end.
After a test with inductors in wah pedals I have come to the same concluesion. They make NO difference. I bought a Whipple Halo inductor off ebay for $20 and I hooked it up to the pedal with a switch to compare the stock "crappy" inductor with this boutique inductor and there was no difference at all that I could hear. You can make a MUCH bigger difference with pennies worth of resistors and caps.
People just choose the biggest component in pedals and say that is where the tone is. lol
excellent video! This is the sort of thing I try to tell new players who decide to waste 200$+ more on a pedal that sounds no different to the other with the same chip.
I hope you're kidding @0:33 , as ALL should be encouraged to venture forth into seeing how their gear works and finding these things out with their own function.
Op amp chips while subtle definitly change character in sound, as you clearly indicate. The JRC's are very common. The cool thing about Op AMps are they are very cheap if you go to parts suppliers and don't fall for "magic mojo" crap. hehe. Great video, thanks for sharing to those that could not attend.
oatstao 1 month ago
Personally I believe what he says. I'd be more concerned about poor tolerance resistors and shi^%y capacitors. And on that note, if you LOVE the sound of a 30 year old pedal, it may just end up being that it sounds that way, due to dying capacitors LOL
KyleCarrington 1 month ago
Very nice! Finally someone putting science on that. I just can't believe someone still insist on differences but refuse to make a simple AB test....
Jones12ax7 3 months ago
I have tried this on my Boss DS-1. It does have a big difference, at least in that pedal. I have also tried a Burr brown in my MI audio Blue Boy Deluxe compared with the orignal. A lot difference... IMHO.
knikk77 5 months ago
this is good stuff i did not know any of this
tothetop777 5 months ago
"you're a drummer?!?!?!?!"LMFAO!:))))
kapdrums 5 months ago
Thank you for these Myth Buster, I really truly enjoyed them and learned something at the same time. Thinking about putting those Workhorse amps of yours back into production? People are selling them for way too much on ebay.
BenSTBarker 5 months ago
Since I'm getting into pedal mods & building pedals, this was VERY enlightening. Thank you, VS!
joshhorne 8 months ago
I did the same thing last night with a clone overdrive I was doing, had 4 OpAmp IC's and they all sounded alike, but, the output level had a little bit of difference, but not so obvious. But the tone would change if I change the values of capacitors...as well as the clipping diodes. :) Thanks Visual Sound for the enlightenment. :)
kiko0072 1 year ago
A spot on analysis. I totally agree with the statement that the other passive components are where the tonal character is made. All mods that I offer only involve the passive components and their values. One thing I do feel should have been demoed though is the difference between an opamp overdrive and one that uses FETs, FETs are tweakable because you can change their bias.
CompulsiveAudio 1 year ago
Awesome...thank you...I will no longer take my OD's apart to change the opamp and try to convince myself I'm not crazy because I can't hear any difference....
stratbluespower 1 year ago
VS, you guys rock. More guitar equipment manufacturers should put out educational material like this. The guitar craft would advance far more quickly, and we'd all get to playing out guitars sooner, instead of nitpicking on the internet about what's better than what.
InatorCorp 1 year ago
He didn't mention or test the commonly-used 741 op amp, and he didn't compare op amps to transistors. But overall, I think he has a good point that people believe in stuff that doesn't really matter.
xperimentalxperience 1 year ago
This is great. No more voodoo! Thank you VS for making these excellent videos. The 'good will factor' generated by your confident and forward thinking attitude to community engagement is priceless. Open Road will be my next purchase.
MrJohnJoeH 1 year ago
oh man, this is great. i feel so much less stupid :D
mongchacha 1 year ago
Ah the power of the placebo effect..
cnf6446 1 year ago
You are absolutely correct. Way back in 1986
or 1987, I modified one rock guitarist's DS-1 by
just changing the mica capacitors around the
clipping and tone circuit and obtained a much
cleaner, sweeter sound.
I didn't even change the diodes, let alone the
op amp, like most mods on the net do.
ThamMalaysia 1 year ago
I have two grey Jekyll and Hyde pedals. Comparitively, on the first the Jekyll side sounded better. On my second the Hyde sounded better. Why is that?
t0dd707 1 year ago
This is one of the best ids about this debate on the net and one I have shared with fellow guitar techs and players.. Thanks for such open and honest reporting and making such great videos.
gunforhirenz 1 year ago
I really enjoyed this series of videos. You guys definitely need to do more. It changed how I look at a few things, and I'll definitely be purchasing some Visual Sound stuff in the near future. Kudos. :)
Aparashi 1 year ago
That was really interesting. Thanks.
"Vintage silicone vs. vacuum tube logic" - I loved that.
John
studio1087 1 year ago
"He's a Drummer?" "Who invited him!!!"
:D
oppes0815 1 year ago
The First quote is from Keeley....... Hey keeley why are you Lying to us !!!!!!!! Damn you, and you charge us big money for your lies,
Thanks for the video Visual sound :)
BRYANABSGMA 1 year ago
@BRYANABSGMA Haha, correct you are! However, Keeley does generally also upgrade capacitors, resistors and the like in their mods, which does result in an overall better sound.
flatulentmatt 7 months ago
This video is ULTRA AWESOME!
surfco 1 year ago
This is awesome. Tweaks the noses of the tone snobs out there. Don't own any VS stuff, but that is going to change soon!
slickgokubab 1 year ago
Thank you VISUAL SOUND! I love your pedals, and these videos are very helpful!
keeperdecolombia 2 years ago
myth busted
drumtarist 2 years ago
It's stuff like this that makes me love Visual Sound and angry at other companies that don't stand up for reality with these things, and instead keep myths alive.
KevinCube 2 years ago
absolutely love this video. ive seen so many forum threads bashing so and so model of op-amp and i knew they had to of been pretty exaggerated
RudyChickenz 2 years ago
Good luck with this, Bob. Guitar gear has become a religion for many - the same affliction that took over the audiophile community before it. Some people just want to believe in mojo & magic boxes. We're all gonna worship something....
phostenix 2 years ago
Amazing...simply Amazing !!! Thank you so much for this info !!! Cheers Mate !!!
2020shredfest1980 2 years ago
Wow that's pretty cool didn't know the old ic's where anything special to anyone got a bunch of old JRC 4558D and you name it . I think your right about the other component's being more critical. Nice video :D
plumcrazzzy 2 years ago
Excellent.
DemoColorScheme 2 years ago
All I can say is THANK YOU! What a great video. However... there is a slight difference. To some this matters, to others it doesn't. To each his own.
pfeifferpedals 2 years ago
I would agree. I do my own mods to pedals and I have tried switching op amps after hearing for years how big of a difference there was, but I heard no difference. I just thought it was the op amps that I chose to switch were really similar. Good to know its all of them! There are WAY too many myths about pedals out there. So its good to see some of them put to an end.
CHEEZOR2 2 years ago
After a test with inductors in wah pedals I have come to the same concluesion. They make NO difference. I bought a Whipple Halo inductor off ebay for $20 and I hooked it up to the pedal with a switch to compare the stock "crappy" inductor with this boutique inductor and there was no difference at all that I could hear. You can make a MUCH bigger difference with pennies worth of resistors and caps.
People just choose the biggest component in pedals and say that is where the tone is. lol
CHEEZOR2 2 years ago
all tubescreamers and TS mods are so overrated.
paperchasin23 2 years ago
Great !! Very Helpful for those experimenting in Audio Engineering.
djajasoekarta 2 years ago
Great. Highly enlightening!
Is the same true of metal can op-amps though? Specifically the CA3080 of Dynacomp fame.
timhulio 2 years ago
Is this really news to anyone? I mean do people really believe that opamps sound differently? Yikes.
hiwatt25 3 years ago
Yes people believe that
ChonnyChimole 2 years ago
love these videos:)
skleung 3 years ago
excellent video! This is the sort of thing I try to tell new players who decide to waste 200$+ more on a pedal that sounds no different to the other with the same chip.
intheblues 3 years ago