Bboy19 Posted August 28, 2023 Share Posted August 28, 2023 Hi, is there a list of the pedals (fuzz/booster/distortion) that indicates which pedals has either of these components. I have little experience with FDB pedals and cannot tell by the descriptions. Thanks for you time and patience. Bboy19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted August 28, 2023 Share Posted August 28, 2023 www.helixhelp.com or, at Sweetwater… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bboy19 Posted August 29, 2023 Author Share Posted August 29, 2023 Hi, thanks for the links. I will check them both out. I have the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarthaMaguire Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 Have you checked the link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bboy19 Posted September 15, 2023 Author Share Posted September 15, 2023 Hi Martha, I have book, but did not see anywhere it said which was which in the breakdown of each pedal. The link to Helix help was better. Take care Bboy19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorball1h Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 On 8/29/2023 at 1:00 AM, silverhead said: www.helixhelp.com or, at Sweetwater… To be honest, I couldn't even imagine that such a book exists. It's quite difficult to find them on such a topic. I really need it if it's good. I'm very passionate about this area and want to develop in it, I need to get knowledge from somewhere and this is a good option. I recently read a similar book, but it's complete crap. Even to finish reading it, I asked to edit my essay, and later asked to edit my paper and it was in vain. I didn't get any new information for myself. So I'm really counting on this book. I'm waiting for your feedback on it. How good is the book? Is it worth buying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 Very good. Yes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datacommando Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 On 8/31/2024 at 10:47 PM, connorball1h said: How good is the book? Is it worth buying? Hi, You shouldn’t need to ask - just go and buy a copy, and once you have a copy you’ll find it is constantly being updated free of charge, until it requires a total re-write. It is now on v.1.4 and it comes with a stack of example presets for you to try out. Hope this helps/makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craiganderton Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 Thanks for bringing up this topic, it seems many guitarists are confused about the difference between germanium and silicon diodes. This is why I love being able to update books - when people have questions, I just answer them in the next version (v1.5 of the book is slated to come out later in the fall). Please note the eBook includes a tech support email address that I check every day. Several of the revisions in my books come directly from reader feedback on future topics they'd like to see covered. Anyway, you can pretty much assume any distortion uses silicon diodes unless stated otherwise. Germanium diodes were first used for radar during WWII. Silicon diodes have many advantages over germanium (stability, manufacturing cost, better specs, etc.), so these days germanium diodes are used only in niche applications, mostly involving radio frequencies. There's a description of the three different types of diodes used in distortion, and how they affect distortion characteristics, on pages 55 and 56 in v1.4 of the Helix book. Page 65 covers LED vs. silicon-based fuzz in the Pillars OD. Also note that diodes of the same type can give different distortion characteristics, depending on how they're configured. See page 66 in the section on the Vita Dist. It's important to remember that the only significant difference between germanium and silicon diodes is that germanium diodes clip at a lower level (0.3V for germanium, 0.7V for silicon). There's no significant difference in tone between the two types of diodes themselves. So, preferring one distortion over another has more to do with the design elements that aren't diodes. Furthermore, virtual distortion is not like hardware because clipping isn't "baked into" the hardware. With virtual distortion, if you want something to clip at a lower level, just put more gain in front of it. I hope this clears things up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bboy19 Posted September 1 Author Share Posted September 1 Hi, Craig that does clear things up. I will a wait you net update. One of the head designers of the Helix was on a video and said there are updates coming in the fall. I always look forward to them. I really just want to know which pedals had what diodes to compare one on one. Thats how this journey started. Thanks Glenn P.S. I corresponded with you back in the 80s regarding being unable to get chips in Canada for some projects in your Projects for Guitarists Book. Not sure that is the correct title. That was via “snail mail”!! That book opened up a whole new world and helped me later repair/mod electronics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craiganderton Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Just circling back to let you know I've already written the extra material on diodes for v1.5, so thanks again for bringing this up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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