[sdiy] 2SK170 FET alternative

[Seb Francis]

jays at aracnet.com wrote:

>Seb,
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>THAT parts are targeted for more of the high end.
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So I think they should be capable of a range of sounds from low end to 
high end (as opposed to using low end stuff which can never sound high 
end :)

>Remember that the 2SK170 takes less drive than the 2SK30. Maybe increasing the gate voltage on the 2SK30 would give you more range and harder compression. One thing to do is get a bunch of appropriately valued trim pots and put those in and tweak them to see what happens. This can lead to all sorts of fun. You might even stumble on to something you like. Or you might let some of the smoke out of the parts.
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To be honest, I'm not sure the adjustable slew-limiter part of the 
circuit is working right at all .. the comparator doesn't seem to be 
behaving itself (I'm using an LM311 and I'm not really sure how to 
connect the extra pins balance, strobe, gnd, etc.) I think I might 
rebuild it in the morning using a TL072 instead (and maybe use the other 
half of the TL072 instead of the JEFT).

Without the slew-limiter switched in, the compressor is working fine in 
'auto' mode (using a trick with an opamp to make a 'non-linear 
capacitor' for the RMS detector integration time).  But I don't really 
like how this works for single drum hits, so I'll make it switchable to 
a normal capacitor - actually the effect with a really small capacitor 
is quite cool for low frequency things like bass kicks because you get 
some of the rectified input signal modulating the VCA level - kind of a 
metalic sound.  I guess I will have a rotary switch with a few different 
capacitors (also including the auto mode non-linear capacitor circuit in 
case I want to compress some full range music).

>Maybe in this case you are looking for more for soft distortion than compression. Like tubes or MOSFET clipping. One thing I looked at in the guitar world (I think it was called the Shaka) where there were a set of GE diodes and MOSFETs are put in series to form a soft distortion/clipping. Haven't tried it yet so don't know how well it works.
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Yeah, soft distortion is definitely something I'm looking for .. but 
compression as well I think.  For example I like to put a bass kick 
through a very fast compressor to get the body really full, then use 
distortion to clip the initial clicky peak that the compressor lets 
through.  This way you get a really full bodied drum, but without it 
sounding too clipped.

So, yes it's very likely there will be some distortion gizzmos in the 
box as well :)  There seem to be plenty of circuits around for this kind 
of thing on all the stompbox websites.

Seb