[sdiy] Discrete Op Amps

[Tom Wiltshire]

On 9 Apr 2017, at 17:11, Gordonjcp <gordonjcp at gjcp.net> wrote:

> It's all a lot of shite.

No, a *lot* of it is a lot of shite, but not all of it.

While there's plenty of boutique builders selling snake oil, that doesn't mean that all op-amps sound the same. Especially if pushed beyond the expected design limits, as is reasonably commonly done in distortion pedals. The linear behaviour of op-amps might be all much the same, but once you push them well outside their comfort zone, all bets are off. Some latch up, some don't, and that's just the first and most obvious example.

"All distortion pedals sound the same" is true in the same way that "all violins sound the same" is true. They all sound like violins.

Tom