Parallel-Stages Distortion Circuit PUBLIC

Parallel-Stages Distortion Circuit; One Clean, One Distorted.

Distortion circuit for guitar featuring one clean stage and one distortion stage, along with active 2-band James-style tone controls. Intended for 6-string electric guitar in standard tuning (not recommended for 7/8-string guitars or bass-guitars). Controls Include: Drive, Clean Gain, Clean Level, Distortion Gain, Distortion Level, Bass, Mids Center, Treble, and Volume. Range above 0 dBV is from 50 Hz to 10 kHz with all controls at 50%. Maximum gain = +20.8 (Vo/Vi = 10.7) @ 515 Hz with all controls at 50%, or +49.1 dBV (Vo/Vi = 285) @ 2.5 kHz with all controls at 100%. Here, a high-fidelity op-amp used as a clean input buffer drives two other op-amps; one configured as a clean boost for the input signal (and which would be difficult to overdrive), the other as a distortion stage to be overdriven with a sufficiently high setting of its gain control. The clean and distorted signals are then mixed in the tone circuit. The Treble control cuts 10 kHz down to -11 dBV from 0 dBV, or boosts it up to +5 dBV. The Center control does not affect gain but merely shifts the center of the midrange passband higher or lower in frequency. The Bass control cuts 100 Hz down to +4.7 dBV from +13.7 dBV, or boosts it up to +18.2 dBV. Power-supply not shown. Requires a regulated dual-polarity DC supply providing +-9VDC or +-12VDC or +-15VDC at >= 30 mA of current. And while simulator verified, treat the circuit as experimental. That is, breadboard test it before committing to a soldered build.