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Project Notes

#237 AudioDSP/Distortion

AudioDSP simple distortion effect based on the pedalSHIELD.

Here’s an example of the effect on a 1kHz 200mV signal at about mid-level clipping:

waveform

Notes

Distortion.ino is a simple distortion effect from the pedalSHIELD examples. The pushbuttons control the distortion clipping level up and down.

Core algorithm:

  • input value is simply clipped by the distortion level set by the push-buttons

Performance

Not bad, but a fairly crude fuzz effect. There’s a bit too much high frequency buzz in the result due to the hard clipping. See SuperCrunch for what I think is a bettery fuzz.

AudioDspDriver Library

This example uses a private AudioDspDriver library that contains my refactoring of the core algorithms for driving the board. I may split this out as a stand-alone library at some point.

Construction

Breadboard

The Schematic

The Build

Credits and References

About LEAP#237 AudioArduinoDSPOpAmp
Project Source on GitHub Project Gallery Return to the LEAP Catalog

This page is a web-friendly rendering of my project notes shared in the LEAP GitHub repository.

LEAP is just my personal collection of projects. Two main themes have emerged in recent years, sometimes combined:

  • electronics - usually involving an Arduino or other microprocessor in one way or another. Some are full-blown projects, while many are trivial breadboard experiments, intended to learn and explore something interesting
  • scale modelling - I caught the bug after deciding to build a Harrier during covid to demonstrate an electronic jet engine simulation. Let the fun begin..
To be honest, I haven't quite figured out if these two interests belong in the same GitHub repo or not. But for now - they are all here!

Projects are often inspired by things found wild on the net, or ideas from the many great electronics and scale modelling podcasts and YouTube channels. Feel free to borrow liberally, and if you spot any issues do let me know (or send a PR!). See the individual projects for credits where due.