THE DIFFERENT TYPES

OF DIODES
THEORY TIPS

There is a very common marketing point that we see all the time
with "boutique" guitar pedals: the famous vintage ultra-rare
licorn-made type of diodes! Germanium diodes are often
associated with a vintage and warm tone, whereas silicium diode
sound harsher and fuzzier...

Time for a blog post about it!

What is a diode? How do they work? Which one should I use when
making guitar effects?

What exactly is a diode?

In order to understand the differences between the types of diodes,
let's see how a diode work. Do not worry, it is not that complex!

A diode is a semiconductor. Unlike a resistor, they are polarized

with an anode and cathode that is represented on their symbol:

As its name implies, a semiconductor does not conduct current in

a normal way. I will try to explain it as simply as possible. If you
are an electronics-aficionado, the following text is rated R for you
and will probably shock you!

A diode is composed of two parts:

 A part poor in electrons (P junction, like "Positive

conduction")
 A part rich in electrons (N junction like "Negative
conduction")
Practically speaking, there is a part where the electrons feel good
(the P-junction), and a part where it is difficult for them to go
through (N junction, there are already too many electrons in there)

At first, electrons do not manage to go through the part rich in

electrons and accumulate in the P-junction. When there are
enough electrons accumulated, they have enough "power" to cross
the N-junction: current is flowing throught the diode!

This phenomenon causes what is called the forward voltage (also

called voltage drop): bellow a certain voltage threshold, the
current cannot go through the diode. The voltage drop is around
0.7V for a classic silicium diode for instance: below 0.7V, the
current will not pass!

If we trace a current vs voltage graph for this, we will have

something like this:
Below 0.7V, current does not go through the diode. Above it: it
passes!
The voltage drop also diminishes the voltage out the diode. If you
make 9V goes through a silicium diode, you will have a 8.3V
voltage after the diode!

Finally, another very important thing with diodes is that the current
can only go through them in one direction! There is often a really
small current that can go the other way, named current leakage. If
the current applied is too big, the diode breaks passed what is called
the breakdown voltage.

That makes a graph that look like this:

You can find this type of graph in any diode datasheet. You can now
read it like a pro! 😃

Depending on the type of diode, the forward voltage / voltage

drop changes !

Finally, last but not least, there is of course a maximum forward

voltage current, which is the maximum amount of current a
diode can handle. In guitar pedals we do not have this problem
because currents are somehow quite low in our little stompboxes,
but it can be very important when making amplifiers or high-
current-draw electronics.

The different types of diodes

There are lots of type of diodes! Here are the most common ones
that you will find in guitar effects.

Germanium diodes
Here are the famous ones! They are used in vintage effects, but also
in modern ones for their special characteristics. They are easy to
recognize with their glass capsule style. Their voltage drop is low,
around 0.35V, but it can change depending on the model.

Here is a D9E germanium diode, used in the famous Klon Centaur:

They are mainly used to distort the signal, but can also be used
to correct temperature bias of vintage germanium
transistors. Read my circuit analysis of the Tonebender MkIII,
there is a germanium diode for that.

Ex: 1n34A, D9E...

Small silicium signal diodes

They are smaller than their germanium counterparts. However, their
forward voltage is higher at 0.7V. They are the most used in
overdrives and distorsions to generate saturation.

The Big Muff has four of them in its circuit for instance !

Ex: 1n4148, 1n914...

Silicium power diodes

These bulky diodes are a big bigger than signal diodes. Their
breakdow voltage is also way higher: they can handle bigger
voltages in their wrong polarity. Same voltage drop though, around
0.7V.

They are mainly used to prevent shorts and polarity inversions.

Ex: 1n4001

LED
Often forgotten, they are still diodes and can be used as such!
Their voltage drop is quite high and depend on the LED color :
Color Voltage drop

Red 1.7V

Orange 2.0V

Yellow/ 2.1V

Green 2.2V

Blue 3.2V

Ex: red LED, green LED...etc

Schottky Diode
These diodes, named after M. Schotty, a German physicist, have the
lowest forward voltage among diodes : around 0.15V.
Therefore, they are very useful to prevent polarity inversion,
because the voltage drop is very limited compared to the 0.7V drop
of silicium power diodes.

Molecular diodes
For DIY crazy fools like me! In 2017, the demi-god manufacturer
Dr Scientist sold a series of overdrives name Heisenberg using
molecular diodes. You can see these diodes here on SIM cards:

What is a molecular diode ? Instead of letting the P-N junction

"empty", there is nanometric layer of organic molecules that is
added here. That changes the physical properties of diodes. For
instance, current can go both ways!

These diodes are still very hard to find in classic retail. They are
more a laboratory experiment type of component, but has Dr
Scientist is absolutely awesome, he collaborated with a laboratory
and made an effect! There is even a published scientific paper.
How do I choose the diodes?
With guitar effects, what is interesting to us is mainly the voltage
drop. Indeed, many distorsions and overdrives work with diodes
clipping the signal when it is above or below the forward voltage of
diodes, which create saturation!

Depending on the diode choosen and their forward voltage, the

saturation will be different:
That will modulate the saturation of the effect! This phenomenom
is often called "diode clipping", which you surely heard before.
Beware: the more you clip, the more your signal will be
compressed and dynamic will be lost. So it is also a matter of
choosing the righ clipping amount!

Germanium diode clip at 0.35V more the signal and generate

compressed, fat distorsions. Oppositely, a LED with its 1.7V
forward voltage will have a more open sound. I use LED on my
Dolmen Fuzz to make it sound lighter, almost like a classic drive.

Here is a table to sum it up:

Type Voltage drop Distorsion

Schottky 0.15V Too much, very compressed

Germanium 0.35V Big, compressed distorsion

Silicium 0.6V Classic overdrive to distorsion sounds

LED/td> 1.6V Open and dynamic saturation

But that is not it! You can also combine diodes! Two diodes in
series will clip the signal less for instance:
It is also possible to make what is called "assymetrical
clipping". Just use two diode on one side and one on the other. You
can also mix the types of diodes.... Here is a new world of
experimentations for you!

Beware! Of course, all of this depend on how the diodes are

disposed in the schematic. It works most of the times, but it
sometimes can be different. Test it!

Good new is: it is very easy to test diodes with a DPDT

switch! Wire it on the diodes pads like I did on my Pharaoh clone:
Here, there is an assymetrical clipping with germanium diodes and a
classic clipping using two silicium diodes. But you can try any
combination you like !

It is one of the easiest mod to do on overdrive and distortion

effects, and very useful to understand how diodes work. So grab a
soldering iron and try it!

Protect your circuit against polarity

inversions
Diodes can also be used to protect your circuit against polarity
inversions... Lets imagine for a minute that a customer of yours
invert the battery in your made-with-great-care-and-patience effect.
 What can go wrong if I switch the power supply polarity?

If there is no protection diode, there are good chances that a

component of your circuit gets damages (especially polarized
capacitors...). Or worse, that they heat too much, catch fire or even
explode!

To avoid this armagaedon apocalyptical scenario, always add a

polarity protection diode. If the polarity of the power supply is
inverted, it will not let current pass.

Generally, we use a diode able to resist to a lot of current like a

silicium power diode. A Schottky diode can also be a good
candidate because they have a very low voltage drop. However they
have a bit of current leakage, so check that it is not too much for
your capacitors. (should not be in 99% of cases)

It is a very simple circuit that you should always add to your

circuits.

There you go! You know all the basics about diodes! Lets
experiment now!
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