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Convention Paper

An Improved and Generalized Diode Clipper Model for Wave Digital Filters

Authors: Werner, Kurt James; Nangia, Vaibhav; Bernardini, Alberto; Smith, III, Julius O.; Sarti, Augusto

AES Convention 139 · Paper 9360 · October 2015

Abstract

We derive a novel explicit wave-domain model for “diode clipper" circuits with an arbitrary number of diodes in each orientation, applicable, e.g., to wave digital filter emulation of guitar distortion pedals. Improving upon and generalizing the model of Paiva et al. (2012), which approximates reverse-biased diodes as open circuits, we derive a model with an approximated correction term using two Lambert W functions. We study the energetic properties of each model and clarify aspects of the original derivation. We demonstrate the model's validity by comparing a modded Tube Screamer clipping stage emulation to SPICE simulation.

Details

Published in
AES Convention 139
AES Convention
139
Paper number
9360
Publication date
October 6, 2015
Session subject
Signal Processing
Affiliation
Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy (See document for exact affiliation information.)
Type
Convention Paper