Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
If you’ve read any recent posts, you may have noticed that I’m experimenting with discrete opamps – specifically replacing standard opamps with simplified discrete opamps – I’ve only played with the Joe Davisson diode compression opamp so far (with some success). While I was checking out DIY Stompboxes, I saw Rob Strand was experimenting with the Boss discrete opamp … Read more
The Gretsch Controfuzz is yet another variation on the Distortion + the key point of difference this time is the clean blend, which makes this a little different than the rest. This layout does include a mod that increases the 10k distortion control to 100k, as 10k seems to be too small to be workable with … Read more
I thought I might finish off layouts for the rest of the Dan Armstrong series, as I’ve already done a few. Anyways, while I was looking at schematics of the Blue Clipper from all the usual sources online, I noticed that the opamp bias looked a bit odd. Then I noticed a few layouts used … Read more
A classic – the Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer. It’s a very simple feedback-based compressor using JFETS as variable resistors, driven by a single diode acting as a half-wave rectifier. This makes it pretty snappy to play, unlike an optical compressor which is traditionally a bit slower and smoother – not that there’s anything wrong … Read more
A nice booster from Thorpy, most likely Dan Coggins design. The build notes from PedalPCB suggest germanium diodes across the opamp for a dirty boost. Schematic can be found here THORPY HEAVY WATER BOOSTER – VERO LAYOUT This puts out a lot of level, and the low cut can put it in treble boost territory on … Read more
Happy Fuzz Friday, everyone! Here’s a very cool Big Muff variation designed by Zzoyd. Zzoyd lives in Kyiv and named the circuit after the famed fighter pilot defending the Ukrainian skies from Russian aggression. It reminds a bit of the Musket but with a 2-band EQ and a germanium pre section. Should fit nicely in … Read more
