Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
The Colorsound Fuzz Box has to be one of my favourite fuzz circuits, due to its simplicity and reliable results. It’s very much a one trick pony, but if you just want a nice thick fuzz, this will to that trick quite well. The original silicon circuit is said to be a Dick Denny design, … Read more
I’d created a layout for the Pete Cornish P-1 about four years ago, based on best guesses as to what this said to be – a Rams Head Big Muff. I was kind of close, but here’s a layout from a very reliable Aion FX trace. If you want to see where it sits in … Read more
Thought I was overdue for a regular vero layout, as it has been a while – schematic available at PedalPCB. It has the usual DBA weirdness – upside down low-gain silicon transistors etc (reverse beta). DEATH BY AUDIO – EVIL FUZZ VERO LAYOUT
This humble little transformer is a favourite valve amp OT among some DIY folks in Australia, as it’s cheap at only $27 and readily available from Altronics. It’s sold as a 20w 100v line transformer, but it also works really well as a 8k P-P output transformer. Based on real world testing, it’s thought to … Read more
Happy Fuzz Friday, all. Somehow in 10 years of laying out fuzzes, I’ve never done this one. Here’s the Roland (pre-Boss) AF-60 BeeGee fuzz. Originals use semiconductors you probably don’t have in your parts stash, but nothing in mojo territory, so modern equivalents will work just as well. Fairly simple circuit with a couple transistor … Read more
Cause everyone needs a 100w valve powered PA head right? Mainly for historical interest & I wanted to note the way the meter is set-up for later.
PLAYMASTER MODEL 103 GUITAR AMPLIFIER From Radio, Television and Hobbies (Australia), 1963. They published their designs for a number of amplifiers in their magazine under the Playmaster name. This was a pretty interesting DIY amplifier for back in the day – speaker driven reverb, trem and ultra-linear output transformer.
I could just bookmark these in my browser, but hey… here they are. If you struggle with complex explanations of how valve amplifiers work, here’s a collection of easy to understand valve amplifier basics from Uncle Doug. Don’t let the pets and other distractions put you off – there’s really good information in these videos. … Read more
