Fuzzhugger Algal Bloom

Recently traced. So here it is. Very decent sounding thing, especially when we take into account that it is sort-of LPB to Hemmo’s BazzFuss – with starve cotnrol. I personally have a strong dislike to pedals which have more than one knob (level/volume) that can kill the signal by dumping all of it to ground. Therefore, here’s a slightly modded layout. My mods are just those two resistors labelled “2.2K*”. To make it verbatim, just replace those two with links. Or check the schem at FSB and have your own way with it.

Oh. One more thing. As this one has heart warming, way better than usual, polarity protection method in use, i left it as it appears on the original.

Built one for myself and… The first one works as well as the “fixed” layout, but there are couple of things i wanted to address. First, the “starve” was in reverse. I wired it backwards in the first layout – as to me, starve means that you are limiting more of the current. Now it works in a way that makes more sense to a user, but way less sense if you know anything about electronics. (One should not call anti-starve a starve. Grrrrr.) And the 100K logarithmic wasn’t very good to me, so i swapped it for 50K linear. Then. The 2K2s i suggested. Yes. They will make the sound travel through even when “bloom” and “gain” are fully CCW. However. Those values i pulled out of a hat do not perform very well. After careful measuring what value of resistance between pins 1&2 of those two pots works the best, i settled for 22K at “gain” and 12K at “bloom”. With these values, the volume is somewhat close to unity when all pots are at CCW – except for volume. The sound is very pleasing. It ranges from overdrive tones to massive fuzz to Octavia-like weirdness at the “bloom” maxed. Very decent circuit. I’d personally call the controls “Water Temperature”, “Air Temperature”, “Length of Summer” and “Master Volume”. That’s how you’d make algae.

Either way. Call it verified.

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