Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Recently the Electra Distortion grabbed my attention again, so as I often do, I went digging for more information on the Electra MPC series guitar effects (modular powered circuits). One problem; Electra doesn’t appear to have ever made a Distortion module. Interesting… Then I read what we know as the Electra Distortion is really … Read more
It’s a single transistor boost, not unlike an Electra. This pedal is somewhat infamous in the DIY community for exaggerated claims about what it sounds like – although no one in their right mind would question the quality of the point-to-point work in the enclosure that Rift did. The Boost switch is normally a foot switch. … Read more
After spending some time on the germanium Fuzzrite, time for a bit of silicon action. It’s a bit less interesting, as there seems to be less variance to the circuit – or none? Some differences in construction methods occurred, but that’s about it as far as I can tell. Although I need to do a bit more … Read more
I think you can see where I was going with this Fuzzrite layout – visually satisfying on top, quite the mess underneath, but who’s going to see it once it’s in a box? It is a good looking board when finished. MOSRITE FUZZRITE – TAG BOARD LAYOUT
There are more than a few versions of the germanium Mosrite Fuzzrite out there – seems like they went through a few different construction technics and capacitor combinations along the way. The details mostly seem to be lost to time (and rust). Here’s a bit of info that I’ve pulled together from various sources while … Read more
The Rosac Nu-Fuzz is an Ed Sanner design, of Mosrite Fuzzrite fame – the Nu-Fuzz is an evolution of the Fuzzrite. Key differences to a Fuzzrite: both sides of the tone (or depth on a fuzzrite) pot are taken from the same transistor, and are subsequently in phase, with the same amount of fuzz on each. A … Read more
This is a standard germanium Fuzzrite with a 250k depth pot instead of a 350k. I found the old layout while doing a clean-out and a correction and realised that I had not posted the 0.15” version. The layout is a copy of the D*A*M design – mind you, I’ve never actually seen the … Read more
One of the most common complaints about a Fuzz Face is the low output level. For such a famous circuit, the usual output tricks do not seem to be especially well documented. The good news is that none of them requires changes to a standard layout. The key thing to understand is that the usual … Read more
I’ll have to admit that I always thought these two guitar effects were the same circuit – well they’re almost identical; it’s amazing what a difference two resistors can make. That being said – they will sound almost the same on most settings, but there will be subtle differences primarily due to the lower boost … Read more
While cleaning up some old posts, I thought I might turn back on one of my old favourites – the Univox Super Fuzz. Here are some common mods on LTspice. STOCK SUPER FUZZ SCHEMATIC TONE POT MOD It’s a nice simple one and the most common mod. The tone switch is replaced with a pot … Read more