Stupidly Awesome Buffer
Here’s a well designed buffer by Martin from SoulSonic FX. Use it as a stand alone buffer or as an output buffer in another pedal. Should fit easily in a 1590a enclosure.
1590a
Folk Driver
The Folk Driver is a low-medium gain overdrive developed by SoulSonic FX after being challenged by Björn Juhl (of BJFE) to create a DIY project inspired by sound of the BJFE Honey Bee. Here’s what Martin (soulsonic) had to say about it after designing the circuit back in ’09: My goal was to keep the … Read more
Xotic EP Booster
Here’s another circuit from Xotic. Simple JFET boost with an output buffer borrowed from the Tube Screamer. Originals have 2SP1815 transistors with BCE pinout, but I’ve laid this out for the more common 2N5088 with CBE pinout. The originals also have the Bright and Fat switches internally as DIP switches. Having these externally should be … Read more
Radio France Fuzz
Here’s a great sounding Fuzz Face variant from FSB forum member Hozone (Davide Gironi). If you’re feeling adventurous, you might be able to fit it in a 1590a. He originally used a 2N5088 for Q1 and a BC547 for Q2, but I would socket and experiment with what you have on hand. Here’s what he … Read more
Zvex Fuzzolo
The Fuzzolo is one of the newer Zvex designs in a 1590a box. It’s a stripped down Woolly Mammoth with a SHO added to the end, so it’s got a huge fuzz sound. In production versions, there’s a moveable jumper internally to go between active and passive pickups. You could use a SPDT switch to … Read more
One-Knob Fat Fuzz
Here’s another quicky for your weekend. This is based on Tim Escobedo’s LoFoMoFo, but tweaked for more bass frequencies. This circuit was actually my first build and it sounds great. Although, I made the n00b mistake of using a 10n cap on the input instead of the 100n because I misread the capacitor code. So … Read more
Run Off Groove Ruby
Got a request for a headphone amp, “for those of us who hit their peak inspiration when everyone’s asleep.” Being guilty myself of waking up my 1 year old son with a Peavey Classic 50 with the volume only at 2, I thought this was an excellent idea. So here’s ROG’s Ruby–a 386-based amplifier that can … Read more
Vox Treble Booster
The Vox Treble Booster was a simple silicon treble boost effect that plugged straight into an amp’s input jack. It allowed the user a boost in high frequencies for lead work. I laid this one out to use as a built in effect on a guitar (hence the lack of a power filtering cap and … Read more
Shin Ei FY-2 Companion Fuzz
The epitome of buzzsaw fuzz tones, the Shin Ei Companion Fuzz has become a highly sought after fuzz box. The one drawback to the FY-2 is the tone stack between the Fuzz and Volume controls. Besides not being controllable, it drops the volume of the effect below unity. I’ve drawn up a stock layout, as … Read more
DOD Studio BiFET Preamp 410
The original DOD units had “balanced” XLR output as well as the normal 1/4″ jack and no footswitch. This has been adapted for stompbox use and could work well with acoustic guitar.