D*A*M: 1965 Vintage Tone Distorter

DAM 1965 TD vero layout e5c595172269

I’m surprised I had not covered this one before, but I suppose it is a MKI, so it should feel fairly familiar. There seem to have been a few different iterations — essentially just different flavours of the MKI, so keep that in mind when choosing transistors and biasing the circuit. Some versions also used … Read more

D*A*M: Drag n Fly DF-05

DAM Drag n Fly DF 05 vero layout v1a f068af61ee34

The D*A*M Drag n Fly DF-05 is a hybrid fuzz pedal that combines silicon and germanium transistors, drawing inspiration from the classic Fuzz Face design.  What sets it apart is its unique filter control, located at the input of the circuit.  This control blends the input signal between a 10uF and a 4n7 capacitor, offering … Read more

D*A*M: Dragonfly DF-06

DAM Dragonfly vero layout v2a 74c84088e368

This the D*A*M Dragonfly DF-06, which is somewhat confusingly not the same circuit as the D*A*M Drag n Fly.  They’re both in the Fuzz Face family, but they each approach the tone control differently.  The Drag n Fly does the tone shaping up front, while the Dragonfly does it at the end of the circuit, … Read more

CLAYBRIDGE SOUND SYSTEMS: Fuzzmaster (AKA D*A*M Fuzz Supreme)

Claybridge fuzzmaster schematic 4c3a1bded1f2

I probably should start by saying that this is not a full trace, as I do not have one in my possession.   However, you can put a lot together based on photos online.  Mainly on the D*A*M forum here and via some reverb listing that show some different angles. The first three stages don’t appear strange, … Read more

COLORSOUND x D*A*M: Fuzz Sound

COLORSOUND DAM Fuzz Sound 2 knob 015 vero layout v1 6576df17b251

Following on from the previous post, this is the D*A*M version of the Colorsound Fuzz Sound.  Thread on the D*A*M forum can be found here.   Basically take a D*A*M Fuzz Sound, and change the Fuzz pot to an internal trimmer.  Unlike the regular Park 2 knob with a large 25u coupling cap between the darlington … Read more

SOLA SOUND: Tone Bender MK1.75 ‘El Diablo’

Sola Sound MK1.5 El Diablo v2 35853f0e8e2a

The El Diablo…   A Dave Main creation, part Sola Sound MK1.5 Tone Bender / part Vox Tone Bender – hence the MK1.75 moniker.  And why El Diablo? apart from the colour, this thing sounds mean as hell. They appeared to use a couple of different transistors for Q2, but the OC75 remains up front – … Read more

SOLA SOUND / D*A*M: Goldie MKI Tone Bender

Sola Sound DAM Goldie 015 vero layout v1 e07b959a6ed2

Someone mentioned this in the comments recently (thank you ClassicFuzz), so I thought I’d have a look at the photos on Reverb.   The Goldie is a MKI in a MKII enclosure from March 2022, likely to be inspired by this unit found in Germany – which is an absolute train wreck of work.   … Read more