Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
The Rocket is Aron Nelson’s modified version of Gus Smalley’s 3 Transistor Fuzz. Basically it’s a Fuzz Face with an emitter follower in front of it. Just about any medium to high gain transistor will work. Not a bad idea to socket some of the capacitors and try different values (see Aron’s schematic and notes … Read more
The Dr. Quack is Jack Orman’s improvement on the EHX Dr. Q envelope filter. Basically, there’s an added input buffer to increase the input impedance (which is kinda low in the Dr. Q) and offers better range control. Check out Jack’s blog post on the circuit for more information and a few mods.
The Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay is regarded as one of the best PT2399 based delays out there (with the price tag to match that reputation). It’s a warm and natural sounding circuit with an analog direct signal path (aka, no buffers), and plays nice with distortion boxes as well. I’ve labeled IC1 as a … Read more
Here’s a quick one. Fairly simple silicon fuzz from the 60s. AstroTone marketed these under their own name, as well as making them for Sam Ash. I laid this one out so the board mounted pots are in a triangular layout. The Attack and Volume controls are mounted on the component side, while the Tone … Read more
Found the schematic for this over in the Aron Nelson Gallery. It’s designed by Scott Frein. Uses a simple JFET buffer to help push the transistor-based drive section. Here’s his description: A pretty simple overdireve. The buffer on the front really brings it to life. Good AC/DC,ZZ Top crunch from this. Hit it with a … Read more
This is DAM’s take on the silicon FuzzRite. Loud, snarly, and nasty fuzz tones in this circuit. Q1 is a KSP42, which seems to be pretty similar (if not the same) to a MPSA42. I’ve read of MPSA18s working in that spot as well. Q2 is a 2N4401, which should be easier to track down, … Read more
Jen was an Italian electronics company that produced a lot of OEM stuff for other companies (Vox, Gretsch, etc.) as well as marketing their own line of effects. For instance, the HF Modulator was the same effect as the Gretsch Playboy. This effect is a ring modulator and sounds fantastic with a fuzz pushing it. … Read more
Often imitated by boutique builders, the ROG Supreaux Deux overdrive is an old Supro 16T in pedal form. The Deux is the 2nd go at this circuit and offers several improvements over the original design. It runs off 18v, so I’ve added an onboard charge pump converting +9v to just under +18v. You can use … Read more
In the late 70s, Mike Matthews and EHX took the Big Muff on a detour from the traditional 4 transistor circuit in favor an IC-based circuit. It sounds very similar to the traditional Muffs, with the tone control being a little more flat than the traditional mid scoop. The circuit uses two favorite opamps from … Read more
This is a great sounding Orange amp emulator by EQD. The EQ controls allow you to boost those frequencies instead of just rolling them off. Lots of big burly Orange tone in this FET based circuit. I’ve laid it out so you can board-mount all 4 pots from the solder-side of the board using right … Read more