Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
This is a pretty cool fuzz box. It’s a cross (sonically anyway) between an early Vox Tone Bender and a Big Muff. It uses PNP germanium transistors, but still uses a negative ground power supply. Originals have OC76 transistors with hfe of around 100 for Q1 and 300 for Q2. 300 is high for most … Read more
FSB forum member Nocentelli posted a schematic for this so I thought I’d draw a perf layout for it. Here’s what he had to say about it: “It’s a fuzz/distortion/dirt circuit designed by Dan Coggins (Lovetone + Dinosaural designer) for ETI magazine in 1993. Having breadboarded it, I like the sound a lot (like Timmy’s … Read more
Here’s my take on the ZVex Fuzz Factory. The originals have the pots mounted to the board as well, but ZVex uses the little square pots which are more expensive. I wanted a layout that used regular 16mm pots, which are easier to come by and what you probably already have in your parts stash. … Read more
Madbean’s modernized take on Ibanez Standard Fuzz and alike. From discontinued project files.
Here’s another layout with onboard pots. The Sola Sound Tone Bender Mk. II is probably most famous for shaping some (but not all) of the guitar sound of legendary guitarist Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin I. Originally it was a positive ground effect, but I’ve laid it out to use NPN transistors. This way you … Read more
Here’s a silicon Tone Bender type fuzz by Nocentelli from FSB. Just about any NPN silicon trannies will do… 2N2222, BC108, 2N3904, etc.
A great sounding and cheap Big Muff made in China by Moen which I believe is a clone of the now defunct Righteous Tones Sonic Mayhem. I bought one of these before I got too heavily into DIY and it got plenty of use despite me also having a Skreddy Pink Flesh, so it’s definitely … Read more
Not the Maestro stompbox that produced the classic “Satisfaction” tone, but a good sounding fuzz nonetheless. This came out during the Norlin era of Gibson/Maestro in the 70s. The original used a TL022 opamp, but I’ve listed the TL072 because it’s more likely to be in your parts bin. I’ve also up’ed the power filter … Read more
Not that the internet needs another Fuzz Face layout, but I’m adding it for the completeness of this collection. It is a DIY standard after all. This follows the stock NPN silicon version with BC108 transistors. I’ve added a anti-popping pull down resistor, a power filter cap, and polarity protection diode. There a host of … Read more
Before Electro Harmonix made the Big Muff there was the Axis Fuzz. These were the same as the 2-knob Foxey Lady fuzz EHX made for Guild. Most schematics on the web say 100k pots for both fuzz and volume controls, but the unit Ron (theehman) over on the DIY Stomboxes forum traced used a B1M … Read more