Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
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
The Fuzz Machine is clearly an unbranded Ibanez No 59 Standard Fuzz. I occasionally buy a few parts from a retired guy with a shed full of vintage electronics and components, mostly valves and radio gear. A while back, he mentioned that there were a couple of pedals buried somewhere in the shed. I was … Read more
This is a handy little mod for the Univox Super Fuzz – especially for those who always leave the tone switch on the notch setting. Instead of a tone switch, there’s a pot from the 100n capacitor to ground in the bridged-t notch filter, so the amount of notch can be dialled in. If you really want … Read more
There’s always room for one more Super Fuzz – this time, it’s the Zvex Octane 2, which is a Super Fuzz with a simplified boost stage, and the notch filter can also be adjusted – probably more of a filter depth control than a tone control as such, but that’s just what Zvex called it. … Read more
Commonly referred to as the poor man’s Super Fuzz – the Kay Fuzz Tone Model F-1. The Union Tube & Transistor Bumble Buzz is based on this (they’re almost the same really). Key differences are the lack of Fuzz control (the expander control), and it’s missing a gain recovery stage at the end, so it’s not … Read more
One more for the vintage Japanese Fuzz collection The Ace Tone FM-2 Fuzz Master – a variation on the venerable Super Fuzz. It’s a little different as the “Expander” control is missing (bypassed), which is the same as running it full-tilt all the time. It also uses silicon diodes instead of germanium and has a strange … Read more
The Univox Super Fuzz is indeed super – possibly my most favourite octave fuzz ever… that was until I discovered the Foxx Tone Machine. It’s now second on the list, although it’s kind of special to me, largely due to Poison Ivy from the Cramps. It’s a legendary fuzz sold under many different names, … Read more
So it’s a Super Fuzz… well, almost. The Ibanez No59 Standard Fuzz has a JFET booster, as opposed to the more complicated 2 x transistor arrangement in the Univox Super Fuzz, and a very slight change in the tone filter section; apart from that, same same. It’s more Super Fuzz than the Ibanez Standard Wau Fuzz, … Read more
The Ibanez Standard Wau Fuzz is a variation on the Univox Super Fuzz (like so many others). It’s slightly more compact as it uses a JFET instead of 2 x transistors to boost the signal. IBANEZ STANDARD WAU FUZZ – VERO LAYOUT