Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
I recently tried building an ABY box with isolating transformers on the outputs, and I just could not get it to work (well, everything worked, apart from the constant buzzing that I could not get rid of, which was incredibly frustrating). I then pulled out most of the components, just leaving the switching and LED indicators, which … Read more
After recently finishing a mojo size / vintage transistor Tone Machine that has been sitting on the bench for way too long, I decided to do a regular layout, as the practicality of some of my other layouts for the Foxx is probably not for everyone (maybe even me in retrospect). So I’ve done a standard … Read more
A nice easy one – the Analog Man Sun Face Fuzz, which is, of course, just a fuzz face with a couple of trimmers. One for bias, the other to help pull back on the input level, as a kind of false volume pot cleanup. Yes, it is a big layout for a fuzz face… … Read more
I found this schematic a little while ago and thought I might give it a try, as I’ve been looking to make a single band parametric equaliser, in this case, based on a State-Variable Bandpass Filter. It’s supposed to be from a Japanese textbook, but I’m not sure of its origin. It looks remarkably similar to a … Read more
The Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop is one of my favourite overdrives, although I am yet to try this version. There’s some subtle difference to version one, and it has a tone control, similar to the Millennium version. I think the most significant difference is the change to the output buffer. FAIRFIELD CIRCUITRY BARBERSHOP VERSION 2 – VERO LAYOUT TEARDOWN & SCHEMATIC … Read more
Suggested as a favourite along with the Wampler Plexi-Drive by Ding on another post, so thought I would take a look at the Ramble FX Marvel Drive 2.2 They’re clearly going for a Marshall vibe, and they have some success capturing this through the sound of the video demos. RAMBLE FX MARVEL DRIVE 2.2 – VERO LAYOUT RAMBLE … Read more
Thought I might add the Wampler Plexi-Drive to the list after I did another Benson layout, as they are similar in many ways. Just look at the two schematics side by side, and you’ll see what I mean. Like anything involving JFETS, choose the resistors going to the drains to suit your JEFTS; they can and … Read more
The Aria Super Fuzz Sustainer is a variant on the Big Muff, probably based on the Elk Sustainar as it shares the same values mostly (based on a Triangle BMP). The tone stack is a bit different, and it’s clearly missing a recovery stage at the end, not unlike a Colorsound Supa Tone Bender. Unusual to see the 6n8 … Read more
The Earthquaker Devices Hizumitas is basically the same as the Elk Sustainar, but with a 3n3 cap instead of a 330pf cap in the tone control (specifically the high pass filter). There are some other minor differences, but the 3n3 is probably the biggest factor in terms of sound. Even though the EQD Hizumitas … Read more
The Earthquaker Devices Bows is a straight-up germanium Rangemaster with some modern tweaks. It uses an NPN transistor and has a switch to swap to a larger input capacitor for a full-range boost. The space above the transistor on this layout allows it to be mounted on its side (bent over 90 degrees), as OC transistors are … Read more