Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
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 Fairfield Circuitry Unpleasant Surprise – bias voltages unknown for the JFETS (so you may need to tweak them). I had to tweak a bit for the Barbershop before it was right, maybe the same here. Mind you, this is a bit of signal-destroying fuzz monster, so it may not matter as much. I have checked … Read more
This one looks like a real oddball on paper, kind of a very strange Big Muff in some ways, but not really… The case is a piece of art in itself – this is where the Italian design aesthetic comes into play. Maybe not the most practical case, but damn it looks cool. The tone controls … Read more
Note: Normal power ripple filtering can be added to these. Probably better to add filtering after the IC rather than before (or both ends if you are really keen).
Bit of a mix of a Tone Bender MKIII and a Big Muff Tone stack. Earthquaker Devices have made quite a few pedals that are Tone Bender / Big Muff inspired – I guess why wouldn’t you? EARTHQUAKER DEVICES TONE REAPER – VERO LAYOUT The tone control is based on the Big Muff design and can be changed … Read more
The Earthquaker Devices Dirt Transmitter is basically a silicon Fuzz Face with a pot to control the input level and a tone stack. The bias for Q2 is external. But gotta love a tricked-out fuzz. EARTHQUAKER DEVICES DIRT TRANSMITTER – VERO LAYOUT
The Earthquaker Devices Crimson Drive uses a JFET to push level into a germanium transistor, pushing it into overdrive territory. Diode clipping is added after to smooth things out a little / add some extra texture. ORIGINAL EARTHQUAKER DEVICES CRIMSON DRIVE – VERO LAYOUT VERSION 2 EARTHQUAKER DEVICES CRIMSON DRIVE – VERO LAYOUT
The Earthquaker Devices Black Ash is their take on a Tone Bender MKII, using low-gain silicon NPN transistors, with a bit of tone shaping added at the end. EARTHQUAKER DEVICES BLACK ASH – VERO LAYOUT
Power your fuzz / high gain circuits with noise problems from this. Like most things, it’s not a silver bullet for your problems, but it will probably help. Here’s a better technical explanation than I will ever manage. There’s a few variations of this circuit – google is your friend if you want to find out more. TLDR: … Read more