Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Hadn’t done a wah in a while and thought I’d do project where you can build several old school wah circuits on the same board. Many of the early wahs back in the late 60s were based on the original Thomas Organ CryBaby, and as a result many of them follow the same topology with … Read more
Well as promised I’ve taken the and made layouts for 7 of some of the most desirable vintage wahs. You’ll notice that they all look damn near identical, and that’s because they’re all based on the same circuit with some component differences. So instead of doing my usual description for each, I figured I’ll let … Read more
Had this sitting in my completed layout folder and completely forgot to post it. The legendary Italian Clyde McCoy Wah from 67-68.
For #FuzzFriday I give you the SolaSound ToneBender Mk III. The Mark III was a smoother and less aggressive follow up to the famous Mk II Professional. SolaSound built it for several other companies–Vox, RotoSound, Park, etc. There are plenty of layouts for this classic fuzz out there already (there’s already 2 on this blog), … Read more
Here is a layout for the Catalinbread Galileo MKII, the new, updated version of the well known Galileo. Info about the original: The Galileo is a custom-tuned Rangemaster booster combined with the pre-amp section of a Vox AC30 delivering the distinctive throaty mid-range and jangly crunch of Brian May. The Galileo has three controls tuned … Read more
You might look at this and think, “Gee, it’s just another Fuzz Face,” when in actuality, this pedal pre-dates the famous Dallas Arbiter stombox. (This is different from the Sola Sound ToneBender Mk I, as the Sola Sound has 3 transistors.) It was made in Italy for Vox and sounds like a Rangemaster and Fuzz … Read more
The Vox Treble Booster was a simple silicon treble boost effect that plugged straight into an amp’s input jack. It allowed the user a boost in high frequencies for lead work. I laid this one out to use as a built in effect on a guitar (hence the lack of a power filtering cap and … Read more
This cool little effect was originally housed in a small box that plugged directly into your amp (which you then plugged your guitar into) and later on some of Vox’s higher end guitars. You’ll need to track down an obsolete 2N2646 unijunction transistor for Q1, but they can be found on eBay or Small Bear. … Read more
Smoother sounding than the Mk. II Professional, the Tone Bender Mk. III not only added a tone control, but the circuit was a deviation from earlier Tone Benders. Q1 and 2 create a Darlington pair that amplify the signal, while Q3 is what creates the fuzz. I’ve laid this out for negative ground operation, so … Read more
Yes. It is big. I’ve omitted the complex power supply, but left most of the noise reduction measures in tact. Transistor controlled LED circuitry is also gone. With dual gang gain pot and the board size, this will be a tricky but doable fit in 1590B. Marketing spiel from ten years ago: Attention: Guitarist who … Read more