Still on the Vox thing at the moment - just a little Distortion Booster using a variation on the Colorsound fuzz box layout. It's the red box version, here's the thread on FSB with the schematic etc.
Like so many vintage effects, there seems to be a few versions of the circuit.
This is a nice simple one, and a slight variation on the Colorsound Fuzz Boxes that I've been building lately. Basically a silicon fuzz face variant, which is a progression from their original booster that just had an on/off switch.
Now this is mainly for my own purposes, as I doubt anyone else will want to build a Rat this way & I only plan on making one.
Just a standard Rat, built on 0.15" vero and I've prioritised looks of build practicality (or at least what I think looks good anyway). I have built this, and can confirm that it works
The layout probably makes more sense with a photo as a reference
Bit of a random post from me, as it's been awhile - but I thought it might be interesting for some.
So back in the day I used to work as a Sound Engineer, and one of the first things I remember learning about was Fletcher-Munson curves (now superseded), also known as equal-loudness curves. There are other methods as well, but we'll just stick to equal-loudness contours to keep things simple.
These curves attempt to map how our ears respond to different frequencies at different sound pressure levels. So what does this have to do with making pedals? Well quite a bit really.
Note the chart below, and the differences across the frequency range at different levels - if you test at low levels, expect some surprises when you turn it up, and of course the opposite applies when turning it down. You might find the circuit that you thought was missing something at low levels, really hits the spot at stage levels and vice versa.
Unfortunately I can't find a chart that focuses on the 70 - 120 dB range, as guitars have no business being lower than 70. If you're unfamiliar with sound measurement, 10dB jumps are very large - 10dB is subjectively considered to be twice as loud.
Naturally this extends to amps as well, and all things that make noise. Good Mastering Engineers generally have wizard like skills when it comes to mastering a track that will sound good at different levels - which also explains why some songs only sound good loud.
Ok, so perhaps this wasn't the sanest idea that I've ever had, but I do like Jonny Reckless Compressors and discrete circuits, so I had to give this a try.
I do realise that I will probably be the only person foolish enough to undertake this on vero, but I'm perfectly OK with this. It makes way more sense to build this on a PCB.
Here's the thread by Jonny on DIY Stompboxes with a detailed explanation of the circuit. Well worth a read.
