Wednesday, August 19, 2020

WAY HUGE: Conquistador Fuzzstortion, Point to Point Layout

The Conquistador is Way Huge's take on a Tone Bender MKIII, but with some twists.  For one, it's silicon, but it still uses PNP transistors.  It also uses an odd power transistor for Q3, which might be hard to find by all accounts.  Note the two options below for CBE and BCE pinouts.

Word of warning:  this is a really gated fuzz (really, really gated).  If you're looking for sustain, this one ain't for you.  You could easily bypass the fuzz pot, as it does its best work at full.   It's really zippy, which is a great sound, but that's all you get.

WAY HUGE CONQUISTADOR FUZZSTORTION - POINT-TO-POINT LAYOUT

way huge conquistador fuzzstortion point to point p2p layout


ON THE SCOPE / FFT

Input signal:  440hz sine wave, approx 130mv TRMS

It looks like a Tone Bender MKIII coming straight off Q3, but don't expect this to sound like one (see the note above regarding gating).  I used an old silicon Micro Electronics PNP 2N40** something in Q3 (testing a few as I don't have the transistor used by Way Huge).  

The Micro is the large tin can transistor in the next photos below on the breadboard.  I usually try a few different transistors for Q3 on Tone Bender MKIII / MKIV builds, as this is where the magic happens.

way huge conquistador fuzzstortion q3

 
Same with a germanium OC45 in Q3 - compare the random silicon and more prestigious germanium.  Some differences in the upper harmonics, but otherwise very close.

way huge conquistador fuzzstortion oc45

WAY HUGE CONQUISTADOR FUZZSTORTION ON THE BENCH

Testing transistors for Q3, as I don't have a MJE210 handy.  I hadn't plugged a guitar in at this stage; I was just looking for signal/something that worked (and it was around midnight at the time).  I did have a random selection of similar-looking power transistors to test from a bulk electronics lot that I picked up on eBay, but only one worked.  

The power transistor is nearest to the sound on the video demo, so I'll leave that in (the odd looking one on the far right of the breadboard).  

WAY HUGE CONQUISTADOR ON THE BENCH




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