ELECTRO-HARMONIX: Muff Fuzz

A nice easy one - the Electro-Harmonix Muff Fuzz, which has a lot more in common with a Fuzz Face than a Big Muff.  

At some stage I'll add some more layouts, including the Mark Hammer mods and the IC version.

ELECTRO-HARMONIX MUFF FUZZ - VERO LAYOUT

MYTHOS: Golden Fleece

In Australia we have a lot of unusual sayings - one that comes to mind here is "you've been fleeced".  i.e. you paid too much money for something - specifically a Golden Fleece on the secondhand market when you can still buy perfectly good new one.  

The Mythos Golden Fleece is pretty much a part for part copy of the Alan Yee Fuzzy Nuts, which is a slight variation on the humble Electra Distortion.  Description here from Mythos.

Things to note:  47k on the input drops the input impedance right down.   100pf on the input is an estimate, as far as I'm aware the exact value is unknown.   I think the output pot is actually linear instead of log - you choose.

The Electra is quite a forgiving circuit as far as component values go - as long as you loosely stick to the program you'll probably have something that sounds good.

MYTHOS GOLDEN FLEECE - VERO LAYOUT

LOVEPEDAL: JTM45

A nice easy one - and I'm not sure if anyone has done more versions of an Electra Distortion than Lovepedal has.  But hey if it's working for them and people like it, who am I to judge?   A JTM45 it is not.

LOVEPEDAL JTM45 - VERO LAYOUT

RIFT AMPLIFICATION: EL34

It's a single transistor boost, not unlike an Electra.  This pedal is somewhat infamous in the DIY community for exaggerated claims about what it sounds like - although no one in their right mind would question the quality of the point-to-point work in the enclosure that Rift did.    

The Boost switch is normally a foot switch.  Note that the gain control does nothing without the boost switch engaged.

RIFT AMPLIFICATION EL34 - VERO LAYOUT

SCHEMATIC & SPICE RESPONSE

It's not much to look at - a bit of boost and dirt at higher settings, low-end is filtered off by the input cap and some highs are taken out with the tone control.  

Schematic redrawn from the Gray Bench trace - check out the youtube channel if you have not already - a lot of good tear-down videos.

VIDEO DEMOS

CHRISTIAN HOLMBERG (HEMMO): Bazz Fuss, Tag Board & Vero Layouts

This is a nice easy one for tag board off-cuts.  The Christian Holmberg (AKA Hemmo) Bazz Fuss.   

A simple one transistor monster of a fuzz.  Kind of surprised that I had not done a layout or actually built one of these...  how did this not happen earlier?  I was prompted to do this after browsing on Ditrbox Layouts and saw the Walrus Audio Contraband fuzz - link here which is a Bazz Fuss with an input cap switch. 

So here it is.  Will probably post a couple of other versions for 0.15" and the standard vero later.  Being such a simple circuit, it's ripe for modding and component value tweaks.  

Mods (Which are almost every part on the board):

• size of the input and output caps (input cap most critical)

• type of diode used between the bass and collector of the transistor

• the transistor itself (NPN silicon)

CHRISTIAN HOLMBERG (HEMMO) BAZZ FUSS - TAG BOARD LAYOUT 

0.15" VERO LAYOUT 

STANDARD VERO LAYOUT 

BAZZ FUSS ON LTSPICE

I haven't shown changes in diodes and transistors below, as while they might sound different (I'm yet to test this myself), they don't appear all that different on LTspice.  The waveforms are quite similar, with variations in level and minor variations in shape.

For me, the key driver of changes in this circuit appears to be the input cap.

Volume on 50% - not quite a square wave, but most of the way there.

With a 4.7u input cap and a 100n output cap the frequency response is almost flat - note the db scale (volume at 50%). 

Change the input cap value, and things start to happen with the response 

BAZZ FUSS - VIDEO DEMO

I've used the Walrus Audio Contraband Fuzz as a demo, as it's the best demo I could find of a Bazz Fuss circuit, even though it isn't strictly a stock circuit.   

The only significant difference is the input cap switch, which handily demonstrates the differences when changing C1.   220n and 33n are the values used on the Contraband. 

ANALOG MAN: Astrotone

A nice simple one - the Analog Man Astrotone, which is pretty much a stock Astrotone, with some mods to make it worthwhile.  

The original circuit is a bit thin and is said to only sound good with the volume right up, making it too loud to use in most situations.  The Analogman mods fix this, as well as making the tone control more useful.

ANALOG MAN ASTROTONE - VERO LAYOUT

ANALOG MAN ASTROTONE VIDEO DEMO

ANALOG MAN: Sun Face Fuzz

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...  but it still fits in a small enclosure, so why jam everything on a tiny vero board when you don't need to?  Also, I thought being an easy build, more space might be suitable for those just starting out - less chance of solder bridges.

ANALOG MAN SUN FACE FUZZ - VERO LAYOUT

EARTHQUAKER DEVICES: Bows

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 pretty tall, and if you use the mounting points, you will need to reduce the height of the transistor in the enclosure.  It's generally a good idea to place insulation on the legs of the transistor so they don't short when you bend them.  If not all the legs, at least the base leg in the centre of the three.

EARTHQUAKER DEVICES BOWS - VERO LAYOUT

DYLAN159: Bazz Face

There's a massive thread of modded circuits at Free Stomp Boxes by Dylan159 - this one is a Bazz Fuss / Fuzz Face hybrid, suitably called the Bazz Face.

There's plenty more in the thread, including schematics and sound demos.  

DYLAN159 BAZZ FACE - VERO LAYOUT

BAZZ FACE SCHEMATIC

Drawn by Dylan

BAZZ FACE ON THE SCOPE / FFT

caution - start with low levels.   

440hz sine wave, probe on the output.  This is with germanium transistors, which looks very much like the silicon ones I tested first.   I changed to a larger fuzz pot for a bit more range.  

MID-FI ELECTRONICS: Demo Tape Fuzz

A nice easy one - and it reminds me a little of my Tascam four track cassette recorder days.

MID-FI ELECTRONICS DEMO TAPE FUZZ - VERO LAYOUT

VIDEO DEMO

DEAD ASTRONAUT: X Fuzz

I thought while I was at the Dead Astronaut X Rock, I may as well do an X Fuzz...   It's a nice easy pedal build, with some big sounding results.   

DEAD ASTRONAUT X FUZZ - VERO LAYOUT

DEAD ASTRONAUT: X Rock

The Dead Astronaut X Rock is a variation of the X Fuzz, which makes a mighty noise for a pretty small/simple circuit.  It's very loosely the first two stages of a Big Muff - so boost and clip with diodes across the base and collector.  That's about where all similarities end.  

DEAD ASTRONAUT  X ROCK - VERO LAYOUT

Another Lovepedal, another Electra Distortion with big marketing claims...    

I found this one in my folders from a while back, so I thought I may as well do a quick update and post it incase someone is looking for an easy point to point effect build.

LOVEPEDAL ENGLISHMAN - POINT TO POINT LAYOUT

Here's a nice easy one if you haven't done anything point to point before - the Zvex Super Hardon.  

ZVEX SUPER HARDON - POINT TO POINT LAYOUT

I've left some room on the board for added power filtering / protection.

COLORSOUND: Fuzz Box

They don't come much more straightforward than this - said to be a Dick Denney design, the Colorsound Fuzz Box is a one-knob silicon fuzz face with a couple of value tweaks, but other than that, you know what you're getting here.   

This circuit is also found in the Vox V1141 Super Beatle solid state amplifier.

The layout below is the D*A*M / Macari's reissue, which is a great way to use up the little bit of vero left over from making other circuits.

COLORSOUND FUZZ BOX   -   0.15" VERO LAYOUT

There's a few comments below regarding values - yes, they can vary a bit in the wild.   I think the different Macari's releases have slight tweaks to some resistor or transistor values.   From what I gather, this is normally the bias resistors on Q2 (2k2 and 82 ohm as shown above).  

There's also a bit of debate on the topic at FSB

The Colorsound Hammer House Fuzz Box uses what looks to be 5k6 and a 270 ohm resistor, so there is some room for movement or experimentation in this area.  I've certainly needed to change values occasionally to get the best results out of some vintage RCA silicon transistors that I was using.

Increasing the 82 ohm resistor lifts the output a bit.  With the 82 it's a bit above unity running full tilt.   

Same again but with a 120 ohm resistor - you can see it has a bit more beef now compared to the input signal, despite only having an extra 38 ohms of resistance.

Below is the Hammer House version - even hotter again

Well they don't come much simpler than this - the Earthquaker Devices Arrows.  It's a booster - it has one knob - it makes things loud.  

EARTHQUAKER DEVICES ARROWS - POINT TO POINT LAYOUT

ELECTRA: Distortion, Point to Point Layout

One of the simplest circuits for overdrive ever, and the source of several over priced boutique pedals with rather dubious marketing claims - the Electra Distortion.

ELECTRA DISTORTION - POIN TO POINT LAYOUT

ELECTRA DISTORTION - SCHEMATIC

LOVEPEDAL: COT50, Point to Point Layout

A nice easy one - the Lovepedal Church of Tone 50 (COT50). Despite the hype, it's just an Electra Distortion with some small mods (just the addition of the bias pot really).

It will not magically make your amp sound like a 1960's Marshall Plexi as some claim, but it's worth a try if you are looking for a quick build, or maybe a first crack at point to point.

LOVEPEDAL CHURCH OF TONE 50 (COT50) - POINT TO POINT LAYOUT

LOVEPEDAL COT50 - CIRCUITLAB SIMULATION & SCHEMATIC

I'd completely forgotten about this until I was putting this post up.  I made a simulation in CircuitLab some time back.

https://www.circuitlab.com/circuit/n4hw7v8v77as/lovepedal-cot50/