Saturday 30 December 2017

Earthquaker Disaster Transport Jr

Had a sleepless night, so I decided to knockout some new layouts before the end of the new year. This one kicked my ass a bit, but I got it as small as I could. a nice sounding delay, that's similar in architecture to the Deep Blue Delay. It's a nice sounding warm, natural delay.

From the source:

The Disaster Transport JR is an analog voiced digital delay with 625ms delay time with an all analog dry signal path and true bypass switching. It was designed as an anti-modern delay for those who appreciate a nice vintage tape echo with all it’s peculiarities. Its unique tone control doubles as a noise filter on longer delay settings and really helps the delay shine with a dirty signal. The mix control allows you to boost the effected signal to nearly 4x the original signal level and the repeats control goes from one signal repeat to near infinite repeats all the way through to self oscillation.

Controls
Mix: Sets the output level of the effected signal. This should be treated as a gain control/master volume for the delay line. Unity is around noon and everything above noon will boost the delayed signal louder than the original. This is a gain control so, like any pedal with a lot of gain, a hint of noise and distortion at max setting is completely normal.

Tone: Most delay pedals are heavily filtered at the output to remove the clock noise and other unwanted hash that is common from extending the range of the delay time beyond the limit of the circuitry. This usually leaves the delay sounding dark, muddy and disappear when hitting it with dirt. The Disaster Transport has done away with a lot of the heavy filtering and replaced it with a tone control which allows the user to choose their desired sound and results in more natural tape-like repeats. The tone control is at it’s darkest fully counter clockwise and brightens as you turn it clockwise. A good rule of thumb is to leave the tone control between off (fully counter clockwise) and noon at longer delay times. This will remove all the common noise from hyper-extending the circuit.

Time: From about 30ms fully counter clockwise to about 625ms fully clockwise.
Repeats: Sets the regeneration of the delay line. From one single repeat fully counter clockwise, subtle repeats around 9 O’clock, strong naturally decaying repeats at noon, near infinite repeats around 2 O’clock and full on self oscillation fully clock- wise.


Original:




Tails:

A version of this pedal was requested with tails, so I took a look at the Deep Blue Delay, which this is based off of, and made the same modifications.  To have tails, you don't use a 3PDT switch and the usual stomp switch wiring, you're going to use a DPDT switch  with the input and output wires going directly to the sockets.  With tails the stomp here will cut new signal going into the PT2399 and so when bypassed the output of the PT2399 will continue repeating with the last input it received and the repeats continue, and IC1 will then act as a buffered bypass.  You may want to to swap the 47K resistor at pin 7 of IC1 for a 50K trimmer so you can adjust the buffered bypass level so you can have to perfect unity with your bypassed signal.  Another alternative is that you can add a second stomp to true bypass the whole thing  which will give you the option to mechanically bypass the effect as usual, or simply bypass with tails when you want.



Wednesday 27 December 2017

DOD Carcosa Fuzz

Anders knocked out a layout for this a few days ago on the forum and beat me to it, but I still wanted to whip up a layout for the main page.

From the Source:

The DOD Carcosa Fuzz is a doorway into an alternate fuzz universe, where classic tones of legend coexist with splattered and shattered Pollock abstractions. Combining the Carcosa's wide-ranging AFTER bias control with two toggle positions creates tones that range from porcine fatness to dessicated shards. This versatility makes the Carcosa Fuzz a good companion for dirty or clean amps. True bypass, tons of output, and the visage of the King in Yellow sets the stage for fuzzy madness.
The DOD Carcosa Fuzz has an exaggerated mid-range and treble character that help it stand out in a mix. It has been designed to cut through a dense and heavy band but still have great note articulation with chords. However, when extreme bias (AFTER) ranges are selected many wild and over-the-top sounds are possible.









Sunday 24 December 2017

KMA Audio Machines Fuzzly Bear

From the source:

Holy Spirit of the forest, fuzzly bear is here. Kick the Switch to unleash the beast. The sound of this fuzz-pedal is influenced by an old underrated box of the 1970, the classic Jordan Bosstone. The main reason why it did not conquer the world's guitar players like other effects was the massive lack of bass.

We refined the circuit to get an old school sound with a modern Twist. First of all we brought back the low end and added a bias control to explore new capabilities of the forgotten pedal. The essential SKIN/MEAT knob controls the bias of the circuit. You can dial in a sharp skinny fuzzy tone or a thick and meaty wall of furry. The GAIN control delivers a whole range of different fuzz shapes. Back it off to get a dirty chunky overdriven tone, turn it up and your tone becomes thicker and thicker. Set the gain fully clockwise and magic will happen: The smooth decay turns into a starved and gated fuzz sound, perfect for classic tunes. Check out the demo, get bitten. 



 AND YES IT DOES BASS!!!





Saturday 23 December 2017

SolidGoldFx If 6 Was 9 BC183CC

From the source:

The If 6 Was 9 is a modern interpretation of the classic late 60's, early 70's, Fuzz Face circuit with a few updates and modifications. At the heart of the If 6 Was 9 is a pair of hand selected, new old stock BC183 transistors. These transistors offer a great balance of soul and attitude producing a unique fuzz character that is rich and smooth with excellent sustain and exceptional volume clean up. Vintage spec carbon comp resistors further enhance the warmth of the core circuit while the addition of an external bias control and the 2-way tone switch provide maximum versatility and allow for quick adjustment of the overall fuzz texture. Although the If 6 Was 9 has a distinctly vintage flavour it is capable of generating an extremely wide range of useful fuzz sounds, from full bodied and round to more gated and splatty. If soulful fuzz is your thing, the If 6 Was 9 BC183CC will be a fantastic sounding and gorgeous addition to your arsenal.






Budda Om Overdrive

From the source:

With the Budda Om Overdrive guitar pedal, you won't have to worry about your guitar tone not being able to cut through the mix. With plenty of gain provided in this tight compacted box, you get a pedal perfect for anything from an old-school crunch to mordern fuzz. Put the Budda Om Overdrive guitar pedal in your signal chain, and you'll notice the jaw-dropping difference it has on your amp. The classic 3-knob user interface focuses on the EQ while giving you organic control over your overdrive tone. Check out the Budda Om Overdrive guitar pedal for that missing ingredient!




Wednesday 20 December 2017

BJFE Baby Blue OD

The BJFE Baby Blue OD is described as a dynamic pre-amp tube distortion, although it is technically more of a fuzz pedal with dynamic overdrive features.  It is a killer fuzzy OD with a ton of dynamic and tonal range.


So according to the thread over at FSB there's no mention of the specific JFETs in the original other than they're N-JFET. It's possible they're either BF244 or 2N5952 both of which Bjorn is known to use. So I decided to make 2 layouts, one with a DGS pinout (BF244) and one with DSG (2N5952) so either can be made. There is also a question as to whether or not the 47k resistor going from Drain of Q1 to the power rail actually being 14.7k like the drains of Q2 and Q3, so as of now if you build this you may want to socket that resistor so you can try both and see which sounds better.

BF244 (DGS) Layout


2N5952 (DSG) Layout




Sunday 10 December 2017

Madbean Zombii / ZVex Fat Fuzz Factory

Tweaked Mark's original compact layout according to the info i found on the fat mode switch. Should be good to go.

Foxx / Sears Phasing Pedal

Here is a monster layout for a 70s phaser made famous by Brian May.
No many infos/videos around.
You can find the schematic in the original DIY thread here and FSB's here.
To draw a layout for this wasn't easy. To build it would be as difficult.
Double check everything is correct before starting.

There are no great quality videos but I'll add a couple just to give an idea.

 

 

Tuesday 21 November 2017

Simple Theremin

A recent request that caught my eye, a fairly simple theremin project. I've always found these to be neat with tons of possibilities when combined with other effects. The project was posted over on Instructables.




Original without Regulator


With Regulator

Tuesday 14 November 2017

Nine Volt Nirvana Dino Drive

Another fuzz from Nine Volt Nirvana, Joe Gagan. It's another modified Fuzz Face, and from the one video of it, it sounds bad ass.





Saturday 11 November 2017

Wampler Hot Wired v.1

Original FSB thread and schematic available here.
These are 2 separate effects in one box.
Follow Mark's Dual Offboard Wiring.
23/11/2017 Layout Updated! Added the 2 Inputs caps.


Tuesday 7 November 2017

Guyatone PS-021 Guitar Exciter / Compressor

A vintage pedal from the 80s.
I've removed the flip flop switching system and buffers (thanks Zach for the help).
Hopefully it will fit in a 125B box.
You can find original thread and schematic here.
Updated schematic is available in our Forum section. 
Thanks Dino for his explanatory video.
12/11 Layout Updated! Readded the input buffer as Aion's suggested.


... and the LM13700 version

Monday 6 November 2017

VFE Pedals Dragon Hound

"The DRAGON HOUND is a dual overdrive + distortion pedal that combines the core circuits from the Alpha Dog and Pale Horse into one unique dirt box. Each circuit has a dedicated drive control, and the blend control can dial in saturated distortion tones that retain the clarity of an overdrive."
You can find their original pedal (now discontinued) on their website here and the original schematic here.


Sunday 29 October 2017

Friedman Dirty Shirley

Original info:
"The Friedman Dirty Shirley all-tube amp is well known for being one of the most flexible and touch-responsive single-channel amplifiers on the market. Now you can get that same tonal versatility, sensitivity and harmonically rich overdrive in a pedal. The Dirty Shirley Overdrive packs the same intuitive control set as the amplifier, allowing you to dial in your perfect shade of rock in no time. It doesn't matter if you want a high-output cleaner tone for pushing your amp hard or a thick gritty drive that will sit well in any classic to modern rock band, a sweep of the gain control easily gets you there. If you ever want reign in the low end, for a punchier feel, simply flip the side-mounted Tight switch and away you go. If you want to experience the amp’s accolade-garnering tone in the convenience of a pedal, put the Dirty Shirley Overdrive on your board today.
British rock at its best
Though the Dirty Shirley overdrive can scream with an unabashedly rock 'n' roll voice, you'll be surprised at how truly versatile it is. To get more out of the amp you already have, roll the pedal's gain knob back, crank the volume and get a killer dirty boost. And of course, roll up the gain and witness how well the pedal responds to every touch and manipulation of your guitar's controls.
● Friedman Dirty Shirley amp tone in a compact pedal format
● Responds to guitar controls and picking nuance exactly like the amp
● Gain control takes you from gritty to hard rock in no time

Ready for your rig
The Dirty Shirley Overdrive pedal delivers tube like tone in a small pedal format which can be used either into a clean amp or to boost an already over-driven amp. If your amp, or other overdrive gets a bit loose in the low end, throw ON the Dirty Shirley's Tight switch to bring back the percussive attack you crave
"
Original FSB thread and schematic available here.


Saturday 28 October 2017

EarthQuaker Devices Palisades

Original info:
"The Palisades is something we said we would never do… an overdrive based on the legendary TS808! Gasp! The horror! Another tubes creamer?? In 2014?? Really?? After loads of requests we finally buckled. We ran tests with every popular clone on the market as well as several vintage originals, compared, contrasted and took loads of notes. It was exhausting but informative. In the end, we threw it all away, used our ears and came up with what we feel is the most versatile relative of the 808 available today.
With 6 different clipping voices, 5 bandwidth settings and 2 gain channels you will be hard-pressed to not find a setting that will wipe every mid-boosting overdrive off your board. The clipping voices determine how transparent and open or tight and crunchy the distortion is. They will vary drastically depending on where the gain is set, what channel is active and how much bandwidth is being used. The bandwidth sets the frequency response of the distortion and goes from thin, light and clean through fat heavy and crunchy. It may very well be the single most important control the palisades has and what really sets it apart.
Gain A is a lower gain channel with a wider range of grit that is great for strumming open chords. Gain B is a higher gain channel with a tighter range that is great for palm muting and/or shredding solos. The Palisades also has a foot switchable volume boost with adjustable level to take it over the top when you want to throw your foot up on the monitor and rip your sweet leads… or maybe just push the front end of you amp a little harder. Not enough? How about a normal/bright switch to mix and match the overall tone to different amps and guitars. Still not enough? OK then, how about a buffer on/off switch to tighten up the tone and make it sparkle when set to “ON” or warm it up and make it sag when set to “OFF”."
Original FSB thread and schematic (still unverified) available here.


Friday 27 October 2017

Rozz Dead Heat

Here is an 18V Big Muff version from the 70s.
Original FSB thread and schematic available here.


Wednesday 25 October 2017

JHS Twin Twelve V1

From the source:

The JHS Twin Twelve is the first effects pedal to go after the sound of the short-lived but revered Silvertone 1484 Twin Twelve. Available through the Sears catalog from 1963 - 1967, the Twin Twelve was not regarded in its day as a premier amplifier. However, modern players looking for a vintage sound have increasingly turned towards this Silvertone as a primary stage and recording amp. Artists such as Beck, Death Cab For Cutie, Vampire Weekend, The White Stripes and even Coldplay have used the Twin Twelve amp on stage, making it the vintage amp with the most indie-cred. With the market for original specimens drying up and prices increasing, JHS has come to the rescue by putting that sound in an easy-to-use pedal.

 The original was a 60 watt, all-tube head with a separate 2x12 cabinet. At the heart of its sound was a Baxandall tone circuit, powered by a pre-amp the broke up in a way that few other amps do. It wasn't as glassy or snappy as a Fender Tweed, or as treble-rich as a Vox from that period. Rather than going into harmonic crunch like a dimed Marshall, the Silvertone 1484 would get borderline fuzzy, with a very saturated and thick natural overdrive. Its satisfying clean-ish grit and woolly overdrive have become a defining sound in modern indie rock.

Part of the magic is in the charge pump, which ramps up the standard 9V power it takes to 18V, giving the Twin Twelve pedal even more headroom and punch. The Twin Twelve then uses a series of discrete transistors that mimic the valve stages of the original Silvertone. Bass and treble controls remain true to the ratios of the original amp, while separate Gain and master Volume knobs help you achieve the thick, high-gain saturation at low volumes that was only possible by diming the amp back in the '60s.  





Sunday 22 October 2017

Castledine Electronics The Wizard

From the source:

The Wizard is a new distortion pedal, inspired by Tony Iommi's guitar sound on the early Black Sabbath albums. It is well known that he used a modified Rangemaster to drive his amps, so the same principle was used for The Wizard. The first gain stage is essentially a Rangemaster, using a germanium transistor, but tweaked for a full range boost. That drives a distortion circuit which has been designed to give something of the tone and feel of a Laney Supergroup amp. Obviously, there is no substitute for a full stack at volume, but The Wizard has a similar distortion character and responds well to picking dynamics.





Monday 16 October 2017

Nine Volt Nirvana Tone Dog

Another Nine Volt Nirvana fuzz. Cna't find anything info on it, but as usual if it's from Joe Gagan it's got to be good.




Saturday 14 October 2017

Nine Volt Nirvana Nitroburner Fuzz

Another from the man, the myth, the legend Joe Gagan. Not much to out there as far as info go, but it's another fuzz, based on the fuzzface with a bunch of tweaks. The only change I made is i removed the test switch, since I bought anyone wants to wire up a voltmeter in the pedal.

Here's Joe's notes on setting up the effect:


  • Set the bias pot to 0
  • Bias Q2 using the trimmer to -4.2V
  • When you change the bias pot it should max out at -7.4V
Note: I put it in the notes, but Q2 should be a high gain PNP Germanium transistor





Thursday 5 October 2017

EWS Little Brute Drive

From the source:

Following the very well received Brute Drive, we are proud to introduce the newest pedal from EWS, the Little Brute Drive (LBD). From its small body, jumps out an intense distortion similar to its big brother, the Brute Drive.

Its compact design takes us very little real estate. It will fit anywhere you desire on your pedal board. But don't let the small size fool you. This simple one-knob powerhouse produces heavy crunch to fiery distortion sounds. Output level and treble control can be adjusted with 2 trimmers located on the PC board inside the pedal.


This is an overdrive/distortion pedal that is compact in size, user-friendly and surely to become your work-ready weapon! And of course, it's true-bypass.


 I took the liberty to make some modifications from the schematic. Like many of us I like having the ability to make changes on the fly, so I changed the trimpots to external pots.






For those that want the stock version with trimmers




Friday 29 September 2017

Lumpy's Tone Shop Lemon Drop/ZII/Series 7

Originally sold as the Lemon Drop, then the ZII, and now the Series 7.

Description of the Series 7 from the source:

Designed to mimic the unique overdriven tones of the rare Vox 4&7 series amplifiers in a small and easy to use stompbox.  An unknown amp to most, the 4&7 series amps were most famously used by the Beatles during the Revolver era and Jimmy Page on numerous tracks from the second Zep album.  Think Paperback Writer style of tones and, yes, Whole Lotta Love.

The 7 Series Overdrive captures the aggressive qualities of the solid state preamp found in the 4&7 series amps by using a pseudo hybrid setup consisting of a specifically selected silicon transistor for the first stage which adds a distinct bite and growl.  That pushes an FET stage into clipping adding some warmth, sustain and amp like dynamics to the tone and feel.  The end result is a highly effective emulation of the amp and a unique sonic blend that could be characterized as a "fuzzy overdrive."






As it's been pointed out there are some pictures with the 2.2uF coming off the emitter to ground as 4.7uF. I've seen pictures with 2.2uF as well, so I'm under the assumption that there's multiple versions as the pedal has changed names over the years. I changed the value of the cap so now there's 2 different layouts. With the 4.7uF cap the pedal should fatten up more compared to the 2.2uF. 


Wednesday 27 September 2017

Nine Volt Nirvana BrontoBoost

Next up of the Nine Volt Nirvana pedals is the BrontoBoost. From Joe.

The new Brontoboost is a two stage booster/fuzz/OD/Dist unit that has a ton of different tones in it, all good! It goes from awesome treble boost like a British top booster, to fullrange boost, to very fat fuzz and everything in between. The fuzz can be set to 'sick', which sounds like an amp on the verge of meltdown! The Brontoboost features tremendous sustain, with a fuzz character that is textured and harmonically rich without sounding like existing fuzzes. Be careful, playing in this compressed , swirly fuzz mode can be addicting, and might bring out a whole new side to your musical expression! "The Bronto is a versatile beast, and has a character unlike any other pedal on the market. Some people simply don't like it, others think it is the most brilliant thing they have ever played! Weird. It does four things, and all of them very well:
  1. Cleanish boost [treble boost or full range]
  2. OD, like a TS, but with a much more open and natural feel - responds to your playing in a very satisfying way. Wider freq response than a TS or most other pedals on the market due to the 'quad cap' circuit path - this adds dimension to the freq response.
  3. Fuzz - mild fuzz all the way to 'amp meltdown' sound. different than any other fuzz I have heard, - compressed yet articulate. Smooth yet alive. Sustain and clarity amidst the fuzzfrenzy . Weird but beautiful.
  4. Tube amp simulator. I use mine on low volume gigs to replicate the breakup of a tube amp. People are amazed a the tones that are achieved at low volume with it. Like our favorite all time great rock guitar tones but at a very reasonable volume!
The other great thing is that at all settings, it retains an incredible 'gain' control - your guitar 's volume knob! I use the Bront on about 80% of all my guitar work these days due to this versatility. Swiss army knife of preamp/OD/Boost/Distortion/Fuzz."
Quick note: Q3 is Ge, so I assume you can sub the 2SB54 for any other PNP Germanium transistor.



Nine Volt Nirvana Tape Measure Boost

I came across some a bunch of schematics for Nine Volt Nirvana, Joe Gagan's old company. While I haven't found any videos for all of them to get an idea of the tone I can guarantee that if Joe Gagan designed it it's gonna sound awesome.

First up, the Tape Measure Boost. The schematic calls for a trimmer for the volume, I believe the idea is to have it as a set boost inside another pedal or stand alone unit, but I thought it would be nice to have one with a volume pot instead. You can also sub the 2N2222 with any other common NPN Si transistor (2N5088, BC108, 2N3904, etc.)

Original
Added Pot


Sunday 24 September 2017

BJFE Sparkling Yellow Overdrive V2

Not much info on this. From what I've read from the BJFE forum is that the 3 knob Sparkling Yellow Overdrive was a short BJFE Customshop run that's supposed to have that old school early American tones, think Fender Tweed, Blonde, and Brownface.

Video of the 3 Knob


Video of Bearfoot version of the 4 Knob (Closest Video I could find)



Original 3 Knob Limited Run



4 Knob Production Version With M Knob



Saturday 23 September 2017

Foxrox CC Hybrid

Original Info:
"CC Hybrid is one of the first pedals to use one germanium and one silicon transistor in the classic Fuzz Face circuit.

CC Hybrid is a stand-alone pedal that contains the same Silicon/Germanium fuzz face circuit as the original Captain Coconut and Captain Coconut2. To my knowledge, it’s the first example of a commercially available pedal to use one germanium and one silicon transistor in the classic Fuzz Face circuit. It combines the warm, dark organic tone of germanium with the clarity and sustain of silicon. CC Hybrid gives you the best of both..

Volume - Set the volume you like, compensate for level changes when adjusting the Grit and Fuzz controls.
Fuzz - Controls the amount of gain in the circuit. Typical setting is all the way up, or backed off a little.
Grit - controls bias voltage to the transistors. This lets you go from smooth to choppy and everything in between. Typical setting is 11:00. Past the 2:00 setting the sound takes on a restricted, gated quality. The extreme range of the Grit control is effected by the voltage coming into the pedal. Above 9Volts, grit stays smooth at the max setting. Below 9Volts, grit can sound choppy at gated as low as the 1:00 setting. If you notice this - don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with the pedal! Just set it for the sound you like.
Input trim - There's a trimmer inside for backing the input level down a little. Just like having your guitar volume turned down. It’s preset all the way up."

There are 3 layouts: one with the original trimmer, one with a fixed resistor in its place and one for NPN transistors (not the Foxrox version).
Schematic available here.




Thursday 21 September 2017

Shoe Pixel

Interesting sounding 8-Bit fuzz, that's not typically my type of pedal that I thought will get some love. Schematic is posted over at DIYSB.

From the source:

The Pixel is one of the earliest SHOE designs. It began as an oscillating fuzz and, after intentionally adding elements haphazardly and then adjusting the circuit so the pedal began to work again, it turned into something else entirely.
The Pixel is a gated fuzz and is commonly used on bass, though it works quite well on guitar and other instruments. When used with a guitar on single-note lines, the Pixel is adept at producing chiptune and analog or 8-bit synthesizer type sounds. It can resemble the sound of a classic monosynth or game console. This effect is most pronounced at higher PINCH settings.

By turning up the PINCH knob, you will create a stronger gating effect. Turn the control down and you will gain more and more sustain until the pedal ceases to be gated and can move into some slightly more traditional bass and guitar fuzz tones.

The Pixel is not, however, a pitch tracking effect as many synthesizer emulators are. As a result, you can move seamlessly into highly distorted chord playing simply by changing what you play.

Pixel on bass operates quite similarly, but bass notes will tend to have longer sustain when played through the Pixel. By adjusting the PINCH knob, you can also move between more open fuzz sounds or staccato synth-like tones. Because of its popularity with bass players, the current version of the Pixel features larger capacitor values at all stages to let your thunderous low end through.

The Pixel also features a Low Pass control which is very useful in dialing out upper harmonics. You can go from rather nasal to warm and fat with this control.

There’s also a new feature on the latest version. That is the Easy Mode/Hard Mode switch. This essentially lets you select from two different versions of the Pixel circuit. The Hard Mode setting is quite a bit louder than the Easy Mode setting, so be careful to turn down your volume before switching!

The Pixel definitely takes a bit of practice to grasp and you will likely need to adjust your playing style when playing it to achieve the best sounds. This is OK, though. Some SHOE pedals are intended to enhance your guitar and your existing playing. The Pixel is, more or less, a different instrument and you should approach it as such. With some creativity and the right mindset the experience is quite rewarding both sonically and creatively. Use this pedal to write new types of songs and go on new adventures!


Controls:

Volume (Top Left): Sets the output level of the pedal

Easy Mode/Hard Mode (Toggle Switch): Use this to select between two different Pixel circuit versions. Hard Mode is a bit tougher to master (and much louder) but greatly expands the number of sounds available in the pedal (it’s based on the very first Pixel). Play with the Pinch and Input Level knobs to get a number of new synth-like sounds (Pinch all the way left and Input almost all the way up is a personal favorite). Easy Mode is a bit more forgiving and has a softer sound that can be tuned into a more traditional fuzz sound at low Pinch and Input Level settings.

Input Level Adjustment (Top Right): Used to adjust the level of signals coming into the pedal and can also be used to “clean up” harsher attacks due to its built in mild low pass.

Low Pass (Bottom Left): A simple tone control. Use it adjust how much treble is present in your output signal. This control will never cut your bass frequencies.

Pinch (Bottom Right): The heart of the pedal’s sound. Turn the pinch knob up for more staccato and synth-like sounds. Turn it down for longer sustain and less synth-like fuzz sounds.







18v Colorsound Power Boost

Well as usual just finished a round of exams, so it's time to start posting the layouts I did when I was taking study breaks. This time I'm going to space them out so there's not a sudden flood.

First up the 18v Colorsound Power Boost. Same topography as the Colorsound Overdriver, but ran at 18V, and to my ears boarders on a fuzz. I made 4 different layouts, 2 identical to the original (early & late version), and 2 that have an added master volume pot. On the original the pot labeled volume is really more of a gain pot then a true volume pot, so I figured that it would be much more usable to be able to max the gain and control the output level. The original came with BC184L transistors, but you should be able to use any NPN Silicon Transistor.


Original Early:


Early Version with a Volume Pot Mod:


Original Late:


Late Version with a Volume Pot Mod:





Thursday 14 September 2017

BYOC Parametric EQ

Another "requested" monster layout! At least this one doesn't use any weird components.
You can find all infos and schematic from their website here.



Saturday 9 September 2017

Caline CP16 Mark 4

Apparently mimicing Mesa MKIV head's distortion. Hadn't seen this type of distortion control in a pedal before, so i thought this might be a nice addition. Has nice amount of gain and there's room for tweaking.
Update 12.9.2017 - Don't know what was going on in my head with the original layout revision. It had tons of profound errors in it. Now fixed per schematic and let's try this verification thing again...



Onerr OVD-1 Overdrive

Schematic was recently posted at FSB (Thanks Manfred!), but there are couple small things i decided to tweak for this layout. For one, the original has 4558 dual opamp in the circuit with other half left hanging. This layout has 741 in its place and the transistors are with more common pinout. Nice singing overdrive circuit nevertheless.



Saturday 2 September 2017

Diezel VH4

"Unlike traditional overdrive stomp boxes, the VH4 Pedal is a true preamp which delivers an authentic representation of its namesake – real Diezel tone – not emulated, not modeled, but sincerely reproduced. The entire signal architecture is faithful to the original: Bass, Mid, Treble and variable Deep and Presence controls allow you to tailor the uniquely Diezel Overdrive character. The command found in the Gain control gives a player everything they will ever need with lower gain settings producing the classic Diezel sparkle and chime to saturated mid-gain sounds, to scorching Diezel leads by cranking it all the way up.
As close to the original VH4 preamp, the VH4 pedal can be used as either an overdrive or as a standalone preamp to feed into your amps power section. What players take away by going direct into the power amp is all the dynamic, unfiltered Diezel tone by simply plugging into your amplifiers clean channel. Two outputs are provided with the first intended to connect to the front of a guitar amplifier and the second allows for a connection to a line-level power amp or power section of your amp via the Effects Return."
Original FSB thread and schematic available here.
This is a buffered effect.
Follow the layout's footswitch wiring.


Thursday 27 July 2017

VOX MKIV Tonebender

Description of the MKIV origin from the captain.
 
The origins. Tone Bender MKIII, Tone Bender MKIV. Same party different frock. Aside from the obvious differences in the enclosure type of these pedals any true solid definition of which is what in regards to circuit type is and will always be a little bit of an ambiguous subject. The way I always made sense of it in my head was in regards to the biasing. The early MKIII's were choppy, heavy, clumsy, a fuzzy lump hammer. The later MKIV's were smooth, dynamic, articulate, a distorted boxing glove. In between, you have a foggy transitional period. Even with the those definitions in place it never always runs true.