Spaceman Charon on vero

[Fuzzonaut]

I like Spaceman stuff and when they came out with the Charon, I was of course interested. Deadend FX traced it and came out with a PCB, but given the simplicity of the circuit, I decided to try it on vero.

It's a 2 transistor NPN Siilicon / PNP Germanium fuzz, looks like an inverse Percolator circuit, according to Deadend. As usual with Spaceman, there are ferrite beads in there too. I used a 2N2219A and an old Hitachi 2SB75 as transistors. I used the Deadend voltages to bias it.

Does it sound kinda percolaterish? It gets some of that vibe, I'd say. The Gain has a nice range, from dirty boost/OD to fuzzy, here's a short loop on bass.

https://soundcloud.com/fuzzonaut-1%2Fcharon-test

Graphic is some old advertising (for champagne).

 

[BuddytheReow]

Stripping all those wires, I'll bet your work station looked like sprinkles spilled everywhere. Great job!

 

[Flying]

Hi @Fuzzonaut,


I breadboarded this circuit yesterday from the Deadend FX schematic, and really like it.

I just have one issue, the tone control seems to be subtle, very, very subtle, okay I'm not convinced it's doing much at all. I've gone over it to see if I’ve made a mistake, if I have I can’t see it, but that’s not to say I’ve not made a mistake. I tried increasing the pot value, 500K had a bit more of an effect but the volume dips in the middle range of the pot. I've also tried different value cap both higher and lower from the 15nF and again, I’m not getting a significant change. If I understand it correctly it is supposed to be rolling off the bass as you turn it up. I’m playing a guitar, maybe it’s more for bass players?

I’d be grateful if you could let me know if your tone control has a noticeable effect, at least that way I’ll know if I need to keep hunting for my mistake.

Many thanks, Chris

 

[Fuzzonaut]

Hi @Fuzzonaut,


I breadboarded this circuit yesterday from the Deadend FX schematic, and really like it.

I just have one issue, the tone control seems to be subtle, very, very subtle, okay I'm not convinced it's doing much at all. I've gone over it to see if I’ve made a mistake, if I have I can’t see it, but that’s not to say I’ve not made a mistake. I tried increasing the pot value, 500K had a bit more of an effect but the volume dips in the middle range of the pot. I've also tried different value cap both higher and lower from the 15nF and again, I’m not getting a significant change. If I understand it correctly it is supposed to be rolling off the bass as you turn it up. I’m playing a guitar, maybe it’s more for bass players?

I’d be grateful if you could let me know if your tone control has a noticeable effect, at least that way I’ll know if I need to keep hunting for my mistake.

Many thanks, Chris

Hi Chris,

I'm not too sure going by memory, but I'll check, no problem, and get back to you.

 

[Flying]

Thanks @Fuzzonaut, that you be great if you could.

Best wishing and happy New Year, Chris

 

[Flying]

Hi @Fuzzonaut,

I went wrong somewhere in my bread boarding, and managed to correct it without know how! But it all works as I was expecting now.

 

[Fuzzonaut]

Hi @Fuzzonaut,

I went wrong somewhere in my bread boarding, and managed to correct it without know how! But it all works as I was expecting now.

Ha, I'm just about to leave for the practice room, where the pedal is ..... glad you got it sorted!