DEMO Aleph Null Peacock Parallel Fuzz

This post contains an audio or video demo
DGWVI

DGWVI

Well-known member
Build Rating
5.00 star(s)
Sorry it took so long to get this report up, been busy closing up a Rite Aid 🤣

Sorta a modernized Fuzz Face running parallel with a Harmonic Percolator, this guy brings the ruckus. I haven't been this excited after building a dirt box in quite a while, and this one's earned a spot on my personal board. The range of the controls and the interactivity of the two circuits offers up and abundance of fuzzy filth, meaning there's gonna be something in there for everyone. Everytime I turn it on, I'm inspired to come up with a new riff, and I wouldn't be a bit upset if it were my only dirt box

I've never really cared much for the Fuzz Face family, but I love this take on it. It goes from a nice wooly drive to an exorbitantly saturated tone destroyer that keeps your note definition in tact throughout its range. It's got the advantage of running through a Muff-style tone stack for a scooped flavor, and even this control's range is totally usable, never being too muddy or too shrill.

The Percolator side is amazing- it does the bubbly drive that this circuit is known for, but it also gets up into that nasty clang that I'm a huge fan of.

Its built around a buffer (with a super nifty switching arrangement), so no need to worry about placement. It breaks into feedback easily, has a ton of sustain, keeps your notes in tact, and has an ample amount of output volume available. There's a decent amount of touch sensitivity before either of the Dirt knobs are cranked, but once they are it turns into, "tonight we fuzzin."
I was running it before the Rat, and that still sounds great, but it really shines being fed the Rats scuzzy fuzztortion. It keeps the Rat's cut, but adds more than a sheen of the gnarliest grime 🤘🏻

A+ all around on this one, I highly recommend snagging a board from @Aleph Null if / when available if you're a fan of either of these circuits or wanting to build something fresh and nasty that remains musical through its entire range

In @Aleph Null's words - Peacock Parallel Fuzz


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Onyx is perturbed at being out-fuzzed
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That demo has me like...
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If I ever start a pedal company, I'll hire you to write the ad copy. Thank you for the glowing endorsement!

You're getting sounds out of your copy that I'm not getting out of mine. What guitar are you using? Also, did you do any mods?
 
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Aleph Null said:
That demo has me like...
giphy.gif

If I ever start a pedal company, I'll hire you to write the ad copy. Thank you for the glowing endorsement!

You're getting sounds out of your copy that I'm not getting out of mine. What guitar are you using? Also, did you do any mods?
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Guitar is - 1000035190.jpg

30" scale, tuned to drop A with 12-60s. This was plugged straight into the Rat2, Peacock and Opus into my audio interface

No intentional mods except I only have 2N7000 on hand. You seriously did a damned good job on this. I'm particularly fond of the Percolator side- I love that it can still cop the unbuffered tones all the way through to the caterwaul I usually aim for with that circuit
 
🤔 2N7000 should be comparable to a BS170. If you had told me the guitar was loaded with an EMG 81, I would have believed you! That baritone sounds mean!
 
Aleph Null said:
🤔 2N7000 should be comparable to a BS170. If you had told me the guitar was loaded with an EMG 81, I would have believed you! That baritone sounds mean!
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Yeah, I was kinda surprised comparing it to your demos, but I'm absolutely enamored with the sounds I'm getting from it. That it pairs so well with my Rats is 🤌🏻🤌🏻

But, it's just a standard passive Duncan Broadcaster pickup
 
I did my demo with a PAF equiped tele deluxe through an Eminence Big Ben. I'm guessing both of those are darker than your rig. I also bet that .060" string combined with a lower wind pickup is making one hell of a transient.
 
Aleph Null said:
I did my demo with a PAF equiped tele deluxe through an Eminence Big Ben. I'm guessing both of those are darker than your rig. I also bet that .060" string combined with a lower wind pickup is making one hell of a transient.
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Yeah, I've got the Opus setup for a Twin voiced amp into a Jensen 212 IR. I think that one is setup for a SM57 on the dust cover and an 87 on the middle of the cone, both about 12" back

60-64 is about as big as I go before I lose too much pick attack, but it does do wonderful things to most dirt boxes
 
In DGWVI we (I) trust!

Was very excited to have this 1590BB PCB coming to me BEFORE reading this report — now I'm champing at the bit for its arrival.

I might have to order another one in 1590N1 size...
 
Didn't feel like making a new thread, but here's the Peacock going on my board.

Slightly modified -
  • C12 increased to 4.7n to allow a smidge more bass through the HP side of the tone control
  • C9 & C13 increased to 27n and 47n respectively to allow a miniscule amount more low end through the Percolator side
  • D1 is UF4007 (0.572vf) D2 is 1N4744 (0.778vf), as I wanted a small increase in the forward voltage to better match the output of the Perc side to that of the Face side
  • Q3&4 are 2N7000 cuz that's what I have on hand
  • RV1 is an Audio taper 100k for better fine tuning of the lower gain range
All housed in an Eddystone 1590J to work with my pedalboard layout. Knobs are Magpies from LMS. Wanted to keep the theme of black metal knobs with silver LED bezels as the other diy things on my board. Was gonna label it, but I think it looks pretty rad as is, and none of the other builds on my board are labeled so I'm keeping it

Noiserockupyourass demo
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Looking good and sounding good! Those lines are simple, but they divide the negative space of the larger enclosure in a way that keeps the closer knob placement of the 125B board from looking cramped in the larger enclosure.

Also, R17 and R18 set the maximum volume for the FF and Perc respectively, -3dB and +3dB with the default values. The lower the value, the louder the output, so the diodes don't necessarily have to dictate the output volume. I tried to tune it so that both channels would match in volume with everything at noon and wouldn't clip the opamp in most settings.
 
Aleph Null said:
Looking good and sounding good! Those lines are simple, but they divide the negative space of the larger enclosure in a way that keeps the closer knob placement of the 125B board from looking cramped in the larger enclosure.

Also, R17 and R18 set the maximum volume for the FF and Perc respectively, -3dB and +3dB with the default values. The lower the value, the louder the output, so the diodes don't necessarily have to dictate the output volume. I tried to tune it so that both channels would match in volume with everything at noon and wouldn't clip the opamp in most settings.
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But, I wanted to use these diodes I never would have otherwise 😭.
I also like having that side be just a tad more responsive to dynamics.

I'm still loving the shit out of this guy. Can't wait to take it to our next practice sesh. I gave one to the other guitarist 🤘🏻
 
I can respect that: you bought those $5 diodes and you want to use them! 😋

Mostly posting for posterity in case others want to do mods. Now it's documented.
 
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