BJFe Folk Fuzz Deluxe

Chuck D. Bones

Circuit Wizard
This is the latest circuit to hit my breadboard. Bjorn Juhl is my favorite pedal designer. He has created some iconic designs, and tweaked some classics. The Folk Fuzz is a twist on the Fuzz Face. What BJ has done here sounds nothing like a Fuzz Face. It's better. Excellent tonal balance between the bottom and top end. Smooth note decay. Responsive to guitar volume and picking, particularly at high FUZZ settings. VR1 is the FUZZ control, C1M. VR2 is the TONE control, A50K. VR3 is VOLUME, A100K. The ON-OFF-ON toggle switch selects between a pair of transistor clipping diodes, a pair of red LEDs or two pairs of silicon diodes. At low drive levels the clipping is pretty symmetric for all three settings. At higher drive levels, they all become more and more asymmetric because T2 and R10 drive the clippers asymmetrically. You can use whatever you like for T3 & T4; high Vf diodes like BA482s or BA283s would also work. I stuck in some vintage 2N2219A & 2N2905A trannys I had in my stash. Nice tones, with the transistor clipper being the hottest and most compressed, the four diodes having a fatter sound and the LEDs more open sounding. I'm not always fond of LED clippers but they work well here. The TONE control has a good range, and gets pretty dark down around zero. T1 & T2 can be Ge or Si, I supposed you could even mix 'em up. I used a pair of Russian MП38As.

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I started out with a stock build and ended up making two little changes: Lowered R2 to 10K to add some more gain at the top end of the FUZZ control range and lowered C7 to 15nF brighten up the TONE control a tad. If you're looking for something simple & fun to breadboard, give this a go!
 
Finally finished cramming it into the box. DIODE switch top left. FUZZ top center. VOLUME bottom left, TONE bottom right. That's "chrome" paint. Thought about clear-coating over it to make it more shiny.

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I have an insulator that goes between the jacks & the board, made from a 6-pack carrier. Anti-pop resistor mounted on the stomp switch.

Folk Fuzz Deluxe innards 02.jpg
 
As I am both trying to practice my breadboarding (can you tell?😆) and find a fuzz to box up, I gave this a go. Very experimental, I worked with what I had. Excellent low gain fuzz, whether that was the intention or not. Transistors are MPS 6531. Used a pair of GE 1N1692's tophat diodes. Fun! Thanks!

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Breadboarding seems to bring out the mad scientist in everyone. It's always a C9H13NO3 pump to throw the power to one and see what happens.
 
Have you seen these other BJF diy projects? The Sparkle, 109, and Universal are Fuzz Faces, and the Bone Benders are his (npn) Tone Bender reinterpretations. https://moodysounds.com/en/produkt-kategori/kits/bjf-kits/

They've all sounded very good with plenty of distortion. The Sparkle uses 2n1306/8 and the Tone Benders were easy to dial in, which is a relief for the MK1 inspired one.

The manuals explain some of his ideas, and the Sparkle Face had a 20 page thread on his old forum
 
I have. Tried the Bone Bender, but to me it didn't stand out as different / better than some of the other TBs I've built / breadboarded.

The Honey Bee is from the same family as the Model G, Model H, Sweet Honey, etc. That family of circuits is at the heart of the Mojito.

I don't like the sounds of every circuit Bjorn Juhl has designed, but the ones I do like, I really like. The Folk Fuzz, Pink Purple Fuzz, Emerald Green Distortion Machine and Honey Bee circuits really impress me with their sound, versatility and quality of design. I respect BJ for his designs and his understanding of how electric guitar sounds are formed and modified in pedals and amps. I've learned a great deal from studying his work.
 
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