Elka Dizzy Tone (gnat)

[Mentaltossflycoon]

Build Rating

5.00 star(s)

I was inspired by @peccary to do this build. Look at his build report if you want to make one of these and if you own a bass you definitely want to. He was aided by @music6000 so thanks to you too and to all who chimed in on my brief troubleshoot thread. I decided I will likely acquire more transistors and do more swapping but with everything maxed out it is a huge fuzz with a lot of lows. Anything less than maxed is meh but I don't think versatility is important. Just one good sound which this has.

I tried many different diodes and this was where I found the most tonal differences. I almost went with a black glass mullard CV7364 but this D9K had the best, most aggressive sound. Finally a fuzz worthy of such a loud powdercoat color. This Ernst collage has bugs, which made me think of gnats. It's pretty horrific so I thought the color scheme might temper it a bit.



Edit: just noticed you can't see the diode. Here they are next to the mullard and some D18 that were the worst of the lot. Also, the unnecessary ic has been removed. Glad I socketed that, lol.

Edit 2: @music6000 just kindly pointed out the ic in the picture. I had already realized my mistake and pulled it long ago, just never updated the photo. Unnecessary chip. Socket for the win.

 

[szukalski]

I love it! The Dizzy is a great sounding pedal.

Dead simple too, should be on every fuzz builder's list.

 

[mdc]

Just curious - when you were noticing changes to the sound of the pedal with differerent diodes, were you checking to see the changes in voltages?

 

[almondcity]

I love everything about this aesthetic

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

Just curious - when you were noticing changes to the sound of the pedal with differerent diodes, were you checking to see the changes in voltages?

I tested each diode, I don't keep very good notes though. I did not poke around the rest of the circuit, now I'm curious and wish I had.

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

I forgot to mention that I got out bid on @peccary 's dizzy elk in the pedals4ukraine auction so I was forced to build it myself.

 

[peccary]

I forgot to mention that I got out bid on @peccary 's dizzy elk in the pedals4ukraine auction so I was forced to build it myself.

I didn't realize that you bid on it. Had I know I'd have built one for you!

 

[lmajcen]

Hi Guys! I need help. I'm building an Elka Fuzz and I need some recommendations for the transitors as I cannot find any SFT*** type transistors available. Are there any equivalents for them? Thank you!

 

[PedalBuilder]

Hi Guys! I need help. I'm building an Elka Fuzz and I need some recommendations for the transitors as I cannot find any SFT*** type transistors available. Are there any equivalents for them? Thank you!

For Q1 and Q2, any germanium transistor with hFE between 50 and 80 will work. You don't need any leakage for Q1 or Q2, so there are lots of Soviet transistors that you can use, like GT308V, GT309B, GT309V, GT310B, GT320B, P416B, or anything else with similar specs. For Q3, shoot for something with an hFE around 100-130, and higher leakage, somewhere over 150µA. It's harder to find Soviet transistors that have sufficiently high hFE and leakage for this transistor; I used a Chinese 3AX31C for mine. Like @Mentaltossflycoon, I found that this circuit (and the Tone Bender MK III and Buzzaround, for that matter) can sound very different depending on the diode that you use. It's worth breadboarding before building so that you can easily try out different diodes. Anyway, hope that doesn't sound too intimidating—it's a fun circuit to build and it sounds great.

 

[lmajcen]

For Q1 and Q2, any germanium transistor with hFE between 50 and 80 will work. You don't need any leakage for Q1 or Q2, so there are lots of Soviet transistors that you can use, like GT308V, GT309B, GT309V, GT310B, GT320B, P416B, or anything else with similar specs. For Q3, shoot for something with an hFE around 100-130, and higher leakage, somewhere over 150µA. It's harder to find Soviet transistors that have sufficiently high hFE and leakage for this transistor; I used a Chinese 3AX31C for mine. Like @Mentaltossflycoon, I found that this circuit (and the Tone Bender MK III and Buzzaround, for that matter) can sound very different depending on the diode that you use. It's worth breadboarding before building so that you can easily try out different diodes. Anyway, hope that doesn't sound too intimidating—it's a fun circuit to build and it sounds great.

Thank you so much for the reply! Do you think for Q1 and Q2 musikding can provide good GT308's? I found these here: https://www.musikding.de/GT308-hFE60-70_1

I'm still on the hunt for Q3.

 

[PedalBuilder]

Thank you so much for the reply! Do you think for Q1 and Q2 musikding can provide good GT308's? I found these here: https://www.musikding.de/GT308-hFE60-70_1

I'm still on the hunt for Q3.

Assuming that the gain measurement is correct, then those should work. All of the GT308_ transistors that I’ve used have had extremely low leakage, so that’s unlikely to be an issue here.

 

[lmajcen]

Assuming that the gain measurement is correct, then those should work. All of the GT308_ transistors that I’ve used have had extremely low leakage, so that’s unlikely to be an issue here.

Perfect! Ordered a set so let's see how they work.
About the Q3, you recommended some of the chinese parts: where should I order them? Any reputable EU store maybe? Thanks.

 

[PedalBuilder]

Perfect! Ordered a set so let's see how they work.
About the Q3, you recommended some of the chinese parts: where should I order them? Any reputable EU store maybe? Thanks.

No idea what's available in the EU, sorry. I bought my 3AX31C from AliExpress, but I subsequently got dead transistors from the same seller, so caveat emptor. There are some eBay sellers in Ukraine with MP21D transistors that could work for Q3 (the hFE on the set that I bought ranged from 55 to 125, with leakage of 70-150 µA), but there's no guarantee that you would get a transistor with the right gain/leakage if you only purchased one.

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

No idea what's available in the EU, sorry. I bought my 3AX31C from AliExpress, but I subsequently got dead transistors from the same seller, so caveat emptor. There are some eBay sellers in Ukraine with MP21D transistors that could work for Q3 (the hFE on the set that I bought ranged from 55 to 125, with leakage of 70-150 µA), but there's no guarantee that you would get a transistor with the right gain/leakage if you only purchased one.

I got mine from a random Ukrainian ebay seller with positive reviews. No issues.

 

[lmajcen]

Hi guys! I have some updates and some issues - this issue is super weird!

So, let me start by saying I've built a Gnat (Buzzaround) PCB kit from Musikding/PedalPCB and it's having the exact same issue as my Vero built Elka Dizzy Tone. Whenever you stop playing the gating kicks in but then few miliseconds later I can hear a hum that gets a bit louder and then it stops. I have no idea why this happens, tried using different supplies/adapters/batteries and it's the same.
Now, this is where it gets interesting. The only same type of components used in both builds are transistors (AC125s and the Ge diode which I'm not sure which one it is). Everything else is different.
Can you help me on this issue? I can also post some sound links soon!

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

Hi guys! I have some updates and some issues - this issue is super weird!

So, let me start by saying I've built a Gnat (Buzzaround) PCB kit from Musikding/PedalPCB and it's having the exact same issue as my Vero built Elka Dizzy Tone. Whenever you stop playing the gating kicks in but then few miliseconds later I can hear a hum that gets a bit louder and then it stops. I have no idea why this happens, tried using different supplies/adapters/batteries and it's the same.
Now, this is where it gets interesting. The only same type of components used in both builds are transistors (AC125s and the Ge diode which I'm not sure which one it is). Everything else is different.
Can you help me on this issue? I can also post some sound links soon!

I wish I had ideas for you, alas I am a bit of a "know nothing" relative to most folks around here. Starting a troubleshooting thread might grab the attention of someone who knows things more quickly.

 

[lmajcen]

Posted here, including soundclips: https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/buzzaround-gnat-fuzz-elka-dizzy-tone-gating-issues.19040/

Thank you!