Friendly Fire Fuzz bass mod?

[H3R3T1K]

I was looking for a nasty fuzz on bass. Recommendations for the FY-2 came up via talkbass forums and I found this clone via the German PPCB partner. It has "chainsaw" in the description which sounds about right. Is there any recommendations as to changing values for bass guitar?

 

[Elijah-Baley]

If you look at the Friendly Fire Fuzz schematic you could change C5 3.3nF cap with a bigger cap. A 100nF cap will change the bass peak from about 330Hz to about 110Hz and this gives a certain boost at that frequency, too.
Then, if you need higher presence frequency you can reduce C4 from 2.2nF to 1nF or less.

 

[H3R3T1K]

Thanks so much for your input. I'm not knowleadgeable enough to build the pedal, a friend is building it for me. I'm just asking for alternative values for the caps in question. I'll tell him to go with 100nF for C5 and 1nF for C4.

I'm running a high pass filter with a rolloff usually set between 50 and 80Hz before the fuzz. That should keep it from being too muddy I hope. I'm looking for an aggressive tone with enough bottom end, not a muddy mess.

I just wanted to customize the pedal a little more towards bass. Glad I can get the info I need!

@Elijah-Baley Can you explain to me what the change to presence fequency does?

 

[Elijah-Baley]

For presence frequency I mean higher frequency, but I play guitar and I don't play around bass pedal too much, so I don't what works fine and what works bad.
When you increase C5 you will cut less bass. Using a 100nF the difference in the low end should be substantial, at least around the 100Hz, while the treble remains down. After you changed C5 if you hear the treble too much rolled off, decreasing C4 you'll push a bit of treble, but keeping the original mid scoop of the circuit.

I didn't try this circuit, so you need some experiments to find the right value and see if the pedal will sound ok to your hear.

 

[H3R3T1K]

Your suggestions make sense. I would have to adjust mids on the amp. I need those mids to cut through. I also like a healthy amount of treble. I always run tone knobs on full. So I'll definitely change C4 to 1nF.

Is there a way a alleviate the mid scoop? My tone is Lemmy-esque which means boosted mids, lots of dirt and played with a pick for attack. So I'm not exactly going for a spaced-out, sludgy tone with lots of distorted boomy low end (HPF takes care of that) but something more aggressive which is why I need upper mids and some grindy treble. When I think chainsaw I think Boss HM-2.

 

[Elijah-Baley]

Well, the HM-2 with bass and high boosted has a mid scoop sound, and the FY-2, I see from the schematic, has a notch in the mid frequency.

But, if that is not the thing you're searching you can fill the scoop putting between C7 100nF and the ground a 3.3k resistor, for example. Or you can replace C6 1nF with a 4,7nF to tame it a bit.

 

[H3R3T1K]

That's some amazing advice. I'll tell the builder so go with 4,7nF for C6 then.

Mid scoop sounds awesome when playing solo but I don't want to be buried in a mix.

 

[Coda]

You may want to look at the PedalPCB Kazoo. It’s based on the FY-2, but improves the pedals more infamous features. It feature a bass cut control that could most likely be modified to cut less bass.

 

[H3R3T1K]

The suggestions regarding the FFF from @Elijah-Baley sound pretty convincing and I have a thing for fuzzes with 2 knobs. I'm looking for a grinding buzzsaw kinda opposite wooly and warm when my more amplike distortion pedals are not harsh enough. Needs to cut through though. I usually only use always-on pedals so it's not a situational pedal.

 

[Danbieranowski]

Check out that Arkaim Fuzz.

 

[H3R3T1K]

Check out that Arkaim Fuzz.

What makes you suggest it? I find little info on it.

 

[Danbieranowski]

What makes you suggest it? I find little info on it.

It's just a straight up monstrous fuzz on bass (or guitar).

Based on the Mountainking Megalith.

 

[H3R3T1K]

It's just a straight up monstrous fuzz on bass (or guitar).

Based on the Mountainking Megalith.

That sounds tasty. I'll do the FFF with the mods suggested by @Elijah-Baley first though then I might give the Arkaim a shot. I also have to ask Musikding if they can get the Promethium. A bass modded HM-2 ought to be killer. Another thread later on maybe.

To sum up changes discussed for more retained bass/mids and no treble loss: 100nF for C5, 1nF for C4 and C6 4,7nF.

@Elijah-Baley Could I use this to add a mid boost and fit both in a BB enclosure? If so should C6 still be 4,7nF? Which values would you suggest for the mid control to cut through the mix better and get even more chainsawy?

Here you find different values for different frequency spots. Please note that a Q of 10 defines small bandwidth (1/4 octave) and Q of 3 is about one Octave

1. 120k/86n/33n = 400Hz Q=10
2. 100k/47n/22n = 722Hz Q=10
3. 68k/33n/22n = 1045Hz Q=10
4. 68k/220n/22n = 400HZ Q=4
5. 47k/150n/15n = 715Hz Q=3
6. 68k/68n/10n = 1080HZ Q=4
7. 68k/68n/8n2 = 1200Hz Q=4

That's what's on offer. The way I understand the relevant frequency range for cutting through the mix on bass I should boost between 500 and 1000Hz. But someone knowledgeable would have to tell me how that plays together with the above mentioned cap changes and what Q is desirable in this case. From my limited knowledge I'd go for option #2 because if I understand correctly I'd be working with a range in between 541Hz and 903Hz to boost which is money. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

That'd be 4 pots in the BB enclosure correct? Two for the fuzz and two for the mid boost.

 

[Elijah-Baley]

If you want to add taht one band parametric circuit you can do it, and with it you can boost and cut a certain range variable frequency. I can suggest you to change the C6 with a 4.7nF to get a basic sound with a more flat mid, then use the one band parametric eq to shape the sound, but I can't suggest you anything about the frequency you need with the bass.

 

[H3R3T1K]

But it is correct that with a center freq of 722Hz and a Q of a quarter octave I'd be boosting the range in between 540 and 900Hz?

 

[Elijah-Baley]

Honestly, I don't know. Sorry.

 

[H3R3T1K]

Maybe someone knows if what I said is correct.