spi
Well-known member
I haven't built too many fuzzes, so this is the first of a batch I bought last summer to explore fuzz tones deeper.
This one gave me some transistor fits. The original calls for BC109C cans. Well those cost a buck apiece, while viable replacements are still pennies I figured I'd sub in the similarly specced BC549Cs. After I got this boxed up I couldn't find them so tried different sets. Did you know that P2N2222A has a different pinout than PN2222A? I do now. I also ended up unlucky in that I had a dud 2n3904. I finally got it to work by trying all 2n5088s--verifying it worked I later went back and discovered what caused those prior issues. After all that, I found my BC549Cs in the wrong bag, and put them in only to discover a new issue, which I wrote up here: https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/bad-bc549s-from-tayda.15314/.
In the end, I put in MPSA18s, which work, but I wonder if they are too gainy for this circuit. I may go back to 2n5088s, but I'm saving the ones I have for another fuzz. Ultimately I'll probably just get some real BC109s for it one day.
As for other mods, I put a linear control for fuzz and body controls rather than anti-log and log (I read this somewhere). I'm not sure it's a good idea for the fuzz control--I think anti-log would've been a better sweep (I shouldn't believe what I read).
Now that issues are sorted out I can talk about the tone--it's a silicon FF based fuzz but it also happens to do overdrive tones quite well, which is controlled by combination of the range and fuzz knobs. The body control can add a ton of wooly undefined bass, but back it off and it can really tighten up. I'm not a heavy fuzz user so I'm digging the versatility of this pedal.
This one gave me some transistor fits. The original calls for BC109C cans. Well those cost a buck apiece, while viable replacements are still pennies I figured I'd sub in the similarly specced BC549Cs. After I got this boxed up I couldn't find them so tried different sets. Did you know that P2N2222A has a different pinout than PN2222A? I do now. I also ended up unlucky in that I had a dud 2n3904. I finally got it to work by trying all 2n5088s--verifying it worked I later went back and discovered what caused those prior issues. After all that, I found my BC549Cs in the wrong bag, and put them in only to discover a new issue, which I wrote up here: https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/bad-bc549s-from-tayda.15314/.
In the end, I put in MPSA18s, which work, but I wonder if they are too gainy for this circuit. I may go back to 2n5088s, but I'm saving the ones I have for another fuzz. Ultimately I'll probably just get some real BC109s for it one day.
As for other mods, I put a linear control for fuzz and body controls rather than anti-log and log (I read this somewhere). I'm not sure it's a good idea for the fuzz control--I think anti-log would've been a better sweep (I shouldn't believe what I read).
Now that issues are sorted out I can talk about the tone--it's a silicon FF based fuzz but it also happens to do overdrive tones quite well, which is controlled by combination of the range and fuzz knobs. The body control can add a ton of wooly undefined bass, but back it off and it can really tighten up. I'm not a heavy fuzz user so I'm digging the versatility of this pedal.
Last edited:
