Fuzz Face Mod

[Feral Feline]

Transformer as "Pickup simulator" is also known as a "buffer buster".
Other pedal companies have used the idea, it's certainly not new.

Here's Orman's take on it:

Guitar Pickups Simulation

Schematics & circuits for guitar effects with vacuum tubes and solid state electronics. FREE downloads of schematics such as TS-9, Fuzz Face and other classic rock devices.

www.muzique.com

Which has been discussed here on the forum:

Jack Orman's Pickup Simulator / Anti-Buffer...

Anyone ever build/use one of these circuits? http://www.muzique.com/lab/pickups.htm I use a lot of different fuzzes in different configurations with a pedal switcher/looper (which has a built-in buffer) and I've been thinking about building a few of these to go in front of fuzzes. I wonder if...

forum.pedalpcb.com

It's been used on the Fuzz Face as well as other circuits such as the BazzFuss.

Several Aion projects have it.


There was a small Cadre of TalkBassers that got together and did a small run of Buffer Busters that could be used before any Fuzz/circuit that needs to "see" the pickups, the TBers formed "CCP" and they called theirs the Ball Buster:

I keep meaning to make myself one, but ... I just haven't needed it yet.

 

[HamishR]

I wonder how using half of a transformer differs from a resistor?

 

[mzy12]

I wonder how using half of a transformer differs from a resistor?

Inductance. Since the primary/secondary of transformer are coils, they have a much higher inductance than a resistor, whose impedance is negligible even in the M ohm range. The idea is to mimic the inductance of a guitar pickup, which is also a coil. Or at least, that's the idea, I imagine. It also does stuff like affect the impedance of the signal.

 

[CR0SSBL4DE]

I've never used inductances in a signal chain, so I wonder if that's not just overkill/over-engineering for just a treble cut. They are clearly not using the core saturation for non-linearity purpuses.

Also, even if there's some magic, they are not emulating the cable treble loss because of the distributed capacitance, are they?
I'm not a fuzz guy, so I have no experience with the "magic" some people talk so much about.

 

[HamishR]

I'm a little sceptical... but hey - if it works it works.

 

[mzy12]

I've never used inductances in a signal chain, so I wonder if that's not just overkill/over-engineering for just a treble cut. They are clearly not using the core saturation for non-linearity purpuses.

Also, even if there's some magic, they are not emulating the cable treble loss because of the distributed capacitance, are they?
I'm not a fuzz guy, so I have no experience with the "magic" some people talk so much about.

Well, the magic isn't in the inductance per se, it's in the output impedance of a passive guitar signal. And how that changes based on where the volume pot is. (Also kind of changing the BJT from a voltage driven to a current driven source. Kind of) That's how you get the clean up of the fuzz face. And really only in fuzz face topologies/maybe tonebender mk2 topologies. Honestly, even with a the inductance of the transformer you'll probably lose a lot of the interaction with the volume pot.