Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
I got a bug up my ass to build some stuff in handy-boxes and this is the result. total parts cost for each was under 20 USD.
C3-PO is a parametric filter. Big knob is FREAK, little knob is QUEUE. The stubby toggle switch selects between low-pass, band-pass & high-pass. Tuning range is 70Hz to 7KHz, almost 7 octaves! This does the cocked-wah sound really well. In LP mode with the Q control in the middle, it sounds a lot like a Cry-Baby. In HP mode with the Q dialed down it can do a serious treble boost. This is not a booster per se, it is just a filter. Average gain is more-or-less unity, so no volume control req'd.
The resistors are mostly NOS mil-spec parts from Electronic Goldmine. The yellow LEDs and most of the caps came from there too.
R2-D2 is a bizarre version of a Fuzz-Face. The 1st stage transistor is part of a 4N35 opto-isolator.
The 2nd stage transistor is a Russian ?? germanium. The LED in the 4N35 is part of the feedback path. Talk about a technology mash-up! This is one of those cases where I had an oddball part and was looking for something to do with it. I have a bunch of 4N35's, so I breadboarded this just to see what would happen and I liked the result. Max gain is about 56dB. Much to my surprise, the transistor in the 4N35 is very quiet. Like any good FF, it makes a lot of even-order harmonics and responds well to the guitar's volume control. Aluminum knob is FUZZ, clear knob is VOLUME, blue knob is TONE. For the TONE control, I first tried the Fatness control from a Roger Mayer Page-1. The Page-1 control is similar to a BMP tone control. It was too bright for my taste, so I retuned it a bit. At zero, it's brown and smooth, near noon the response is flat and at 10 it sizzles, but not too much. No mid scoop here. Plenty of volume available, unity is around 9:00 or 10:00. One of the things I like about Vero is it allows me to use oversized components like that turquoise 47nF film cap and the humongous 470uF electrolytic. I stamped "R2-D2" on the big washer around the stomp switch, but the paint mostly filled it in. I'm open to suggestions on how to improve the contrast on the lettering.
C3-PO is a parametric filter. Big knob is FREAK, little knob is QUEUE. The stubby toggle switch selects between low-pass, band-pass & high-pass. Tuning range is 70Hz to 7KHz, almost 7 octaves! This does the cocked-wah sound really well. In LP mode with the Q control in the middle, it sounds a lot like a Cry-Baby. In HP mode with the Q dialed down it can do a serious treble boost. This is not a booster per se, it is just a filter. Average gain is more-or-less unity, so no volume control req'd.
The resistors are mostly NOS mil-spec parts from Electronic Goldmine. The yellow LEDs and most of the caps came from there too.
R2-D2 is a bizarre version of a Fuzz-Face. The 1st stage transistor is part of a 4N35 opto-isolator.
The 2nd stage transistor is a Russian ?? germanium. The LED in the 4N35 is part of the feedback path. Talk about a technology mash-up! This is one of those cases where I had an oddball part and was looking for something to do with it. I have a bunch of 4N35's, so I breadboarded this just to see what would happen and I liked the result. Max gain is about 56dB. Much to my surprise, the transistor in the 4N35 is very quiet. Like any good FF, it makes a lot of even-order harmonics and responds well to the guitar's volume control. Aluminum knob is FUZZ, clear knob is VOLUME, blue knob is TONE. For the TONE control, I first tried the Fatness control from a Roger Mayer Page-1. The Page-1 control is similar to a BMP tone control. It was too bright for my taste, so I retuned it a bit. At zero, it's brown and smooth, near noon the response is flat and at 10 it sizzles, but not too much. No mid scoop here. Plenty of volume available, unity is around 9:00 or 10:00. One of the things I like about Vero is it allows me to use oversized components like that turquoise 47nF film cap and the humongous 470uF electrolytic. I stamped "R2-D2" on the big washer around the stomp switch, but the paint mostly filled it in. I'm open to suggestions on how to improve the contrast on the lettering.
