Shatterbox Schematics

Jiberjew

Jiberjew

Member
Hey everyone! I'm looking to design a PCB for a shatterbox style pedal. I've been looking around for some ideas, but can only find PNP schematics, when I want to use NPN so I can use a power supply instead of a 9 volt battery. Has anyone stumbled across these? I want to get a Marc Bolan type of sound. I would build a Zonk Machine, but I like the boost that the shatterbox has. On another note, has anyone seen or built a Dallas Rangemaster? That would also be something I'd like to pair with the shatterbox. Thanks!!
 
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Big Monk said:
I don’t what Marc Bolan tones you’re after but it’s probably not going to need a fuzz.

Dirty amp with a Rangemaster maybe but nothing like a Shatterbox would have been involved.
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I'm looking for the tone he had on Electric Warrior. I'm sure a Rangemaster was there. I've read he used a shatterbox, not specifically on Electric Warrior though. I've never played one, so I'm unfamiliar with the tone's it produces. Thats why I would love to build one. And hey, If its not the tone I'm looking for, at. least I can add another fuzz pedal to my collection. And I don't see an issue with that haha!! I would love to get my hand on, or build a Rangemaster as well. But, that might be out of my league with price and building experience.
 
The Shatterbox is just a Zonk II and a HS Treble boost together. if you don't know how to convert a PNP schematic to NPN, you could build one to the schematic and use a charge pump to handle the power supply issue, or you could build an NPN fuzz face and an NPN rangemaster and just sub the relevant cap and resistor values to those of the Zonk II and HS Treble Boost.

the only T Rex songs I can think of at the moment with blatant Shatterbox usage are 'The Time of Love is Now,' 'Beltane Walk, 'Is it Love,' and *maybe* the very beginning of 'Diamond Meadows'
I haven't seen much to suggest that he used the fuzz side of it after that very much in the studio, nor does it sound like it to me. I've heard that he was a fan of stacking a rangemaster with the HS treble boost side of the shatterbox though-- I think maybe in a post from Tony Visconti on FB a few years ago. if you wanna go super accurate, the HS treble boost has a few cap value differences i think, and doesn't have a level pot on the output. Otherwise, you could try a germanium rangemaster and a silicon rangemaster, and have a go at stacking them.
 
Nostradoomus said:
Shatterbox is definitely more of a S/T T. Rex sound. It's cool but I don't think marc bolan when I hear one haha.

A rangemaster is probably one of the easiest things you can build, go for it!
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I’m definitely going to look more into a Rangemaster now. For some weird reason I was a little intimidated to attempt one, especially as an amateur pedal builder/designer. Still getting my feet wet here, but have been learning a lot here for sure.
 
Big Monk said:
Side note but since we are talking about T. Rex, with Electric Warrior as a specific album, Bolan would often overdub single note harmonica and mix it in with the guitar.

Some of the high end quality of his tone and the "honk" is that as well. Particularly Mambo Sun, Get it On and Motivator.

It's kind of like the cowbell in Don't Fear the Reaper: Once you hear it you can't unhear it.
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Interesting. I’ll have to listen for that a little closer. Maybe a Rangemaster and a lower wattage amp is what I’m looking for.
 
Big Monk said:
Side note but since we are talking about T. Rex, with Electric Warrior as a specific album, Bolan would often overdub single note harmonica and mix it in with the guitar.

Some of the high end quality of his tone and the "honk" is that as well. Particularly Mambo Sun, Get it On and Motivator.

It's kind of like the cowbell in Don't Fear the Reaper: Once you hear it you can't unhear it.
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Harmonica mixed in with the guitar?! I've never heard of such a thing, that's wild. I've always thought the guitar tones on that album were super interesting, and maybe that's part of why.

Jiberjew said:
For some weird reason I was a little intimidated to attempt one, especially as an amateur pedal builder/designer.
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Rangemasters are a great way to get started in pedal building!
 
In addition to the harmonic trick that @Big Monk mentioned, it’s also worth keeping in mind that there’s a buzziness from the cello lines from Tony Visconti’s string arrangements on, and, on Electric Warrior in particular, a certain grittiness to Ian McDonald’s sax parts. Both of these at times sit behind the guitar in the mix, making it so you hear them without immediately recognizing them as separate from the guitar.
 
Big Monk said:
For supposedly disposable trash music, I always thought that album had great musical arrangements.

Not to mention Flo and Eddie as well!

A true classic.

I still have my mother’s original vinyl records I listened to as a little boy:

View attachment 78718
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2 classics for sure. Even as Tyrannosaurus Rex Marc Bolan made great music. I was lucky enough to score both those albums, original pressing, from a record shop I used to work at. I’ve always tried to replicate the tones from Electric Warrior, with little success haha. But, I am a drummer by trade. Now that I’m a bit older, I’m really trying to dial in my guitar tones to specific artists. Marc Bolan always being one of my favorite.
 
iamjackslackof said:
Harmonica mixed in with the guitar?! I've never heard of such a thing, that's wild. I've always thought the guitar tones on that album were super interesting, and maybe that's part of why.


Rangemasters are a great way to get started in pedal building!
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Now that I look at the Rangemaster circuit, it is rather easy. I’ve got a couple PCB’s I’ve designed, and I think I’ll do a version of the Rangemaster for sure! I was intimidated by it for reasons unknown haha.
 
Big Monk said:
For supposedly disposable trash music, I always thought that album had great musical arrangements.

Not to mention Flo and Eddie as well!

A true classic.

I still have my mother’s original vinyl records I listened to as a little boy:

View attachment 78718
Click to expand...
100% agree. It’s some of the best pop-format rock of the era.

Bolan was the epitome cool
Visconti is one of the greatest rock arrangers and producers of all time
Flo and Eddie are incredible in every sense of the word
Ian McDonald, though only on a bit of the stuff, is maybe one of the most underrated sax players in rock (I mean… King Crimson, McDonald & Giles, Foreigner, T. rex, Steve Hackett…)

And some of my favorite 21st century artists cite T. Rex as an influence, and it shows. Those first few albums were absolute masterpieces, and even later stuff like Zinc Alloy, and Dandy in the Underworld are still some of the best glam pop records to date.
 
Regardless of what Bolan ran his guitar through, the following in response to the title of the thread regarding the Shatterbox schematic,
you could draw out the schematic from the following:



Hornby Skewes Shatterbox (NPN).png



Storyboardist's ETCH on the right (note the perf to left is -9v):
Hornby Skewes Shatterbox PERF = Pos-Gnd & etch Neg-Gnd.png

I drew up the PNP schematic from this layout at Solo Guitars for myself, it's for a replacement board they sell:

SHATTERBOX LAYOUT SOLOGUITARS SL-PC-SBOX-diagram-scaled.jpeg


So I figured I'd just swap 'round the caps and transistors to make it NPN:

SHATTERBOX JHS NPN schematic FFFX.png
I haven't compared my schematic to Rocket88's NPN vero nor to Storyboardist's etchable layout, but if you see any mistakes please let me know.


Not sure what transistors you'd want but something that matches the hFE of the PNP 2N4601 (datasheet says 90–330, but I think I read 110 is average). Anyway, try 2N3904 or something with lower hFE, read up on which position gets the more powerful transistor if any, or better yet just try stuff out and trust your own ears.
 
Feral Feline said:
Regardless of what Bolan ran his guitar through, the following in response to the title of the thread regarding the Shatterbox schematic,
you could draw out the schematic from the following:



View attachment 78746



Storyboardist's ETCH on the right (note the perf to left is -9v):
View attachment 78747

I drew up the PNP schematic from this layout at Solo Guitars for myself, it's for a replacement board they sell:

View attachment 78753


So I figured I'd just swap 'round the caps and transistors to make it NPN:

View attachment 78754
I haven't compared my schematic to Rocket88's NPN vero nor to Storyboardist's etchable layout, but if you see any mistakes please let me know.


Not sure what transistors you'd want but something that matches the hFE of the PNP 2N4601 (datasheet says 90–330, but I think I read 110 is average). Anyway, try 2N3904 or something with lower hFE, read up on which position gets the more powerful transistor if any, or better yet just try stuff out and trust your own ears.
Click to expand...
Awesome, this’ll help!
 
I'm late to the party again. I'm pretty sure that the 3.9K resistor should be in parallel to the 5K fuzz pot.
 
Stevew said:
I'm late to the party again. I'm pretty sure that the 3.9K resistor should be in parallel to the 5K fuzz pot.
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There are two 3k9 resistors 😜 ... well, in the SOLO GUITARS* version there are two.

*If you're referring to my schematic of the aforementioned Solo Guitars layout...
...electrically speaking, as far as the electrons are concerned, the 3k9 you mention, R5, indeed the one next to the B5k pot,
IS parallel to that pot-o-FUZZ. 😉
 
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