Starboard

giovanni

Well-known member
Build Rating
5.00 star(s)
I built this pedal to test it out for my upcoming DIY pedal building workshop. I wanted a simple fuzz with only two knobs and easy to find transistors, so I landed on this one. I also decided to try Tayda's predrilled 1590B, which are cool, but in my opinion poorly thought out: the 3PDT switch could be much lower in the enclosure, allowing to move the jacks lower too and thus providing a lot more room for the PCB. As you can see, I had to bend the pot leads to make the PCB fit on top of the jacks, which feels a bit gross! :) On that note, I wonder if anybody had a drill template for the Tayda drill service that could be used for this (side mounted jacks are OK with me, since it's just for a workshop). Unfortunately Tayda does not provide pre-drilled 125B with only two knobs (@PedalPCB can we do anything about that?) which would be ideal for this workshop. I just don't want to have to drill 10 enclosures myself.

Anyways, the build went pretty smoothly and honestly I rushed it a bit because I just wanted to get it done (I did forget to clean the PCB with IPA), but it all worked out right off the bat. I did notice what others have: with volume dimed, the pedal barely gets to unity. The sound is interesting but I have definitely played and own much better fuzzes than this one. I do like the green knobs and LED tho!

IMG_0106.jpg
IMG_0107.jpg
 
the 3PDT switch could be much lower in the enclosure
It's probably set higher to accommodate a battery. Assuming so, adding a battery clip to your build wouldn't be a bad idea. Teaches people how to use the switched power jacks.
 
It's probably set higher to accommodate a battery. Assuming so, adding a battery clip to your build wouldn't be a bad idea. Teaches people how to use the switched power jacks.
That’s a good idea. From my last experience, we barely had time to box 2 out of 6 pedals in 3hrs and it was the Amentum which is much simpler!
 
Good job.

The Fuzzrite is on one of my bread boards now but I haven't hooked up the volume knob. IIRC it was pretty loud wired straight to output, which means it's a great candidate for a one knob fuzz.

I have to mess with the caps however because it's unbelievably bright and thin. I increased the input cap to 100n and even 1uF and the sound got a bit fatter but I think increasing the 22nF caps should give me what I need.

FIY I play a Strat with out of phase pickups so I have next to zero bass most of the time. I like the nasal sound and I'm a bass player too so I appreciate a guitarist who confines himself to the treble and lets the big boys do the heavy lifting.

Good luck with your workshop @giovanni - I wish I could go!
 
Back
Top