owlexifry
Well-known member
- Build Rating
i had a vero layout for this printed and sitting in a folder for a while, but wasn’t sure when/if i was really gonna build it.
so when PHB2025 got launched, i guess it was the push that got this build to happen sooner than i had planned.
fortunately i had already ordered some 2N3903 transistors from mouser last year, so i started off by breadboarding it first, as i wanted to make sure its something i’d actually like.
i was pleasantly surprised at how much more i enjoyed this than the Ge NPN ToneBender MkII i breadboarded previously.
heaps more bottom end than MkII.
and a unique crunch.
yep, this was getting built.
the enormous yellow thing was picked from a salvage bag of stuff pulled from modding my 2204. i needed a 2n2 and i ruined my last box cap when i put it in the wrong position and then was unable to use it (#justverothings) so that was the perfect excuse to use this ridiculous high voltage ceramic i found.
vero layout is fairly compact so i was keen to use this 1590B winked silver that im not really sure what i had ordered it for.
after i built this black ash, i started breadboarding a big muff (rams head 74) and did a comparison between the two, with both the jackson in drop C, and goldtop in drop G.
in drop C i liked the big muff more, the distortion sounded more aggressive and beastly, but in drop G the black ash became a different monster. an enormous thunderous crunch that made the big muff seem comparably weaker. uncanny.
so that was fun.
highly recommend. if you haven't already, go get a Carbon Black Fuzz board.
here’s a demo with my goldtop tuned to drop G.
(i finally got around to it a couple months ago, installed a set of 46-10s + 70 gauge (drop the 10), and it seemed to balance out nicely)
so when PHB2025 got launched, i guess it was the push that got this build to happen sooner than i had planned.
fortunately i had already ordered some 2N3903 transistors from mouser last year, so i started off by breadboarding it first, as i wanted to make sure its something i’d actually like.
i was pleasantly surprised at how much more i enjoyed this than the Ge NPN ToneBender MkII i breadboarded previously.
heaps more bottom end than MkII.
and a unique crunch.
yep, this was getting built.
the enormous yellow thing was picked from a salvage bag of stuff pulled from modding my 2204. i needed a 2n2 and i ruined my last box cap when i put it in the wrong position and then was unable to use it (#justverothings) so that was the perfect excuse to use this ridiculous high voltage ceramic i found.
vero layout is fairly compact so i was keen to use this 1590B winked silver that im not really sure what i had ordered it for.
after i built this black ash, i started breadboarding a big muff (rams head 74) and did a comparison between the two, with both the jackson in drop C, and goldtop in drop G.
in drop C i liked the big muff more, the distortion sounded more aggressive and beastly, but in drop G the black ash became a different monster. an enormous thunderous crunch that made the big muff seem comparably weaker. uncanny.
so that was fun.
highly recommend. if you haven't already, go get a Carbon Black Fuzz board.
here’s a demo with my goldtop tuned to drop G.
(i finally got around to it a couple months ago, installed a set of 46-10s + 70 gauge (drop the 10), and it seemed to balance out nicely)
(about on par with my swollen pickle build, loudest big muff variant ive tried so far)
wasn’t done quite as loud as i wanted to, cos unfortunately there was still a bit of acoustic string noise getting into the mic.
(hand drilled)