DEMO [Vero] Univox Superfuzz - altoids

[owlexifry]

whilst in the middle of building x3 ppcb boards, i was watching/listening to a demo, and became fully compelled to build a superfuzz. that was it, i dropped everything, pulled up a univox superfuzz layout and started chopping up a vero board.

i never intended to build this in an altoids tin. i just wanted to build a superfuzz, but i wasn't sure if i would like it and i didn't wanna waste a hammond enclosure.
started marking up a nifty cardboard-based solution, but then lost all interest and went to bed.
next day i was rummaging around for something else to use, and then i was like lol i wonder if the board would even fit inside an altoids tin....
then it actually happened, and i can’t believe it worked out.



16 mm pots weren't going to fit.
left trimpot - expander (gain/fuzz)
right trimpot - balance (volume)



selected the lowest gain 2N3904 transistors i could find in my stash (155-220 hfe) and a matched pair for Q4 & Q5 (for best octave effect apparently?) and 4148 diode clippers.

here's a quick demo

I LOVE IT! hot damn. what a sound.
this the first time fuzz has given me a boner



what other octave fuzz circuits should i try?

 

[JamieJ]

That’s awesome. Love the trim pots instead of wasting space with a pot.

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

That's awesome!

Fuzzy fox is my favorite octave fuzz right now but brassmasters like the madbean boom boom are also excellent.
There are also a few escobedo octavers like the moonn octomix that don't suck. They're quite a bit smaller and are likely more vero-altoid friendly.

 

[owlexifry]

That’s awesome. Love the trim pots instead of wasting space with a pot.

cheers
pots would have been cool, kinda miss having knobs, but it seems to be a set and forget kind of thing anyway.

That's awesome!

Fuzzy fox is my favorite octave fuzz right now but brassmasters like the madbean boom boom are also excellent.
There are also a few escobedo octavers like the moonn octomix that don't suck. They're quite a bit smaller and are likely more vero-altoid friendly.

thanks for the tips! i’ll have to check these out.
not too concerned about size, tbh i never really planned on doing the altoids thing, it’s been done.. but i didn’t have anything else for this superfuzz build, so i had a go and tried to squeeze it in

 

[The Gator]

This is crazy! You are a wild man!
I wanna see you plug it in and play through the Alto-Super-Fuzz!!!

 

[owlexifry]

This is crazy! You are a wild man!
I wanna see you plug it in and play through the Alto-Super-Fuzz!!!

says the guy thats just built the coolest 125B superfuzz clone ive ever seen!
haha this altoids thing was certainly a hair-raiser. i don’t think it would’ve been possible if i didn’t have those lumberg style jacks from tayda (which so far seem to be pretty sturdy..)

also to update, did some silly things with a white paint pen today.
i kinda just wanted to add some colour to the trimpots so i could actually see where the controls are set.
then i got carried away and this happened.

 

[kristopher]

Excellent work. I can’t recommend another octave fuzz. I only know the superfuzz and the fuzzyfoxx. But a cool mod to the super fuzz is to replace the mid switch with a pot. So instead of scooped or not, you can find a few spots in between.
Anyway. Great tiny build.

 

[Paradox916]

I’m so conflicted, I love and hate it at the same time… how can something so offensive to my OCD need for neat and tidy aesthetic sound so good! It sounds great!

 

[owlexifry]

replace the mid switch with a pot. So instead of scooped or not, you can find a few spots in between.

hell yeah, that’s the one i wanna try. might have to do it a second build someday.
cheers!

I’m so conflicted, I love and hate it at the same time… how can something so offensive to my OCD need for neat and tidy aesthetic sound so good! It sounds great!

haha you made a similar comment about my tagboard CE-2 build.
i guess the answer is lead dress and star ground?
hardware placement was pretty much forced to wherever anything would fit.

but yep like everything i build it looks like a rough sloppy hunk of shit, and that’s ok, you heard the demo - it rips.

 

[Paradox916]

there is a lot of stuff crammed in that little can, I’m impressed by how quiet it is.. you got chops for sure! And you really know how to dial in high gain tones

 

[owlexifry]

there is a lot of stuff crammed in that little can, I’m impressed by how quiet it is.. you got chops for sure! And you really know how to dial in high gain tones

ay thanks! i didn’t really expect to like this fuzz, cos i’m normally into the tight high gain chug flavour, but this thing is just wild for dooming out.
tried a rat once - wasn’t anywhere near as fun or exciting as this superfuzz.