"LOFO MOFO" mods/changes help needed !!

[MartyMart]

OK, so I built "Dragonfly's" vero-board version and hated the sound ( it is meant to sound like cr*p  and I understand that )
So, rather than just rip all the components/pots/jacks off it, i decided to make it into a nice "Fuzz/distortion" circuit, here's what I have so far:

Input cap is now a 0.1 uf
Output cap is now a 1uf
AC shunting cap is now a 1uf
Transistor ( after loads of try's ) is now a BC547C

So, sounds quite good, a "Full" and "bright" distortion, rather than a "woolie-fuzz" I would say, which will "clean up" when the guitar vol is backed off.
Next, I wanted to make the 500k pot which is strapped around the schottky diode, do something as it does nothing now.
Here's where some help would be great, I've swopped the schottky for a 1N34A Ge diode, which goes to ground, how can a make the 500k pot shunt the signal through it, for "diode to ground" break up ?
Do I just need to reduce that pot to a 10k lin or something further within the circuit ?
Here's the original :     http://www.geocities.com/tpe123/folkurban/fuzz/snippets.html#lofomofo

Thanks for any input/ideas
Marty.

[brett]

Hi.

Next, I wanted to make the 500k pot which is strapped around the schottky diode, do something as it does nothing now.
Here's where some help would be great, I've swopped the schottky for a 1N34A Ge diode, which goes to ground, how can a make the 500k pot shunt the signal through it, for "diode to ground" break up ?
Do I just need to reduce that pot to a 10k lin or something further within the circuit ?

The good news is that the only reason that the 500k pot isn't working is that you're signal is too small for the Schottky to cause any clipping (or your 1n34 for that matter).  Doth diodes need at least 0.3 V input to clip, and without a booster, your guitar is probably only putting out about 0.1V.

But the solution is simple - the circuit boosts the signal heaps, so simply move the 500k pot and diode after the transistor and 0.1uF cap (which I think you said you changed to 1uF).  You might want to place a 1M resistor where the pot was.  Don't put a small pot there, as that'll lower your input impedence to 10k, which is not enough.

Hope that heps a bit.

[MartyMart]

Thanks Brett, I've tried that and just get a small volume loss when the 500k pot it at max along with a "slight" distortion tonal change.
Let me see if I got this right, I've linked off the 1uf cap that's after the tranny and right  before the link to the output pot.

Ive gone over to another small piece of vero-board :

Top rail is the connection from that 1uf cap and this links to the 3rd lug of the 500k pot.
Next rail is the diode  >l  to lug 2 of 500k pot
final rail is ground, connects diode and lug 1 of 500k pot ( also ground on the first board with small lead )

Have I got that correct ?
Thanks,
Marty.