One knob fuzz tweaking

[AM]

Hi,
I wanted some fuzz sounds for an upcoming recording project so I revisited my Colorsound One knob fuzz built.

http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/DRAGONFLY-LAYOUTS_0/album18/album144/COLORSOUND_ONE_KNOB_FUZZ_001.jpg.html

I've built mine using an 82 ohm resistor instead of the 820 ohm. I noticed that I like the sound more with a starving battery than with a fresh one. I prefer powering my pedals through my power supply though so I started experimenting with placing different resistor values between 9V+ and the 100uF cap. With a value of around 2k I get a smoother sound and somewhat a better fading of the notes if I hold a note and turn down the guitar's volume knob.
Am I on the right track with the way I'm going around it or not? Would I get the same results if I would increase the 820 ohm resistor at Andy's layout (82 ohm in my built) ? I remember when I was building the circuit and experimenting with that resistor the only difference I could hear between 82 and 820 ohm was at the output level. The character of the fuzz was more or less the same. Thanks for reading. Please chime in.

[joegagan]

you are doing the right thing. where you describe playing with resistor values is exactly where people put a "starve" or 'sag' control.

personally, i prefer a 50k pot where people normally recommend a 5k or 10k. the 50k gives greater control when a heavy boost/dist/fuzz/allofthe above is put ahead of the sagged fuzz. this is a whole other sound unto itself, and is worth exploring IMO

[AM]

Thanks Joe. You actually inspired me to take the whole idea a step further. I have dawn a rough sketch based on Andy's layout applying the "starve" control pot idea. Could you please tell me if I have wired the pot correctly?

http://cid-90562a4f99e2b9cc.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!90562A4F99E2B9CC!127/?ViewType=4

I've seen a similar attempt here:

http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/album03/DS_3.jpg.html

There is a 5k resistor between 9v+ and lug 3 of the "starve" control pot.
Why is that? Is it better to add that 5k resistor in my built or should I just use the pot?

Thanks

[joegagan]

not sure what andy was going for with the 5k in series, haven't tried that.

if i were you i would try it both ways.

you diagram looks correct, however not sure of the ramifications of pre or post 100uf to ground.

[AM]

Report:
I am done with rebuilding my circuit. I used the components of my old stripboard but resoldered them on a new board. I added some parts to the circuit to protect it from RF interference and wired a 10k pot for the voltage control. I have changed the layout some to accomodate the new components.
The circuit gives a wider palette of sounds now. It's not an "one knob fuzz" anymore. It's a "two knob fuzz" at present and a "three knob fuzz" wannabe. Please read on:
I read somewhere that the new reissued fuzzes by colorsound have an 100k trim pot to control the mix of dry and fuzzed signal. I wouldn't mind adding something like this or a gain control. A simple gain control would actually be very cool. Is there a way to do it?

[PurpleStrat]

A simple gain control would actually be very cool. Is there a way to do it?

Replace the 1K resistor with a pot.  It starts to thin out and become more of an octave fuzz above 1K. I actually use a 1.8K.

[AM]

I found another way to add a gain pot. So far so good. I'll play with it for a day to see whether I like the results or not. I removed the "starve" pot because I ended up  getting the tones I liked without it and by just changing some resistor values elsewhere. Man, this is turning to be real fun!