Astrotone / Sam Ash Fuzzz breadboard experiments

[bluesdevil]

Finally got off my butt and put this thing on the board. Settled on two big metal can 2n2219A's with 195 hfe. Omitted the weird tone control and replaced it with a toggle switch that parallels a .1uf on the .047uf ouput for some added bass, if needed. Also liked a 25k linear volume pot a whole lot!! The specified 10k makes the circuit way too bright. I tried a 50kL and really made the sound thicker, but felt too sluggish.... also made the switchable output cap thing practically unnoticeable. Maybe one of you smarter engineering guys could explain that strangeness.
   Well, the end result was definitely favorable with my changes. I would not call this circuit a "fuzz", though.
Has some high end fizz (due to silicon diode clippers) at gain full up, but maybe a trebley medium gain overdrive would describe it better. It really has some nice cleanish tones with the gain backed off and can clean up nicely with your guitar's volume. I really liked how your picking attack comes through on this one.... very different than my usual over the top "fuzz" builds. Geez, this sounds like a Harmony Central review, sorry. 
   Bottom line: omit the tone control as most recommend, but also worth experimenting with different volume pot/output cap. You could also try putting a small value cap parallel on the diodes to tame the highs even more, but that bit of sizzle is what makes it cool as well.

[DougH]

It's a cool little circuit.

I did a similar mod like you that allows the output to be fattened up. The tuning of the original tone control is useless IMO.

I experimented with this one a lot before I built it too, and found that it is what it is. Everything on it (diode choice etc) are tuned really well for the low amt of gain it has. It seems to fall right into a very narrow slot, as if you tweak too much one way or another it loses its charm. It's not a high gain monster but IMO still sounds like a fuzz because of the thickness and the mushy low end. One thing I found that helps is to use linear taper pots for the gain and volume controls. It's a psychological trick you play on yourself, but when you can dial up unity gain at 50% instead of 75% it makes it more "comfortable".