Complementary pair bjt circuits: enlightenment experience

[tca]

Hi, for the last months or so I've been furiously breadboarding a lot of circuits looking for a real implementation of the sounds that I have in my mind, hard to describe the feeling of this quest. Some of them sounded good, others not so good. Recently I had two enlightenment experiences, really opened a door to other dimension! The circuits that were responsible for this are: 1) Tube sound overdrive by Arsenio Novo 2) Harmonic Jerkulator (thanks Mark for your entry on the Harmonic Percolator) by Tim Escobedo.

I'm sure you all had a similar experience with some circuits, one can not stop playing guitar with them. In the case of these circuits there is a common ground to  both of them, they use a complementary (almost) pair of BJT devices. So I'm guessing my brain likes this type of topologies! My question is: are there other circuits with this topology that I should try? What are your favorite?

Cheers.

[tca]

There got to be something using a PNP and a NPN BJT. Is the design with this kind of topology rare? There is also Escobedo's Triple Fuzz.
(aka "non-selective frequency tripler" ="the PNP/NPN transistor network").

P.S.
Found some more, they are starting to pop:

- LovePedal - Karl Fuzz
- Tone God - Finish Line
- Simple Wave Folder with a ref. (looking for it)
-  ZVEX Machine (it is not crossover distortion).

[WaveshapeIllusions]

The machine doesn't use crossover distortion? What does it use to distort? Just clipping?

[Earthscum]

I'm stuck in mobile hell, but if you happen to have an SCR handy, search here for my "Scrynth" circuit. I think PRR had given a good explanation of the input impedance and gain of the pair in that thread. I found using a jfet buffer with a 33k source resistor gave more stable gain guitar to guitar, but still kept the filtering effect of the low input impedance of the comp pair.


I'm gonna try and explain one that I made I called the "F**k U Fred" that I havent posted. Basically, 500k "pre" pot, wiper to a jfet amp (tillman, fetzer... It's your pedal) going to a lowpass t-filter (22k, .01u cap to ground, 22k) to a comp pair, i used feedback clippers, like a Big Muff (ac coupled) in the pair, but it's always fun to experiment with or without. That feeds a BC109 set up as a 10x gain with 10k/1k resistors, and biased at 1/2 V+. I only used the BC for the tinny metallic overtone it gives when driven hard, or fed an extreme amount of harmonics. There is easily enough gain to put a tone control at the end, like a heavily notched BMP.  (CHUNK CHUNK!)  ;-)


Jimmy did a Stupid Pedal Tricks with a dual comp pair that you might want to run down and check out, or msg him if you can't find it.  I love bjt comp pairs... Easy, and forgiving... And they self bias, lol.

[Earthscum]

Mobile hell double post (lol, posted and logged me out).

[tca]

The machine doesn't use crossover distortion? What does it use to distort? Just clipping?

Apart from the clipping/distortion from the two BS170 boosters, I think that the complementary pairs found on the circuit are frequency triplers. Any thoughts on this?

Cheers.

P.S. (edit)

This is a typical figure of a Lockhart frequency tripler.