X FUZZ

bluebunny · June 13, 2014, 07:54:30 AM

Quote from: deadastronaut on June 13, 2014, 07:11:05 AM
open to opinions on hiss taming?

Yeah, stick one of these in each ear.

deadastronaut · June 13, 2014, 08:05:18 AM

i tried that, but i keep getting crows attacking my head,,,

been trying the bilateral leds with a 680k across them, pretty good, cleans up nicely too and the synthy is still very much there too....

so i may actually go with this myself...all other parts the same as my last post..

seems quieter anyway...

karbomusic · June 13, 2014, 08:22:38 AM

Quote from: deadastronaut on June 13, 2014, 08:05:18 AM
i tried that, but i keep getting crows attacking my head,,,

been trying the bilateral leds with a 680k across them, pretty good, cleans up nicely too and the synthy is still very much there too....

so i may actually go with this myself...all other parts the same as my last post..

seems quieter anyway...

Might try that. The hiss I mentioned is coming from that part of the circuit and that is the cap (the one by the LEDs) I removed as a test that drastically reduced it.

deadastronaut · June 13, 2014, 08:36:31 AM

weird...it should reduce it..

karbomusic · June 13, 2014, 09:04:03 AM

Quote from: deadastronaut on June 13, 2014, 08:36:31 AM
weird...it should reduce it..

Yea, I tried several cap types last night, same issue. To be clear, I'd expect a good amount of hiss for this much gain but its unbearable and beyond what I'd expect and more than I could stand for a live gig so I have to do something to calm it. I didn't notice a huge sonic difference by removing that cap (other than the hiss being much reduced) other than when I used larger and larger values it started shaving off high end. Not knowing it's true purpose I'm assuming it needs to be there (oh wait you said should reduce it)? Without that cap, the hiss that remains is exactly what I would expect with that type circuit.

Just to add, this unexpected hiss gets worse as either the gain or guitar pot hits zero. It's bad already but once it goes to zero, there is that little extra few dB of hiss that I noticed. I may record it if anyone is interested. I want to build this baby, but need to make sure I understand this piece first.

WhiskeyMadeMeDoIt · June 13, 2014, 09:56:00 AM

Rob I have built my PCB layout to verify it and I here is what I have noticed. The synth is much more pronounced now. The bias knob goes from splat to synth to overdrive. The clipper switch I posted really makes a very subtle change. It isn't as dramatic as I wanted. I went back and started playing with the caps and decided the major sound changes between the xrock and XFuzz is in the caps at the input and after the first stage. I have worked out a switching arrangement so the caps and the diodes can be switched with a 3pdt. I will post an update when I get off work. I mention this because you stated you wanted to switch your caps.

WhiskeyMadeMeDoIt · June 15, 2014, 01:18:54 AM

You can use three individual switches or just one 3pdt to switch between the XROCK and XFUZZ settings. Separate switches will give you more variety. You can safely ignore the rest of the schematic if you don't want to build the extra buffer, tone stack and dual output section.

monksanto · June 15, 2014, 05:10:15 AM

Wow thanks WhiskeyMadeMeDoIt! This is a really gnarly fuzz!

deadastronaut · June 15, 2014, 05:14:35 AM

Nice one whiskey, hows the noise/hiss?

karbomusic · June 15, 2014, 09:52:09 AM

Quote from: deadastronaut on June 15, 2014, 05:14:35 AM
Nice one whiskey, hows the noise/hiss?

I wanted to follow up. On hunch and following the most logical idea that made the most sense, I assumed the hiss must be a product of the breadboarding etc. So... I did a quick 20x12 vero layout yesterday and formally soldered it up. Hiss gone and this thing sounds absolutely fabulous.

She's going in a 1590B in the next few hours!

There may be a tiny mod there or so such as a 2n3904 for Q1 but otherwise it should be pretty much the exact same circuit. I'm going to make here a 4 knobber.

deadastronaut · June 15, 2014, 11:40:04 AM

Cool, great news....

WhiskeyMadeMeDoIt · June 15, 2014, 01:31:38 PM

I have very little hiss on mine. I am finalizing my PCB layout now with wider traces. The first version I built is quiet for such a high gain pedal. I still haven't boxed it up. It's too much fun

. I love this thing when fed into a nice chorus. Wow it sounds great.
With the schematic I posted you have a huge tonal palette to choose from. Lite fuzz , thick gating ,synthy grit, smooth distortion , dark gritty fuzz... Dial the tone to the high end and cut presence to the bottom and it sounds like it's playing from an old am radio in the distance. But a power chord and crank the presence up and it's in your face. When I get some time off I will post a demo. Working way to many hours lately. Btw Happy Fathers Day guys !!!!

WhiskeyMadeMeDoIt · June 15, 2014, 01:44:52 PM

Just a quick shot to show you what I have been talking about. This is my layout for the schematic above. That is a 1590b for size reference. Excuse the mess

WhiskeyMadeMeDoIt · June 15, 2014, 02:29:35 PM

https://soundcloud.com/whiskey-mademedoit/xfuzz-with-chorus-quick-and-dirty-loop/s-1W8BX

Ok I knocked out a very quick demo of the xfuzz through a chorus. its not great playing but that is as good as it gets with my time constraint... and the fact I suck at guitar

. No EQ or edits just a quick drum I made with Figure on my phone and looped over it with two guitar parts. Later I will post some sound samples of the Xfuzz/Rock with all the crazy sounds you can get from this thing. BTW I'm calling my pedal the CrossFire Fuzz. Thanks Duck_Arse for the great name. Thanks Rob for the awesome design.

deadastronaut · June 15, 2014, 02:45:34 PM

looking good guys..

clear leds?...ive been using standard diffused red/yellow's...

looks like i'll just have to bite the bullet and knock up a quickie build to test properly...

won't be till tuesday though, i'm off to see the queen tomorrow,..long story..

WhiskeyMadeMeDoIt · June 15, 2014, 02:56:52 PM

You can't say something like "I'm off to see the Queen" and not elaborate

The LEDs where from a bulk buy. I went to Texas to visit family and we built it with the parts he had (which were opaque ) and there wasn't much difference. Like I have said before without the cap changes I get very similar sounds from the LEDs. It is very subtle difference of symmetric vs asymmetric clipping. With the right amp and tone it's noticeable but not always. If you go with a dual setup add the cap switch. Now tell us about this queen visit.

haveyouseenhim · June 15, 2014, 03:55:08 PM

Quote from: WhiskeyMadeMeDoIt on June 15, 2014, 02:56:52 PM
You can't say something like "I'm off to see the Queen" and not elaborate

He's going to be knighted for the amazing work he has accomplished in the stompbox world.

Or he has a plan to kill the queen and use her blood in capacitors to obtain that certain sound he's been looking for. Hmm, I wonder If the NSA cares about the queen....

deadastronaut · June 15, 2014, 04:12:29 PM

sir rob..

hmmmm kinda has a ring to it..

karbomusic · June 15, 2014, 05:01:07 PM

And another big thank you. This is strictly for my pedal board (hope it was ok to munge the name a little - was supposed to read space rock xfuzz but its a box in a day so...) and your moniker is on the bottom plate with full credit. I hope to go back and get it on the front but was in a hurry today because it's going with me to rehearsal in a couple hours. Anyway, thought I'd post the semi-final right as I was testing it:

deadastronaut · June 15, 2014, 05:08:17 PM

cheers, looks great man...

should settle on my box design soon..ish.. i need bredaboard space for other mad stuff..

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