Tonebender with Fuzz Face switch...

[tommycataus]

Hey guys, hope you are all doing well!

It's been a while since I've posted anything as most of my tools are in storage whilst I wait for my house to be built. However, I have been reading, breadboarding and making a list of projects to get stuck into once I have housed all the half-completed circuits that are packed away! I'm sure this must have been done before, but I'd really like to use up those old Ge transistors by building some Tone Bender clones for a few mates and though it would be neat to put in a switch to flip the first transistor out and get a Fuzz Face style sound out of it too. These don't sound 100% like the originals, but offer a nice variety of fuzzy options in one box

My question is, do you guys think my layout will work? It won't be verified by me until about August... I have it on the breadboard and it seems to work well, although when I cut straight to the Fuzz Face there is a lot of scratchiness that wasn't there before when I try to roll off the guitar's volume. I've narrowed this down to the 10K resistor to the power rail which is adding DC to the input. This is the reason for the DPDT switching configuration. I've also incorporated the voltage inverter circuit so this will run straight off an adaptor.

The other thing I was interested in was any mod suggestions. I'm thinking a voltage sag pot a la Beavis' DeVolt circuit to mix things up a bit. The 10K trimmer will make biasing Q3 easier I think, especially since no two Ge PNPs are ever the same! I'd just love to hear your thoughts guys. Thanks!

[italianguy63]

Looking fast, it looks right.  Should be good.

For a sag, add a 10K-B pot in series after the battery.  You will get "crackle OK" noise on it when you turn it.  I put a .1uF cap across the legs, and it helps quiet it down a bit.  You should be able to put a 10K trimmer in for the 8K2-- it will help with biasing.  You may even want a 15K as sometimes I have seen higher Hfe trannys need a bit more...

Edit-- I was looking at the schematic, not the vero.  See you got the trimmer, and the Sag pot would go behind the charge pump...

MC

[tommycataus]

Hi Mark, that was fast! Hope you are doing well mate and on the road to recovery. Yes that was the plan with the voltage sag although I really appreciate your insight as I've never put it into a circuit before - great tip about the cap!

Funny you mention the trimmer as the one I'm using on the bread board is 20K which seems to be working well with the particular Ge's I am testing presently. Glad you are still fuzzing, Thanks man

[italianguy63]

Hi Mark, that was fast! Hope you are doing well mate and on the road to recovery. Yes that was the plan with the voltage sag although I really appreciate your insight as I've never put it into a circuit before - great tip about the cap!

Funny you mention the trimmer as the one I'm using on the bread board is 20K which seems to be working well with the particular Ge's I am testing presently. Glad you are still fuzzing, Thanks man

No problem brother... thank you for the kind words.

Going through the "tough patch" right now.. only 4 days of treatment left.  Very sore and uncomfortable.  Don't want to eat..

Anyway.  When I have used some insane trannys before (NKT275),  I have seen my bias resistor get up to 33K.  95% of the time, the 10K will handle it.

MC

[tommycataus]

Good news mate, I'm sure you will pull through. Just hope your appetite gets better fast and that the discomfort subsides, keep well dude and thanks for all your insight I really appreciate it.

[duck_arse]

you can 'single pole' the ff/tb select if you connect the western end of the 100nF to common, and then n/c to the 10k//Q1-c, and the n/o to the 5uF//10nF at the input. it will prolly thump, and 100nF might be too woolly.

[Quackzed]

my favorite fuzz face mod is an input cap blend pot. a smaller input cap really tightens up the sound into the distortion zone without the woolyness , so with a cap blend pot you can really have it all... big fat wooly fuzz on one side through tight distortion tone with some bottom end right up to bright trebly fuzz at the other side. makes for a very versitile fuzz machine... as well as doing the cleanish treble boost tone with the fuzz low and the guitar volume rolled off...

you basically replace the input cap with this...

[tommycataus]

That's awesome, thanks guys! Great advice I really appreciate it.

[midwayfair]

Although you can bypass the first stage, switching it in doesn't make a fuzz face a tone bender ... The bossing on a tone bender is far different, and creates. Much more asymmetric and softer sound than a fuzz face. The collector of q2 should be lower than a fuzz face (about .2v), and q3 would have to be biased closer to 8v. This makes a big enough difference that it's worth just building two fuzzes if you want something accurate to a tone bender in your arsenal.

[Arcane Analog]

Although you can bypass the first stage, switching it in doesn't make a fuzz face a tone bender ... The bossing on a tone bender is far different, and creates. Much more asymmetric and softer sound than a fuzz face. The collector of q2 should be lower than a fuzz face (about .2v), and q3 would have to be biased closer to 8v. This makes a big enough difference that it's worth just building two fuzzes if you want something accurate to a tone bender in your arsenal.

100% Agreed.

[tommycataus]

Although you can bypass the first stage, switching it in doesn't make a fuzz face a tone bender ... The bossing on a tone bender is far different, and creates. Much more asymmetric and softer sound than a fuzz face. The collector of q2 should be lower than a fuzz face (about .2v), and q3 would have to be biased closer to 8v. This makes a big enough difference that it's worth just building two fuzzes if you want something accurate to a tone bender in your arsenal.

100% Agreed.

Thanks for the info guys, I've built a few fuzzes before including the Fuzz Face and have noticed by breadboarding it that the Fuzz Face option is milder in this circuit - the idea was mainly to get a nice range of fuzz tones in one box and re-educate myself at the same time, rather than accurately reproducing these effects. The title was mainly to describe the circuit rather than my expected outcome of it so I'm sorry for the confusion, but it's definitely worth mentioning that these are not likely to sound like the originals!

Thanks for all your input, I love how knowledgeable and helpful everyone is here!