Info on building myself something like the Dunlop Joe Bonamassa Fuzz Face?

[Burstbucker]

Hi guys!   I haven't been here for quite a while but glad to see that it's still going strong.

I already have too many Fuzz Face pedals with a few good DIY ones that I built myself.  But I don't have enough common sense to say enough so.......

I was thinking that adding a Dunlop Joe Bonamassa Fuzz Face would offer something different but I don't want to shell out $200.00+  dollars for one.

Is there an accurate schematic floating around out there?   And what about those Russian low gain transistors?  Is it possible to get a pair of those or something really close to them?

Just getting the urge to built something again!

[Kevin Mitchell]

Time to kill...



I couldn't verify the input cap or the pots. I'm just going off of pictures from this link I'd be surprised if they weren't the same as the common values for those parts - being 1k fuzz, 500k level and the 2.2u input cap.

Can't tell you anything about the transistors either. But here's a good image

[Kevin Mitchell]

He must be smelling his music...


JK!  But this is an irrational reason for why I'm not into his music.

The guitar face.

You should build a clone and put that image on the box. I did something like that a while back.

[smallbearelec]

I don't want to shell out $200.00+  dollars for one...

Understandable!

What about those Russian low gain transistors?  Is it possible to get a pair of those?

One nice thing about many of those Russian parts is that they are consistent enough to allow us to sell them bulk.

http://www.smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/russian/

The GT308B is good, or try the GT404B for NPN. For what you would usually spend for a matched pair, you can have a small lot to mix-and-match on the breadboard. Happy Construction!

[thermionix]

...for why I'm not into his music.

I can't get into it either.  He does seem like a nice guy though.

I also can't tell what transistors those are.  I have some MP21As (low gain, Russian, same package) and I can't get them to sound good in a FF on the breadboard.  Just going by sound, I think maybe they have a high input capacitance, the tone is just too rounded off even with a small input cap.  Probably not the same transistors, but maybe one type to avoid.

[Burstbucker]

Ok guys, first of all, I want to thank everybody for chiming in!

And thanks for that clear picture of the PCB.  The transistor on the left is a stock item over at Small Bear Electronics.  BTW hello Steve!  I bought all of my parts from your store over the years and you are top notch!   I will definately shop there again....

[Kevin Mitchell]

When you google a schematic and see a drawing that looks like your own handwriting.....
Thanks 2018 Kevin!

Edit: Though there are errors 
Edit again: Fixed.
And fixed again - just learned these boards have some underside components.

[SatchmoeddieII]

I made a comment on Joe's Facebook page about how some vintage Gibson guitars are basically pigs to play, and that just because it's a 1958 or 1959 Les Paul does not make it into a magical musical instrument. I also added our family has been buying and selling used instruments for over 100 years, so at one time a 1959 burst was just another used guitar that was about as desirable as any other used Gibson Les Paul guitar. He actually replied to me and agreed that some of the vintage Gibsons are terrible to play and others are really super nice playing instruments. I even got to tour the Kalamazoo factory in 1977. We also went to CF Martin, Kaman (Ovation), Baldwin Gretsch (Brooklyn), Baldwin Piano, Steinway Piano, Magnavox Ampeg and both Guild factories on that trip. The California trips would be Fender, Music Man, Rickenbacker, Moserite, BC Rich, Thomas Organ, etc. It was pretty cool to get into the factories, and it was so much nicer than those awful NAMM shows. They used to have 1 NAMM show a year and it was in Chicago or NYC. MXR and Elector Harmonix were maybe 9 years old back then. Boss was a new offshoot of Roland, and Maxon was starting to make pedal stuff for Ibanez. There were Vox Wah pedals, Tel Ray, Shin Ei, and an awful lot of very cool one of kind custom stuff.