BuzzBox Build report + Photos

[MartyMart]

This was built about a week ago and is another little ROG "cracker" !
A very simple build, which only took 25 minutes to perf and wire up, so great for newbies/experts alike.
You can get a good range of distorted and '70's "Fuzz" tones from it and there is also a "synth like" sound on extreme settings when sliding between notes up the neck.
I added a "gain" pot at the front of the circuit so as to give me more control without just using the guitar volume pot.
Due to the "gated" nature of the circuit there is not much scope for quiet and gentle playing styles, but thats not the point of this effect at all !!
Full on "Nasty Fuzz" it what its all about NO ?
Big thanks to ROG/Christian for the idea and perf/schem layouts.
Here's the box, which is my first "successful paintjob"  !!  in metalic purple with "trick" blue LED  !

http://www.pbase.com/image/33911805
http://www.pbase.com/image/33911807
http://www.pbase.com/image/33911809

I could'nt get lettering onto the surface, in fact when i tried the "iron on" T shirt transfers, it just left a sticky mess and ruined the paint job !!
How can i get "pro" looking lettering on these things

Enjoy, and comments are most welcome !
Marty. ( stompboxaholic member )

[lightningfingers]

Hell, that finish is amazing, what paint did you use? It looks like my fuzzface.

I use letters made from cartridge paper and 3-4 cans of clear laquer, do it right it can look pretty good. Of course i'm a total cheapskate, so you might want to keep trying with that T shirt transfer...

Great stompbox :mrgreen:

[MartyMart]

Thanks !
Its rubbed down first with a "Metal" brush fitting on my Drill to get the oxidation off the Aluminium, then undercoated twice with normal metal primer (at least 24hrs later !). . . . . . .

Three coats of "PlastiKote" metalic purple spray paint ( Homebase ! )

Then 24hrs later two coats of "Colourful Arts Acrillic gloss lacquer"  spray from a craft/arts shop....... but  i still managed to scratch it quite easily !!
Quite a long process i think !
I'll try the "Car paint" and bake in the oven next time, but the fumes are going to be a problem !  Nasty stuff !!
Cheers,
Marty.

[Marcos - Munky]

Your build looks really beautiful. I liked it a lot.

[Samuel]

Heads up on the tshirt transfer - it's not a fan of paint between it and the metal - won't adhere, will turn into a mess, etc. try masking off the section you want to transfer to next time, so it's unpainted aluminum.

I have, however, had no problem using the transfer sheets with a hammond box pre-painted with black powder coat. (i.e. the ones you can buy already finished in black)

[MartyMart]

Thanks Marcos, i appreciate that, it took quite some effort !  

Thanks also for the information Samuel, where do you get the pre-painted Hammonds from ?  I've thought of getting mine powder coated at a local place, i have 8 aluminiums waiting for builds !
They were from SmallBear, the "Taiwan" versions and very cheap, good quality box's.
So transfers to "shiney" alu is no problem ?  just lacquer after eh ?
Nice !
Marty.

[Lonestarjohnny]

Marty, Great lookin Pedal, For lettering i've been having good luck with Water Slide's, the trick oh this stuff is to shoot some Bonding spray where your gonna stick it and then when it's dry shoot some bonding spray over it, then i finish it up with 3 or 4 more coats of clear Laquer paint, then a short bake at about 150 degrees in a toaster oven,
Johnny

[MartyMart]

Thanks Johnny,
With the waterslides, are thay pre-made letters or can you print to the blank surface with a computer, then apply your own designs ??
That would be great !
Cheers,
Marty.

[Samuel]

Marty - I think Hammond offers a number of their alu boxes with the powder coat - just look for the suffix -BK appended to the normal box name (e.g. 1590BBBK). I buy them at the local electronics shop, but I have to imagine they're available from the usual haunts. Steve SmallBear offers a pre-powdercoated version of his taiwanese boxes I think....

But yeah you should have much less difficulty transferring to bare aluminum than to something you've painted already...

[Samuel]

http://www.mouser.com/index.cfm?handler=displayproduct&lstdispproductid=270777&e_categoryid=394&e_pcodeid=54600

[GreenEye]

Nice.  I can't even pick out the right resistors from my parts box in 25 minutes.  Even my Bazz Fuss took me like an hour to solder the board.  Maybe it was because I used single sockets for almost every part, and used perfboard with no metal on it.  It's basically held together with the solder, cause the tips of the sockets aren't long enough to bend to "grasp."  

If I do the Buzz Box, I'm not socketing a damn thing.  

Tube Reamer this weekend - WOO HOO!!

[Ge_Whiz]

Marty, I've used that purple and also the green Plastikote paint - both look great.

If you hunt around Homebase near the Plastikote you'll find cans of spray-on 'stone effect' paint. Can't remember the name now but the sealant/lacquer spray that goes with it dries incredibly fast and is hard as nails. It works as a topcoat on the Plastikote.

[MartyMart]

Thanks Ge Whiz,
I'll use the green for my "808" clone next week !
Will have a look next time i feel the urge to "Homebase"  !!
all this spray can stuff is V expensive eh?
Cheers,
Marty.

[jmusser]

I built the Christian's Buzz Box about 2 weeks ago, and like it a lot. Christian said something on my "Two Fuzz Day" post about the IN34 diode being in the first stage instead of the second. I built mine to the schematic as is, and thought it sounded great. He said that it was originally supposed to be in the first stage, and was drawn in the wrong place on the schematic. I didn't socket a thing either!