BUILD THE FUZZRITE.......

[brian wenz]

Hellooooo  out there--
      Anybody finish one yet??
Brian.

[Stuart]

I used the schematic here:
http://eu11.stripper.jp/pulcino/blog/archives/cat_mosrite_fuzzrite.html

Since there are clear pics of the board, it seems a bit more credible than the one that's been floating around the net for years.  It's not bad, and sounds authentic as-is, but the usual mods would probably help i.e. attention to  biasing & bigger caps.

[brian wenz]

Hello Stuart--
    Thanks!  I was looking at that schematic awhile back but it's a bit hard to read.  I'm curious to see if anybody has the same impression as I do about this circuit when it's properly biased for germ trannys  [LOTSA FUZZ!].
Brian.

[petemoore]

Classic Fuzz Sound...different, but quite similar to a FF, but I grabbed the 'lasts'...two of my NTE158's that I'd chosen not to use on previous builds, FireD RighT UP...
 Sounded real good, surprized me...Nice stable sounding GE Fuzz...very nice.
 Of course I .just' got it going, but has strong great fuzz sound, and...cleans up Very Well with the guitvol...[soon to be Abbr.'d to GV or Gui V]].
 47k's on the collectors from 9v biased her right down anything close to 1.2v worked fine. It seemed like there was a wider tolerance of Bias voltages than on a FF...this build seems it could be a good alternative to the FF...
 I used caps marked 332 [=.0033uf] for the two .002uf's, only the incap is socketted, but I could get to the others easy enough to revalue them.
 I did the whole thing on a piece of perf 12 x 10 holes small, I figured it should fit on a FF size piece, but this one has another cap or two...I would start with 10 x 15 holes or do a layout first...kinda got tight half way through.
 Any word on what gain transistors would do well in this one? Because Q1 and Q2 aren't in a FB loop [feedback loop], my feeling is that the Hfe's are less critical, or at least have different requirements than a FF.
 I didn't notice anything 'lil funny' like I do with Ge FF tweeking, this thing seemed to take off with 'its tone, quite good, didn't seem 'fringey, gatey, sputtery, or wooly.

[petemoore]

Also...how does your 'tone' knob work...the one between the collectors/caps? I used a 500k [forgot to put a 'trim resistor to get it around 350k]. it seems to work like a gain control/mix/volume control...ie all the way 'down' turns the effect all the way down.

[petemoore]

Boxed it up, tried a batch of Q's.
 I couldn't get the Q1 from Tonebender SB set to sound much..[didn't check voltages on it] but I tweeked the trimpot [47k] both ways.
 Tonebender Q3 [probably 173 hfe er so] and all the other transistors I tried worked well. I have an NTE158 Q1 and tested SB for Q2.
 More testing tomorrow...does sound real good on the test rig...
  I like the way the three knobs work [I'm counting the guitar vol as one].

[brian wenz]

Hello Hello--
  I've just about finished two versions.  The first one is according to the schematic at Fuzz Central.  This one is meant for silicon trannys [NPN].  I converted it to a PNP germ circuit and put in 10K collector resistors instead of the 470K.  It's pretty gain and fuzz heavy [maybe too much].
The second one is from the Japanese site and is meant to be a PNP germanium circuit . It took awhile to copy the schematic but I finally got it.  So far I haven't changed any resistor values but I'll probably "fine tune" the bias tomorrow.  Sounds pretty good....not as hot as the Fuzz Central circuit but close in sound.
 Yeah, the "tone" control is more like a "fuzz" or "gain" level and works the same on each version.  Hey, are you guys testing yours through a clean amp or dirty one??
Later-
Brian.

[petemoore]

I'm using my 'oL RCA Victor tube amp I pulled out of a console and re-output tubed, 'we A/B'd it with some amps and decided it's just about a Deluxe Reverb with no Reverb. Very close in sound/reaction to various input signals...can be 'clean'....

[doug deeper]

clones of these things never sound right....
they end up sounding really smooth...when they should
be super raspy...anyone want to retrace one of these guys??
doug

[brian wenz]

Hello Hello--
   Hi Doug!   Have you seen the schematic for the germanium Fuzzrite on that Japanese site??   The circuit is different then the one that's at Fuzz Central [and all the others, too.]   This seems to be a little "raspier" then the other ones.   Have you heard an original silicon and germ Fuzzrite?  What are the differences in sound [gain, fuzz, tone, etc.]??
Thanks--
Brian.

[nightingale]

brian~
i plan on building one in the next couple of nights.. gonna try the japanese  schematic.. i have a populated board of the old schemo hidden away in a box of "electric spiders" i might throw some germs in there.. i think all i have is a bunch on new NTE PNP's.. i also have a Gus's rite fuzz.. with some of your cap mods.. or Gez's.. i can't remember.. it was a year or so ago.. anyway, i got it to do smoe good octave up fuzz..  i think i just replaced the existing caps with .22uF's..  here's Gus' s orig. http://www.diystompboxes.com/pedals/gusRitefuzz.gif

being cursed with this obsession of fuzz! i am kind of curious about the new gretsch contro fuzz project at GGG..

another thing that has been lurking on my consious after looking at all the scematics of fuzz's i have built as the shin-e-companion fuzz... it is the only fuzz circuit i have not been able to get working..  and it looks interesting..

i'll let you know how my FUZZRITE expeirments go.. i think i did a couple gigs with the old SI version..  think i was playing an 67 basman at the time?

fuzz on,

[brian wenz]

Hello Hello-
   Ryan-- Yeah, the Japanese schematic sounds pretty good after the germs are biased up correctly  [I had to adjust the 100K and 47K on Q2's collector down to about  50K and 20K...].  If you can, build the "Fuzz Central" circuit with germs, too.  After I changed Q1 and Q2 collector resistors to around  15K or-so it sounded gainier then the Japanese germ.
Both sound good!
brian.

[Mark Hammer]

Yesterday, while absent-mindedly flipping through some schems on the elevator at work, I was stunned to find that the Shin-Ei FY-2 Companion fuzz was VERY much like the FuzzRite in its design (http://members.fortunecity.com/uzzfay/fy2/fy-2schem.html).  The major differences were:
- the presence of a passive notch filter between the fuzz and volume controls,
- the reversal of the wiper and one outside lug of the fuzz pot (I wired mine up like the Fuzz Rite and prefer it),
- and a few component value differences.

The FY-2 uses 2SC536 silicon transistors (likely the reason for the component value differences).  An extremely fat and delightfully rude fuzz.

The similarities suggest that:
1) A Fuzz Rite might sound nice with a switchable notch filter, and a Shin-Ei might sound nice without one.
2) It may be pissible to build a Fuzz Rite without germanium.
3) The Companion and Fuzz Rite can both be wired to have "reversed" fuzz pot connections

[brian wenz]

Hello Hello--
   At some point in time the original Fuzzrite was changed over to silicon, so maybe the Fuzz Central NPN schematic is the original si version.
Brian.

[petemoore]

Anybody else find the pretty strong Octave in there? {Boost the input]

[brian wenz]

Hello Hello--
   Hey Pete-- I can here a  hint of an octave in there somewhere!
 Ryan and everybody--  I'm gonna build the Shin Ei Companion Fuzz and see what happens.......real close to the Fuzzrite  circuit but using silicon trannys.
Brian.

[petemoore]

Must be a fluke...I'm getting Tycho sounding Green Ringer Type Octave, and Nice Splatte on multi note stuff.
 Maybe I happened on 'an exact Hfe Match or something. I've been playing it for days now, and with the 18 or Minibooster [MB is preferred] in front of the FuzzRite, pronounced Octave Occurs, and gets it quite low on the neck, actually all the way down, but under the A string fades to what I'd call a hint of Octave.