"Fuzz Centrals" YJM308 sounds "Killer" !

[MartyMart]

I wasn't expecting too much of this, as its almost a Dist+/DOD250...
But this thing ROCKS !!
Its VERY loud, not noisey at all unless its "flat out" gain, you get fantastic articulation of "harmonics" - "wolftones" and it retains the guitar's tone very well ---  I"M IMPRESSED !!!
It will also "clean up" quite well for "on the edge" of distortion tones.
The only "mod" was a 0.068uf input cap rather than a 0.001uf for a little
bit more low end ( no mud though! )
and I used a pair of 1N4148 diodes/RC4559P op-amp

Big thanks to Phillip for drawing it out and Torchy for the stripboard version.

Marty.

[snorky]

Interesting.  Just bought a YJM strat and the pickups sound great, but they're a little bit low on output.  I'm going to have to try this one.

- Mark

[MartyMart]

Interesting.  Just bought a YJM strat and the pickups sound great, but they're a little bit low on output.  I'm going to have to try this one.

- Mark

RE: Pickups, I spoke to "Charlie Chandler" about this recently, he's one of the best "guitar setup" GURU's in the UK.
I was asking about having "hi gain" pickups in my strat ( texas specials or bare knuckles etc )
His opinion was that the "strat" was never meant to have that kind of pickup in it and that it changes the "voice" or "sound" of a strat when you use them.
For instance SRV never had "hi-gain" pickups in his "Number One" strat

He advised me to do something different ( and save some money! in the process! ) and fit a "Callaham" vintage trem block on it.
It weights a ton and is made from dropped steel, its caused a volume increase from more "resonance" in the body of the guitar !! sounds FAB!
Accousticly the strat is louder and theres more "volume" hitting the pickups, due to the better resonance ....
I was sceptical about this but IT WORKS !

Just a thought ?  

EDIT:  I was just comparing the YJM308 to  few "High Gainers" its a least
twice as loud as my "Guv'nor" and considerably more output than my "BSIAB II"   !!!
It can "kick" my valve amps hard, even on "cleaner settings !  Recommended totally

Marty.

[bwanasonic]

RE: Pickups, I spoke to "Charlie Chandler" about this recently, he's one of the best "guitar setup" GURU's in the UK.
I was asking about having "hi gain" pickups in my strat ( texas specials or bare knuckles etc )
His opinion was that the "strat" was never meant to have that kind of pickup in it and that it changes the "voice" or "sound" of a strat when you use them.
For instance SRV never had "hi-gain" pickups in his "Number One" strat

I agree with this 100% I detest the sound of hi output pickups in general, and specifically in a strat. I know people who can get good sounds with hot pickups, but they tend to be *straight to the amp* guys who rarely, if ever play with a really clean sounds. I really wish Callaham made a block that worked with my Am. Dlx. Strat. I like the snap in trem arm, and have no desire to change over to a screw in arm. I'm leaning towards getting the Callaham tele bridge assembly for my Fernandes Tele.

Kerry M

[petemoore]

I decided to build this one//
 Fired right Up.
 I need some .001uf and 47pf or so caps..
 That input cap value is also quite teeny in comparison, The Rangemaster at .0047uf is often judged as too trebly...It's socketted.

[Clipped]

RE: Pickups, I spoke to "Charlie Chandler" about this recently, he's one of the best "guitar setup" GURU's in the UK.
I was asking about having "hi gain" pickups in my strat ( texas specials or bare knuckles etc )
His opinion was that the "strat" was never meant to have that kind of pickup in it and that it changes the "voice" or "sound" of a strat when you use them.
For instance SRV never had "hi-gain" pickups in his "Number One" strat

I agree with this 100% I detest the sound of hi output pickups in general, and specifically in a strat. I know people who can get good sounds with hot pickups, but they tend to be *straight to the amp* guys who rarely, if ever play with a really clean sounds. I really wish Callaham made a block that worked with my Am. Dlx. Strat. I like the snap in trem arm, and have no desire to change over to a screw in arm. I'm leaning towards getting the Callaham tele bridge assembly for my Fernandes Tele.

Kerry M

http://www.tonequest.com/pdf_pubs/samples/TQRDiaz.pdf

In this article with Cesar Diaz, he says basically the same thing about Hendrix. He liked the 70's Strats because they sounded better to him. Diaz credits this to the large headstock for better sustain and the fact that the pickups were pretty low output, which he say's made the fuzz work better.

Good article...They also have one for viewing on Analog Man..

Ron

[NaBo]

Yep!  The YJM308 is quite the great little overdrive!  A completely different monster than the normal 250... I suggest it as often as possible.  If you wanna wank out, or just want a nice sharp overdrive with a very crisp attack, this one's for you.  I sound just like Yngwie with the bridge pu on my SG Deluxe (3 minibuckers)!  Glad to hear others love it as much as me!  When I start boxing things up this summer, this one will definitely be a permanent addition to my setup.

[dosmun]

Didn't Torchy have a layout for this?  If someone has it could they send me a copy.  I was sure I had it but can't find it.

[MartyMart]

Didn't Torchy have a layout for this?  If someone has it could they send me a copy.  I was sure I had it but can't find it.

You have an email ! :wink:

Marty.

[BD13UK]

I was about 20 when Hendrix came on the scene and in thoses days there wasn't any fancy high output pickups etc and I still believe that the best sounds came from standard pickups, you only have to listen to Hendrix or Claptons Les Paul on Fresh Cream to hear great sounds so I'd certainly agree with the theory of standard wound pickups though I'm not convinced about large headstock Strats sounding any better than the norm.

[petemoore]

YOUCh That is A KIller...
 I HAd to let a little more bass in the front though...probly put a switch on 2 incap values...
 Things got one serious grind going on in there. Nice grungy twang on bar chords, Lead Slicers Tool.

[NaBo]

Lead Slicers Tool.

isn't it?  

THE definitive shred pedal.  build it, learn a nice arpeggio or fifty, get more than 3 fingers tapping, melt some faces

[petemoore]

I put this one in a cut down RS aluminum box. The noise went down, by alot. Not often it happens so noticably.
 The treble clipping seemed different too, without the noise, or the box in some other way influenced the sound of the circuit board.
  I ended up with a 47pf on the opamp loop and two caps marked 1n, seriesed for the diode clipping HF Rolloff.
 It surprized me at the time, and I find it a bit hard to believe that boxing a circuit would make enough difference to notice, much less a somewhat profound difference I found myself analyzing closely to determine if I should trust that first impression...
 at any rate I re-tuned it for more high end than what it was on the testjig.

[MartyMart]

Pete- thats wierd !!
I've never "noticed" that happening, but perhaps it has....?
My YJM is boxed and I'm sure its exactly the same .
It wasn't just something "grounding" that shouldn't have in the box, causing the HF roll off ..... ?

Cheers,
Marty.

[petemoore]

Well it decidedly sounded different, but that's a human thing...with the ears and all..I'm not one to jump on, but the difference [tho not 'big'] jumped out at me...
 I wAs thinkin' besides the noise, which probably 'hashed up' the high end clipping a bit, there was a slight 'mellowing' of the circuit..probably just the noise floor dropping was it tho..

[NaBo]

I made a nice terrible sample of this circuit just for kicks...

http://www.geocities.com/nabotics/yjm308c.mp3

Recorded as such:

Shoddy memory of various Jason Becker parts -> Shoddy playing skills -> Gibson SG Deluxe, bridge pickup -> unboxed YJM308, off-board wiring with alligator clips (dimed) -> Ruby mini-amp (level and gain dimed, volume at ~10%) -> 4-12 -> terrible headset mic -> laptop sound card -> cool edit pro 2.0 noise reduction and chorus

If nothing else, it should give you an idea of what this thing is capable of... or what it can make you sound almost capable of

*Edit*  It seems the geocities bandwidth gets used up real fast...  anywhere better to upload sound files to?

[dosmun]

I got mine going finally tonight.  I have 1 problem though.  Mine squeals like a pig with the Volume maxed and the gain above 3/4.  Any ideas what might be the problem.

[Torchy]

Layout amended - thanks Dosmun  :wink:

[NaBo]

you get fantastic articulation of "harmonics" - "wolftones" and it retains the guitar's tone very well

this has been bothering me the last few days.  is that what "wolftones" are?  that term always confused me.  i heard a definition of it somewhere that went something like "some tones are louder compared to others"...  i guess i just wish someone would point to something and say "that is an example of wolftones!  right there!  "

[MartyMart]

you get fantastic articulation of "harmonics" - "wolftones" and it retains the guitar's tone very well

this has been bothering me the last few days.  is that what "wolftones" are?  that term always confused me.  i heard a definition of it somewhere that went something like "some tones are louder compared to others"...  i guess i just wish someone would point to something and say "that is an example of wolftones!  right there!  "

Its used in "rock" tracks a lot, where you pick a string and put your thumb out in front to get a "harmonic" at the same time, like an "overtone" - dont know where the term "wolftone" came from though !
They can exist on certain parts of the neck when using a hi-gain pedal/amp like the YJM308.

Marty. :twisted: