Adding a tone control in a Fuzzrite

[warioblast]

Hi,
I built a fuzzrite last week and finally took the time this afternoon to mess with the resistors.
I put BC108C, and though it sounds good with 470K resistors between Qs collectors & 9V, I really like the sound I'm hearing with 150K resistors; a little more gain and a bit more trebly. But the 150k resistors makes the circuit noisier. 
So I was thinking I could try to put a tone control. Where exactly in the circuit am I supposed to put a tone control à la Big Muff ?
Cheers,
Fabrice

[Yun]

you could put a Big-Muff tone control right before the volume control.  works every time   

Though, this will reduce the volume a little, HOWEVER, the "trick" to this is to add a diode clipping circuit with 2 1n914's in series on each side.  Add the tone control, then make sure that your volume control is fairly high in value (500K to 1 Meg) . 

Hope that this helps, man....

[warioblast]

Yum, thx for giving me a hand.
Not sure if I understand the "trick"  Should the diode clippings be added to each side of the tone control circuit ?

[Yun]

i'll make a schematic for youse, man.

Just give me a sec.

[Yun]

her you go, my good man:

[warioblast]

Thx a lot.
I would never have come with that.

I quicky added a tone control (AMZ v.2) with tone and body controls this afternoon. I put the tone circuit between the original fuzz and volume pots.
I didn't use the same transistors and pots, I breadboarded parts I had laying aound, so I don't know if it will end with a volume drop, but it's definitely looks (should I say "sounds"  ) like what I'm after.

I'll try your schemo later this day, it's 00.21 AM here in France, I don't want to get in trouble with my neighbours 

[markm]

You guys will laugh I'm sure but, I added a tone control to one of my builds.
I copied the standard Telecaster tone control used by Fender for many moons.
It worked and served the purpose but, I suppose it would be considered a "hack"

[warioblast]

I tried your circuit Yum.
The fuzz pot have no effect when lug 2 is connected to ground. I wired it just before the volume pot, like the orignal fuzzrite.
The 0.1 cap before the volume pot cut too much the volume, I took it off.
I also replaced the 0.01 cap connected to lug 3 of the tone pot by a 1uF cap. With the 0.01 cap the sounds was too middy.
I realized the utility of the diode clipping. Without it, there's a volume indeed, when the tone pot is back-off in a bassy setting.
I have to keep on tweaking the circuit, but I want to thank you for putting me on the right track.
Cheers,
Fabrice

PS: the fuzzrite is a must build for any Stooges around here. I'm getting close to "I wanna be your dog" & "No fun" tones 

[Yun]

I tried your circuit Yum.
The fuzz pot have no effect when lug 2 is connected to ground. I wired it just before the volume pot, like the orignal fuzzrite.
The 0.1 cap before the volume pot cut too much the volume, I took it off.
I also replaced the 0.01 cap connected to lug 3 of the tone pot by a 1uF cap. With the 0.01 cap the sounds was too middy.
I realized the utility of the diode clipping. Without it, there's a volume indeed, when the tone pot is back-off in a bassy setting.
I have to keep on tweaking the circuit, but I want to thank you for putting me on the right track.
Cheers,
Fabrice

PS: the fuzzrite is a must build for any Stooges around here. I'm getting close to "I wanna be your dog" & "No fun" tones 

The lug 2 of the fuzz control shouldn't go DIRECTLY to ground, man.  Put a 33K resistor on lug 2, THEN ground the 33K resistor, man. 

[warioblast]

With or without the 33k, the fuzz pot when grounded had no or too little effect for me. I even tried other values.

[Mark Hammer]

The resemblances between the FuzzRite and the Shin-Ei FY-2 are striking.  In which case, what's good for the goose is probably good for the gander.  Try out the mid-scoop filter from the FY-2 on your Fuzz-rite and tell me what you think.

[Yun]

Really?  That would explain why i never get fuzz-rites to fuzz to the max, man  .  i allways grounded the 33K to ground....

Mr.Mark,  What is this mid-scoop that youse guys are allways talking about eh?  When i built my super-fuzz; i put a tone control in there,  This one demonstrated in this schematic that i made, as a matter o' fact, this exact tone control "type" :

[Yun]

You guys will laugh I'm sure but, I added a tone control to one of my builds.
I copied the standard Telecaster tone control used by Fender for many moons.
It worked and served the purpose but, I suppose it would be considered a "hack"

Hahaha, that's actually a GREAT idea, man!  Where did you put it in the circuit eh? 

I dunno about "hack", man.  Let's just give in and call it "Tele-mojo"     . 

[warioblast]

The resemblances between the FuzzRite and the Shin-Ei FY-2 are striking.  In which case, what's good for the goose is probably good for the gander.  Try out the mid-scoop filter from the FY-2 on your Fuzz-rite and tell me what you think.

I tried it this afternoon.
With standard fuzzrite pots values (350k & 33k) I have a volume that is slightly above unity gain. So when I added the mid-scoop filter I had a huge volume drop I couldn't compensate.
Right now, my breadboard looks like a fuzzrite with amz tone control (body v1.0) but with a 1M volume pot instead of the 33K... I'm still  tweaking 

Yum, I tried again to ground the lug 2 of the fuzz pot (with or without the 33k). Not only it has no effect, but the sound itself is less fuzzy and has more mids.

PS: Mark, what transistors (what gain) would you recommend for a FY-2 build ?

[Yun]

The resemblances between the FuzzRite and the Shin-Ei FY-2 are striking.  In which case, what's good for the goose is probably good for the gander.  Try out the mid-scoop filter from the FY-2 on your Fuzz-rite and tell me what you think.

I tried it this afternoon.
With standard fuzzrite pots values (350k & 33k) I have a volume that is slightly above unity gain. So when I added the mid-scoop filter I had a huge volume drop I couldn't compensate.
Right now, my breadboard looks like a fuzzrite with amz tone control (body v1.0) but with a 1M volume pot instead of the 33K... I'm still  tweaking 

Yum, I tried again to ground the lug 2 of the fuzz pot (with or without the 33k). Not only it has no effect, but the sound itself is less fuzzy and has more mids.

Well, i guess just jumper lug 2 and 3 together, then.  That should do it, man. 

keep in mind that the fuzz control should be 500K, as i'm not aware of a 350K that ever existed, dude....

[warioblast]

I've just found some other interesting leads. 
http://amps.zugster.net/articles/tone-stacks

[markm]

You guys will laugh I'm sure but, I added a tone control to one of my builds.
I copied the standard Telecaster tone control used by Fender for many moons.
It worked and served the purpose but, I suppose it would be considered a "hack"

Hahaha, that's actually a GREAT idea, man!  Where did you put it in the circuit eh? 

I dunno about "hack", man.  Let's just give in and call it "Tele-mojo"     . 

All I did was copy the tone control in the Tele.
It's a passive tone control hooked to the volume pot with a .047uF cap to ground.
It actually worked very well!

[Harry]

Man, Yun, man!





Is the Fuzzrite anything like the Maestro Fuzz-tone (<-- never could get to work)?

[Mark Hammer]

Up for some air for a moment.....(See OT)

That 350k pot in the schem just seems wrong, and is likely the cause of the huge volume drop, as well as a volume drop with a midscoop filter.  Try a 50k pot in its place.  Seriously.  All it's doing is mixing the relative levels of two transistor outputs, so the drop in pot value should not affect the functioning of the circuit itself, merely the resulting output level.  Betcha it gooses the level up enough to make inserting a midscoop filter worth your while.

Keep in mind that each leg of the 350k pot (assuming that IS the true value) is a resistance added in series with the input of the presumed 33k output pot.  Set the Fuzz pot to midway, and you have hypothetically 175k added in series to the 33k for each side of the Fuzz pot.  That is essentially a 208k pot turned down most of the way.  That just doesn't seem right at all.

The Shin-Ei FY-2 is a very similar circuit, and uses a 50k pot coming from the two transistor outputs, through a midscoop filter, to a 50k output pot, and it has tons of output level even with the scoop.

Try those substitutions and see what happens.

[Yun]

Man, Yun, man!





Is the Fuzzrite anything like the Maestro Fuzz-tone (<-- never could get to work)?

"man, yun, man"  <---- what was that about eh?

The maestro fuzz-Tone IS an "unforgiving" circuit, dude.  The transistors HAVE to be the EXACT original transistor, at least in my experience.