Foxx Tone Machine - Build report plus a few tweaks

[dmk]

Hi everyone,
I recently built my first pedal, the foxx tone machine on the GGG site. I've only messed about with modding bought pedals in the past, mainly just changing a few components here and there. So it was definatly a new challenge for me.
To make the pcb i used normal photo paper and just ironed it to death. seriously, it was starting to go brown. it came out pretty good really, with only 1 break in the tracks which was easily repairable. etched it and so on.
the only component subs i initially made was to use 2n2222a trannys instead of the 2n3565 listed in the BOM.
All the parts went in fine and i wired it up minus the switches and leds just for a test. nothing at first, but i'd wired the dc jack up wrong. once that was fixed it came to life. initially i was pretty happy with the sound. Added the switches, one for bypass and one for the octave. used 3pdt's for both.
After a bit more playing i found the output to be a bit low and didnt really like the mid scoop. So it was time to tweak. I work on the 'try this in there' method instead of a more educted 'knowing what i'm doing' method.
So, the low output. I jumpered over the resistor on the emittor of the last tranny. the really sorted the output out and boosted by about 10x. a bit too much maybe, but why not. To fix the mid scoop i jumpered across the 0.003uf cap in the tone section. maybe not the best of fixes, but it gave me the sound i wanted. the tone control now works more like a treble control. this also boosted the output, so i didnt really need the massive boost from the emitter/ resistor jumper, so that went.
I found overall the sound to be a bit muddy so i changed the input cap from a 0.1uf to a 0.01uf. This helped a lot and removed some of the woolyness. the downside was that with the octave engaged, it got really really sharp and nasty sounding. I used the spare lugs on the octave switches 3pdt so when the octave switch is on it changes the input cap to a 1uf. Perfect for my taste!
Overall i really happy with the results.
On to the next one!

Mark

[Bernardduur]

Great!

Another addition is an input buffer; mine became much more clear in the low sustain settings. Instead of a bassy mess it became a beautifull clear OD tone

[oldrocker]

Hey dmk,  Nice job in taking on modding and experimenting on your own.  The input buffer may have got you there but you obviously were happy with the results of your endeavor.  That's what DIYing is all about.  Sometimes the best way to learn is to tinker and tweak.  I find that when I'm modding or debugging a circuit is when I start to understand it more.  I've got a long way to go but I'll get there someday.  I've been thinking about the Foxx tone for some time now.  I'll try building it stock first and see if I like it or more important see if it fits another nitch in my sound arsenal.