The Rusty Shovel. New fuzz circuit.

[KerryF]

Hey guys.  Last night I was bored so I decided on starting another pedal design (I like to do this when bored.  Its fun).  But it has been extremely hard to find new good ideas since so much has been taken already.  But there is a lot on this that hasnt been done (at least I think, or not all in this way). 

So anyway, today I decided to breadboard it and this time one of my designs actually worked!First it was giving a very low volume wierd Ring Modulator Octave harmonizing with the guitar's tone.  But there was no sustain or anything so I thought there had to be a problem (like a wrong biased JFET).  Well I was right.  The trimmer had come loose so the second JFET wasnt getting any voltage.  Well I got it biased right and now it works!  Its a great fuzz tone.  I have been experimenting a bit to get the sound going the best.  I fixed a few minor things to get it a little better.

I have done quite a few mods so far.  The pots are Drive and Saturation.  The switches are Sanity and Fuzzy Fuzz/Clean Fuzz.

I will post more information on what the switches do maybe tomarrow or the next day.  I need to finish the prototyping of this thing.  Once I am done, I will post the schematic for you all!

Kerry 

[Meanderthal]

 Great name!

[Alex C]

Yeah, the name sounds great.  If not a schematic, can you give us a quick description of the circuit?

[KerryF]

Thanks.  Heres a quick rundown of some info:

*A nice fuzz that can get small amounts of octave with some mods.
*Drive control- Controlsl the gain amount.
*Saturation control- Controls the gain from the diodes.
*Diode clippers- 2 Silicon (1N914/1N4148) and 2 Germanium (1N34/1N60) diodes clipping to ground.
+Twin JFET boost stages.
*Sanity switch- To switch the diode clippers on or off.  When on, the fuzz is normal, when off the fuzz becomes boosted and a bit harsher.
*Fuzzy Fuzz/Clean Fuzz switch- Switches between the normal 2 JFET fuzzier fuzz and the 2 JFET stages with a MOSFET stage which makes a cleaner fuzz which is cool sounding.

I have to test this on one of my other amps to see how it sounds.  And I still have to change some things to make it better, then I will post and see suggestions from you guys.

More info later.
Kerry

[KerryF]

I just realized that its basically 4 channels.  Different fuzzes are switched between by one switch, and the Sanity is switched with another switch.  Theres:
1. Fuzzy Fuzz- Standard (Sane)
2. Fuzzy Fuzz- Insane
3. Clean Fuzz (Overdrive)- Standard (Sane)
4. Clean Fuzz (Overdrive)- Insane

Soundclips of each (No other pedals.  No amp overdrive.  Solid State amp.  Nothing else added):
*Clean Amp Only: http://aronnelson.com/gallery/albums/album90/Clean_Amp_Only.mpg
*Clean Fuzz Sane (Notice the nice slight overdrive gain.  I turn the gain up halfway through the clip.): http://aronnelson.com/gallery/albums/album90/Clean_Fuzz_Sane.mpg
*Clean Fuzz Insane (Notice the crazy percussive beats everytime I hit a note.  Then when I do harmonics, theres a wierd helicopter effect): http://aronnelson.com/gallery/albums/album90/Clean_Fuzz_Insane.mpg
*Fuzzy Fuzz Sane (It sounds too harsh through my mic.  Its a lot smoother and nicer.): http://aronnelson.com/gallery/albums/album90/Fuzzy_Fuzz_Sane.mpg
*Fuzzy Fuzz Insane (I had to turn down the amp for this.  This boosts AT LEAST 10 times the volume and gives much more gain.  Working to get the sharp high pitch squeel away.): http://aronnelson.com/gallery/albums/album90/Fuzzy_Fuzz_Insane.mpg

I seriously have to final this thing on a perfboard or something.  Its really great.  Theres none of that squeel most fuzzes get except for on the Fuzzy Fuzz Insane, so far.

Tell me what you think!
Kerry

[KerryF]

No comments or anything?? 

[The Tone God]

The Tone God demands schematic!

Andrew

[Harry]

No comments or anything?? 

I think we are all speechless. 

[RedHouse]

No comments or anything?? 

It's hard to comment on a circuit you haven't posted yet 

[KerryF]

Thanks Harry. 

RedHouse- As of now I dont want to publicly post the schematic yet.  I am debating about it and I want to.  But we will see and eventually im sure I will.  Sorry, for now but I am thinking about it... 

[8mileshigh]

Sounds harsh to my ears and more like a distortion than a fuzz but it's got potential.  Keep at it and post the schematic if you get stuck, the guys here will have tons of great suggestions for ya.

Chris

[KerryF]

^-Yea.  Like I said, the sound clip makes it sound much harsher than it really is.  I keep going back to it and it doesnt sound that harsh at all.  But the Fuzz-Insane does sound harsh.  I will try to take a less harsh sound clip of the fuzz so you can see how it really sounds.

[RaceDriver205]

As of now I dont want to publicly post the schematic yet.  I am debating about it and I want to

Well to help you make up your mind, imagine if no one posted their stuff.
As for the fuzz, I can't tell the difference between any fuzzes so im not to judge! 

[KerryF]

^-Yea I know.  But think about if Zach Vex posted all his schematics as he designed them maybe before he became a big boutique pedal builder...  Then he would have nothing private for him to use and people would be able to easily find and use his designs against him.

Im not saying that I have the best circuit in the world here, at all, but I am young and want to in the future do something with electronics (hopefully stompboxes).  So some of my designs I would like to save for future improvement and stuff. 

[RedHouse]

^-Yea I know.  But think about if Zach Vex posted all his schematics as he designed them maybe before he became a big boutique pedal builder...  Then he would have nothing private for him to use and people would be able to easily find and use his designs against him.

Im not saying that I have the best circuit in the world here, at all, but I am young and want to in the future do something with electronics (hopefully stompboxes).  So some of my designs I would like to save for future improvement and stuff. 

I see what you mean.

After thinking about it, I can't recall over the years here seeing Zach Vex post any threads saying "hey everybody look at me, I've got this...but...ain't gonna show ya what I'm talking about".

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for people doing things themselves (I too build and sell pedals and amps) and I'm not criticizing you about your announcement, but it's just that this here is a DIY forum, a place people come to share ideas amoung our DIY community.

When you posted "No comments or anything??" surprised that very few had any comments, I think it's just that most folks (myself included) were waiting to see something to comment on. (Schem, pic, layout, breadboard on bench, your dog, your neighbors dog, anything relative to your new idea you are sharing)

Peace-out

[KerryF]

Yea see I made a thread because I was planning on posting the schematic and everything.  And I still might.  Just at the moment I am still thinking.  I will post back later with maybe some pictures and maybe the schematic

[KerryF]

Ok guys I decided I would post the schematic for yall  .

Hey.  Below is the schematic and Perfboard Layout for this pedal.  If you want the PCB and PnP, I can post that for you.  Please dont post this outside of this website.  Thanks!




http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a303/call1800ksmyazz/Schematic-4.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a303/call1800ksmyazz/PerfboardLayout.jpg

Comments and questions are welcomed.  And please let me know if you build this.

Kerry

[KerryF]

CORRECTION: The top of Q3 in the layout goes to the top of Q1.  Forgot a jumper...

[KerryF]

Still looking for comments... I finally posted the schematic and no one says anything....

[rocket]

In a usual clippinp diode arrangment there would be a cap for DC decoupling the diodes.

In your caes the diodes tie down the source (or ist it the drain) of the fet to ground, therefore it sound so weird in insane mode.