Skyripper Fuzz PCB layout

[gigimarga]

Hello,

I discovered yesterday the Skyripper Fuzz...it sounds amazing...i want very much to build one but i couldn't find any PCB for it here...can you help me?

Thx a lot!

[GREEN FUZ]

http://www.mrdwab.com/john/Skyripperlayoutfinal.pdf

[Austin73]

There is also some stuff at http://www.tungngruv.com/content/skyripper.html on thr Sky ripper that might be some use.

Also if you use Johns layout theres is a thread where he was helping someone with the wiring which might help you in your quest.

Aus

[gigimarga]

Thx a lot for these informations...i saw http://www.tungngruv.com/content/skyripper.html but i didn't found a PCB layout in it...now i am very impatient to build it...thx a lot again!!

[John Lyons]

If you want a PCB of the Skyripper I can make you one.
They are $12 postage included.
Basicaudiowv AT yahoo.com

John

[gigimarga]

It could be very nice...but i am from Romania...the shipping is about 15$...thx a lot anyway!

[Austin73]

Hi mate, sorry I forgot to say the layout at Tungngruv is actually taken from a PCB layout he found somewhere so you can directly copy from that if they don't mind.

I had a quick look at it and it should be easy to do but not sure how big it will be. I can do it for you if your not in a rush but I think Johns layout is pretty tight and it works so maybe go with that.

Are you sure it would cost $15 to get it shipped to you? It wouldn't be heavy and its pretty small. Myabe ask John tofind out how much to send to you from his end?

Anyway let me know how you get on. I could do a strip board layout but I'm sure that would be huge as I'm rubbish at small layouts lol

Cheers

Aus

[John Lyons]

PCBs sent to Europe cost $1 so I'd imagine it would be about the same price.
It's actually cheaper for me to send single boards over seas then within the US!

Tony / tungngroove and I worked together with the layout. We both made pedals with the layout and they work well.
It's not an easy build since there are a lot of switches and pots but it's a great fun circuit!

John

[gigimarga]

I was very hurried to test it and a good friend of mine start to do the PCB this afternoon and i hope that in 2-3 days he will finish...anyway thx a lot and if i like it very much we will talk about a professional PCB for it.

On the other hand, i am not very sure that i will use all the pots/switches...i am not a fan of very strange and unpredictable sounds...it is possible to cancel some pots/switches if i don't find them useful?

Best regards and thx a lot all for your kindness!

[John Lyons]

Just build Joe Gagan's "easy face" if you want the basic fuzz sound.
It's a lot easier...but a lot less fun and tweakable.

John

[joegagan]

On the other hand, i am not very sure that i will use all the pots/switches...i am not a fan of very strange and unpredictable sounds...it is possible to cancel some pots/switches if i don't find them useful?

this is an interesting dilemna.

if the skyripper sound samples sounded good to you, i guess it would be interesting to know which actual sounds inspired you.

most of the samples i recorded involved the more radical settings of the knobs and switches. eliminating any of these controls would probably result in a pedal that won't get the sounds you heard in the clips.

tungngruv's samples had more of the less 'radical' sounds if i recall correctly, i guess a rangemaster into a fuzzface would get some of those sounds. in addition, a lot of his other clips DID include the same reactions and radical sounds that i heard from my skyrippers.

the bottom line is that i think a person should be willing to explore and endure some strange and unpredicable sounds to get to the good ones, sorta like mining for diamonds!

the only tricky part is documenting the settings once you find a sound you like.

for me, the skyripper is a great studio tool, i rehearse with the track i am going to record the day before going to the session, writing down the settings carefully. then when i get to the studio the setup time is fast, and i have a good starting point for getting a great sound that fits the actual track being recorded. sometimes a little tweaking is required in session, but usually it is minimal.

one more tip:
put a volume pedal after the pedal chain so that you don't kill the engineer with noise in between takes etc.

there are few new skyripper videos i put up on youtube, check em out!

[Austin73]

Its a bit strange you don't like pots and switches surely thats why we all want to build one! It looks like a multifx unit it has that many control which can only be a good thing.

Joe your a star mate not only for designing it but sharing it and then coming over for a chat.

I will get round to doing this one when I remortgage the house for the 6 footswitches lol

Cheers

AUS

[John Lyons]

Joe's right. If you like the sky ripper then don't compromise it by building less than the full version.
There are many sounds inside this circuit and it will take you a while to find them as all the knobs are interactive.
The Skyripper is basically a rangemaster into a fuzz face with control over many of the interesting tweaks of both circuits.
If you are looking for something bland then don't built this one. If you want something that is highly variable and really modable on the fly then this is your baby.

Austin

The main switches are the range, fuzz and or bypass footswitches.
The buffer, rip bias and boost switches (I believe) are fine as toggles.

John

[joegagan]

hey. aus, nice to hear from ya, thanks so much!
you actually only need 1 footswitch if you build the latest version, the other switches are cheapies. the 'rip' pot should be a switched pot, those are pretty common over here, hope they are in AUS

couldn't find any postings of skyripper '07, i had to break it into two parts to fit on photobucket:

[gigimarga]

first of all joe, i want to thank you very much for what you've done...i like the skyripper a lot...it was very nice from you the fact that you publish it for free and that you still help newbies like me.

i had finished to listen all the samples that i found from you and tungngruv...i like almost all...first i had listened to the "normal" settings (and i like it a lot...my favorite guitar sound is the sound of david gilmour's fuzz face on "have a cigar" on the bootlegs like "animal instincts")  and then the "crazy" settings (i like very much the "theremin" and "saxophone" and "digital kiss")...but i think i will never use "atari" or "apocalypse now"...the "stutter" sounds generally speaking...

i said that i want to simplify it because i have some serious doubts about the "bias" pot...i have build something like a "fuzz factory" for a friend of mine and i hate this pot...it produces only very strong (and unuseful for me...) oscillations...anyway...i will build it full (you convinced me to do that) and i will see after...

again, thx a lot all for your kindness and help!!

[joegagan]

you're welcome buddy!
let us know how it goes.

by the way, the above schematic will not match the posted layout sheet, but with a little bit of figuring you can make it work. the main difference is in the switching.
i found i did not need to switch the rangemaster on by itself, ( i have other RMs around here), and the buffer switch is a bit redundant , the buffer pot does the same thing.

funny you mention the bias pot, my early soundclips at ampage posted in 2001 were made before the bias pot was added.

[Austin73]

Cheers for the input chaps, I know you only need a couple of footswitches at most but hey it looks F'*@$ing amazing with 6 or 7!

I will get round to building this one someday!

Aus

[John Lyons]

Here's the '07 Skyripper version with two foot switches.
I thought I had already posted this...guess not!

Skyripper '07 version

John

[alex frias]

Is the PDF file possibly corrupted?

[bighead]

yeah... no luck opening the .pdf.