Crowdsourcing fuzz suggestions

[kaycee]

I'd suggest Mictesters' op-amp buzzaround, IVIark just put up a vero for it. I built mine a few years back and many other fuzzers have followed, but the Buzz-a-like has always stayed (along with the TA28, Jordan and the FF varients).

Another seldom seen one that I quite liked is the Bootleg Jazz Fuzz, an op-amp fuzz with diode clippers on a 'soft' control.

[garcho]

tube mic pre and overload it a la John Lennon

[Mark Hammer]

Ermm, ok, but why haven't you included a Fuzz Face then??
It is the definitive two knob fuzz!

Actually, the Muff Fuzz is a pretty typipcal silicon Fuzz Face variant, so I figured I had that terrain covered.  We're too accustomed to seeing it with a fixed gain, so we tend not to think of it that way, but if you make the gain of Q2 variable, you end up with a decent sounding silicon Fuzz Face.  I put together a pedal with a Muff Fuzz and Shin-Ei FY-2 in it that you can see/hear here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npxq2DSAyuk

I think I'm pretty much sold on the Double Beat taking up the last slot.  That's partly because it has a different tone and structure, partly because it is a 3-knobber (or will be, once I get a volume pot on the output), and partly because I can use a 2P6T rotary for that 3rd knob and introduce a variety of other voicings beyond the 3 it would normally come with.  I may still change my mind, but I think it's almost a done deal.

[Jaicen_solo]

I thought the Muff Fuzz was a diode clipper? In either case, you're still missing a nice smooth Ge Fuzz

[oldschoolanalog]

@Mark: Just curious. Why didn't you choose an Oct Up style fuzz (Octavia/Foxx, etc.) for this "Fuzz Farm"?

[cortezthekiller]

In my build I used a 100k lin for tone and 100k log for volume. Tons of output.

[Mark Hammer]

@Mark: Just curious. Why didn't you choose an Oct Up style fuzz (Octavia/Foxx, etc.) for this "Fuzz Farm"?

I did fill in one slot with a Mayer Octavia.  I've got other octave-up units elsewhere.  I thought one octave-up was enough in this particular beast.

I thought the Muff Fuzz was a diode clipper? In either case, you're still missing a nice smooth Ge Fuzz

There are different Muff Fuzz issues.  One is a dual op-amp based arrangement with a diode pair in the feedback loop.  But you are right that they all have a diode pair in there....somewhere.  This particular version - http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/ggg_muff_tr_sc.pdf -  is essentially a silicon Fuzz Face topology, with a diode pair hanging off the end, just to add more sizzle.  But you can see by the 2k7 emitter resistor on Q2 that the gain is fixed, such that the circuit kind of relies on the diode pair for clipping more than it really needs to.  I put a pot and electrolytic cap in parallel with the 2k7 to vary the gain.

[cortezthekiller]

For the muff fuzz I wired a 1m variable resistor in place of the 100k feedback resistor. This gave trebley edge near one extreme, to full fuzz in the middle, and gated sputteryness at the other end.

[Mark Hammer]

Good idea.  That's essentially what Z-Vex does for the Wooly Mammoth.  It interacts with the gain pot in interesting ways.

[Processaurus]

The Great Cheddar is a great, tasteful fuzztone that changes the duty cycle of the fuzz based on dynamics, something not a lot of other distortions do, which makes it pretty fun to play.

Alternately, adding to RG's suggestion of a logic/comparator fuzz, Escobedo's PWM is a great, chippy sounding fuzz, if you'd like a nintendo sound in your library.  The 3rd knob could be a midscoop tone control, if scooping the mids is something you like to do with synthy squarewave sounds.

[pinkjimiphoton]

or, in a similar vein but way more versatile than the PWM, an uglyface with lfo will get you a LOT of mileage. and is actually a brilliant, useable effect used sparingly.
or an out and out fuzz bomb of insatiable noise if overdone...either way, it's too loud, it's excellent.

[glops]

Double Beat! One of my faves.   I love my Big Cheese, too. But the Double Beat is so awesome, works great with guitar's volume knob and gets so saturated at full tilt. Wonderful.

[Processaurus]

Double Beat! One of my faves.   I love my Big Cheese, too. But the Double Beat is so awesome, works great with guitar's volume knob and gets so saturated at full tilt. Wonderful.

Wow, I just watched John Lyon's demo of that design, blazing!

[keto]

As I suggested over on gc, if you haven't tried Escobedo's Tripple you should give one a listen.  From low gain, to high with interesting overtones.

[squidsquad]

No one has mentioned the Axis Fuzz?  One of my faves!

[Mark Hammer]

Having looked at the Double-Beat a lot over the weekend, I think I'll fill up the last slot with that, and expand the tonal options with a 6-position rotary switch.    In addition to the existing setting, I'll add a Superfuzz-type scoop setting, a 2-pole lowpass filtered setting, and a setting similar to the "sine" setting, but with a different band selected.

You'll note that the 150k/6800pf network always remains in circuit, regardless of switch position.  Using a 2P6T rotary would let one use the 2nd set of contacts to change that.

[garcho]

What BJTs are you going to use? The originals were high-gain germs right?

EDIT made the dumb assumption '-GR' on the schematic meant germanium. I could have just looked at a datasheet 

[cortezthekiller]

Originals were 2sc1000 silicon transistors. I have one left kicking around after building a few double beats and the hFE measured 248.

[Mark Hammer]

I have a couple of 2SC1000s that I bought for something else.  They didn't strike me as particularly exotic, and yes I think they were in the mid-200's.  I'll use sockets, just in case, but I imagine I'll end up using some fairly common things, BC540-something or 2SC945.