Not that I haven't built a pedal before ;D but in all my pedalbuilding never have I built a fuzz pedal.
It's time to put an end to this injustice so I'd ask you kind folk to suggest three fuzz builds (with obtainable parts, I have no desire to go digging for $$$ cans in Russia ::) ) that best cover the fuzz world. Two extremes and one middle ground would be great!
I do have a JMK Scuba muff board someplace, if that fits into any of the "must build" categories?
JMK Companion Fuzz for batshit crazy
Grind Customs BendOver Fuzz for Tonebender historicalness (plus it runs on +9V, not -9V, so you can just hook it up to power like every other pedal.)
Lovetone Big Cheese (Plesus' Feta project, don't have the link on me right now) for how damn flexible it is.
Oh, and Rej's Temple of Giants if you like simplicity :D
I'd say a fuzz factory. Not necessarily a "classic" but more of a rite of passage ;) lots of tones in there, and not too picky in terms of transistors.
Definitely a big muff,the scuba is a good choice because it does a good range of tones too.
And for the other extreme, a nasty Japanese fuzz. Maybe a shin ei companion, univox super fuzz, or ibanez standard fuzz.
Excellent! I'll go look those up right now, keep them coming peeps!
Thanks mucho!
I love the demo tape fuzz
Yeah, the demo tape fuzz and f'factory both are good at what they do, but I was trying to go for fabbed projects, not etched ones.
Right... I should have mentioned it, I prefer fabbed projects if at all possible. I use the acid only as a last resort these days...
I'm pretty sure Jacob has a project for the fuzz factory ;)
And I've got a board for the Fat Fuzz Factory on the way from OSHpark too
If you end up having one to spare, please hit me with a pm with details?
Quote from: muddyfox on July 21, 2014, 09:08:17 AM
If you end up having one to spare, please hit me with a pm with details?
Yup, will let you know when it's verified
I have a Sprout (haberdasher etch) you could have as a PIF.
1 knob? I don't have any 1590As. ;D
Thanks for the offer, though! Much appreciated, will see where the other suggestions take me and maybe I'll take you up on it...
I don't see it mentioned yet but I love my Buzzaround. Mine's built on the MB Bumblebee with a Road Rage to make it run on a standard power supply.
Doesn't have to go in a 1590a, lol, I couldn't build anything into one of those if I wanted to.
Mastodon! Love this one! I think the MB version is the Sabertooth. You could also go with the Pudgii. The Pudgii is a Fuzz Factory with a "fat" switch. Cody just built one. Looks cool.
The Screwdriver is a good middle ground fuzz. It covers a lot of different sounds.
The "B&M Fuzz Unit". It is absolute, 100%, pure british fuzz genius. I would say if you were gonna focus on just one fuzz, this would be it. Looks like Pigeon FX used to make boards for this. There's plenty of info about them on freestompboxes.org.
http://www.freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=7055&sid=a35bba80eb98e473d42138dd3c49aeea (http://www.freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=7055&sid=a35bba80eb98e473d42138dd3c49aeea)
I ran into this issue recently. I realized I hadn't built a germanium fuzz. For all the ridiculous that comes off of my bench, I felt I was doing a disservice to the tone gods, and the debt was paid as soon as I was able. I recently finished beans bumblebee, and I am definitely digging it. Fuzz has never been my bag (although this may have lit a fire) so I don't quite have the full vocabulary to talk about it the same way some fuzzheads do, but I really like it. I'm getting a whole range of tones out of it, from spitty all the way through more muff sounding beefy-ness.
Same experience here as ggarms, only with pick droppers screwdriver pcb.
It's a nice middle ground fuzz, as described.