Hi Folks!
So I've been experimenting with a Tonebender/Fuzz Face type of build.
A seemingly common mod to the Tonebender is to add a Switch to jump the Booster stage (Q1), since everything afterwards is basically "just" a Fuzz Face circuit. For those who don't know what I'm talking about:
This explains the mod: http://www.bigtonemusic.com/TBmods.html
For comparison:
Tonebender MKII: http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/mkII.php
Arbiter Fuzz Face: http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/fuzzface.php
First question: The cap in front of Q2 is not polarized in the Tonebender (Film cap), in the Fuzz Face this is the input cap and is polarized (electrolytic cap). By adding the switch and thus bypassing the booster stage in the Tonebender, the non-polarized cap becomes the input cap.
I've already tried this and it seems to work just fine, but somehow my brain is telling me that something's wrong.
The same thing goes for some pedal builders being proud of having replaced every electrolytic cap in the circuit with non-polarized ones to improve the sound. What exactly is up with that?
Second question: My idea is to incorporate said switch into the final version as a footswitch, so I can add/remove boost whenever I want to. But I need some sort of regulation, especially when the Fuzz control is somewhere before noon, the boost just makes it too loud. So I added a third pot right in front of the switch, same configuration as the Volume pot at the end of the circuit (see schematic below).
Any concerns with that? I figured since it's a simple voltage divider it should work, but I'm not too sure about the value. (Though I think with an audio taper the same value as at the end should be a good starting point?)
cheers
Chris
So I've been experimenting with a Tonebender/Fuzz Face type of build.
A seemingly common mod to the Tonebender is to add a Switch to jump the Booster stage (Q1), since everything afterwards is basically "just" a Fuzz Face circuit. For those who don't know what I'm talking about:
This explains the mod: http://www.bigtonemusic.com/TBmods.html
For comparison:
Tonebender MKII: http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/mkII.php
Arbiter Fuzz Face: http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/fuzzface.php
First question: The cap in front of Q2 is not polarized in the Tonebender (Film cap), in the Fuzz Face this is the input cap and is polarized (electrolytic cap). By adding the switch and thus bypassing the booster stage in the Tonebender, the non-polarized cap becomes the input cap.
I've already tried this and it seems to work just fine, but somehow my brain is telling me that something's wrong.
The same thing goes for some pedal builders being proud of having replaced every electrolytic cap in the circuit with non-polarized ones to improve the sound. What exactly is up with that?
Second question: My idea is to incorporate said switch into the final version as a footswitch, so I can add/remove boost whenever I want to. But I need some sort of regulation, especially when the Fuzz control is somewhere before noon, the boost just makes it too loud. So I added a third pot right in front of the switch, same configuration as the Volume pot at the end of the circuit (see schematic below).
Any concerns with that? I figured since it's a simple voltage divider it should work, but I'm not too sure about the value. (Though I think with an audio taper the same value as at the end should be a good starting point?)
cheers
Chris