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Had some spare solid-core mil-spec wire kicking around, so decided to do some idiotic wiring.  Utterly unnecessary.  It does add a level of excitement when you've wired it up in a manner which makes it impossible to easily take apart, yet you've never bothered to test it before putting it in the box.

Thankfully, it worked first time.  Otherwise I'd have thrown it out of the window in utter disgust.

Here be the wee beastie:












And the money shot:

My resistors are all in an a4 binder full of clear plastic business card wallets (12 per sheet) with the values written on each wallet.  Makes life veeeeeery easy.  Unless you tip the binder upside down.  Then life becomes a stinking turd.

Kokbox.

Really. Tell me why. I have one, partially popped (have NO idea where I got it).

Why should I build it out and keep it instead of using it for trade bait?

Please.

Depends on what you're looking for in a pedal.  For me I crave string definition regardless of how much gain is pouring out.  I wanted a high-gainer to work alongside my bass-heavy big muff sound, so I went with the Kokbox due primarily to its topology being a bunch of cascaded SHO circuits.  As the basic SHO is legendary for imparting a wee bit of high-end clarity and sparkle, I figured it would contrast nicely with the muff.  It has gain in spades, yet I can play my usual complex nonsense chords and still hear the individual notes.  Many high-gainers or fuzzes just hash all the notes together, but not the Kokbox.

Turning the question around, what do you hope for it to sound like?  Do you have any particular ideas as to what application you'd use it for?

Kokbox.

Ohhhh here's a video from a couple of years ago.  Guitar > GGG Tuned Muff > 100w JCM800 (low input, but volume was on 10)

http://www.facebook.com/v/122024166639

I want to build a Mudbunny but I don't know wich one is for me.
Looks like you're the man I need : can you tell me a quick who's who on wich one has much gain, much fuzz, much clarity, much bass...
I mostly play 70's rock and 80's heavy metal.
Thanks

In a nutshell
Tri = articulate, clean, medium gain
Ram's = less clean, higher gain, more bass
Op-amp = super bassy, high gain
Russian = super bassy, low gain.

Triangle is the most desirable due to it's clarity.  However, the Bluebeard is extraordinarily clear, so YMMV.

If you're looking for a great bass fuzz, the Foxx Tone Machine (wolfshirt) is indeed great, ESPECIALLY if you add in a clean blend circuit.  The problem with most fuzzes is that they filter at least some frequencies that basses need to have definition.  The clean blend eliminates the frequency loss.

Woah those are totally identical! Good to know. I read that that sanford and sonny guy had a guy who was a NASA engineer of some sort help him design this version of the circuit. None the less they are totally awesome muffs! I wonder if we could use a gruntbox to make a close to GGG tuned version? or with the mudbunny?

Hahaha.  That's a total myth.  He works/worked in a music shop that one day had a particularly awesome Ram's Head Muff come in.  He got someone to desolder the parts and measure them so he could build perfect clones of it.  Hence why it's 95% the same component-wise as a Ram's Head.

You can easily use any muff PCB to build a killer one.  I'm going to build another using mojo components with a Gruntbox board, fwiw.  The components are numbered differently but it's easy to follow the schematic.

Bigger than you possibly wish for, but the Boss FZ-2 is a great boost for metal.  It has a 30db flat-response boost option in addition to the two fuzz options.

Tis true!

"GGG Tuned Version

There have been some misunderstandings about this version.  GGG is involved with building a pedal by Sandford and Sonny called the Blue Beard bass distortion.  This "Tuned Version"  is somewhat simialr to the Blue Beard, but it is not a Blue Beard.  It sounds somewhat different and it is in a smaller box of course.  This is an excellent distortion for bass or guitar or synth, but this project should not be considered a kit for a Blue Beard pedal."

Also, the only difference is that JD Sleep, the GGG guy, uses his old etched GGG PCB instead of the newer fabbed design.  Oh and there's an extra power filtering cap.

Here:

Bluebeard on the left, GGG tuned muff on the right.

Thanks Kaleb for the Mudbunny suggestion!

I'm still in the dark as to what component affects what.  My ultimate goal is to find a good, doomy fuzz for a bass.  I've ordered a Wolfshirt to see how that works.  But the Mudbunny would be a good way I can experiment if the WS doesn't quite cut it.

I'd rather come up with something more "personalized" than put myself through the hassle of tracking down a bluebeard.

Cheers!

-Rick

Well, if you do want an exact Bluebeard, just follow the parts list for the tuned muff.  The guy who runs GGG actually builds the BB for Sonny, you see.  I have one and it's very clear for a muff.  Much more string definition than a standard muff sound.  Not super high gain, though which may surprise you.

I just wanted to post a general topic regarding a comparison of any Madbean pedals with a Bluebeard Fuzz.

Has anyone had any hands-on time with a Blue beard or input of how it might compare to, let's say, a Wolfshirt?

The sound of a BBF has become something of a legend.  But acquiring one is very difficult.

Any thoughts?

It's a ram's head muff with a few different values.

If you go to the General Guitar Gadgets site, you can find the Bluebeard as the GGG "Tuned" Big Muff.

Nope nope nope nope nope

Delay w/ effects loop to modulate the delay

Isn't this the sequencer of the Ooh Wah thing that you've been working on?  The one that can be connected up as a seq trem or seq wah or seq phaser etc etc?

And if you plan on making many pedals, invest in a Hakko 936. It's worth it!

Amen.