Octave fuzzarama

[catfud]

Fuzz Tonic (Madbean Wolfshirt)


Enclosure is a Hammond 1590b, painted with Hammerite paints, and labelled with letraset , a child's stencil (borrowed), and ink stamps. The ink stamps didn't come out exactly as intended.
It sounds great, a big octave fuzz. Probably the one fuzz of the three that's capable of the most octave-y fuzz, but possibly not the most unruly of these three fuzzes.

Standard Fuzz (JMK Standard Fuzz)


This was Jacob's PIF from from last year (Thanks Jacob, and sorry it's taken so long to get the build report up!)
I used 2N3904s for the transistors, and the resulting sound is an excellent over-the-top octave-y fuzz, with the tone boost on a DPDT stomp rather than toggle switch, and two separate LEDs.

I'm not proud of the wiring, it's far from tidy, but I'm sure this isn't the intended configuration for this board in this enclosure - I was determined to make it fit this way round even if it made the rest of the build difficult.

Enclosure is a Tayda 125b that was originally intended to be used for the JMK Testing Rig, but having messed up the drilling for the testing rig I used a 1590bb instead for that, repaired this 125b enclosure using JB Weld (which is great stuff, thanks to the guys on the forum that recommended it!), painted it with Hammerite paint, and re-used it for this Standard Fuzz; pots, LEDs, and pedal are labelled with ink stamps. The patching up is visible in the gutshot.

SuperFuzz (Nucleon Superfuzz)


I've been wanting to build a superfuzz for some time. I used BC550s throughout (matched Q4 and Q5, which apparently accentuates the octave, with the lowest value in Q6). For diodes I tried a bunch, opted for 2 x 1n695 diodes for clipping. Last week we had some quality daddy-daughter time painting the enclosure (hammerite primer as a base with acrylic paints on top) - I did the letters, but the colour scheme was all hers. It's a wild, unruly fuzz.

Now, what happens if I chain all three together...

[Hogharry]

Nice collection of fuzzy goodness! They all look great but the teamwork on the SuperFuzz really paid off.

[jubal81]

Outstanding builds!
I especially love the SuperFuzz art. Looks like a watercolor painting.

[bcalla]

Nice work!  Impressive save with JB Weld, that stuff is really handy.

[lincolnic]

Those really look great. And yes, what does happen if you chain them all together? Make a demo and we'll all find out. 

[luks999]

well done sir :-)
which octave fuzz do you prefer?
i have only tried an octavia and a superfuzz so far

[kaycee]

The Superfuzz looks great, nice brushwork. when I stamp over a rippled surface I do a coat or two of clear to even it out, lightly rub down and then stamp. The indelible stamping inks take on clear as well as to paint or bare metal.

[Bret608]

I really like all these. I've done the Wolfshirt and Standard Fuzz and am working on a modded Kay right now (hope to get that tested soon, Kaycee!  ). How do you like the Standard compared to the Super Fuzz? Are they as similar as I think they are? I had assumed it wasn't worth building both but always wonder...octave fuzz is for sure one of my favorite effects.

[Rockhorst]

That is one smashing looking Super Fuzz build Catfud, glad to see it. Tidy insides too!

[Kinki fuzz]

FUUUZZZZZZZ.... love the superfuzz art!!

[selfdestroyer]

You guys and your hand painted enclosure skills... I'm always jealous. They came out great.

Cody

[nzCdog]

love the paintwork man, really classy.  great jobs

[kaycee]

I really like all these. I've done the Wolfshirt and Standard Fuzz and am working on a modded Kay right now (hope to get that tested soon, Kaycee!  ). How do you like the Standard compared to the Super Fuzz? Are they as similar as I think they are? I had assumed it wasn't worth building both but always wonder...octave fuzz is for sure one of my favorite effects.

The SF and the Standard are about the same thing. The Standard has a FET input transistor rather than the darlington config of the SF which I guess could make it a little quieter, but these things make such a ferocious racket it isn't worth worrying about. Some of the other variants like the Kay Fuzztone and the CBS Doubler have different tonestacks so are worth a look i think.