This is a library of perfboard and single-sided PCB effect layouts for guitar and bass. I'm not an electrical engineer by any stretch of the imagination, just a DIY'er who likes drawing layouts. It is meant for the hobbyist (so commercial use of any of these layout is not allowed without permission) and as a way to give back to the online DIY community.

Monday, February 27, 2017

Barber Tone Pump

Starting the week out with an early version of the Tone Pump from Barber. It's very similar to the Silver LTD with a few value changes and a simplified tone control. Here's the schematic for reference and you can use the Barber Silver LTD drilling template. I believe if you put two of these in one box you get the two channel version.


Friday, February 24, 2017

Lovepedal Dragon, BBB, etc.

Here's YAFF (yet another Fuzz Face) for Fuzz Friday. This is the basic circuit for many Lovepedal variations of the classic fuzz using both germanium and silicon transistors. If using PNP transistors whether germanium or silicon, be sure to flip the the polarized components, etc. Here's the schematic the layout is based on.


Wednesday, February 22, 2017

EHX Hot Tubes

Here's the Hot Tubes overdrive from Electro Harmonix. It's based around a 4049 hex inverter chip (like a Red Llama) with a dual op amp pushing it. Original units from the 70s had buffered bypass and a direct out jack. I guess they needed something to fill up those massive enclosures EHX used back in the day. I've laid this out for a 125B enclosure with top mounted jacks and your favorite method of true bypass switching.


Monday, February 20, 2017

Earthquaker Devices Black Eye

Here's a nice little MOSFET-based clean boost that EQD used to make. It's actually pretty similar to the Lovepedal Delux 60. Here's the schematic for reference.




Friday, February 17, 2017

D*A*M/Emanating Fist Black Dust

For Fuzz Friday here's another take on the classic Colorsound One-Knob Fuzz by Emanating Fist Electronics (a sister company of D*A*M). It's fairly similar to the D*A*M Meathead, but with a few value changes. Here's the schematic:


Note that in earlier versions of this circuit, R4 is replaced by a 20k trim pot. So the value there may need to be tweaked.



Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Barber Silver LTD

Here's a cool variation of a buffer-less Tube Screamer with a BMP-style tone stack in the middle. There are also several trimmers that control the Presence, Bass, and Mids, and they'd be pretty easy to wire off board if you wanted the controls externally. If you want to go with the stock configuration, it should fit nicely in a 1590B. Here's the schematic for reference.


Monday, February 13, 2017

Electro Harmonix Soul Preacher

There have been a few different iterations of the Soul Preacher. This one follows the version that isn't based around an OTA chip (much like a DynaComp), but is rather much closer to an Orange Squeezer. The original used a buffered bypass, and I've included an extra pad for the buffer out if you want to build it that way. Here's the schematic for reference.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Black Arts Toneworks Black Sheep

A biker fuzz if ever there was one. This week's Fuzz Friday layout is the Black Sheep from Black Arts Toneworks. It's great on both guitar and bass and features 3 stacked gain stages with a 4 position switch dictating the input capacitor. Here's the schematic for reference.



Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Fulltone RTO

The RTO (or Robin Trower Overdrive) from Fulltone is a modified Tube Screamer circuit. The input buffer is removed and the soft clipping stage has an interesting mix of diodes.




For a drilling template, use the Cmat Mods Signa.

Monday, February 6, 2017

Wren & Cuff Phat Phuk B

The Phat Phuk is a boost from Wren & Cuff that combines a JFET stage with a germanium transistor stage. This got traced over on the Tagboard Forum and the original that was traced was the B version. From Wren & Cuff:

Here’s what the Phat Phuk is: A germanium/JFET booster. A unique sounding pedal which adds a beautiful sheen to your bass’ top end and a bit of grit to the overall tone. It’s a fantastic pedal for situations where you want a lift in your overall level, during a chorus or bridge for example, with a bit of bawdy bump via the germanium transistor.

The exact germanium transistor is a Chinese PNP on the originals, but others can be used. Shoot for around 90 hFE. On originals there is a trimmer that is essentially a gain control. I've laid it out so that you have the option for a trimmer or external board mounted pot on the same board. So if you want the pot externally, don't populate the trimmer and vise versa. Here's the schematic for reference.


Friday, February 3, 2017

Catalinbread Manx Loaghtan

Got a request for this one. It's Catalinbread's take on the classic Big Muff, and therefore an excellent layout for Fuzz Friday. The biggest difference between this and a regular BMP is the tone section, where the typical BMP tone stack has been replaced with a Baxandall 2-band EQ. There is also an extra gain recovery stage built around a JFET after the tone section. Here's the schematic for reference.


Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Crowther Audio '03 Hot Cake

I laid out the original 1977 Hot Cake a while back, but never got around to doing the modern one that came out in 2003. So here's the newer one. I ignored the original relay bypass switch and the polarity protection diode could be replaced with a 1N4001 or similar. The original 1N5238 is an 8.2v zener. It's laid out for board mounted pots as usual, and should be an easy fit in a 1590B. Here's the schematic for reference. There's also now a fabricated board for this circuit available in the store—the Crempog.