Cornish P2 (probably)

For Fuzz Friday here's what most people think is the Cornish P2. It's a slightly modified Ram's Head Big Muff with flat mids and the Cornish buffer up front. If you want to use the Cornish bypass like the original check out the Cornish G2 layout for the bypass board.

Also, this will be the last layout of the year. Taking some time to rest up over the holidays. See you in the New Year and Happy Holidays everyone!

Dimension P Chorus

Had a request for this one and didn't feel like laying out another overdrive. So here you go. It's a chorus using a pair of PT2399 design to emulate the Boss Dimension C designed by Distorque. Original design thread here, schematic here for reference. I've laid it out for board mounted pots and will fit in a 125B with top mounted jacks.

Caline Mark 4

Got a request for this and an interesting circuit. Apparently it's a simplified version of the MI Audio Tube Zone. Should be a good jumping off point for modding. Schematic on FSB.

Menatone Pig

Came across this one and it's an interesting JFET-based OD with active bass and treble controls. It's apparently based on a late-60s Marshall 200 amp. Drew up the schematic for reference.

I believe the originals run off a 9v supply, but newer ones have a voltage doubler internally to run off 18v. Since I know there are different preferences when it comes to those, so I left it off the board. I realized after I drew all this up I probably should have included trimmers for biasing the JFETs, so you may want to socket the resistors going from voltage to the drain of Q1, Q3, and Q4-6. Though if you're using in-spec J201s (I highly suggest the SMD version and conversion boards) the stock values will probably work fine. YMMV Pots are board mounted and will fit nicely in a 125B.

Function F(x) Clusterfuzz

This Fuzz Friday I present you the Clusterfuzz from good dudes at Function F(x). It's a great sounding fuzz and really versatile. You might be able to squeeze this into a 125B if you can squeeze the rotary and toggle switches under the board. Otherwise a 1590BB like the original is probably the way to go.

Mini BassDrive

This is an adaption of the Fulltone Bassdrive without the boost footswitch, allowing for a smaller enclosure. I got the idea from a comment by Simão on the Fulldrive 2 post, and I though it could prove useful for my fellow bassists. Like the Fulldrive/Bassdrive, it's modded Tube Screamer with clipping and voicing options with the 2 toggle switches. Based on this schematic with the boost footswitch and 2nd gain pot removed.

Baja Optical Limiter

Here's one of Bajaman's non-amp emulating circuits, the Optical Limiter. It's based on the Demeter Compulator, but is not a compressor but a limiter. What's the difference?

The ratio is the main difference between a compressor and a limiter. A compressor has a low ratio that turns down SOME of the volume when it goes above the threshold. A limiter has a huge ratio that turns down ALL of the volume that goes above the threshold. (from Musician on a Mission)

Here's the schematic for reference. It's designed as a buffered bypass pedal, with the input jack going to the In pad on the board, and a third of a a 3PDT footswitch selecting between the buffered out and effect out. The off board LED pulses with the signal but probably isn't going to be great as an on/off indicator. Just use another third of the 3PDT to make/break the connection between the LED- pad and the cathode of the LED. And then use the final third of the footswitch to wire an on/off indicator LED as you normally would. (At least I think that's what Bajaman had in mind...) Also, the LDR should have 5k light resistance, 500k dark resistance (a GL5516 should work). Oh, and I added an extra pad so GSD pinout JFETs (J201, 2N5457, etc.) can be used in place of the 2SK117.

Wampler Pantheon

The Pantheon is Brian Wampler's take on the classic Bluesbreaker circuit. It adds some of the mods from the King of Tone as well as a Baxendall tone stack for the Bass control (the would be treble control of the Baxendall is fixed) and a gain switch to set different min/max settings of the Drive pot. Fits in a 125B like the original. If you're not feeling like etching or grabbing the perfboard, there are boards available on the store.

Human Gear Animato

Got a request for this one, and it's an interesting Big Muff variant. If you're a fan of Muse you're probably already familiar with this one. There's a germanium input stage followed by a fairly standard Big Muff circuit. Here's the schematic for reference. It would be a tight squeeze in a 1590B even if you wired the pots off board, but probably doable. Otherwise it should fit nicely in a 125B with top mounted jacks.

Noise Gate

Here's an interesting and fairly simple noise gate circuit sent to me by Stanik Nupel from a Polish electronics book. Schematic and Stanik's original layout can be found here. The switch isn't in his original layout, so it may not be all that necessary. It'll be a tight squeeze in a 1590B, but should fit especially if you're using low profile jacks. Otherwise it'll fit nicely in a 125B with top mounted jacks.

BearFoot FX Honey Beest

This one just got traced over on FSB. Apparently the heaviest of Bjorn's Honey designs. Here's the schematic for reference. Note: In the schematic the source and drain on Q1-2 are reversed from the way they are normally oriented, but I recently learned JFETs are generally symmetrical and will work either way. The original is built on a PCB that several of Bjorn's circuits can be built with and is laid out for TO-18 package JFETs with a different pinout than the TO-92 packaged 2N5952. I'm wondering/guessing it was easier to swap the drain and source legs when fitting the transistor to the PCB, but perhaps other/earlier versions of the circuit used TO-18 JFETs and had the drain and source oriented the "normal" way. That's my reasoning and as a result I've reversed them to the "standard" orientation in this layout. Also I altered the polarity protection method to fit on the board better. I'll shut up now.

GoosoniqueWorx Seventh Heaven

Got a request for this one. It's apparently a modified Bogner Ecstasy Red, which is a JFET adaption of the Red channel on the Bogner Ecstasy amp. Since it uses 2 footswitches, I went ahead and designed the board for a 1590BB with all 6 pots board mounted. The boost switch uses one side of a DPDT footswitch (with the other side being used for LED indication). As usual, set the trimmers to half the supply voltage and then adjust by ear. This would be a good candidate to run off 18v as well. Here's the schematic for reference.

Buttercup Fuzz

Stumbled across this one on FSB and thought it looked cool. It was designed by JD Barbato and is kind of a mashup between a Tone Bender MkII and a MkIII, with a BMP-style tonestack, with a switch changing the cap values in said tonestack. You can build it with all germanium transistors or use a combination of silicon and germanium:

I am currently using AC187 germaniums for Q1 and Q2 and a 2N5088 for Q3. Using the silicon 2N5088 removes some noise from the pedal, and adds a distinct, razory, compression to the sound which I prefer in my pedals. This combo also gives a nice ToneBender MKI type sound (ala Ziggy Stardust) when you invert the tone stack and roll back on the gain and butter a little.

The pedal also sounds good with the 2N5088's in Q2 and Q3, but is very hard edged. I have tried the 2N5088's in every position and in all combinations. The pedal doesn't work if all three are silicon. 

With a 2N5088 in just the Q1 position the pedal sounds pretty much the same as if all three were germanium. 

Demedash Effects Incandenza Bypass

The Incandenza Bypass is a simple, low parts count, relay-based  true bypass circuit designed by Steve Demedash. It uses a normally open momentary SPST footswitch triggering a simple 555-based flip flop circuit, triggering a non-latching DPDT footswitch. The layout below reflects the pinout of the either the Takamisawa NA5W-K or Omron G6S-2 relays. These are 2 relays I had in my parts stash that worked with the circuit when I breadboarded it and are both rated at 5v. Other non-latching relays can be used, but double check the pinouts and compare datasheets. Schematic can be found here.

Note: Send goes to the effect input, Return goes to the effect output, In goes to the input jack, and Out goes to the output jack.

Run Off Groove Tri-Vibe

This is (or was now I guess) one of the few Run Off Groove designs I haven't laid out. It's not a small circuit and I ended up laying it out for a 1590BB so the pots can be board mounted (but it will fit in a smaller enclosure if wire them off board). I also did this in Eagle, as it's a bit more complicated circuit and the schematic reference feature in Eagle makes for fewer mistakes. No worries though, there's a perf version too. More info on the ROG site.

Here's the BOM, and the schematic for reference:

Ibanez FC10 Fat Cat Distortion

Got a request for this one, it's a good addition to the collection. It's Ibanez's take on the RAT in their Power Series from the mid-late 80s. It's very similar to the LM7 LA Metal circuit, with just a few value changes and omissions (detailed below). I removed the FET switching and output buffer to simplify things. Here's the schematic for reference.

If you're interested in building the LA Metal, populate the board like this:

Basic Audio Pep Fuzz

Here's another one from Basic Audio for Fuzz Friday. This is John's take on the Wem Pep Box and adds variable output cap control with the Body control. Should be an easy fit in a 1590B. Here's the schematic for reference. Alternatives to the BC107B would be other lower gain transistors like the BC547B, 2N2222A, 2N3904, 2N4401, 2N5550...

Rockett .45 Caliber

Here's the .45 Caliber overdrive from J. Rockett Audio Designs. It's essentially a simplified Timmy without the second opamp stage, and claims to emulate the sound and feel of a 1962 JTM 45. Easy fit in a 1590B with board mounted pots.

Edit: Schematic for reference

Hughes & Kettner Red Box Mk. II

Here's a nice utility box for home recording or even live application (if you've run into a sound guy who hates guitar amps 😠). It's a direct box but also a cab sim (4x12). It won't run off phantom power, so just power it with a 9v wall wart or a battery. Also, connected to the Speaker In pad should be another jack for "speaker through" (so you don't blow up your amp). Here's the schematic and original user manual for reference.

Update Nov. 15:
I removed the extra components for ground lift application as most reported it not working and they had better success with placing an on/off switch between XLR pin 1 and ground. YMMV

Bajaman AC30 Normal Channel

Here's Baja's AC30 Normal Channel emulator. Throw a treble booster in front of this and you're pretty darn close to nailing some Brian May tones. Schematic and discussion here on FSB.

DAM Buzzotron

For Fuzz Friday, here's the D*A*M Buzzotron with a few modifications (based on H.A.'s suggestions).The Buzzotron is a tweaked Burns Buzzaround, which can also be built on this layout. What I've added is a master volume control and a ICL7660-based voltage inverter. This allows you to power the effect with a standard +9v supply and use PNP germanium transistors like the originals. Here's the Buzzotron and Buzzaround schematics for reference.

And if you're interested in building the original Buzzaround populate the board like this:

Baja AC30TB Emulator

Another one of Bajaman's many amp emulator circuits. It emulates the frequency response of the classic Vox AC30 top boost channel, including power amplifier emulation. It's designed to fit in a 125B with top mounted jacks. Schematic and discussion on FSB here.

The input buffer stage uses a 2SK117 JFET with DGS pinout, but I've throw in an extra pad to use JFETs with GSD pinout (J201, 2N5457, etc). If you're using the 2SK117 you won't need to populate the jumper by Q1, but if you're using a GSD pinout transistor, you will need that jumper.

Budda Om Overdrive

Stumbled across this one and it seems pretty cool. It's like an Escobedo Punch-in-the-Face sandwiched between two opamp gain stages, and is very similar to the Carl Martin Crush Zone. Wide range of gain and tones on tap as well. Pots are board mounted and it'll fit in a 1590B.

Catalinbread WIIO

The Catalinbread WIIO is a Hiwatt amp emulator specifically going for the sound of Pete Townsend's Hiwatts on the Live at Leeds album. (Throwing this and a Univox SuperFuzz in the same box would be a must if you're a big fan of the Who...) The topology of the circuit (cascaded MOSFETs) is similar to the zVex Box of Rock and Catalinbread's other Hiwatt emulator, the Rah. Here's the schematic for reference. Should fit in a 1590B just fine.

Basic Audio Spooky Tooth

Found a trace of this over on the Tagboard Forum. It appears to be a highly modified Fuzzrite with an added gain recovery stage and a lot of value changes. The Saturation pot increases the output cap of the first stage, and the Fuzz pot is a pregain control. Originals use PN2222 transistors for Q1-2, which is a TO-92 packaged 2N2222A, so either will work just fine. Here's the schematic for reference and I there are fabricated boards for this in the store.

Eazius Tremor

Stumbled across this schematic and it's like CJ's Shoot the Moon and the EA Tremolo had a baby (Though I think this predates the Shoot the Moon...)–the audio path is like the Shoot the Moon and the LFO from the EA Tremolo has been adapted to pulse an LED. Use a 5mm diffused yellow LED and a 2k light/2M dark LDR (or socket and experiment). The trimmer is a gain/volume control. Set to unity and forget about it.

MXR Micro Chorus

The originals used a now nearly unobtainable SAD512D chip, but the wizards on FSB converted it to work with an MN3007. Now that those are also hard to get a hold of, I've laid this out for an MN 3207–which is almost the same as the 3007, just with a slightly different pinout for power and ground. But if you want to use a 3007, I've included a daughter board that will let you use it (it will also work to use a 3207 in place of a 3007). This will best fit in a 125B and the schematic can be found here.

AMZ Overdrive Pro

An oldie, but a goodie (I assume–Jack designs good stuff). It's a unique high gain design with a 3-band EQ. In Jack's own words:

It was made by combining the following circuit fragments: input gain stage is the Muffer, followed by the IC gain stage of the Fat Gnat, a tone control from the Fender Pro Roc amp and the output buffer of a TS-808! High gain boutique sound at its best, though not a clone of any existing pedal.

Here are some ideas for mods that can allow you to customize the sound for the best response with your gear:

• Use a bipolar opamp for IC1, even the LM741 will sound good!
• If it is too fizzy sounding, increase C5 to 270pF or 560pF
• For more bass response, increase C4 to 2.2uF or 4.7uF
• Use red LEDs for D1 and D2 for more output
• The tone control shown on the schematic has a big mid-range scoop. If you would like a more traditional response, increase C8 to 470pF or even 1000pF

Several people have complained about the low output of this pedal. The easiest fix is to change the clipping diodes to LEDs as suggested above. Not only does this increase the output but it also allows better control over the range of clipping. If you want slightly more output and some added even harmonics, just replace one of the clipping diodes with an LED - doesn't matter which one.

Here's the schematic for reference. I laid it out for board mounted pots in a 125B with top mounted jacks.

Devi Ever Ruby

Here's another Devi circuit for Fuzz Friday–the Ruby. It's essentially 2 Electras (sans clipping diodes) stacked. In Devi's own words, "The Ruby is like a Tone Bender, but way classier and secretly more misogynistic."

Sunn 200S Preamp

Here's a simple bass preamp circuit derived from the Sunn 200S using JFETs. It's pretty similar to the Bassman Preamp, but with the EQ section at the end of the circuit instead of the middle. Original S200S amps didn't have the Mid control, but it's kind of necessary IMHO. Bias the JFETs to 4.5v and adjust to taste. Not sure if the BAT85 diodes are necessary as they're not in the Bassman Pre, but I left them in just in case. Also not 100% sure if the below demo follows this schematic exactly, but it should be in the ballpark. Should fit nicely in a 1590B.

Devi Ever Dark Boost

Haven't done a Devi circuit in a while, and I keep stumbling across them, so here's the Dark Boost. It's essentially an Electra circuit without the clipping diodes and a Pre-Gain control. Apparently works pretty well on bass too.

Ramble FX Marvel Drive 2/3

Here's a newer version of the Marvel Drive from Ramble FX. Did the first version of this circuit a couple years ago, and decided to update the layout with board mounted pots and the Presence pot.  I believe the only difference between V2 and V3 is a switchable internal LT1054-based voltage doubler in the V3. Given that those can be somewhat expensive and I know you all have different preferences when it comes to voltage doublers, I've left the charge pump out. If you want to make a V2, just ignore all this chatter about voltage doublers and just build the layout below. If you want to make a V3, wire lug 2 of a SPDT toggle switch to the +9/18v pad of the layout below, then wire lug 1 to +9v and lug 3 to the output of your voltage doubler. Here's the schematic this is based on.

Roger Mayer Spitfire

For Fuzz Friday here's Roger Mayer's Spitfire. It's pretty similar to the Mongoose, but with a different transistor/IC pair and a few value changes. Apparently it sounds really good on chords and doesn't get too thick. Here's the schematic for reference.

Mr. Black BB-74x

This is Jack Deville's Marshall-in-a-box emulating a 1974X 18-watt combo amp. Tracing credit goes to Ralf Gottschalk, who has a nice little dual-layer board of this up on OshPark if you don't feel like etching or grabbing the perf for this one (build doc with schematic in the description).

DMB Stellar Drive

Here's the 3-knob version of the DMB Pedals Stellar Drive. It's RAT based, but with soft clipping instead of hard, and has pretty wide range of tones on tap. Here's the schematic for reference.

Maxon CP101 Compressor

Stumbled across the schematic for this compressor and couldn't find a layout for it. So I drew it up. This follows the original red box version, not the black box reissue. It's an optical compressor and apparently fairly subtle. I couldn't find any info on the vactrol used in the original–sockets are your friend. Should be an easy fit in a 1590B.

The Gruntbox

Got a request for this one and I'm always up for a bass effect. So this week's Fuzz Friday is Mark Hammer's Gruntbox. It's a pretty unique design and a lot of flexibility. More info here. Schematic and demo files can be downloaded here.

Valve Wizard Jenny Greenteeth

Here's a weird chorus from Valve Wizard based around a PT2399. In Merlin's own words...

Chorus is created by passing the signal through a very short delay line, somewhere between about 8ms and 25ms. The delay time is modulated and the delayed signal is mixed back with the original un-delayed signal. Some feedback ('repeats') is often applied too, to thicken the effect. The PT2399 has a minimum delay time of about 25ms, which is just short enough to do a thick chorus effect. The more subtle chorus effects that a 'proper' chorus pedal would do are not available as they require shorter delay times ( but I'm one of those people who only ever wants his chorus thick!). However, as well as getting chorus I soon found that various other unexpected effects could also be had for free, including pitch bend and a kind of ring modulation. That's why I've called it 'weird chorus'.

It will fit in a 125B with top mounted jacks easily, but it's narrow enough that it will fit in a 1590B, but probably without the pots board mounted. Here's the original build doc with the schematic and Merlin's original layout.

JHS Angry Charlie V3

Here's the newer version of the Angry Charlie with the 3-band EQ. Pretty much the Crunch Box with a 3-band Baxandall tone stack (similar to this) tacked onto the end. Pots are board mounted and it should squeeze nicely into a 1590B.

Nine Volt Nirvana Tape Measure

Found a bunch of Nine Volt Nirvana/Joe Gagan schematics on Fredd Brigg's blog. I'll probably do a few more of them, but first is the Tape Measure boost. Super simple and should easily fit in a 1590A. Original unit used a trimmer instead of an external volume control, but I figure most people will want the external control.

Feisty Little One Thermal Detonator

It's Fuzz Friday! This one got traced on FSB a while ago and I finally got around to drawing it up. It's a silicon Fuzz Face with bias control, sag control, and switchable feedback loop (oscillation). I laid it out like a zVex pedal (at least in control layout) and it should fit in a 1590B, either with the circuit board flat or standing vertically in the enclosure.

And here's a wiring diagram to make the offboard wiring a little clearer.

MI Audio Blues Pro

Here's a nice little overdrive circuit from MI Audio. This reflects the 2nd version of the Blues Pro, but if you want to make version 1, just jump pads 1 and 2 of each switch respectively. Should fit nicely in a 1590B.

Soil Slinger and NEWS!

It's a special Fuzz Friday! My fabricated boards came in for the Dirt Transmitter, and I finally got the chance to verify them. So I made a video of the whole build process!

Also, what's more exciting than the build video is the launch of the new Effects Layouts store! It's kind of a soft launch for now, as there aren't a whole ton of boards up yet. But more are coming! Also, aside from a few boards, stock is rather low on the boards as they're left over prototypes. But I will be ordering more soon. Don't worry, perf and etch layouts aren't stopping anytime soon. Thanks to everyone for their support over the years and for helping to create a really great international community around this great hobby.

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