Mid-Fi Electronics Random Number Generator

 Happy Fuzz Friday, all! Here's a fun noise maker that should go together pretty easily. Schematic for reference.

AMZ Mini Booster SMD

What's everyone think of SMD? It seems more and more boutique builds are going that route, and with more parts only be available in SMD form, I wonder how long before it'll be hard to get quality parts in through-hole packages. All that to say, here's a simple etch-able SMD layout of the AMZ Mini Booster. I've left the power polarity diode and power filter cap (folded onto its side) as through-hole as getting the right packages can sometimes be a royal PITA. All the caps and resistors are 0805 size and note that C3 is a non-polarized cap. Should fit easily into a 1590A.

Earthquaker Devices Tentacle

Had several requests for the Tentacle, but it's just more or less a Dan Armstrong Green Ringer clone. But I had the idea of making a Green Ringer layout with the bypass footswitch board-mounted so we'll just call this layout the Tentacle. Should fit easily in a 1590A. If you'd rather a fabricated PCB to build on, check out the Darkmantle on the store.

DOD 210 FET Preamp

Got a little simple boost/preamp for your Thursday. Should be a pretty easy fit in a 1590A. J113 alternatives would be J201, 2N5457, and probably a couple other JFETs that are obsolete. 😑

Allies Fuzz

Got a request for this one for Fuzz Friday. Designed by Masaru Kubota it's based on Roger Mayer's Axis Fuzz with a fair bit of tweaks. Here's the schematic for reference.

 I revamped Roger Mayer's Axis Fuzz and stuck on a phase stage to make the circuit sound like a tube amp.  You probably notice the Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face biasing configuration.  You can use a regular low-pass RC network, ala the ProCo Rat, to make the circuit sound like a "open" tube amp.  This fuzz sounds ALOT like the "Modern Lead" amp model on my Zoom GM-200.  You'll be surprised at how much this circuit sounds like a tube amp.

SRS EQ Exciter

Here's a bit of a rare one for Fuzz Friday. It's essentially a silicon Fuzz Face with an output buffer and a mid scoop tone control. Schematic and rundown of the original here. It should fit in a 1590a with 9mm pots board-mounted. I've also kept the pad (marked NC in the schematic) so if anyone wants to implement the mods outlined in the link above they can. Also PCBs of this (with a few mods) are available in the store now along with 5 other new projects!

And here's a look at the new PCBs on the store now!

EQD Bows

Here's Jamie's take on the classic Rangemaster circuit, with a NPN germanium transistor. There's an added toggle to switch between full range and treble input caps. Probably a tight a squeeze in a 1590A but should be doable. There is also a 1590A specific PCB with board mounted pot and switch in the store now (link below).

   

EFFECTS LAYOUTS BEAUREGARD

Escobedo MOSFET Duende

Here's a simple MOSFET-based booster circuit that'd be a nice alternative to the SHO. Should fit in a 1590A. FYI, the 1N4739 diode in the layout is a 9.1v zener. Here's the schematic for reference.

EQD Arrows

I traced this one a while back and created the Lawn Darts PCB over on the store from it. About time I made a perf and etch layout. If a Rangemaster and an Electra ever got together and had a baby, the Arrows would be the baby. Should be an easy fit in a 1590A with the pot board mounted.

Barcus-Berry 3000A

Stumbled across this schematic on FSB. It's a buffer/EQ/preamp for peizo pickups, specifically all Barcus-Berry electret microphone systems. I figured most would be building this into an instrument and not a pedal, so all the pots are off-board. If you're planning on running it only off a 9v battery, you cab get away without the power filter cap (47uF) or the polarity protection diode (1N4001).

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.

Demeter Fat Control

Looking for a mid-range frequency booster? This one's apparently really good at it. Schematic and discussion on FSB here.

Optical Bypass

Here's another alternative to the 3PDT for bypass wiring. It's based on the method VooDoo Lab uses for bypass and uses a optocoupler to achieve true bypass using a DPDT. I've drawn up 2 different layouts for this: a standard perf/PCB layout, as well as another PCB I did in Eagle with the footswitch board mounted. There are extra pads so the compact or the larger DPDT footswitch can be used, as well as an extra pad for the resistor so 1/8th or 1/4th watt can be used.

Note, in the board mounted footswitch version In/Out pads refer to the jacks, and Send/Return refer to the effect in/out.

Run Off Groove Mockman 2.0

Continuing to knock out the last few ROG designs I haven't laid out. This one's a pretty easy little circuit, emulating the distortion in Rockman amps designed an used by Boston guitarist Tom Scholz. The toggle allows you to go between 80s (classic) and 90s (modern) tones, and it should all fit in a 1590a. Schematic, sound clips and more info on the ROG site.

Lovepedal Tchula

Another Electra variation from Lovepedal. It's described as a two-stage COT50... I guess the "stages" are the different ways to bias the transistor off the emitter. The stages are switchable via footswitch in the originals, but if you put it on a toggle switch you should be able to fit it in a 1590A. Here's the schematic (this was traced from a cream box Tchula):

Os Mutantes Fuzz

Got a request for this one and thought it'd be a good Fuzz Friday layout. It's got a fair amount of treble and grit on tap and should fit pretty easily in a 1590a. Schematic here.

1 Watt Mini Amp

Here's a nice little solid state amp for headphone use or a small 4Ω speaker. Good candidate for a bench top amp for testing purposes. You can board mount the pot and it will fit in a 1590A just fine.

Electro Harmonix LPB-1

Got a request to redo the LPB-1 with the pot board mounted. Can't say I'm opposed and it only took about 5 min to layout. :) Easy fit in a 1590A. If you want to make the Screaming Bird treble booster, replace the two 100nF caps with 3.3nF.

MI Audio Boost 'n' Buff V1

The Boost 'n' Buff is a simple little booster that doubles as a buffer when it's turned off (so it's not a true bypass effect). You should be able to squeeze this one in a 1590A. The FSw pads are for the bypass footswitch. If you want to build the second version of the Boost 'n' Buff, add a B20k to the output as a volume control.

Spaceman Effects Saturn V

Here's the Spaceman Saturn V boost pedal. It's a pretty unique booster and uses depletion mode LND150N3-G MOSFETs. In original units, there are 2 resistors in series going to each drain of the transistors. They essentially create a 4.7k resistor using some really uncommon values. (It appears that the only reason for that is for more interesting guts. And lets be real, Spaceman has some of the best looking pedal guts around.) I've included room for the ferrite beads of the originals to fit on the board (these reduce RF noise) and if you wire the pots off board you can probably fit it in a 1590a. More info and schematic found here.