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.

Make a difference

SoloDallas Storm

Had a couple requests for this one. Very cool design and story behind this circuit. Note, the 120pF cap right below the Boost pot, and the 10uF cap just above the LED are present in the original design, but not connected. Check out Aion's trace blog for more info and schematic. Also, use the 1981 DRV drill template for this one.

German Tooth Fuzz

If you've got a bunch of NPN germanium transistors kicking around, this Fuzz Friday's for you. Here's Zzoyd's adaption of the Basic Audio Spooky Tooth for use with germanium transistors. The first 2 stages each use 2 germaniums in a Darlington pair, with the 3rd stage using either a 2N7000 MOSFET or an NPN silicon transistor (pinout is CBE on Q5 if using a BJT in place of the MOSFET). Trimmers are for biasing the Darlington pairs, so adjust till it sound right to you.

Frantone Lo-Tone Classic Fuzz

Here's an interesting one from Frantone for Fuzz Friday. Think the first half of a Big Muff into an LM386. Schematic over on FSB here.

Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz

Happy Fuzz Friday everyone! The Hyper Fuzz is Boss's take on the Univox Super Fuzz with a load of modifications. Schematic for reference here. Fits nicely in a 1590BB.

Death by Audio Sound Saw

Not quite a Fuzz Friday, but a Filter Friday I guess. Goes hand in hand with some fuzz though. The Sound Saw has two different passive filters selected by the Channel footswitch. The filters then share a 2-transistor gain recovery stage. Here's the schematic for reference. You can use a common cathode LED for the Channel switch or 2 individual LEDs if you prefer. See wiring diagram below. Laid this out for a 125B, but should be easy enough to adapt for 1590BB if you prefer. Will probably be doing a fabricated version of this in the near future as well.

Sound sample:

Hyper Fuzz regular and then the Sound Saw comes on

Clean guitar into Sound Saw changing tones

Bass Guitar into Suppa Tone Bender into Sound Saw

Bass Guitar into Big Muff then Sound Saw