I hope nobody minds my leaving all this here, but these are generally the kind of threads I end up digging through when I'm looking for info of my own, so I'm hoping by working through some of this in the forum, maybe it will help me and somebody else down the road. Took years to figure out how to fix my DF-2, but a random thread had the answer, so here's more random thread.
hulakatt wrote: ↑Sat May 21, 2022 1:57 pm
Just personally, I find that fuzzes sound drastically different on a power supply vs powered by a 9v battery. Much more so then different types of batteries or different transistors. I don't really have an issue with having battery-only fuzzes on my board either as I usually run them first in the chain anyway and that's just another pedal on my board that doesn't require another power cable.
You know, you're right, and point taken. I'm starting to realize that getting hung up on modern conveniences (even basic ones) isn't something I oughtta be doing while splashing around in real raw, primitive, bespoke fuzz. (more below)
This... *this* looks interesting. Thank you for that, I'll admit, I've never heard of it and that swelling feature sounds like it could turn out pretty damn cool. I still have trouble taking something from schematic to layout (other than just literally building the schematic on a big piece of board), so I'm going to have to pore over this a bit or find a vero layout, but thank you, because this one is DEFINITELY going on the list.
So:
"Tone Bender Quest": As I put it above, yeah, you're all right. I didn't figure there'd be a good simple reworking of the circuit for silicon TBs in the modern age without a lot of work, and at that point, I've already got plenty of fuzz options. So, my quest for a Mk I (and just-slightly-lesser interest in a Mk II) have led me to "just build the damn thing right". No bells and whistles, just get a set of Ge transistors. So, I'm going to back-burner that for a while until I actually source a set and then get to work around the transistors, whichever I can get my hands on. Small Bear seems pretty lean on options at the moment, so we'll see.
And to bring things full circle, eventually I'll try to acquire the specific parts I need for an FZ-1, as well.
Now, with those specifics updated, there's more!
Fuzzjunkie, thank you for taking the time. Your connecting the dots between the One Knob Fuzz and the 2-transistor silicon Vox Tonebender circuit helped things click into focus. I've never really done a deep dive into Tone Benders because they just weren't within my grasp. All your info has really helped clarify things beyond "Mk I, Mk 1.5, Mk II". I didn't realize there were so many branches to that family tree. It also led me to the Vox Distortion Booster plugin that was apparently used on
White Light/White Heat, so I'm down to experiment with that one too.
I was completely unaware of the Selmer Buzztone, and digging a little further turned up that the Hofner Buzztone seems to be the silicon variant. I'm super intrigued by that one (the early PF vibes are groovy), and it's pretty high on the build list. I'm still poking around for more on the Zonk II, and am going to sit down today to learn more from that Joe Gore comparison. Thanks for all this fantastic stuff to work with.
And I realize this isn't another forum or even the DIY thread, but I mean, you fine folks here made this build list possible:
The "Druid Fuzz" is just a Bazz Fuss my wife liked on bass with green LED clipping and a green on/off light. The "Shake Fuzz" is a copy of the one I keep on my board with 1n914 and red LED clipping options. A friend of mine (name redacted) liked it, so I built one for him to mess with. Once I had the list and the parts, it was just a matter of picking a project and going for it - even doing an extra Fuzzrite to leave at the practice space.
Therefore, I blame all of YOU for the newest list:
And of course it happens. After two decades of nasty silicon buzz/fuzz through Superfuzzes and FY-2s, the week I turn 40 I build a Fuzz Face.
And just last night, I ordered a few batches of BC108Bs and BC108Cs to go through and sort by hFe. Ostensibly for the Hofner and OKFs, but we all know I'm going to try to fine-tune a classic Fuzz Face with them.
... and IT WILL HAPPEN TO YOUUUUU TOO!