New BYOC Fuzz Pedal

[marnold***]

Definitely fizzier than the more murky Fuzz Face. Can't say I'm all that enamored with that clip. I'm still interested to see how it turns out for you. When it comes to fuzz, the question must be asked: germanium or silicon?

[duhvoodooman***]

Silicon NPN bipolars--six of 'em. No wonder the thing has gain & distortion out the wazoo.

It's not my favorite fuzz style either, but "opinions vary widely" when it comes to effects in general and fuzzes, in particular--or so it seems to me. But since this was an opportunity to add a cool (and free!) vintage fuzz pedal to my collection, I couldn't pass it up. This fuzz apparently has lots of fans, so if I don't like it, I can always sell it to someone who does!

[marnold***]

It's not my favorite fuzz style either, but "opinions vary widely" when it comes to effects in general and fuzzes, in particular--or so it seems to me. But since this was an opportunity to add a free vintage fuzz pedal to my collection, I couldn't pass it up. This fuzz apparently has lots of fans, so if I don't like it, I can always sell it to someone who does!

Hard to beat free! Who knows? You might just fall in love with it.

[duhvoodooman***]

Got the beta kit yesterday and populated the PCB last night. Straightforward build and nicely laid out, but quite a few components for a fuzz. Should finish it up tonight.

The physical layout of this pedal is quite different from the "traditional" BYOC kit. I understand that it's representative of the new direction Keith Vonderhulls wants to be taking with his pedal kits. The I/O jacks are mounted on the top side of the enclosure, along with (Spuds will LOVE this) the AC adapter jack. Will make it easier to daisy-chain on a single power adapter.

I'll post some pics, if Keith is comfortable with that (I've asked & am waiting for his answer). It is, after all, a beta design and things could change before the commercial release, so he may not want pics getting out yet.

[duhvoodooman***]

Just heard back from Keith, and he doesn't mind, so here are two photos. The first is the completed PCB "fit up" with the hardware, but not soldered in yet, and the second is just a PCB closeup:

[tunghaichuan***]

DVM,

Looks pretty cool. Much better than the cheesy original. I may have to try this one.

What are your thoughts on finishing the enclosure? Any ideas yet?

tung

Just heard back from Keith, and he doesn't mind, so here are two photos. The first is the completed PCB "fit up" with the hardware, but not soldered in yet, and the second is just a PCB closeup:

[duhvoodooman***]

Looks pretty cool. Much better than the cheesy original. I may have to try this one.

It's obvious to me that a lot of thought went into the PCB and pedal layout design. The amount of wiring required vs. the "old" BYOC designs is much reduced. With the exception of the battery adapter leads, I don't think there will be a single run of wire more than 1.5" long, with most well under an inch. Both control pots are of the "PC mount" type with legs that solder directly into eyelets on the board, as does the SPDT toggle that switches between two tone modes. Makes for a clean and easy build. :

What are your thoughts on finishing the enclosure? Any ideas yet?

Really haven't given it any thought yet, since the main "mission" on this build is to provide feedback to Keith on how well the build goes and make sure everything works properly and sounds as it should. One interesting element of this build, my first beta kit: no instructions and no diagrams to refer to, though the component placement/values are all nicely silk-screened on the board. Keith did post some pics of his own build in the Moderator's forum on the BYOC forum site, which I needed to refer to on a couple of details. But I'm quite amazed by how easy this is to build just based on prior experience with his pedal kits, even with the substantial layout changes made on this one. My old brain must actually be absorbing some of this stuff--wonder of wonders!

Suppose I should start brainstorming a bit about the enclosure finishing, though, huh? The working name of this new BYOC model is the "Leeds Fuzz", so named because of Pete Townshend's use of the Univox Super Fuzz on the famous Live at Leeds album. Maybe I can come up with something out of that....