New BYOC Fuzz Pedal

[duhvoodooman***]

Buildyourownclone.com is about to roll out a new fuzz pedal, a clone of the classic Univox Super Fuzz. While perhaps not as well known as the Fuzz Face, Big Muff Pi and Tone Bender vintage fuzz pedals, it's still got quite a reputation among vintage effects mavens. Probably its most famous proponent was Pete Townshend of The Who, who used one for the better part of ten years. Big, nasty fuzz tone, with a bit of octave effect, though not as strong as an Octavia pedal. Here's a pic of a couple of different versions of the original:



There's some more info and a couple of clips posted HERE. I don't care for the death metal style stuff at the begnning of the MP3, but later on it calms down and you can get a better idea of what it really sounds like. Not for the faint of heart--definitely an extreme fuzz!

Anyway, we BYOC forum moderators get first shot at beta testing the new BYOC kits, so take a wild freakin' guess who has a beta kit coming? Should arrive next week. I'll post some progress pics and impressions of the completed pedal, when available....

[tunghaichuan***]

DVM,

I used to own and original back in the '80s. It was the blue/orange version. I think I bought it for $30-$40 and was probably lucky to get $40 for it when I sold it. I wish I still owned it now

Personally, I didn't like it back then. I never could get a sound out of it that I liked. But then again I'm not really a fuzz kind of guy. It will be interesting to see how BYOC implements it. Who knows, maybe my tastes have changed enough that I would like it.

tung

Buildyourownclone.com is about to roll out a new fuzz pedal, a clone of the classic Univox Super Fuzz. While perhaps not as well known as the Fuzz Face, Big Muff Pi and Tone Bender vintage fuzz pedals, it's still got quite a reputation among vintage effects mavens. Probably its most famous proponent was Pete Townshend of The Who, who used one for the better part of ten years. Big, nasty fuzz tone, with a bit of octave effect, though nothing approaching an Octavia sound. Here's a pic of a couple of different versions of the original:



There's some more info and a couple of clips posted HERE. I don't care for the death metal style stuff at the begnning of the MP3, but later on it calms down and you can get a better idea of what it really sounds like. Not for the faint of heart--definitely an extreme fuzz!

Anyway, we BYOC forum moderators get first shot at beta testing the new BYOC kits, so take a wild freakin' guess who has a beta kit coming? Should arrive next week. I'll post some progress pics and impressions of the completed pedal, when available....

[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....

[duhvoodooman***]

For those interested, here are a couple of YouTube clips I came across--one a home-produced video featuring the early '70's vintage Univox pedal and a second more professional clip from ProGuitarShop.com demoing the Wattson Super Fuzz, a modern reissue of this classic fuzz circuit:





Because both are true to the original circuit, I would guess that the BYOC pedal will be very similar in sound and performance to the Wattson, which goes for $200. I expect the kit will probably go for less than half of that.

[marnold***]

'Bout as subtle as a punch in the face, eh?

[duhvoodooman***]

There are times when a punch in the face is exactly what's needed. Sonically speaking, of course. No reference to any volume swell thread postings stated or implied....

[duhvoodooman***]

OK, here are a couple of pics of the fully assembled pedal:



Sounds pretty damn good, but definitely a pedal-to-the-metal fuzz. I like the heavily scooped tone setting mopre than the mid-boosted one--huge, rumbling bottom end. I'm still playing around with the trimpot some. I can get excellent fuzz/sustain, but the octave effect isn't very noticeable. Not as much as I've heard on some video clips, anyway. Need to dial it in a bit more.

As far as the pedal build goes, I really like this new layout. I think Keith has a real winner with this new design. Smooth build, no glitches found in the kit, and everything functions perfectly. I'll try to post a sound clip in the next day or two.

[tunghaichuan***]

Very good work, DVM. That pedal looks great and looks like a winner. I like the uber-clean layout. :

tung

Sounds pretty damn good, but definitely a pedal-to-the-metal fuzz. I like the heavily scooped tone setting mopre than the mid-boosted one--huge, rumbling bottom end. I'm still playing around with the trimpot some. I can get excellent fuzz/sustain, but the octave effect isn't very noticeable. Not as much as I've heard on some video clips, anyway. Need to dial it in a bit more.

As far as the pedal build goes, I really like this new layout. I think Keith has a real winner with this new design. Smooth build, no glitches found in the kit, and everything functions perfectly. I'll try to post a sound clip in the next day or two.

[duhvoodooman***]

Tung got me started thinking about how I'll finish this pedal, so I started noodling on the Who/Townshend connection of this vintage effect and came up with a basic concept. Now I just have to decide how I want the graphics to look. I've got that pretty well defined, but I'm undecided on the font to use for the word "FUZZ". Take a look at my 4 candidates on the graphic attached, and let me know which one you like:



Haven't decided if I'll paint the pedal white, as these mock-ups show, or some other very light color, like perhaps a cream or very light blue, or maybe even my "standard" silver metallic. Open to suggestions....

[tunghaichuan***]

I vote #2.

As for colors, I think Sonic Blue or Robin's Egg Blue would look pretty cool.

tung

Tung got me started thinking about how I'll finish this pedal, so I started noodling on the Who/Townshend connection of this vintage effect and came up with a basic concept. Now I just have to decide how I want the graphics to look. I've got that pretty well defined, but I'm undecided on the font to use for the word "FUZZ". Take a look at my 4 candidates on the graphic attached, and let me know which one you like:



Haven't decided if I'll paint the pedal white, as these mock-ups show, or some other very light color, like perhaps a cream or very light blue, or maybe even my "standard" silver metallic. Open to suggestions....

[Spudman***]

#2
As an ex-sign maker...it's clean and legible.

The drop shadow on #1 has little effect from any distance. The cartoon font in #4 is too erratic. #3 just seems too unbalanced.

Are you going to have any copyright issues using 'you know who's' likeness?

[warren0728]

Are you going to have any copyright issues using 'you know who's' likeness?

i was thinking the same thing....i voted for #2 too....

[tunghaichuan***]

#2
Are you going to have any copyright issues using 'you know who's' likeness?

: Didn't think of that, good call.

DVM: do you know someone who could do a custom image for you?

tung