Fuzzbox, Distortion, Phaser, Chorus, Echo and other Guitar Effects Info

I have never had a pedalboard but often thought about making one. I finally got around to working on the project.
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Package from Bulgaria just arrived with my project pc boards for the holidays…

A germanium transistor preamp and its power supply in the back.

An OA10 discrete opamp, 6-transistor diamond buffer, and a Fet Bloak in the foreground – all with 2520-style layouts.

Anyone else have plans for projects during the holidays?

regards, Jack

This is the new Dual Booster pcb, which is so versatile that it practically needs a web site of its own! The basic configuration is to have two booster circuits in series, but it is capable of much more.

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For those who are interested in a good solid overview of guitar effects, I recommend Jon Chappell’s article on Harmony Central.

Another great article is Craig Anderton’s piece entitled “How to Make Amp Sims Sound More Analog”.

Enjoy!

This is the Anderton Wah/Antiwah that I have modified to work from a single 9v battery. The original project required two batteries to power it. Other components have been added to bring the design up to a modern standard. Click the above schematic for a full size drawing.

If you build this version, and use an external power jack, I would suggest that you power it with 12v or even 18v to get some extra headroom.

Craig Anderton published a design many years ago for a frequency booster project that was based on a circuit that first appeared in Electronotes, as I recall. It’s a nice little EQ boost but it is not formatted properly for guitar pedal use. It is powered by two 9v batteries and needs some minor redesign to allow use with a single 9v or standard power supply.

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A fuzz circuit from the mid-1960s using 4 germanium transistors. (more…)

This is a fuzz schematic from an electronics magazine of the mid-1960s. No power is needed for the Ge transistor. I don’t recommend that you build this circuit and have posted it just as a curiosity.

I use lots of 3PDT switches in stompboxes, and I find them to be excellent with a very low failure rate. The 3PDT makes a very solid mechanical thunk as it toggles, and some people claim that it is microphonic and causes noise. I have never found the footswitch to be microphonic, but it is a known fact that some high gain effects pedals are! Check out Bill Rupperts’ Effectology tutorial where he is using a Big Muff pedal as a drum (starts around 1:10).

It’s not the switch that’s popping… it’s your high gain pedal.

One alternative to lessen switch noise with microphonic pedals is to use a relay bypass with a soft momentary switch.

I have 5 pieces of the Fat Gnat pcb that have been on a shelf in my lab for several years and I need to sell them to make room for new projects. The Fat Gnat was featured in the Oct 2000 issue of RECORDING magazine as “The Great American Fuzz Box”.

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