This is a second version of the Distort-O-Matic XI from stompboxology. You can read about the first versions here, and here. Distort-o-matic XI is described as a distortion box with an aggressive tone control. In more concrete terms it’s a diode clipper and octave fuzz with with a two band active tone control 30db of treble and bass boost/cut.
With this version I fixed some problems with the original board and rearranged the components for a better layout. The original schematic lacked power filtering which I added with this revision. My first version of the board used a regular 16mm pot where there should have been a trim pot. Another problem was with the footprint for the inductor which didn’t seem to match any of the inductors I had.
The footprint of the inductor from the BFFX Eagle Library didn’t match the actual parts I had. I added an extra pad positioned to fit the parts I had. This worked though it left the inductor a little off center of the silkscreen, which wasn’t a big deal.
I had these board manufactured at PCBWay.com. Luckily the price of prototyping PCBs at PCBWay.com is very reasonable!
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Building the PCB
The build is straight forward. No special issues. The PCB is a little longer than usual.
The inductor is an odd part, not often seen in stomboxes. Luckily they are available at Stompboxparts.com for a reasonable $5. Small Bear Electronics has them also but the price is higher.
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Making the enclosure
I milled a gloss black enclosure. These scratch so easily I think I should stick with matte finish from now on!
I flubbed the label on the Edge control, it’s sitting a little lower than the other labels. Otherwise the enclosure turned out well.
Wiring up the box
I used one of these 3PDT PCBs from LoveMySwitches.com and one of their 4 wire ribbon cables to cover most of the off board wiring.
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Conclusion
At this point this board is working well. The PCB works well now but is pretty large. This pushed the jacks further toward the switch. I might be able to shrink this down in a future revision. Or maybe it should just go in a 125B?
The circuit sounds as good as other fuzzes. I suspect there could be a little more range of sounds available in this circuit with some adjustments. I’d recommend you build this if you like Electra, DS-1 and Super-Fuzz style fuzz and want more tonal control the bass and treble controls add.
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