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Bork Bork
Just built up a Bork Bork from Breakfast Audio. This is a clone of the Ibanez Wau Wau Fuzz. As far as I my “in depth” research can tell the Wau Wau Fuzz was originally a Fuzz and Wah in wah type enclosure. It had both a Fuzz and a Wah effect in the same […]
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Kay Fuzz Tone
Here is a kay Fuzztone clone. This is an octave-type fuzz that uses a full-wave rectifier. It is similar to the Super Fuzz and all its variants. The Kay Fuzz Tone uses fewer transistors than the Super Fuzz so you could think of it as a stripped-down and simpler version. The kay Fuzz Tone came […]
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Distort-o-Matic XI Stompboxology
Here’s another project from Nicholas Boscorelli’s Stomboxology newsletter: Going Discreet. Described by the author as: All-transistor distortion box with aggressive tone controls. Nicholas Boscorelli When I look at this I see a diode clipper similar to the Electra, DOD 250, MXR Distortion+, Proco Rat, and others, combined with a Super Fuzz octave Fuzz type octave […]
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Bobtavia analysis
This is a quick look at how the Bobtavia works. The Bobtavia is uses the LM386 to amplify the input signal. In the default setup the LM386 has a gain of 20. The output of the LM386 runs through a 220µ C4 cap into a small audio transformer. The input appears at one output of […]
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Bobtavia by Bob Starr
Bobtavia is an old-school DIY octave fuzz. It’s a lot like the Roger Meyer Octavia but uses an LM386 instead of transistors. The Bobtavia uses a transformer like the original Octavia and the Maestro Brassmaster. What’s nice about the Bobtavia is its simplicity. The whole circuit is just a handful of parts. This was one of the first […]
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Titan boost analysis
Here is a closer look at the Titan Boost by John Hollis. The circuit uses an op-amp to boost and buffer the input signal. This is fed into an inductor that steps up the voltage at the output. The amplifier is built around a TL072 dual op-amp IC1_A and IC1_B. The first stage, IC1_A, is […]
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New PCB day!
I have a few new PCB projects in the mail today. Flatline Compressor by John Hollis Titan Boost by John Hollis Tremolo-matic XXVIII from Stompboxology Distort-o-matic XI from Stompboxology Bobtavia by Bob Starr John Hollis John Hollis was one of the first people I ran into posting DIY designs on the internet. All of his […]
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Parentheses Fuzz Noise
I built a few of PedalPCBs Parentheses Fuzz. great clone of the EarthQuaker Life Pedal. All of the pedals I built seem to have whistling noise/oscillation sound when the Gain and Octave are at 100%. I haven’t played an original Life pedal so I’m not sure if it has this same issue. The noise sounds […]
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Parentheses Fuzz #4
This is a clone of the Earth Quaker Devices Life. Which is a great octave fuzz. The foot switches left to right are: Boost, Octave, Bypass, The knobs left to right: Boost, Distortion, Filter, Volume, Octave. The center top knob is a four position switch that chooses the clipping type. The circuit uses an octave […]
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Parentheses Fuzz postmortem
What is it Parentheses Fuzz is a PCB from PedalPCB that is a clone of the Earth Quaker Devices Life pedal, with some mods. Originally designed as a sort of signature pedal for the Band Sunn o))). What does it sound like? This thing sounds lightly. It has a distortion, boost, and a switchable octave. […]
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Parentheses Fuzz #3 EQD Life Clone
I got three boards from Pedal PCB. This is a pretty good project. It cost a bit more than the usual 1590B sized projects. It works well and sounds great. I’m keeping one and selling the other two on Reverb as a way to support my hobby. Check this out on my Reverb shop. Or […]
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Parentheses Fuzz #2 (EQD Lifepedal clone)
Here’s another Life clone. I’d say this is really an evolution of the Life pedal. It has the octave as a switchable option. The octave comes before the fuzz section and is mixed with the input buffer. Makes for a good heavy sound. I built three of these. I put one up for sale on […]