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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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. … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
John Hollis Titan boost/octave. This is an op amp input pre amp/booster into a transformer. The transformer is 1k/20k and can output 30v from a 9v battery. The switch inserts a diode bridge for an octave effect. The sound of the boost warm and clear. The octave effect is pretty good and different from other … Read more