new build... folk fuzz/(dist???) and of course questions

[magnus290]

Hello!

New here so i guess a presentation is good manners.

Magnus 39 years old and live in the middle of sweden. Been playing guitars for about 20 years and the last 15 in a coverband. Have been in the digital domain for a long time, Pod..Boss and stuff like that. Easiest for a guy in a coverband with usually only 3 minutes soundcheck. Have been DIY building studio equipment like compressors, eqs and preamps from time to time. well thats me.

Got interest for the folk fuzz and gave it a try this weekend. Made a simple pcb and populated it "the folk way" like Bjorn said, take what you got at home.

So BC107B trannies and red leds for distorsion and with the input option for more gain. Got really really supprised with the result. A great sounding fuzz/overdrive/distorsion(???), much clearer sounding than my distorsions in the Boss GT10 for lead and rythm at lower gains. So there is a really good idea to use this analog distorsion instead of the FX unit and just use the FX and CAB sim from the Boss. ( I dont want to carry an amphead an cab to the gigs sinse I always use in ear system for my monitor and i never get the time for a decent soundcheck so Ill never get good sound that way)

But it seams that this is the beginning of something really interesting.

There are several mods tho make with this circuit. More gain, filters, trannies, clipping section for example but what make the difference between a Fuzz/overdrive/ distorsion is it the over all construction or the clipping section or what???

I will instantly start to use this little bugger in my rig and I will try to make variations of it. I will try to make a more distorsion like version for a little compressed hi gain distorsion but is this possible with this circuit??

What is the big difference between trannie and OP amp based circuit, is one preferred over the other for Fuzz/overdrive/distorsion???

Oh by the way, is there anyone that has the long version of the circuit explanation for the Folk Fuzz??? Searched the net but no luck

Hope someone have some answers

Best regards Magnus

[Donner]

Hi Magnus,
and welcome to hell

I found your story very familiar.

at one point years ago I was pedalless and using one of the first Line6 Axis twin combos - even had it upgraded to AX2 and it sounded great and then I wanted a more real sounding distortion so I could control it more ,,,, and one thing led to another and......


But yes using an analog distortion unit into a digital unit is a great way to improve things ......

[jfromel]

sounds like a great build, share some pics if you don't mind!!!

What were the specific changes you made? Values?

[BJF]

Hi Magnus,

Oh and most welcome

Sounds like great fun.

Hey have you tried connecting two Fuzzes in series for extreme gain?
It is possble then to exclude certain parts for desired soundbut I woder if that might not put you in the ballpark.
As you are driving led's you clip at a higher level than with the transistors and that gives you less gain but greater clarity.
To get more gain you could add another amplifier but now if that also is distorted you could have a saturated gain sound and if you filter this well you could have a gain monster.

It would take some trimming, but it does sound like you would have the ear and skill to make that?

Actually I'd be most curious to this and from what I would know in my head it would work just fine

On longer explination on variations here's a little one
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1210.

The amplifier type can be looked ou in John Schröder's excellent book Komponent Handboken and you'll get the complete formula just as one example in swedish.

I have written also more about the Folk Fuzz in FUZZ Magazine in two articles and those would be found online at http://www.fuzz.se while only in swedish I am afraid......ahum

Further more there I have also written longer eplinations at at least three other forums but none as extensive as on this one but mostly about actually building and mechanics and some minor modifications.
Now if you'd like any questions are welcome and let's see if the longest text can be made about modifications to a basic voltage input two stage transistor amplifier

Have fun
BJ

[magnus290]

Thank you for your responce guys.

Well Björn if you say that a basic voltage 2 stage is possible to make fuzz/overdrive/distorsion circuits then Im willing to make it a long one.

I saw your second article in fuzz but never saw the schematic before i got here. I misst the original one about the 2,8 fuzz... Ill have a look. I have already written down all the tips about modifications I have been seing on this forum on the schematic. Just ordered components from germany to try them out.

When you mention to put 2 stages of this fuzz after each other, would it be possible to get some kind of sounds like your mighty red out of it or does this have to be a complete different circuit to do that. Im of course willing to test with variants of the fuzz circuit. Gonna do two new PCBs tomorrow after I redesigned the layout a bit.

Is it the filtering, feedback loops and clipping stages that makes the difference if it would turn out to be a fuzz or a overdrive or a distorsion sound?? Or is this complete different circuits?? I know the screamer uses distorsion in the feedback loop instead but i guess it would be possible to make this out from any kind of circuit, transitor and OP amp.... or perhaps maybe not....

I gonna change to a neg log fuzz pot to get a more controllable gain.. and then I gonna try with different diods for clipping. I Changed R2 from 47k to 2k to get more gain. I didnt have any 150p for the main roll off, thought i put in a 100p instead. I have something muddy in the bass or lower mid register so I think Ill have to try to filter that out before I reach the clipping section.... well I think Il have to try this now....

Funny to write technical english to another guy from sweden.... not my strongest side but Ill guess Ill have to learn to make it the longest....

Gentlemen, hope to here from you soon.... now Ill have a fuzz to mod....

Best regards Magnus

[magnus290]

Hi Guys!

2 new babies is about to be born this evening. Have etched and populated them yesterday and tonight i gonna solder the pots and input jacks and try them out.

One with 1N4148 and one with green leds to fel the difference.

Changed the input pot to 470 K lin for better tracking since I dont use the lower part of the 1M and I dont have the neg log pot.

Have only 2 types of trannies at home so Im gonna go for BC107C and 2N3904 to try them out.

Got some J201 and gonna try them for klipping later.

I was thinking of building adjustable filter with 12 pol switches to try different settings for the pots in the feedback and output filter and the filter for the input.

Great fun since Ive never built stomps before.

// Magnus

[jfromel]

Great fun since Ive never built stomps before.

// Magnus

However I would reckon you know your way around the circuit and could teach us all a thing or three. It's really exciting to see someone take this from schematic to box and give it their own favor.

Post some Pics!!!!! I am excited to see the work, perhaps based on your build we could start posting mods to the Folk Fuzz before round 2.25 of the builds starts.

[magnus290]

Hi!

This is the first time I take a schematic and cad my own PCB so that was new for me, it was defifinitly not the last... very fun to se the progect grow from almost nothing...

To say that I know my way around the circuit is propably to say to much but I read electronic in school for about 22 years ago... since then I have only used peoples finished designs of neve preamps, urei and SSL compressors and calrec eqs so i haven´t done much self but sorced components and built...

But this time I really wants to learn how to get the distorsion Im looking for without just clone a finished design. Looking for 2 kinds of sound. Really like this one, maybe with a little twist of my own and than I wanna do something that sounds like the Mighty red, but I dont know if this is possible from this circuit??? At least I gonna make a try and Im willing to write about it here if someone likes to read about it. By the way, I visited your homepage fromel and i can clearly see that I will learn from you and not the other way around...

But as long as we have a good time together and learn something it would be great.

Ill try to post some pics when i got something to show...

If you would like to try to make your own studioequipment Ill have to recomend http://www.gyraf.dk and his DIY projects, Urei-SSL-Calrec with compleated project files for all the projects. Same kind of guy as bjorn from what I can read. Very serious about his work and always willing to share information, 2 great guys. By the way...Check out my beginners guide of the calrec eq...

Hope to here from you all soon

// Magnus

[magnus290]

Hi guys!

A little report from the middle of sweden... not the same middle as björn but still pretty close...

I have compeated 3 fuzzet at the moment. I will box one with no buttons and no pots to use with my Boss GT 10. I can control the loop on/off and input and output levels from the GT10 so if i just trim a quite high gain in and then normal volume out and that would give me a full control over an analog Fuzz/dist strait from my Boss.

Modifications I made:
since I dont want to use the gain pot I will put a resistor on about 10-40K instead and for R2 I will put bjorns suggestion of 2k resistor to get more gain.
I use 1N4148 and J201 for slightly different distorsion with a switch. I will try more when new diods an trannies arrives here.
A 200p feedback cap which will give me a little less hizz in to the distorsion. Have to try this out a bit more though.
I got rid of the tone pot since I just found it to take away highs which I rather keep for myself....
Sounds grest so far... more life to the distorsion than the GT10.

I will start to experiment with the combination of the input cap to reduce bass for the distorsion circuit and then i might be better to have the tone pot to balance the sound. This can be very simple with a rotary switch with 6 or 12 positions and just play and listen.
I gonna try different trannies as soon as I get them home.

So far so good...

// Magnus

[BJF]

Hi,

When constructing an amplifier for extreme gain it pays off to divide amplification into more stages than one mainly in terms of noisegain but there are so many other benefits like you'll see in what your doing here you can set clipping level so they align stage from stage which will also control overall frequency response.

There is much more to tell and also much more of your report I'd like to read but I've got to run.

I'd think this'd be a long thread

Have fun
BJ