>>> Sparkle Face Research Project <<<

[Crusty]

Sounds and behaviour are what I always start with and work backwards and eventually use what parts can be used to meet the criteria.

Amen. Bring it on, sir!

[Donner]

Yes all the ideas suggestions and questions are appreciated - who knows what may come of this --- keep em coming .....

[BJF]

Hi there,

Right so bringing 'em on:

The Sparkle Face has some means of tone control with the Saturation control that,yes can set behavior from vintage to modern and it also directly affects input impedance and further tone can be adjusted via the output loading since output impedance is high when volume is somewhere in the middle- yes indeed should really supply an orange spiral chord to tune output treble.

Tone goes up when cable is stretched and down when relaxed:crazydude.

Yes I know that sounds really backwards using your guitar cable as EQ but it’s part of the design

I used my workshop RED CABLE which I bought a Kjell& Company- Sweden’s version of Radio Shack- for 100SEK-something like 12USD and the capacitance of that RED CABLE is 750pF at 6 meters and thus I consider it a medium cable with house standard capacitance so I know what the capacitive load is when attaching cable.
yes that helps knowing when tuning pick up systems but of course when tuning fuzzes.

Indeed a treble control could be hooked on if necessary although I decided to make a mild treble cut via some feedback.

Tonebenders I have seen several different and only a few with three transistors like the Marshall Supa Fuzz- actually I made last year a variant on the three transistor Tonebender or Supa Fuzz and called that Super Fuzz- which of course may imply something different altogether but anyway this BJF Super Fuzz I made I also made in dlx fashion with octave footswitch and that is beyond this topic but may pop up later. It is mentioned here
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5376

Some of the Tone Benders I have seen had a smaller output capacitor making a high pass filter at output which is another classic fuzz filtering cutting treble at input and reducing bass at output to give a leading edge to the waveform. in sound it just means a brighter sound with less bass while the filtering that occurs with guitar and fuzz input stays the same.

Hm, when building things on a perfboard which I also did with the BJF Super Fuzz there’s a whole new land of oppurtunities…that’s saying I might get into variations like that for the DIY version. Speaking that I will need help with posting schematics and drawings and also if someone wants to make a kit for the Sparkle Fuzz.

Allright having said that I’d jump too on a Tone bender with bass and treble knobs just because and even more so if it came in a cool case with fancy knobs…..yes I’d look at gear to see if they fit the leatherjacket.

Now I have among my shop guitars a Les Paul Black top ( a guitar formerly known as gold top ) and it is mounted with two P-90’s Lundgren /BJF P-90’s and I also have a LP Junior with a P-90 as well as other guitars with P-90’sGibson and BJF /Lundgren, while the LP Junior I actually used in testing with Sparkle Face.

Yes I used the Blacktop as well when tuning the Sparkle face.

That is to say I hear black Les Pauls with P-90’s

For Sparkle Face I have made the Fuzz control so that it has across the 310° turning the resolution you’d find in the last tenth of rotation on a standard Fuzz Face and I have also custom filtered the sweep of the Fuzz control to balance out frequency changes as fuzz is turned down and so on the Sparkle Face there’s a mild treble lift when Fuzz is backed down in order to make a balanced sweep of the Fuzz control. Yes you can set Sparkle Fuzz seemingly clean if both Saturation and Fuzz are turned down and Sparkle Face then becomes a slightly nonlinear amplifier.

Meanwhile I am all ears and listening to any suggestions

At your service
BJ

Oh and Administration, can we have some more smilies please?

[Donner]

If memory serves I think we only get 3 smilies per post . .. so make them count

[Crusty]

Conquer the Fuzz Face ... then roll up the sleeves of the lab coat and take on the 'Bender, maybe ...?

For a long while now: fuzz of the moment > Little Red Trebler (or a Rooster) (or a Baby Pink) (or ... you get it) > Honey Bee = cool beans.

[cajone5]

I agree that it probably makes more sense to focus on one circuit, then the other. And a fuzz face is about as simple as you'll get so it's a nice starting point.

I'm really looking forward to getting this project started.


On another note, I'm surprised how many lurkers there have been on this forum. Very little action for months and then this post blows up and everyone (myself included) comes out. Very cool!

[mrpicard]

Well, of course I have to say "yes, I am in"

[atomicbot]

I've never been able to get fuzz to sound right to me, even though I've heard other people use it to great effect. /bad pun

I love everything in the Bee family so much though, that this is really exciting!

[BJF]

Hi there,

Yes well as a designer I went for what seemed most desirable and so plunged into Tonebender first.

For DIY indeed a Fuzz Face circuit has low enough parts to build point to point…..getting the contraption to work is a question of bias though and it’s an excellent starting point for DIY although it is a circuit that works when it wants to more or less.

For the sparkle Fuzz bias is set so it can drift without causing havoc- while the transistor chosen have low drift anyway.

Oh yes might get to DIY Tone Bender when steam is up on the FF. Might even be fun to make a Treble Booster- for years a treble booster was my secret weapon

Yes Honey Bee swallows fuzz for breakfast and the Sparkle Fuzz too and further the Sparkle Fuzz designs allows pre driving it with boosters for more flavours

Right so for smilies I was thinking out side the post………
I mean I’d like smiles like :crazydude and the guy hiding behind the sofa in case things come flying.


And only three!

No way- gonna have to break some rules!!!

Have fun
BJ

[atomicbot]

Yes Honey Bee swallows fuzz for breakfast and the Sparkle Fuzz too and further the Sparkle Fuzz designs allows pre driving it with boosters for more flavours

I love stacking Bees with something. Right now I've been running a Earthquaker Devices Palisades into the Silver Bee. Absolute thickest tone.

Anyway, really excited to see (and hear) how this turns out!