First Build - Hybrid Fuzz...big thanks!

[Joncaster]

Hi Everyone,

Firstly, a MASSIVE thank you to the forum.
I don't post much, but i read a lot (a LOT)...and I couldn't have done this without the wealth of information on this forum.
I also want to say thank you for having such a welcoming and warm forum...the best i've come across, actually. Such a pleasure to read.

Here it is:
My first ever build.
Quite a scary moment, putting it up here for all you amazing builders to see.

I started collecting materials and testing germanium transistors last year. Took awhile to source components (every little piece is an entire research chapter!).
Took awhile to get some of the tools needed (but damn I love my step drill bit now!).
Then i breadboarded and then took ages fiddling around and hearing differences untill I started gravitating towards the tone I wanted.

I leant towards more of an overdrive tone on the Fuzz scale, for this one.
I wanted one primary drive pedal, that was very dynamic but not too over the top. More balls than a TS, not as wooly as a pure FF.
Wanted the volume roll-off to be just right for a crunchy drive, clean when picked lightly.
And one thing I really wanted was a good transistion from fuzz to clean on the note decay. I managed to get that by working on the high frequency roll-offs and a very particular gain staging (HFE vs feedback), and also found that I really loved the way the 2N3440 sounded in a hybrid.

Speaking of Hybrid, I went this way cause pure germ was quite unstable (of course), and I didn't enjoy working really hard to get a sound right and it would change the next day.
I also like the added grit the Si Q1 gives (really nice rolled off crunch tones). But this took a lot of searching for the right Si/Ge combo.
I prefer the larger medium power Si transistors for this reason (higher internal C, lower Ft, lower HFE).

I didn't want any knobs on the thing, or DC and LED...just as simple as I could make it. I like that sot of minimalism in life and on stage.

I would do a few things differently, of course.
That brushed finish is an absolute finger print magnet (I don't mind it getting dirty, though, just is)
My next build is a black powder coat, haha.
I probably won't go with battery holders anymore...just couldn't decide whether they are a great idea or terrible idea (bit of both, maybe?)

So yeah, on to the next build (a rangemaster/lpb type boost with a great big Sony D291 power transistor, that works with this fuzz really well)!
Then I graduate to a knob, a switch, LED and maybe even a DC jack (can't decide yet).

Any crit is most welcome, I do plan on building more, and improvement is important.

Thanks

[duck_arse]

what is there that we could "crit"? looks minimalist perfect to me. [and no plastic in sight.]

[antonis]

what is there that we could "crit"?

Oversized enclosure, perhaps..??

Also, refering especially to you, full absence of voltage readings posting..

[Joncaster]

what is there that we could "crit"?

Oversized enclosure, perhaps..??

Also, refering especially to you, full absence of voltage readings posting..

Haha,
Yeah I had a 15900BB (still oversized, i know) ready for it...but saw the 1950S and had to have it! It has a nice chunky feel, like you're stepping on something rather serious;)

Voltages...hmmm
I made Q2C sit at about 5V give or take the battery...right now it should be at around 5.2V (9.2V battery)
I found that 4.5V sounds good, but past 4.8V you get a mids push (due to 2nd harm thickening, i guess?), which i like.
Q1C is almost 1V if i remember correctly (over 0.7V cause i upped Q1C a bit more to 68k)...forget why I did that. something to do with the top end of an Si in Q1...

[Joncaster]

Come to think of it,
I started leaving out the measuring at some point...as long as Q2C was around off-centre.
Q1 HFE was 105, Q2 was around 125-ish
(i had done a bunch of proper HFE measuring for the Germs and promptly mixed up the transistors, so I just started sticking them in my DMM to get a thumbsuck reading)
and I just listened to the noise floor for any obvious leakage, and went by tone the rest of the way until I chose that particular combo.

The breadboard can get to be a pretty crazy place, right?

[vigilante397]

Frankly it's a million times better looking than my first build. I used a 1590B when it probably should have been a 1590BB, and I had about 20 feet of wire crammed in there

Keep up the good work

[thermionix]

The breadboard can get to be a pretty crazy place, right?

Amen to that.  I'm currently having my second go at a TB MkII, the first time I tried I didn't have enough of a transistor selection and couldn't get much out of it.  Now I have more to choose from, maybe not anyone's "ideal" set, but I'm coming up with some good sounds, I just can't decide how gainy I like it.  After a couple days of breadboarding, several hours each day, I decided to walk away from it for a bit, clear my head.  Back at it tonight though.

[Joncaster]

Yeah, gain is a seductive, shifting target.
I'm thinking a TB or maybe a Zonk Machine/mk1 is gonna go up on the board at some point,
But im not mentally ready yet. After I box the boost, and do a tremolo maybe, I'll want to wade back into my pile of germs