Bazz fuss, and adding caps in series/parrallel

[christian]

you could also try a 10k to 100k resistor in place of the inductor. Cheaper

You can go the easy way, just switching between the caps. That would probably be better, less hassle and stuff. with a SPDT on/off/on switch, you could use 10nf, and switch between 10µF and 100nF(and the off-state,thats the 10nf). I think that would give nice range.

[Narcosynthesis]

you could also try a 10k to 100k resistor in place of the inductor. Cheaper

You can go the easy way, just switching between the caps. That would probably be better, less hassle and stuff. with a SPDT on/off/on switch, you could use 10nf, and switch between 10µF and 100nF(and the off-state,thats the 10nf). I think that would give nice range.

would the resister work the same?

as far as i know (and i could be completely wrong) the inductor works as a pickup is similar in construction to an inductor, so it makes the signal appear like it was straight from the pickup

so i was wandering if anyone would be able to tell me what value of inductor would be equivalent to the transformer used (i am right in saying an inductor is a transformer without the secondary windings)

and how would an on/off/on switch be wired? im not too sure on how they work exactly, i had thought of my version as it is rather simple and i can also add the caps (two caps in parrallel equal both values added together)

David

[christian]

That resistor trick is common in fuzz faces. Don´t know more about that..

on/off/on switch looks like ordinary on/on switch (like SPDT or DPDT), it just has a center state where no lug connects to no lug. Catch is that you put the smallest cap you use around the switch so that´s always on. When the switch is in off state, this cap is what you get. When you toggle the switch to either on-state, the capacitors you connected to the lugs of the switch are turned on and in parallel with the "always-on" capacitor.
So basically it´s just a switch between 2 capacitors with one capacitor just around the switch..  :?:
Sorry, I didn´t get that even myself..

[Narcosynthesis]

That resistor trick is common in fuzz faces. Don´t know more about that..

on/off/on switch looks like ordinary on/on switch (like SPDT or DPDT), it just has a center state where no lug connects to no lug. Catch is that you put the smallest cap you use around the switch so that´s always on. When the switch is in off state, this cap is what you get. When you toggle the switch to either on-state, the capacitors you connected to the lugs of the switch are turned on and in parallel with the "always-on" capacitor.
So basically it´s just a switch between 2 capacitors with one capacitor just around the switch..  :?:
Sorry, I didn´t get that even myself..

the on/off/on switch, this is kinda like what i was doing, but in using three (or more) caps in parrallel, i can switch on only one at a time, or add them up (kinda like adding in binary) so get a bigger variation of values, though this leaves me with more switches on the outside of the pedal (as opposed to one with a on/off/on)

hmm, i always though fuzz faces are bad for having buffers infront of them, unless this is a mod to do to them. the inductor version sounds better to me, as i can see why that would work, but not by purely adding a resister in, wouldnt the resister be a negative affect on the circuit?

this is all confusing me slightly. to simplify everything...

the capacitor at the front controls the bass cut, for a fuzzier sound, i want lots of bass, and cutting it will give me a more overdrivey sound, but i dont really want to cut out too much bass as my amp sounds nice eq'ed as it is...

the capacitor at the end of the circuit does what?
i think it does similar to the input cap, so generally i want a big ass cap here too, or do i?

the diodes i have sorted from the table on home wrecker, i intend getting my hands on quite a few different caps and seeing what all works and sound nice. adding caps in parrallel does nothing, except use the cap with the lowest value, but using caps orientated opposite ways, or caps in series, will sound different

i think i may have to breadboard this, then get hold of quite a few different values of component to play with so i can get a useable range for when i build the pedal.

as for using an inductor, i am stil unsure what value would be appropriate

David

[christian]

wouldnt the resister be a negative affect on the circuit?

That simulates the impedance of the guitar to the transistors base, so if you are running a buffered effect before that, the resistor tames it down. So it fixes the buffering problem.

adding caps in parrallel does nothing, except use the cap with the lowest value, but using caps orientated opposite ways, or caps in series, will sound different

Caps in parallel increase the capacitance around them. If you have a 2*100nF capacitors, you get 200nF capacitor. Putting them to series reduces the capacitance. 2*100nF in that case makes 50nF.
If you put too big caps in parallel, you wont hear that much of a difference, but 10nF caps in parallel are allready so small that it´s starting to reach the ears.
Pretty much all you need to do is to switch between 10µF caps and 10nF caps. Try that with a fuzz face and you see that those values are really apart from each other. Grrrl and zzzrrlll.

[Narcosynthesis]

so possibly using 10uf, 10nf cap, and one in the middle of these (100, cant remember whether its nf or uf) would give me both sounds and a middle ground (from which i can further tweak)

i am contemplating breadboarding this first, but using switches in the circuit so i can quickly flick between different settings to see what i like (i dont want to be continually switching components back and forth...

so my shopping list will include...

3pdt switch
mpsa13 transister
jacks
enclosure
battery snap/dc jack
led/bezel
100k audio pot
10k resister
breadboard (for prototype version)
proto board (for real version)
either an inductor/transformer or resister (between 10-100k anyone able to specify further?)

and for the fun bit,
as many diodes as i can find
capacitors, a variety between 10uf and 10nf (and probably one or two more either side)

i think thats everything i need

David