toggle switch in big muff

[scaesic]

is it possible to add a single toggle switch or blend pot to change the russian big muff (black) into a single clipper?

from what it looked like to me id need at least 4 switches, the kind of creative thinking to make it just one is beyond me.

[Bernardduur]

Yes, it is possible;

The four diodes are all workjing together in pairs, so you can switch them as pairs, not individually..... and then you need only two switches (one for each pair)

[Mark Hammer]

I suppose the switch of most interest would be one that converts it from a Big Muff to a Sola Jumbo Tonebender by breaking the connection between the diodes and either the cap OR the base of the transistor (either will do) in the 2nd transistor stage (1st clipping stage).  That is but a humble SPST toggle.

A slightly more ambitious, but not that much more complicated, arrangement is to insert a pot between the two clipping stages to control how hard each one is "pushed".  If you look at the schematic ( http://www.montagar.com/~patj/bigmufpi.gif   or http://www.tonepad.com/getFile.asp?id=95 ), you'll see that it is a trivial matter to add a second 100k input pot and 1uf cap to the input of the second clipping stage, exactly as is used for the first clipping stage.  Normally, the "Sustain" pot sets the amount of clipping in the first stage, but that stage has a kind of fixed output level, more or less, which sets the clipping amount of the second stage.  Being able to independently vary how hard each stage is being pushed will be able to produce the Tonebender type sounds, Big Muff sounds, as well as others.  If you have to pop a hole in the chassis anyways, why not make it a pot and get more for your money?

[scaesic]

ahh, iv got an spdt at home so i might try just that, and if i like it i'll add a second gain pot later, yes!
i find the big muff is only really useful for one thing, and i like  a bit of versatility in my pedals.

just one question if i try that though, it's fine to just leave the 1k resistor to ground out in the added pot arrangment?

[Mark Hammer]

You certainly CAN, but it's a nuisance to do so.  It guarantees that the sustain/drive/gain/whatever pot is never set so low that you hear nothing.  If you want that (i.e., silence), you've aways got the output level pot for it.

The 1k value is not super-critical.  You could probably get away with anything from 100R through to 2k2 and still be very happy.