YADFF (yet a different fuzz face) the Sterno Face

[pinkjimiphoton]

this started life as a basic npn fuzzface, based on harold sabro's vero layout.
it kept evolving...as i kept modding it for local guitarist Bob Stern (hence the name) from one of my favorite local bands.
this is the most recent variant, pretty much just came from sitting there messing around.
had no idea the transistor i'd picked for q2 was a mosfet...guess it explains why it sounded kinda tube-y..
the stock sterno face was a 2n2222 for q1, and a vn2222ll for q2. we tried various things to increase the headroom, and he ended up pleased with it.
well, i was messing with it some tonite, and decided to try a npn ge in q1. i had a bag of AC176's i'd bought, so i popped one in.
it kinda mellowed the face out a little, but sounded really good. so i decided to keep it.
for some reason...no idea... i decided to try and parallel the mosfet with the 2n2222...figuring, hey, what the hell!!
i was surprised it upped the balls quite a bit, and gave the fuzz a bit more "bite"...so i kept it. no idea what the a mosfet and a transistor should be doing in parallel, but it sure sounds good to
my jaded blown out ears.
so i'd say it's finished...this is also the pedal i'm gonna be giving away in the turkey day shootout.
i did a vero for it, which is VERIFIED...i've built 4 or 5 of these things now, and the latest variant today.
figuring someone would ask for a schematic, i "borrowed" the basic fuzzface schematic from the Resident Guru's GEOFEX.com site and re-arranged it a little ...i think i got it right.
i think the only new twist here is paralleling the mosfet and transistor...but for a totally stupid thing to do, i think it sounds good enough to justify...even if it's one of them 10,000 monkeys x 10,000 typewriters x 10,000 years kinda things.

anyways, here ya go...the sterno face mk 1.5

vero:



http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt137/pinkjimiphoton/sternoface15_zps469f3ee9.png

schematic:



http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt137/pinkjimiphoton/sternoface15schem_zpse7ae7466.png

if ya build it or breadboard it, please let me know what you think.

for some reason the pics aren't loading...weird...

[LucifersTrip]

one of the coolest FF variants I've built is the Mos-Face, which is smooth with loads of sustain
http://www.muzique.com/schem/fuzzface4.gif

every time I've paralleled a couple transistors, one always "took over" completely (you either hear one or the other), so it's very surprising you're getting some type of combo of the two....tho, I never paralleled with a mosfet.

thanx for posting this

[deadastronaut]

cool, interesting idea, llok forward to the STP.

[Gus]

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=64244.20

What happens if you leave Q2 as a 2n2222 and remove the mosfet? 

[pinkjimiphoton]

hi gus,

tried that too. it sounds the same as a regular fuzzface. the mosfet sounds better to me there, but adding the 2n2222 definitely changes the sound...

the parallel of the two just seems to work!!

thanks for the link!  way over my head, most of it, but little bits are starting to stick here and there.

lu..my pleasure...try it on the breadboard, see what ya think...

rob...thanks man, will try to do a SPT today, but my thumb is all f'd up on my right hand, i shoulda got a mess of stitches the other nite but i had a gig.

i'm one of them old guys...the show must go on.

us old guys are what's wrong with this planet.

well...slightly older guys than me...

[pinkjimiphoton]

[pinkjimiphoton]

oooops....dead battery in the dang thing...so ya can hear what it sounds like browned out...lol

this is at 9volts...much more dynamic

also noticed that while the 2n and vn devices sound different, when in parallel the 2n definitely dominates.

dropped the ball, probably not worth wasting the mosfet... next incarnation will have them footswitchable maybe.

[deadastronaut]

ha ha damn batteries....  i tried the parallel mosfet/tranny idea too in my fuzz experiments....same results.!..

gotta try these things or you never know though eh!....

[pinkjimiphoton]

the weird thing, is that it sounds different with the mostfet AND the 2n... than either one alone...louder.

i dunno...weird. 

i tried both individually, and parallel it sounded GREAT. but then at gus's suggestion, i pulled the mosfet and the only diff seemed to be a slight decrease in volume.

go figure!!