Hi,
I wanted some fuzz sounds for an upcoming recording project so I revisited my Colorsound One knob fuzz built.
http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/DRAGONFLY-LAYOUTS_0/album18/album144/COLORSOUND_ONE_KNOB_FUZZ_001.jpg.html (http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/DRAGONFLY-LAYOUTS_0/album18/album144/COLORSOUND_ONE_KNOB_FUZZ_001.jpg.html)
I've built mine using an 82 ohm resistor instead of the 820 ohm. I noticed that I like the sound more with a starving battery than with a fresh one. I prefer powering my pedals through my power supply though so I started experimenting with placing different resistor values between 9V+ and the 100uF cap. With a value of around 2k I get a smoother sound and somewhat a better fading of the notes if I hold a note and turn down the guitar's volume knob.
Am I on the right track with the way I'm going around it or not? Would I get the same results if I would increase the 820 ohm resistor at Andy's layout (82 ohm in my built) ? I remember when I was building the circuit and experimenting with that resistor the only difference I could hear between 82 and 820 ohm was at the output level. The character of the fuzz was more or less the same. Thanks for reading. Please chime in.
you are doing the right thing. where you describe playing with resistor values is exactly where people put a "starve" or 'sag' control.
personally, i prefer a 50k pot where people normally recommend a 5k or 10k. the 50k gives greater control when a heavy boost/dist/fuzz/allofthe above is put ahead of the sagged fuzz. this is a whole other sound unto itself, and is worth exploring IMO
Thanks Joe. You actually inspired me to take the whole idea a step further. I have dawn a rough sketch based on Andy's layout applying the "starve" control pot idea. Could you please tell me if I have wired the pot correctly?
http://cid-90562a4f99e2b9cc.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!90562A4F99E2B9CC!127/?ViewType=4 (http://cid-90562a4f99e2b9cc.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!90562A4F99E2B9CC!127/?ViewType=4)
I've seen a similar attempt here:
http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/album03/DS_3.jpg.html (http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/album03/DS_3.jpg.html)
There is a 5k resistor between 9v+ and lug 3 of the "starve" control pot.
Why is that? Is it better to add that 5k resistor in my built or should I just use the pot?
Thanks
not sure what andy was going for with the 5k in series, haven't tried that.
if i were you i would try it both ways.
you diagram looks correct, however not sure of the ramifications of pre or post 100uf to ground.
Report:
I am done with rebuilding my circuit. I used the components of my old stripboard but resoldered them on a new board. I added some parts to the circuit to protect it from RF interference and wired a 10k pot for the voltage control. I have changed the layout some to accomodate the new components.
The circuit gives a wider palette of sounds now. It's not an "one knob fuzz" anymore. It's a "two knob fuzz" at present and a "three knob fuzz" wannabe. Please read on:
I read somewhere that the new reissued fuzzes by colorsound have an 100k trim pot to control the mix of dry and fuzzed signal. I wouldn't mind adding something like this or a gain control. A simple gain control would actually be very cool. Is there a way to do it?
Quote from: AM on June 13, 2008, 06:10:18 PM
A simple gain control would actually be very cool. Is there a way to do it?
Replace the 1K resistor with a pot. It starts to thin out and become more of an octave fuzz above 1K. I actually use a 1.8K.
I found another way to add a gain pot. So far so good. I'll play with it for a day to see whether I like the results or not. I removed the "starve" pot because I ended up getting the tones I liked without it and by just changing some resistor values elsewhere. Man, this is turning to be real fun!