Noob Fuzz 69 Questions

[jfrabat]

DJ, welcome to the forum.  If your experience mimics mine, you will find folks here EXTREMELY helpful!

I just wanted to share with you an article about the first pedal (well, the first that worked as it should!) I built.  I found it incredibly useful to try out how things work and why.  From there I moved to more complicated projects (I am at the stage where I mix parts of one pedal with another to get something different, like using a tone stack from one pedal with the distortion of another).

Anyway, here is the article:

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/21291-build-your-own-stompbox

(By the way, the last pedal I built is a modified electra with a HI MID LOW tone stack!).

Anyway, welcome and happy building!  I am sure I will be NOWHERE near as useful to you as some of the folks here, but I wish you the best in your builds!  And get ready...  It is ADDICTIVE!  In the last 3 years I have built myself 14 pedals, and I still have a bunch of PCBs waiting to get populated!!!

[Kipper4]

Dont worry theres plenty of pages on the net about how to read schematics.
You'll have it down in no time.
Before you know it you'll know what voltage is at what node and why.

Pedal building is a bit like lego.
Theres only so many types of cicuit we use
Amp
Attenuaters
rectifiers
tone stacks
etc

RG once called them stamps in his book.

I wish Beavis Audio was still around it made it a whole lot easier for me to understand when I started.
I reccomend you start small understand the circuit and what its parts do then move on to bigger when you start to recognise the stamps (small circuit blocks)

Before too much time you'll be mixing and matching stamps to see if things work.
Good luck on your journey.
Rich

PS theres also some good circuit analysis pages like electro smash

ergo this

https://www.electrosmash.com/fuzz-face

[DJPsychic]

DJ, welcome to the forum.  If your experience mimics mine, you will find folks here EXTREMELY helpful!

I just wanted to share with you an article about the first pedal (well, the first that worked as it should!) I built.  I found it incredibly useful to try out how things work and why.  From there I moved to more complicated projects (I am at the stage where I mix parts of one pedal with another to get something different, like using a tone stack from one pedal with the distortion of another).

Anyway, here is the article:

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/21291-build-your-own-stompbox

(By the way, the last pedal I built is a modified electra with a HI MID LOW tone stack!).

Anyway, welcome and happy building!  I am sure I will be NOWHERE near as useful to you as some of the folks here, but I wish you the best in your builds!  And get ready...  It is ADDICTIVE!  In the last 3 years I have built myself 14 pedals, and I still have a bunch of PCBs waiting to get populated!!!

Thank you so much and that you for the encouragement. It is already becoming an addiction, I made 2 trips to the electronics store yesterday 

[DJPsychic]

Awesome thank you 

[DJPsychic]

Dont worry theres plenty of pages on the net about how to read schematics.
You'll have it down in no time.
Before you know it you'll know what voltage is at what node and why.

Pedal building is a bit like lego.
Theres only so many types of cicuit we use
Amp
Attenuaters
rectifiers
tone stacks
etc

RG once called them stamps in his book.

I wish Beavis Audio was still around it made it a whole lot easier for me to understand when I started.
I reccomend you start small understand the circuit and what its parts do then move on to bigger when you start to recognise the stamps (small circuit blocks)

Before too much time you'll be mixing and matching stamps to see if things work.
Good luck on your journey.
Rich

PS theres also some good circuit analysis pages like electro smash

ergo this

https://www.electrosmash.com/fuzz-face

Thank you Rich! I definitely feel like I've awoken something. I've always been kind of a tone nerd, now I just want to make/fix my own stuff. Create MY own tone 

[Kipper4]

Thats the beauty of self builds you can build a fuzz (insert name of effect needed here) to suit your rig.
A range master sounds great with a marshall but with my fender its too shrill so I ammend parts to suit my rig.
Bosh.................

[bluebunny]

I wish Beavis Audio was still around

Ta da!  --  http://beavisaudio.com/   

[DJPsychic]

DJ, welcome to the forum.  If your experience mimics mine, you will find folks here EXTREMELY helpful!

I just wanted to share with you an article about the first pedal (well, the first that worked as it should!) I built.  I found it incredibly useful to try out how things work and why.  From there I moved to more complicated projects (I am at the stage where I mix parts of one pedal with another to get something different, like using a tone stack from one pedal with the distortion of another).

Anyway, here is the article:

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/21291-build-your-own-stompbox

(By the way, the last pedal I built is a modified electra with a HI MID LOW tone stack!).

Anyway, welcome and happy building!  I am sure I will be NOWHERE near as useful to you as some of the folks here, but I wish you the best in your builds!  And get ready...  It is ADDICTIVE!  In the last 3 years I have built myself 14 pedals, and I still have a bunch of PCBs waiting to get populated!!!

Btw, going to print out your build and give it a shot. Great stuff, and thank you for taking the time in writing and going into so much detail, this is exactly what I was looking for.

[Kipper4]

Bunny to the rescue.
Thanks mate it works too.

[DJPsychic]

edit:

I finished bread boarding the build forwarded to me by @jfrabat such much fun. I'm still testing caps/diodes/transistors, I'll let yet know when I find the holy grail!

Thank you all so much for the advice and the encouragement, it means a lot.


Side note: Is there anyway to reduce background noise? When I put my hand on the board it gets quieter. I know it's just the nature of the electronics and location of my amp, but any tips to reduce?





(fyi red power isn't connected in photo)

[bluebunny]

Side note: Is there anyway to reduce background noise? When I put my hand on the board it gets quieter. I know it's just the nature of the electronics and location of my amp, but any tips to reduce?

It'll be quieter when it's all boxed up.    Out in the open, expect it to be less polite.

[antonis]

"Βoxing" is easily emulated by grounded aluminium foil wrapped around breadboard..

[DJPsychic]

I'm also seeing the build adds a 22uf cap to filter out noise, it says it will not effect tone. I've got this baby dialed in hope not!

Thanks y'all. Can't wait to share finished product with you!