Project Fuzz (Thing).

[paul.creedy]

This was born out of me idly nosing around the internet to see how big pedal enclosures get.

I thought it might be fun to see how many fuzz pedals I could get in one Hammond 1590DD -I chose fuzz pedals because their layouts can be quite small, so I can get more in.

I'm still working out the details, but I have the enclosure and currently eight layouts I'm going to try and get in

Here's a picture of how things might look if everything goes to plan:



I'm going with toggle switches because they're cheaper and smaller, and because you can see whether they're on or off without them, I can leave LEDs out which saves both space and money - I put my pedals on music stands so don't need footswitches.

Because the toggle switch idea came from an Electro Faustus Drone Thing (which happens to be the same size enclosure) I've decided to call it Fuzz Thing (a name I can't find anywhere else, please correct me if you know better).

[Sooner Boomer]

More cowbell!

[BetterOffShred]

Yeah, there are tons of these types of builds out there dude, some google searching will yield numerous "Big Multibox!" type builds.  I don't go over about 3 things in a box (see Fix'd Deluxe etc.) because I find that I don't really want the same 5 fuzzes (or more) on my table all the time, and really only some stack worth note.   Enclosures go much bigger than that, see 1550J    if you want to get really nasty.  I might suggest that you jettison a couple of the fuzzes and add something that may synergize with them, like a pre-boost, post boost, and maybe a post Compressor/sustainer that can be used to goose or stabilize as well.     These are all ideas that are readily available in production PCB's as well (MAE Fragments comes to mind), but for easy stripboard builds that will fit in that 1590DD they could be handy.   The 1590D is also a little deeper which is nice.

[paul.creedy]

That's a pretty buzzkill post, but I shall plow on regardless.

I chose the 1590DD because I didn't want to go too big (I wanted it to fit on my stands, and it'll take up the same room as two Alexander Neo pedals would) and also felt the deeper option was more than I needed.

I don't really care how useful it turns out to be, I thought it would be something fun to do (I'm not going to worry about running more than one at a time either, if there are combinations that work then it's a bonus) and all the pedals I'm building are as much for the fun of making and learning as they are about .

It's not going to be something that could be bought off the shelf, even if I wanted to, as the eight I've chosen are not run-of-the-mill fuzz pedals - although they are mostly chosen for their size, it's also about making "interesting" sounds.

[digi2t]

I see more room for knobs and switches.

[Fancy Lime]

That looks like a fun project! Sure, this sort of thing has been done before, so what? You haven't done it yet, so you can still have fun with it, and no-one has ever built exactly what you are going to build (at leas the probability is exceedingly small as soon as you go past 4 or 5 effects in one box). I do not intend to kill you buzz but I, too, would suggest putting in a few boosters along with the fuzzes. They are usually even tinier than the fuzzes and will be much more useful in combination with one of the fuzzes than two fuzzes combined with each other. Just my 2 cents, though. You do you!

Just a bit or food for thought: You can include LFOs that control parametesr of the fuzzes. Or just include a few tremolos in the box. Tremolos can be tiny and several tremolos with independent speeds can get very nice and chaotic. Envelope filter(s) to control parameters of the fuzzes or the speed of the LFOs. Light sensitive resistors on the top of the housing to control parameters with the shadow of your hand. I generally like the idea of controlling one type of effect with another type of effect. Opens up sooooo many possibilities. This may not at all be what you want to do but maybe you find some inspiration in thinking about this. Also: stacking two Green Ringers!

Andy

[BetterOffShred]

That's a pretty buzzkill post, but I shall plow on regardless.

I chose the 1590DD because I didn't want to go too big (I wanted it to fit on my stands, and it'll take up the same room as two Alexander Neo pedals would) and also felt the deeper option was more than I needed.

I don't really care how useful it turns out to be, I thought it would be something fun to do (I'm not going to worry about running more than one at a time either, if there are combinations that work then it's a bonus) and all the pedals I'm building are as much for the fun of making and learning as they are about .

It's not going to be something that could be bought off the shelf, even if I wanted to, as the eight I've chosen are not run-of-the-mill fuzz pedals - although they are mostly chosen for their size, it's also about making "interesting" sounds.

Yeah didn't mean to be a buzzkill, thought you were looking for input, and that there were other numerous variants of this idea that you could possibly research to see what the builder did or didn't like.   

[paul.creedy]

Yeah didn't mean to be a buzzkill, thought you were looking for input, and that there were other numerous variants of this idea that you could possibly research to see what the builder did or didn't like.   

That's ok, I can see now what you were offering, sorry if I came across as really grumpy

I may well need advice once I get out of my depth (another good reason for picking simple and (mostly) small layouts) and as Andy pointed out, even if a suggestion isn't something I need now it doesn't mean that it will never be of use, maybe for inclusion in Fuzz Thing 2.0

My list of eight layouts (all but one taken from Guitar FX Layouts) in no particular order yet, are:

Fuzzrocious - Ram The Manparts
Rockett - WTF
Mid-Fi - Demo Tape Fuzz (most likely to go if I run out of room as it's one of the bigger boards and has four knobs)
Anchovie - Noise Ensemble (from the Parasit Studios site)
Devi Ever - Disaster/Krackle Fuzz (two in one layout, bring the total to 8.5 pedals?)
Dwarfcraft - Great Destroyer
Fuzzhugger - Phantom Octave
ZVex -Fuzzolo

[EBK]

I don't really care how useful it turns out to be, I thought it would be something fun to do (I'm not going to worry about running more than one at a time either, if there are combinations that work then it's a bonus) and all the pedals I'm building are as much for the fun of making and learning as they are about .

You are speaking my language!  Some things need to be built simply because the seemingly-intangible* benefits are too great to ignore.  No need to further justify your efforts.  I will be cheering you on. 

*I don't care for the phrase "seemingly-intangible", but it is all I can come up with at this moment.  I think (hope) you understand what I really mean. 

[MaxPower]

Needs a patchbay so you can hook up multiple fuzzes in any order you want.

Why do I find it funny that the fuzz face isn't on the list?

[digi2t]

Needs a patchbay so you can hook up multiple fuzzes in any order you want.

Why do I find it funny that the fuzz face isn't on the list?

BOOM!!



Room for 16 fuzz circuits (including the missing FF), configurable in in any number, in any order, with programmable 99 patch memory, and full MIDI control.

More cowbell delivered.

[bluebunny]

Never mind the real estate on top of the box, have you got enough depth for all the WIRING?   

[duck_arse]

eight. are you sure that will be enough fuzzes?

[Mark Hammer]

I put this together earlier this year.  I wanted to be able to access a bunch of things that were largely different from each other, and each only required two knobs - gain and volume.  The  Green Ringer is modified to do that, but everything else is pretty much stock circuit.  I use a 6-position rotary switch to select the individual circuit and provide true bypass.  It's pretty dang tight in there, but offers a lot of variety.

[paul.creedy]

eight. are you sure that will be enough fuzzes?

I have others.

[paul.creedy]

Just to get a rough idea what to expect I cut out some cardboard to see how easy or impossible it might be to get eight vero boards in.



I reckon that while I doubt I'll be able to lay them all flat like that once switches and pots are in, it won't be that hard to get everything to fit.  

I might have to lose that bit of enclosure sticking up at the bottom though - I can't have one switch out of line, and I don't think I have the room to move all the switches up to go round it. It's not as if I need to worry too much to lose one screw (I might be able to just remove the bottom of it).

[duck_arse]

if I had 8 fuzz holes to fill .......

1 x bazz fuss, 1 x percolator, 1 x bosstone, 4 x fuzzrite, and for to kick it over the edge - a tychobrae octavia. BUT! if I had 9 holes to fill, 5 x fuzzrite.

carry on. the boards don't all need to mount on the same plane, they can be staggered, layered, upside downed if it gets real tight.

[Mark Hammer]

Perhaps a dual version of this thing will be helpful.  It will make use of a momentary switch.  The drawback is that it involves more circuitry, and requires that you advance to the fuzz you want in "round-robin" fashion.  That is, if you were on Fuzz#3 and wanted to get to Fuzz#2, you'd have to "scroll" through the rest to get back to #2.
http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/build-a-quad-sequential-switch/5287

[paul.creedy]

Here's another rubbish picture of the enclosure with pots, switches etc. inside. I'm going to have one footswitch so I can attach an LED and so I can bypass the whole thing.

It looks like it's go for the next bit i.e. making the boards, drilling holes etc.

[bloxstompboxes]

if I had 8 fuzz holes to fill .......

I'd need a lot of blue pills, stay sore, and never leave the house.