Boss - FZ-3 Fuzz  [schematic]

All about modern commercial stompbox circuits from Electro Harmonix over MXR, Boss and Ibanez into the nineties.
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nokaster
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Post by nokaster »

i'm wondering if there are any schematics or layouts for the boss FZ-3 around?
i couldn't find any...

also, where would you classify the FZ-3 within the range of fuzz pedals? which tone? which type? which classic was copied?



thx!

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Dirk_Hendrik
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Post by Dirk_Hendrik »

Here's what I sketched a few months ago. Bypass control is ommitted (except for the FET's) and, as said, it's a sketch, unverified in the end. Component numbering does not refer to the Actual numbering at all.;
http://www.dirk-hendrik.com/temp/boss_fz3.pdf
Sorry. Plain out of planes.

http://www.dirk-hendrik.com

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Post by cbriere »

I just opened mine to do some mods and i found that R22 and R23 are 3K3 (not 22k). please update shcematics.

Modifs done:
1) R23 changed to 1K5 (was 3k3) for symetrical clipping.
2) remove C9, this removes the high freq roll off before clipping stage, witch i prefer
3) C10 chaged to 0.1uF, this rolloff some BASS so distortion is not too Muddy

4) Plan to do TONE control modif. stock is just a HF roll-off

cbriere

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Post by Nyquist5 »

I'd like to suggest a few simple mods I did on mine. Stock, they are almost as unusable as the FZ2 and can therefore be had for cheap.

1. R22 and R23 are actually 2.2k (not 22k as on Dirk's very helpful schematic),
2. As mentionned before, C9 can be removed
3. Remove R18
4. Remove the transistor which emitter was previously connected to R18 (T!3 on the schem)
5. Solder a jumper between the base and emiiter connection holes of the removed transistor
6. Replace the two 2SC2458 making the FuzzFace type circuit by 2n3904 (they are connected to R21

The pedal is now closer to a FF clone with buffer, and it has all the qualities of a standard FF: it cleans dramatically when rolling the guitar's volume knob down, and chords stay pretty well defined even at high fuzz settings. It also goes from a pretty good overdrive to heavy fuzz. I actually like the stock tone control as it has no effect in its middle position and gives usable variations on either side.

As a side note, Dirk, your component numbering is actually very close to the original!

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Alex Frias
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Post by Alex Frias »

Anybody knows the Fuzz Control pot value?

It reminds me of FF, so 1 or 2 K may have the job done...

Thanks for any help!
Last edited by Alex Frias on 26 Jan 2009, 11:42, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Gila_Crisis »

it looks like a fuzz face/tone bender design with BM tone control
Zwischen Ordnung und Chaos fangt die Musik an

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Güero 2.0
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Post by Güero 2.0 »

I would like to share with you guys my layout for FZ-3.
I removed both input/output buffers and I'm using the 2n5089 transistor. I hope it works.
Maybe some BC550 could be used.
The only thing that is obscure is the FUZZ pot value.
Anyone could help here?
The route was verified, but not tested yet!
There is no VOLTAGE REFERENCE (1/2 VCC ) because it is only used to bias the buffers resistors.


Layout download:
http://www.mandamais.com.br/download/?c ... 1200984252


Cheers!
"Come squeeze and suck the day.Come Carpe Diem baby!"

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GodSaveMetal
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Post by GodSaveMetal »

Please post the PCB layout in pdf format or in megaupload!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Silvestre
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1.- Jim Dunlop Crybaby GCB95 Wah-wah, true-bypass & six position sweep-cap switcher
2.- Boss Blues Driver BD-2 Robert Keeley's PHAT Mod.
3.- Boss Fuzz Fz-3 Nic-o-sonic's Mod.
4.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Clay Jones-like" Mod
5.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Stacked IC's" Mod
6.- Univibe clone
7.- MXR D+ clone
8.- MXR D+ reparation

Post by Silvestre »

Hello,

I've been reading this forum for a while, but this is my very first message... i'm also new in this mod'ing hobby...
Nyquist5 wrote:I'd like to suggest a few simple mods I did on mine. Stock, they are almost as unusable as the FZ2 and can therefore be had for cheap.
Great indications, the modification on mine rescued it from oblivion and placed it in my line of effects in its own right...

I'll give some silly information a guy non-qualified in electronics as myself might like to take in consideration...
Nyquist5 wrote: 2. As mentionned before, C9 can be removed
3. Remove R18
and don't put a jumper between the holes C9 and R18 left on the PCB... very stupid, but might be useful for a guitarrist decided to take the soldering pencil...
Nyquist5 wrote: 4. Remove the transistor which emitter was previously connected to R18 (T!3 on the schem)
i believe it's Q6 on the PCB... at least my Fz-3 works without it
Nyquist5 wrote: 5. Solder a jumper between the base and emiiter connection holes of the removed transistor
6. Replace the two 2SC2458 making the FuzzFace type circuit by 2n3904 (they are connected to R21
the 2SC2458 transistors to be removed seems [to me] to be labeled as Q7 and Q8 on my Fz-3's PCB

as i read here: http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datashe ... ba/969.pdf, the colector, base and emiter of these 2SC2458 are placed in a different way that 2n3904 [TO-92 type]...

it's interesting to make the "mod" works...

i'm a bit busy, but i'll try to complete it later

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Silvestre
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my favorite amplifier: Sinmarc 50 Watt
Completed builds: 0.- A/B/Y box - signal splitter - looper
1.- Jim Dunlop Crybaby GCB95 Wah-wah, true-bypass & six position sweep-cap switcher
2.- Boss Blues Driver BD-2 Robert Keeley's PHAT Mod.
3.- Boss Fuzz Fz-3 Nic-o-sonic's Mod.
4.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Clay Jones-like" Mod
5.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Stacked IC's" Mod
6.- Univibe clone
7.- MXR D+ clone
8.- MXR D+ reparation

Post by Silvestre »

Silvestre wrote:
Nyquist5 wrote: 5. Solder a jumper between the base and emiiter connection holes of the removed transistor
6. Replace the two 2SC2458 making the FuzzFace type circuit by 2n3904 (they are connected to R21
the 2SC2458 transistors to be removed seems [to me] to be labeled as Q7 and Q8 on my Fz-3's PCB

as i read here: http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datashe ... ba/969.pdf, the colector, base and emiter of these 2SC2458 are placed in a different way that 2n3904 [TO-92 type]...

it's interesting to make the "mod" works...

i'm a bit busy, but i'll try to complete it later
If you compare the informatión given about 2SC2458 [http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datashe ... ba/969.pdf], and this, for 2n3904 [http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datashe ... 3904_3.pdf], before you start working, you will save some time i didn't, in my poor knowledge about electronics: i have concluded, and i might be wrong, that i cannot just plug the 2N3904's in the place of the 2SC2458's... i had to bend the legs of the 2N3904 transistor to put each colector, base & emmiter in the place the colector, base & emmiter of the 2SC2458 were in the PCB of my Fz-3

The jumper that Nyquist5 suggested to solder between base and emiter in that PCB of my "Boss Fuzz 3", designed for 2SC2458 transistors, had to be solder between the holes in the sides of the row of three holes left after i removed the transistor [Q6, i guess]... NOT between the middle hole and any other at its side as would happen on the place left after removing a 2N3904... Very obvious now, but it took me long to realize what i was doing wrong: thought every transistor had the "same disposition to work"

Hope it will serve some other inexpert as me...

Excuse my English too...

THANK YOU SO MUCH "NYQUIST5" FOR THAT MIRACLE CURE FOR A TERMINAL PEDAL... I ENJOY IT MORE EVERYDAY

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Silvestre
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my favorite amplifier: Sinmarc 50 Watt
Completed builds: 0.- A/B/Y box - signal splitter - looper
1.- Jim Dunlop Crybaby GCB95 Wah-wah, true-bypass & six position sweep-cap switcher
2.- Boss Blues Driver BD-2 Robert Keeley's PHAT Mod.
3.- Boss Fuzz Fz-3 Nic-o-sonic's Mod.
4.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Clay Jones-like" Mod
5.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Stacked IC's" Mod
6.- Univibe clone
7.- MXR D+ clone
8.- MXR D+ reparation

Post by Silvestre »

Hi, again,

I don't know how useful information is this but here it goes... having a "voltimeter" around, i tried to took some measures of the hFE of the transistors (2SC2458) i removed from the Boss Fz-3 pedal... i think that i read somewhere about the expected hFE intervals for those (2SC2458) and for the 2N3904 transistors: when i read that (maybe it was the description on the pdf's i gave the link for...) i thought both kind of transistors could be similar in hFE, but i'm not too sure about my done measurements of old transistors and new ones...

To add a more "dramatic" point to this whole story of anxiety that'll make me fall someday in places i won't be able to return from, i have to say that i didn't measure each transistor right after removing it from the PCB nor marked which one was supposed to be Q6, Q7 or Q8...

That means that i have three hFE values but don't know which one corresponds to each transistor:

Qx hFE=258
Qy hFE=255
Qz hFE=317

Once more here there go my "apologizing" for mistreating English language, and for being so inexpert...

Salud...

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Silvestre
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my favorite amplifier: Sinmarc 50 Watt
Completed builds: 0.- A/B/Y box - signal splitter - looper
1.- Jim Dunlop Crybaby GCB95 Wah-wah, true-bypass & six position sweep-cap switcher
2.- Boss Blues Driver BD-2 Robert Keeley's PHAT Mod.
3.- Boss Fuzz Fz-3 Nic-o-sonic's Mod.
4.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Clay Jones-like" Mod
5.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Stacked IC's" Mod
6.- Univibe clone
7.- MXR D+ clone
8.- MXR D+ reparation

Post by Silvestre »

Silvestre wrote:i thought both kind of transistors could be similar in hFE, but i'm not too sure about my done measurements of old transistors and new ones...
Silvestre wrote: i didn't measure each transistor right after removing it from the PCB nor marked which one was supposed to be Q6, Q7 or Q8...

That means that i have three hFE values but don't know which one corresponds to each transistor:

Qx hFE=258
Qy hFE=255
Qz hFE=317
the values of hFE for the six transistors i bought with that two fellows 2N3904 i had installed in my Boss Fuzz 3 are all in a 150 to 160 rank, rather than 250-300... hFE's = 155, 157, 154, 159, 156, 161...

I said it before, i like this mod (Nyquist5's one), the tone improves... but i've notice a not completely undesirable volume drop down... Does someone know if that is caused by the Q6 absence (i removed it), or if it is a matter of the (possible [*]) lower gain of 2N3904 transistors? Maybe both things working together?

And, if you allow me to do so, one more question: as long as i removed C9 (the same number on the PCB as in Dirk Hendrik's schematic), having R17 still soldered to the PCB is no sense, is it?... Could i remove it?... i think i'll try when i run out of things to do...

[*] i said posible because i've read the gain on the fellows of the 2N3904 i had not used yet, not on the ones i've installed on the fuzz, which i bought at the same time and store...

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Silvestre
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my favorite amplifier: Sinmarc 50 Watt
Completed builds: 0.- A/B/Y box - signal splitter - looper
1.- Jim Dunlop Crybaby GCB95 Wah-wah, true-bypass & six position sweep-cap switcher
2.- Boss Blues Driver BD-2 Robert Keeley's PHAT Mod.
3.- Boss Fuzz Fz-3 Nic-o-sonic's Mod.
4.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Clay Jones-like" Mod
5.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Stacked IC's" Mod
6.- Univibe clone
7.- MXR D+ clone
8.- MXR D+ reparation

Post by Silvestre »

Silvestre wrote:i thought both kind of transistors could be similar in hFE, but i'm not too sure about my done measurements of old transistors and new ones...
Silvestre wrote:the values of hFE for the six transistors i bought with that two fellows 2N3904 i had installed in my Boss Fuzz 3 are all in a 150 to 160 rank, rather than 250-300... hFE's = 155, 157, 154, 159, 156, 161...
I might have misread those 2N3904... I'm taking a look at http://www.muzique.com/lab/yaff.htm, where Jack Orman seems to say:
One problem with silicon transistors is that the gain is typically much too high for the best sound in a fuzzface. I measured a bag full of 2N3904 transistors and the minimum hfe was 250. Other silicon NPN transistors that I had on hand measured even higher. Gain of 85 to 120 is thought to produce the best sound in this circuit.

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Silvestre
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my favorite amplifier: Sinmarc 50 Watt
Completed builds: 0.- A/B/Y box - signal splitter - looper
1.- Jim Dunlop Crybaby GCB95 Wah-wah, true-bypass & six position sweep-cap switcher
2.- Boss Blues Driver BD-2 Robert Keeley's PHAT Mod.
3.- Boss Fuzz Fz-3 Nic-o-sonic's Mod.
4.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Clay Jones-like" Mod
5.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Stacked IC's" Mod
6.- Univibe clone
7.- MXR D+ clone
8.- MXR D+ reparation

Post by Silvestre »

Hi,

I've got to keep on testing, but after reading Jack Orman's DS-1 Fat mod. explanation, i've been playing with switches and resistors R27, R25, R15 & R17, and found that maybe i can increase the output level in that Boss Fuzz Fz3 i had "modded" by lowering resistors R15 and R27 from 10K to 4K7... first results are thrilling

I have to test it in a tube amp, but i think the effect keeps on improving...

To resume what i've done to this date, i'll repeat what's been said by "Nyquist5" and others before:
  • Q6 has been removed and a JUMPER between base and emiter's been add
  • C9 & R18's been removed,
  • Q7 & Q8 changed to 2N3904
and now
  • Lowering R15 and R27 seems to increase output level, diminished after the operations described before
Salud, amigos...

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Silvestre
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my favorite amplifier: Sinmarc 50 Watt
Completed builds: 0.- A/B/Y box - signal splitter - looper
1.- Jim Dunlop Crybaby GCB95 Wah-wah, true-bypass & six position sweep-cap switcher
2.- Boss Blues Driver BD-2 Robert Keeley's PHAT Mod.
3.- Boss Fuzz Fz-3 Nic-o-sonic's Mod.
4.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Clay Jones-like" Mod
5.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Stacked IC's" Mod
6.- Univibe clone
7.- MXR D+ clone
8.- MXR D+ reparation

Post by Silvestre »

Silvestre wrote:i've been playing with switches and resistors R27, R25, R15 & R17
R27, R25, R15 &... R 13, NOT R17

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Silvestre
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my favorite amplifier: Sinmarc 50 Watt
Completed builds: 0.- A/B/Y box - signal splitter - looper
1.- Jim Dunlop Crybaby GCB95 Wah-wah, true-bypass & six position sweep-cap switcher
2.- Boss Blues Driver BD-2 Robert Keeley's PHAT Mod.
3.- Boss Fuzz Fz-3 Nic-o-sonic's Mod.
4.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Clay Jones-like" Mod
5.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Stacked IC's" Mod
6.- Univibe clone
7.- MXR D+ clone
8.- MXR D+ reparation

Post by Silvestre »

I feel there's room to keep on trying things in this pedal...

I was searching for a way to make it even brighter (it went brighter after removing Q6 (and the other pieces) and changing the transistors to lower hFE ones... i don't know if it make sense technically speaking) and remembered having read about tone controls... i have find it again, and seems to me that the tone control circuit of this Boss FZ-3 might be like the Big Muff's as Jack Orman puts it: http://www.muzique.com/lab/tbypass.htm

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Silvestre
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my favorite amplifier: Sinmarc 50 Watt
Completed builds: 0.- A/B/Y box - signal splitter - looper
1.- Jim Dunlop Crybaby GCB95 Wah-wah, true-bypass & six position sweep-cap switcher
2.- Boss Blues Driver BD-2 Robert Keeley's PHAT Mod.
3.- Boss Fuzz Fz-3 Nic-o-sonic's Mod.
4.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Clay Jones-like" Mod
5.- Boss Super Overdrive SD-1 "Stacked IC's" Mod
6.- Univibe clone
7.- MXR D+ clone
8.- MXR D+ reparation

Post by Silvestre »

Some components on the schematic provided here [in this thread] could be labelled a different way in the Boss Fuzz Fz-3 PCB:
  • R32 in the schematic (right before FET Q10, after Cap17 that comes itself after VOL pot) could be, in my opinion, R31 on the PCB
  • R24 (after Cap18) right before Q11, might be R32 on my PCB...

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Post by walking bass »

For bass players:

I like the midrangy quality of the FZ-3, because you can cut the mix easyly (better than the Big Muff for example). The problem of the pedal is the bass sucking. I fixed it changing the C10 (electrolitic 1u) to 47u (ectrolitic too). Now the low end is full but without killing the character of the original. I have a Bass Big Muff, an USA Big Muff and a Zvex Wooly Mamouth and now my favorite fuzz comes from the modded FZ-3.

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Post by fuzzbuzzfuzz »

So from the above posts and experimentation (thank you all! :applause: ), is there a definitive set of steps for modding the FZ-3?

I actually have some BC-108s which I`d like to put in there, any advice?

Thanks.

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Post by Sva99.rev1 »

I just started reading this thread today. I was interested in finding a way to fatten up the tone a bit. I already modded the FZ-3 to have octave in it. Sounds pretty cool. Any help on the tone? I changed C15(10nf) to 100nF and jumped opposing diodes (914's I think) across it.

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