Univox - Superfuzz  [schematic]

Discussion regarding early stompbox technology: 1960-1975 Please keep discussion focused and contribute what info you have...
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Camphausen
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Post by Camphausen »

Image

Finished mine today. No Mojo...BC Transistors in an B enclosure, with some Decal and overpriced knobs :D

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joe_pineapple
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Post by joe_pineapple »

Finished mine today. No Mojo...BC Transistors in an B enclosure, with some Decal and overpriced knobs :D[/quote]

Holey moley that's a beautiful decal
"..the finished product is just the garbage left over from the work." R.G. Keen

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echo
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Post by echo »

Dan N wrote:The gray one I had used 2SC828 (Q) transistors.

Of course, OUT and IN go to a DPDT footswitch.

thanks.. I've been looking for this for a few weeks!

a question if anyone wants to tackle it..

I recently did a rehouse of this same layout for someone who wanted a smaller enclosure and an led so I swapped the DPDT for a 3PDT.. it's wired exactly the same as before aside from the 3PDT which is wired like this...

Image

I wire pretty much all of my fuzz pedals that way without a problem but on this there's a high pitched whistle that comes through as soon as I turn the expander down. It's not noticeable when dimed but the more I turn it down the more prominent the whistle until it's all the way down and all I get is something that sounds like a muffled wind or tv snow. It's really odd.. anyone have a clue what I'm missing? I thought there was a ground I may have missed but everything looks right as far as I can tell :scratch:

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Solidhex
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Post by Solidhex »

jwhtn wrote:Hi, guys.
Long time lurker, first time poster.
This past weekend, I built one of these from Mike's stripboard layout. This would me my fourth mostly successful pedal build. It sounds awesome, but I've got one weird issue...

Whenever I turn either of the knobs down to 10% or less, the pedal cuts out entirely. Is that to be expected, or do I have something pointing to ground that I shouldn't?

One thing that may be causing trouble, though I wouldn't expect it to... I had only one 50k pot, and one 100k pot. I put a 100k resistor across pins 1 and 3 of the 100k pot. My understanding is that that will make it essentially the same as a 50k pot, but with a weird taper. I'm not sure if that would cause the trouble I'm seeing.

Thoughts?

Thanks, Joel.
Its normal. Both pots in that layout have their third lugs connected to ground. When the pots are turned all the way down the signal is "grounded" and no signal will pass. Volume controls are generally wired this way. If that bothers you place a small value resistor between the third lug and ground. Some versions of the Superfuzz actually have a 3k3 resistor there on the "expander" pot for that reason.

--Brad

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hendrixson
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Post by hendrixson »

how much do you spend to do a clone of a pedal like this?
i was wondering if anyone could do me one.

thanks

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Post by poodlebra »

i think my superfuzz cost around £20 biggest cost is the 3pdt switch (£5) and box (£6). everything else is dirt cheap.

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Post by mictester »

poodlebra wrote:i think my superfuzz cost around £20 biggest cost is the 3pdt switch (£5) and box (£6). everything else is dirt cheap.
That's about right, though the switch I use is £3 (single pole, momentary, stainless steel, "vandal proof", driving CMOS switches), and the box is about the same as yours. It's always the hardware that costs the money!

I think the previous poster wanted someone to build a clone for him - he should get a soldering iron, learn to solder, buy a few basic tools and a multimeter, and join in the fun!
"Why is it humming?" "Because it doesn't know the words!"

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Post by hendrixson »

mictester wrote:That's about right, though the switch I use is £3 (single pole, momentary, stainless steel, "vandal proof", driving CMOS switches), and the box is about the same as yours. It's always the hardware that costs the money!

I think the previous poster wanted someone to build a clone for him - he should get a soldering iron, learn to solder, buy a few basic tools and a multimeter, and join in the fun!
yeah, that's what i wanted LOL i don't understand the schematics, sorry for the ignorance.
help needed, please

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Post by poodlebra »

it's a time and love thing. but if you bung me £100 you'll get a beauty :wink:

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Post by pjmock »

mictester wrote:
That's about right, though the switch I use is £3 (single pole, momentary, stainless steel, "vandal proof", driving CMOS switches)
If you don't mind the n00b question, which CMOS switch are you using? It's an interesting idea and I found (what looks like) a workable control circuit, but I'm not sure which way to go for the switching IC itself. Was thinking something like Fairchild's FSA2859, maybe...

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Post by mictester »

pjmock wrote:
mictester wrote:
That's about right, though the switch I use is £3 (single pole, momentary, stainless steel, "vandal proof", driving CMOS switches)
If you don't mind the n00b question, which CMOS switch are you using? It's an interesting idea and I found (what looks like) a workable control circuit, but I'm not sure which way to go for the switching IC itself. Was thinking something like Fairchild's FSA2859, maybe...
I use 4066 or 4053 for the switching, and 4013 for the control bistable. There are huge advantages to getting rid of mechanical audio switching, and it then becomes easy to do programmable "patches" using groups of effects. The only down side is that the "solid copper" bypass is missing. I still have some people demand this, so I use bistable relays for them, but I don't really like them.
"Why is it humming?" "Because it doesn't know the words!"

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Post by hendrixson »

poodlebra wrote:it's a time and love thing. but if you bung me £100 you'll get a beauty :wink:
100£? that's a lot to me :s

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Post by Dirk_Hendrik »

mictester wrote: The only down side is that the "solid copper" bypass is missing. I still have some people demand this, so I use bistable relays for them, but I don't really like them.
Another one in the case against TB. Thanks. spread the word and let's get rid of the "TB is better" stupidity.

It's still amazing that in the late 70's multiple companies (Boss, Maxon, DOD) worked their asses off for clickless bypass and one simple mind (Fulltone) set it back in the market as better, making it a fashion almost ompossible to root out.
Sorry. Plain out of planes.

http://www.dirk-hendrik.com

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Post by mictester »

Dirk_Hendrik wrote:
mictester wrote: The only down side is that the "solid copper" bypass is missing. I still have some people demand this, so I use bistable relays for them, but I don't really like them.
Another one in the case against TB. Thanks. spread the word and let's get rid of the "TB is better" stupidity.

It's still amazing that in the late 70's multiple companies (Boss, Maxon, DOD) worked their asses off for clickless bypass and one simple mind (Fulltone) set it back in the market as better, making it a fashion almost ompossible to root out.
Hey Dirk - we agree twice in the same year! :wink:

I found that most DPDT and TPDT are rubbish, with very few expensive exceptions. The "vandal-proof" switch I use is also waterproof, and nobody has managed to break one yet!

I also now recommend XLR connectors instead of jacks, and use balanced audio into and out from the pedals. The users are astonished by how quiet the pedals are - they don't pick up RF, hum, noise from dimmer packs on stage (that buzzing used to drive me crazy) or any other interference. My users are usually happy to have an active buffer fitted to their guitars to give balanced output (though some want a passive balancing transformer in there), and the balanced, low impedance feed prevents cable noise being any issue.
"Why is it humming?" "Because it doesn't know the words!"

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HEAD
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Post by HEAD »

hendrixson wrote:
poodlebra wrote:it's a time and love thing. but if you bung me £100 you'll get a beauty :wink:
100£? that's a lot to me :s

How's about 111€? :wink: :lol:

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Post by hendrixson »

HEAD wrote:
hendrixson wrote:
poodlebra wrote:it's a time and love thing. but if you bung me £100 you'll get a beauty :wink:
100£? that's a lot to me :s

How's about 111€? :wink: :lol:

That's the same lol nice try
can anyone explain me how to read the schematics? thanks

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Post by HEAD »

hendrixson wrote:
HEAD wrote:
hendrixson wrote:
poodlebra wrote:it's a time and love thing. but if you bung me £100 you'll get a beauty :wink:
100£? that's a lot to me :s

How's about 111€? :wink: :lol:

That's the same lol nice try
can anyone explain me how to read the schematics? thanks
Nice try too. You've got two choices. Whether you pay the price the people are asking for (and 111€ isn't too much imho for a single handbuilt pedal with some hq parts and nice graphics) or you learn by yourself how to read schematics. Everything is out there at the internet - but you have to search, read, understand and do another search. But trying to get a pedal for almost nothing and if not, asking the people to do your homework seems to me a bit.... hmmm... rude, I guess. Furthermore this thread isn't dedicated to ask every noob question - it's dedicated to the superfuzz.;)

Helge

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Post by hendrixson »

HEAD wrote:
hendrixson wrote:
HEAD wrote:
hendrixson wrote:
poodlebra wrote:it's a time and love thing. but if you bung me £100 you'll get a beauty :wink:
100£? that's a lot to me :s

How's about 111€? :wink: :lol:

That's the same lol nice try
can anyone explain me how to read the schematics? thanks
Nice try too. You've got two choices. Whether you pay the price the people are asking for (and 111€ isn't too much imho for a single handbuilt pedal with some hq parts and nice graphics) or you learn by yourself how to read schematics. Everything is out there at the internet - but you have to search, read, understand and do another search. But trying to get a pedal for almost nothing and if not, asking the people to do your homework seems to me a bit.... hmmm... rude, I guess. Furthermore this thread isn't dedicated to ask every noob question - it's dedicated to the superfuzz.;)

Helge
sorry, if i'm being rude but that was not my intention.
i'll try and make one myself. could you help me?

thanks :)

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OrionManMatt
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Post by OrionManMatt »

So, if I wanted to build one of these (which I do), would it be best to grab the BYOC Leeds Fuzz kit or what's the most cost effective way? I'm a novice and don't have anything on hand other than a soldering iron.

Second, I'd like to make this useful for bass. Any recommendations on how to best approach that? Blend or input changes?

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Post by metulmykul »

Cost effectiveness, use the layouts that the guys have done up here, imo. They are pretty easy to follow. I've made a couple and they sound killer on bass.

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