Zvex - Fuzz Factory  [traced]

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bumblebee
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my favorite amplifier: ‘65 Twin Reverb
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Post by bumblebee »

marcao_cfh wrote:Generic username, 3 posts. Surely doesn't know how things used to be 10-15 years ago. Or knows, but it's somebody that created a fake user to just cause discord. I do remember all the "hail Zvex" stuff, all the "you posted my schematic, remove it" stuff and the "we are forbidden of talking about Zvex circuits" stuff - which is, for what my memory remembers, the reason this forum cames up.

Didn't saw any "ego" thing on bumblebee's post. Back then, a lot of nowadays called "regular mods" wasn't that common. A LOT of brands made use of that "just increase caps" and released it as a new product. A LOT of brands released a TS clone as one product, then added a diode switch/caps switch and released it as a entirely different product (and they still do it nowadays). So yeah, somebody who started to build pedals a year or two thinks those are "the most obvious mods". But back in 2002, when I started, people were amazed when somebody added a switch for hard clipping and a switch for soft clipping on a TS. Hell, back in 2002 some people had to make their own DPDT stomp switch, because they were hard to find and expensive to buy. The 3PDT was a dream come true, and now everybody can get them for cheap.

What about "lol at Z's originality"? Most of his circuit is just "let's pick that generic mosfet stage (SHO) and put a few in series or add something different to it". Box of Rock and that octave circuit are basically this, SHOs in series with SHOs, or SHOs in series with a generic transformer+diodes stage which is nothing original.

I do remember that 7 pot Fuzz Factory. I thought it was insane when that guy made it, because Fuzz Factory already have a lot of pots. And I never knew Zvex released a 7 pot Fuzz Factory until now, but I do know this guy's version. Coincidence?
Hi, Marcao,

It’s nice to talk with someone who remembers what it was like pre FSB forum, remembers the censorship; and who is also backing me up. For this, I thank you!


Way back then most people said “you can’t just build a stomp box, it’s hard work and you need skills” when I said I was going to build my own Big Muff on a guitar forum; I built it anyway and at the same time discovered the online DIY world where novices like me could build anything I wanted; I discovered hundreds of others who were always willing to help and talk you through a build or debug;I discovered Smallbear which opened up a whole new world to me; I discovered 4MS when they were cool, when GGG was selling those horrible snot green PCBs; and I observed the censorship on the other forum.

To have professional PCBs made back then wasn’t the usual thing, in fact it was quite rare for DIYers to do so, and I just hand drew/traced mine directly on the copper clad as I didn’t even have the right printer....still don’t. :lol:

I remember people thinking that it was crazy just to add a switch to swap a diode pair or increase volume or bypass tone or something basic like that. That wasn’t that long ago and then the bootweaker boom happened and now people think it’s always been this way, especially the younger ones who had just been born when this forum started.

It hasn’t always been this way and all my stompbox knowledge, which is little compared to many here, was gained because I was allowed to stand on the shoulders of others.

I’m still stuck in 2010 BTW, since that was the last time I built a pedal...incidentally it was a SHO. :lol:

I was mostly concerned with the BMP and WM circuits and I got all I could out of those and was very happy with my derivatives so I saw no need to make anymore pedals. It’s only recently I’m getting the itch to experiment again; and on thick subby fuzzes (my original style ;) ) with both very simple octave up and octave down sections in the same box...like a blue box X tone machine X BMP X WM kinda thing combined with plenty of pots and switches for experimentation.
I so dislike the modern digital world that I need to use semi-digital effects to emulate the analog world of cassette, VHS, and vinyl.

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abc1234
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Post by abc1234 »

bumblebee wrote:
abc1234 wrote:
bumblebee wrote:I haven’t posted here in years and I’m just browsing to see what’s new.

I remember back in 2006 I modded my FF to get rid of the thinness and add some bass to it. I used 10µ input and output.

I saw people were hesitant to mod theirs but over the years a few people did and then Vzex decides to make the fat version, I had to laugh at the time as he got it from me. :mrgreen:

Similar thing happened with the woolly mammoth as I made a NOS germanium transistor Version on vero around 2005/2006, which of course I shared with the pedal world on all the forums I frequented.

lol at his originality.
lol at your ego.

You just named two of the most obvious fuzz pedal mods in existence—who hasn't breadboarded a fuzz and thought, "What if I increase the caps for more bass?", or "What would it sound like if I swapped germs for silicon (or vice-versa)?"

You also "lol at his originality" while cloning his circuits...
You have no idea about what it was like when this Forum started and the associated hate we got from “all hail king Zachery” ass lickers, let alone before it even existed; and the associated circuit censorship we all worked to smash.

Nor do you know about him saying “the FF is the way I designed it and that’s how it will stay” or something similar when I suggested to him the (yes, simple) mods I done on my own on zvex produced pedals I had at the time.

Point is, it takes a long time for people to catch up and it has nothing to do with “ego” as I simply stated a fact. Today with all the bootweakers and BYOC sellers it’s nothing but “paint by numbers”. It used to be different with the most desirable effects as we all had to RE them first, and usually only from photos. Take the highly prized Klon for example, the RE work those guys done to get a clone of that was amazing and what did they ask for in return? Nothing!

Learn to have some respect for those early members who have contributed more to this forum than you likely ever will. I’ve seen the same loud mouthed assholes give AG a piece of their mind. If you don’t know who AG is then this just further proves my point.

So, in essence - fuck off and die scumfuck!

lol and behold, another “egotistical” individual claims Zachary knocked off his design...and its right here on this very forum listed beneath this one as a “similar thread”

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=27814
What's your point? That I haven't been on this forum for a long time? And that's a bad thing? In case it isn't obvious, I'm busy living my life.

Here's an idea—if you want to critique my post, try to stick to what I wrote:

* Those mods are basic.
* There's no proof Zvex "got it from [OP]".
* It's hypocritical to lol at the originality of a person when cloning their work.

Disagree? Go ahead and say why, but that long-winded, off-topic, vile, petulant rant... it just proves me right.

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