freestompboxes.org

Fuzz / Distortion pedal. It's my own design (with some distinct influences!) Not sure if this is where to post but wondering if anyone wants to take a crack at pulling it apart

Wow, what a cool looking pedal - love the graphic.

I see that you've done a pcb layout, so I take it that the pedal shown here is just a prototype. Rather than pulling your pedal apart, may I offer some constructive feedback, intended to help you make an even better product.

I can't see any labelling on the toggle switch - what does it do ? I'll have a guess and say it switches between fuzz and distortion - but which way for what ?

How is your perf board (or pcb in future) secured ?

I notice that there's no earth wire to the output jack. This means that the jack is relying on it's connection to the chassis for its earthing. If the jack comes even slightly loose, you (or rather, your customers) will have problems.

No battery connector - so I assume your pedals can only run with external power. That's OK, as long as you let customers know before they buy, just in case they only use batteries.

From a player's point of view, the knobs are hiding their labels (unless you lean right over the pedal), and the knobs are also a bit close to the footswitch, so the two lower ones could be accidentally kicked out of position. Personally, I would have put the knobs higher (as high as possible), with their labels underneath (so they can be read), and the toggle switch maybe somewhere in between the pots - then you could have the power connector at the very top (which I, and I'm sure many others, find more practical).

I hope you accept the feedback in the spirit with which it is intended.

Good look with the production version.

Looks like a Red Llama / Tube Sound Fuzz clone.

Hey thanks for the tips, it's definitely been a learning experience! I'm always willing to listen to advice from people who know more than me so it's appreciated!

What you see above is one of my prototypes. The label was actually a screwup with my printer settings and was originally to be used on the V1 White Rabbit seen here;


I was using the smaller knobs but don't like them and changed to the bigger ones you see above. I hate battery snaps so they are not included.

No label on the switch, it basically swaps out one resistor for a higher value and higher gain/boost.

For those wating to play and venture some guesses... (please ignore the ugly sticky-outy resistor on the bottom row!)
Also note this is the V1 circuit on the hybridized board and is missing the extra resistor/switch wiring

culturejam wrote:Looks like a Red Llama / Tube Sound Fuzz clone.

Close, it started out as a TSF from Anderton's book. I couldn't get that circuit to sound good so started messing with things and adding ideas.

Lucifer wrote:the knobs are also a bit close to the footswitch, so the two lower ones could be accidentally kicked out of position

This is HUGE for me. I have great big feet and tend to get all worked up and play with my eyes closed. I like to see a good couple of inches between knobs and switch if possible. Otherwise carry on!

The populated printed circuit board looks the biz - and I love the selection of coloured wires (much nicer - and easier to fault-find - than the all-black wiring of the prototype).

I think your pedal is gonna be great.

I definitely appreciate the positive comments, but I'm not fishing for compliments or promos... just want to see if anyone wants to play the tracing game.

I'm thinking if there are any new folks who want to give it a go and tell me what they think is going on then I can offer some support and positive/negative feedback on where they've identified things correctly or incorrectly as well as followed traces right or not.

Here are a few better views. (I didn't label the component side as wasn't sure if it would work or not but as of last night this is a verified layout. The 5 open holes near the green wires are the spot for the extra resistor and switch wiring.)

You should post a sound clip and people will decide if they want to trace it or not
this may generate a new term, not yats but yatsf or yarl

okgb wrote:You should post a sound clip and people will decide if they want to trace it or not
this may generate a new term, not yats but yatsf or yarl

Hey that's a good idea! I'm actually currently trying to set up a proper recording environment but here's a taste.



(btw, Whats "yats" "yatsf" or "yarl"?)

Yet Another Tube Screamer.... TSF, Red Llama Lol...took me a while.

hm I'll take a crack at tracing it (before class tomorrow) nobody spoil it!

what I have so far:
I'm guessing the brown wired pot in the corner is a "sag" pot, called "flop"? Lug two touches either a 220/120 ohm resistor which limits the current going to pins 1, 3, 5, and 7 on the IC--(oops I think the numbering on this IC is different). If I'm correct, the red wire is 9V. The electro is 330uF on the RL schematic and serves the same purpose here

blue wire is input; through 20k input resistor? (I'm color blind and brown/red looks very similar!) through big green input cap

really should go asleep but my insomnia got me this far

So far so good, I'll post exact values of the parts as you id them. Have to get to my circuits book at home for those though.

IC is a CD4049 and you're right about current hitting 1, 3, 5, 7
Red wire is 9-12V
Electro is 100uf (and is filtration) ... I have it entering pin 5 as I thought I heard a smoother overall distortion with less noise hitting this pin first, likely a beer induced hallucination as it wouldn't really make sense.
Signal in/out and volume/sag are correct so far.