Hey pedal builders...

JB_From_Hell

JB_From_Hell

Jomo's Nimions
I tried buying a homemade fuzz at Music Go Round today. When I plugged it in, it sounded really good with a Strat through a Twin, but emitted a high pitched whistling whenever it was turned on. I was really bummed, as it was $39, but they're gonna get it fixed and call me.

Anyway, you guys who post about building fuzzes and whatnot... where's a good place to start? I'll still probably buy that one since it was cheap, but in the meantime, I think I should build one. Looking for something Fuzz Face flavored.
 
Re: Hey pedal builders...

Start with BYOC, you get everything you need to complete a good sounding pedal. They also should provide a good matched set of transistors (important for fuzz pedals) and instructions for biasing.
 
Re: Hey pedal builders...

If it's a FF clone with PNP transistors and no onboard inverter, it cant be plugged into a standard 9V power supply (center negative) and it can't be daisy chained. I doubt that's the problem, I think actual damage would be done to the supply or the pedal itself if the polarity was reversed. However, I've never tried it, intentionally or otherwise. At any rate, it would need to run on a 9V battery or a converter cable that swaps the polarity, either from it's own wall wart or from an isolated supply. Other than that, if it does have an onboard inverter to allow it to run from a standard, center negative supply and/or be daisy chained, the inverter chip could be bad, wrong type or poorly filtered (seeing how it was homemade).

I agree with the others who are suggesting to start with a full kit. BYOC includes a pair of germanium transistors (and silicons too, I think). GGG has a nice kit and it's less expensive but you would have to source a pair of matched transistors from a reputable place like Small Bear (at an additonal $10 - $20 or so, depending on which transistors). Note that neither has the option for the onboard inverter.
 
Re: Hey pedal builders...

Darg1911 said:
If it's a FF clone with PNP transistors and no onboard inverter, it cant be plugged into a standard 9V power supply (center negative) and it can't be daisy chained. I doubt that's the problem, I think actual damage would be done to the supply or the pedal itself if the polarity was reversed. However, I've never tried it, intentionally or otherwise. At any rate, it would need to run on a 9V battery or a converter cable that swaps the polarity, either from it's own wall wart or from an isolated supply. Other than that, if it does have an onboard inverter to allow it to run from a standard, center negative supply and/or be daisy chained, the inverter chip could be bad, wrong type or poorly filtered (seeing how it was homemade).
Click to expand...

I can't say for sure that it was a FF-clone, but it had 2 knobs (volume & fuzz) and a switch that cleaned it up significantly. I can also say there was zero attention paid to the type of power supply that was used.

Since I know how to solder and am not afraid of a project, I asked if they'd sell it at a discount. The dude said he didn't have much room on it, and offered it for $35. Part of me wanted to say, "You think your repair guy is gonna charge less than $5 to fix this?" but I'm a retail manager, and figured if he was that concerned with margin on a broken item priced at $40, there wasn't much point in trying to haggle.
 
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