Modding on the ole Fabtone

[Gr8Scott]

I've got my old metal case Fabtone out and I'm going back over some of the previous mods to this pedal and I'm thinking really hard about adding some additional mods to it. This pedal has WAY too much treble and the treble control almost needs to be dropped to the minimum setting to do any good. I think it's time to really change those controls. I really like the distortion it's putting out and I really like the sound it's got. I mean it is definitely one of the best pedals for my rig that I've got and I have some very nice pedals. Run clean through the Edana by itself, this thing sounds pretty darned good. Running it side by side with my 2204, this thing isn't half bad. I think I can make it better though. If I can tame the fizzyness of this pedal, it will be a real winner and will reserve a permanent place in my lineup. I don't know exactly which pedal this one is supposed to emulate, but it doesn't look like the Guv'nor to me. That pedal only has one op amp in it and the DD-1 has 3 in the signal path to the best of my knowledge. It SOUNDS like a Guv-nor though. Maybe not exactly like one, but very close. Sounds really close to my 2204 as well. Lots of attitude and grit if you turn the FAB knob up. Turn it down and it behaves like a really good overdrive. It doesn't tend to throw lots of conflicting distortion into the signal. It seems to work with the amp better than a lot of the other dedicated overdrives do. It pulls double duty. I might have to throw a gain boost footswitch on the top of the battery enclosure to give it even more flexibility.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Modding on the ole Fabtone

you mean the Red Danoelectro Fab Tone pedals from about 10 years ago? i have 2 since i like them so much... pretty cool fuzz pedals for low dough

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: Modding on the ole Fabtone

I have one of those pedals. it keeps making periodic trips to my pedalboard, and being removed not long after. I just can't make use of fuzz pedals in general! and i've tried quite a few

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Modding on the ole Fabtone

I have one of those pedals. it keeps making periodic trips to my pedalboard, and being removed not long after. I just can't make use of fuzz pedals in general! and i've tried quite a few

ya i hear ya... the way i use mine is strange... i have a Boss Line Selector pedal and in one loop i have the Fab Tone and in the other i have a Vox Satchuator... i switch over to the Fab tone for some solos and sustianing feedback... the odd metal sounds... but i never have it on for a whole song... it gets turned on and off for short passages...

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: Modding on the ole Fabtone

Mine is pretty heavily modded. I have replaced two of the three op amps in it and I've also changed the clipping diodes (using a general recommendation from Vashu that really helped the overall sound). Add several component value and type changes into the mix and it's a very different pedal than stock to be sure. My latest mod really did help the clarity and the strength overall, but it changed the EQ too severely and left the fizzy stuff on top.

Overall, this pedal is very good. It's clear and very thick. Every note in a chord rings out clearly while still being distorted. Removing "hair" can't be all that bad methinks. I'll add a low value capacitor to it and a small trimmer pot to make it sort of a presence knob to remove the hair on top. One really cool feature is the lack of noise it has when running at fairly decent gain levels. It doesn't add much in the way of background noise at all. I mean you can hear the difference, but it's very subtle. A tube screamer by comparison is way noisier. I wonder if changing some of the components will make it less noisy. Maybe changing that final op amp will remove the last drops of noise from the signal chain. Only half of that one is being used anyway, so I left it alone while changing the others for less noise and better distortion. It is way better than before. That thing sounded like the ocean when I bought it new.