beginners' DIY heads-up

[Gone Fission]

Joe Gore has been doing some blogging for Seymour Duncan, and he's got a couple DIY pedal projects planned with a lot of beginner tutorial stuff. Project 1 is under way, and it's based on the Electra distortion circuit, a pretty damned cool first project. Rather than pure paint-by-numbers, there's a lot of not-highly-technical tweaking tips.

"Tone Fiend" blog DIY posts: http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonefiend/topics/diy/
Project 1 part 1: http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonefiend/ ... /4-v02.pdf
Project 2 part 2 http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonefiend/ ... -4-v03.pdf

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[eatyourguitar]

its a great write up for beginners. cant really say anything bad about it. perhaps he makes it too easy. like if you always give a noob a photo of you holding the transistor with pinout clearly labeled they might not ever learn what a datasheet is or how to look it up and read it. they might not learn to read the schematic either if you show them an illustration of a breadboard. but really its a great article that appeals to the beginner or complete NOOB. a good service for those that need it.

[theavondon]

Things that aren't problems: How-To's being too easy and well explained.

[McSpunckle]

I can't figure out why everyone uses those tiny pencil tips in pedals. A medium sized chisel works way better for everything in a pedal, and for stuff that's even smaller (which isn't an issue for most pedals), a small chisel is better.

That jack doesn't look like it got quite hot enough...

Solid tutorial, otherwise.

[eatyourguitar]

Smd tip is for pcb and i dont want to switch tips so just use it.

[Gone Fission]

Project two is under way, based on the Bazz Fuss, a simple but ridiculously overperforming DIY staple, and a component block in a fair number of boutique pedals.

[eatyourguitar]

Meh, you might not like it. Its ok on bass but it gets old fast. A one trick pony that always sounds like a blown speaker. I played with darlingtons vs npn silicon. different diodes. in and out caps. etc..

[multi_s]

the secret is you have to put 2 in a row.

[Gone Fission]

the secret is you have to put 2 in a row.

Or an Electra into a Bazz Fuss. Breadboard until you like the combo.

[multi_s]

Or an Electra into a Bazz Fuss. Breadboard until you like the combo.

mmmhmm. thanks for the tip i will try that out.

[LaoWiz]

I think my third pedal was 3 bazz fuzzes in a row with 6 toggles for clipping diodes in various places. Sounded great on breadboard but not so good in the box.

[theavondon]

I think my third pedal was 3 bazz fuzzes in a row with 6 toggles for clipping diodes in various places. Sounded great on breadboard but not so good in the box.

Bummer, because that sounds monstrous.

[LaoWiz]

Shit, two is enough! Multi_s had a clip somewhere I think. From a work shop???

[multi_s]

oh ya here is some clip of what 2 sounds like. i think it is/was just the same silicon diode at each stage (1n4148). I saw later on homewrecker/run off groove they did the same thing (presumably way before me) but using 1 silicon diode and 1 germanium diode.

there is a short clip of it on bass in the video closest to the bottom of this page

http://stillepostdiy.blogspot.com/2009/ ... -2009.html

I actually used this distortion for a long time. The breakup is a bit spattery but when you are playing loud its harder to notice (for whatever reason).

[LaoWiz]

That's a bass? Sounds incredible. I wander how it would sound with a clean blend. I just built a Colorsound Bass Fuzz for a guy that I am playing with. Sounds pretty good but I should and the Bazz on a second channel..