Silicon Buzzarounds

[jrmy]

Totally snaxxing! That is one snazzy little piece of vero, digi2t.

Also, I'm impressed by your choice of picks. Heavy duty!

[digi2t]

Ha... quite honestly, that pick was kicking around my bench. I've always been a 1mm Wedgie Delrin user, but the wife and I were riding around Saranac Lake last year, and the local music shop owner put me on to the brass Teckpick.



Very sharp attack, but when the brass meets the Boomers, very slippery. More so than the Delrin, which is pretty slippery, until the edge starts to wear out.

[Gone Fission]

Finally listened to the NPN demo--very nice stuff. Some of the breakup was giving me a SWLABR vibe.

Dino, where do you get those awesome little vero boards? They look really well sized for fuzz and dirt circuits.

[digi2t]

Finally listened to the NPN demo--very nice stuff. Some of the breakup was giving me a SWLABR vibe.

Dino, where do you get those awesome little vero boards? They look really well sized for fuzz and dirt circuits.

I buy big boards, and cut what I need to size. It the most economical option. I usually buy a 19" x 11" sheet, and it lasts me a good long while, if I'm not building any monsters that is.

What you see there is the phenolic version, which is cheaper, but it's more fragile. I'm just using up my leftovers, and I'm going back to the epoxy. I get all my vero from here;
http://www.veroboard.com/
The also have a store on Ebay. They have the best prices and selection anywhere.

OK. Jrmy put me on to the fact that the "4 Banger" moniker is already taken. As matter of fact, it's presently on the market, so I had to nix that name. He was creative enough to come up with "Buzzicon" (Buzzaround, Silicon, and some Transformers mixed together), and I've decided to run with it. So, I present...





All kinds of tones in a box. The 4 position "Attack" switch is fairly subtle, just enough to give you a sharp buzz attack at one end, or a smoother attack at the other. It's just enough to find a balance between using single coils, or humbuckers.

I'll try to get a video out in the next couple of days.

[LaoWiz]

That's a tasty looking build, Dino!

[goroth]

That's a tasty looking build, Dino!

[univalve]

That's a tasty looking build, Dino!

Duder, you need to build me one of this!

[jrmy]

Hot damn!

There's something super compelling about the triangle of control knobs, with that attack dial in the middle. Super rad. Looking forward to the vid, for sure.

[digi2t]

Hot damn!

There's something super compelling about the triangle of control knobs, with that attack dial in the middle. Super rad. Looking forward to the vid, for sure.

Well, I hope you like it, 'cuz that's the one I'll be sending you if you want it.

[jrmy]

Um, yeah. I think I could handle that.

[goroth]

Dino I wish you'd do the odd run of pedals and off load them in the shark tank. You have a good ear, and that is one TIDY build!

[D.o.S.]

I have... never tried a buzzaround.

[KaosCill8r]

Dino I wish you'd do the odd run of pedals and off load them in the shark tank. You have a good ear, and that is one TIDY build!

I've been dropping hints and I'm not the only one it seems that wants one. He doesn't seem to bite.

[jrmy]

I have... never tried a buzzaround.

They are delicious. I've always considered them the perfect gateway fuzz for people who only have experience with overdrive (which is not to disparage them as fuzzes, but to say they've got a pretty specific "thing" that I've seen win people over).

[digi2t]

I have... never tried a buzzaround.

The Buzzicon isn't a Buzzaround. The Buzzaround has a completely different feel and tone, so the silicon version won't satisfy that unknown. The only reason why we called it the Buzzicon, is because it shares some of the circuit topology, but that's where the similarities end. Thanks to jrmy for the moniker, completely his idea.

Dino I wish you'd do the odd run of pedals and off load them in the shark tank. You have a good ear, and that is one TIDY build!

I've been dropping hints and I'm not the only one it seems that wants one. He doesn't seem to bite.

I'm going to be up front and honest here, as I always am; I really appreciate the "good ear" comment. It really helps validate what I'm trying to do, and I appreciate the fact that someone else also appreciates my work. I mean this sincerely, and I hold this near to my heart.

As for building for others, I do, on occasion, and for special reasons / people. Please don't take this as a slight, I'll explain. I have a full time job, a full time family, and a full time hobby. As it stands now, the builds that I have done for others, are either builds of gratitude, to repay good deeds done to/for me (several), or builds that have an extraordinary monetary benefit (very few). Pure and simple; my time is worth something, and the more time I shift from other things to build, the cost of building usually increases accordingly. Like every working stiff, I need to justify what I'm doing. Unfortunately, the "justification" generally tends to be out of the means of your average duffer, a group to which most of us (yours truly included) belong.

The other angle to the equation is this; I'm 50 years old, and I make a VERY healthy living at my job. Better than most. I've spent countless years getting to the point where I can finally "lift" off the pedal, relax, and enjoy my hobby for what it is. A hobby. I don't want it to turn into a JOB. I like to be able to say, "Fuck it... I'm going to go watch TV", without having to worry about Joe/Jane Blow waiting on his/her pedal. This is one of the main reasons for which I've priced my commissioned builds so high, to clear out the duffer pool. My PLL build costs $600 US + shipping. Yeah, it's steep for most, but I've sold a couple, and I build them with every ounce of quality that I would expect for myself. I'm not going to waste my time building $100 fuzz boxes, only to sell a few, and then have the rest sit on EBay forever. I just cannot justify that cost, not unless I traffic a bunch of Chinese immigrants into my shop. Moreover, when I have accepted commissioned builds, they have consumed me. With the amount of money that these folks are doling out, part shortage not withstanding, I will burn the candle at both ends to finish a build. I hate making people wait unnecessarily, worse that I hate waiting myself. Soldering until 3 am, then going to work for 6 am, is the norm for a commissioned build. Ask my wife, she'll happily confirm, through clenched teeth.

In this case, I made a promise to jrmy that I would build him a Buzzicon as a gift (if he liked it). Why? Because he asked a question that no one had really answered before, and that question lit a fire under me. If not for that, I wouldn't have done the research I did for this build, and I would have never discovered about piggy-backing transistors. So, for getting me to bed a bit less stooped know, I owe him a debt of gratitude.

But keep this in mind... he's still covering the shipping.

I'm sorry if that bends anybody's nose outta shape. It is what it is.