i want to make a fuzz face

deadbeatriot · Post by **deadbeatriot** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:22 pm

i have exactly $44.

where should i go to get parts?

i'd prefer not to use a pcb. should i use a breadboard? how difficult would it be to just go point to point?

can i squeeze everything into a finger enclosure? can you simply switch out germanium transistors for silicon ones, or is it more complicated than that?

any mods you'd recommend?

thanks in advance!

eatyourguitar · Post by **eatyourguitar** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:46 pm

the mods question is really a huge topic. you have to know what you like for mods. so lets just stick with the fuzz face. if you make your own box, out of wood or license plates or electrical outlet boxes, all your parts can be had for about $14 not including shipping or perfboard/turret board, soldering iron, solder, wire. but then there is shipping. also, the places that have jacks and switches cheap might not have the resistors, transistors, caps, leds, pots cheap. so its catch 22. you just have to figure out if its cheaper overall to go through pedal parts plus, or mouser or both. your gonna need perfboard unless your other hobby is boat repair or surf boards and you can make one your self from fiberglass. I would not recommend point to point wiring unless you have some good skills.

deadbeatriot · Post by **deadbeatriot** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:50 pm

ok, thanks. there are a couple of hardware/electronics stores around here so i'm gonna check those first.

p.s. what the hell is 8k2 ohms?

deadbeatriot · Post by **deadbeatriot** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:54 pm

also, could i use any old NPN transistor? i've got a couple lying around but i have no idea what they are...

eatyourguitar · Post by **eatyourguitar** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 1:02 pm

depends on the datasheet and what that transistor is for. it has to be rated for a reasonable voltage. if its wayyyyyyyy too big or too low in gain then it wont work very good. your probably not gonna find the stomp switch at radioshack and everything is ridiculous prices there. I paid $3.50 for an LED that I got for $0.25 online. radioshack blows. just go online. whats it say on the transistor? any markings?

deadbeatriot · Post by **deadbeatriot** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 1:05 pm

none at all. guess i won't touch em then

eatyourguitar · Post by **eatyourguitar** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 1:14 pm

and to answer your question about 8k2. thats british for 8.2k Ohms. I wouldn't worry about the exact values if you can get close. E12 is used to describe common values for resistors. 8.2k is in the E12 but it may not be available everywhere. you can run a 4.7k and a 3.3k in series to get 8k.

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 1:24 pm

Here's what I built on perfboard:

http://www.home-wrecker.com/multiface.html

I highly recommend it as your first fuzzface, since it is socketed and therefore highly tweakable. And it sounds great with really-common 2n3904 silicon transistors!

eatyourguitar · Post by **eatyourguitar** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 1:26 pm

if he can find inline sockets and trim pots from the same supplier sure.

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 1:27 pm

Pretty sure you can grab this all from SmallBear http://www.smallbearelec.com/StoreFront.bok for less than $44 with shipping.

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 1:46 pm

I went to Smallbear and started filling my cart up with the components, including 3PDT switch, drilled case, 3 pots + knobs (instead of 10K trimpot I just build with a 10K linear 16mm pot, like the Fulltone '69 bias knob) and all the little components, and it was around $30 before shipping. Then Smallbear lost my cart because my internet timed out or something. I would have taken a screenshot otherwise to illustrate everything you need.

Let me know if I missed anything. Cart + what each thing is for building a multiface:

Click for large view - Uploaded with Skitch

eatyourguitar · Post by **eatyourguitar** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 2:00 pm

yeah smallbears website is whack. sometimes you order parts that aren't in stock and you get an email the next day. but no phone number to call them. I found that I dont really need them. if it works for you though then just do that. smallbear is also good at answering pedal building questions if you email them.

deadbeatriot · Post by **deadbeatriot** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 2:09 pm

thanks dudes!

i think i'm going to forgo the led and the 10k trimpot for now. i want to keep it simple until i really get the hang of what i'm doing.

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 2:14 pm

deadbeatriot wrote:thanks dudes!

i think i'm going to forgo the led and the 10k trimpot for now. i want to keep it simple until i really get the hang of what i'm doing.

You'll need the trimpot (or a regular 10K linear pot) to adjust the bias of the circuit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_transistor_biasing acting as an emitter resistor in a fixed bias circuit.

Otherwise it won't sound good, or depending on the transistor, may not work at all.

I suppose there's a resistor value that you could substitute, but without having your transistors it's hard to predict what it will be.

deadbeatriot · Post by **deadbeatriot** » Thu Apr 14, 2011 2:22 pm

i'm going off of this schematic:

and i'm using silicon BC109's.

ilovefuzz.com

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