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i just did another (yay!) revision of the TAFM to older specs since i've been having trouble finding good NPN germaniums in abundance. upon receiving the PCBs, i did a bunch of testing and tweaking and found some pretty neat modifications that suit the circuit really well and open up a treasure trove of simple, yet tweak-y additions - really nice heavy overdrive, octave up fuzz, "bloom" fuzz, super splatttt/fart sounds, etc.

all that being said, i realize that with the current version that some people do not use a few of the functions and would be perfectly fine with a simpler pedal.

i'm thinking about possibly making a change this year and discontinuing it in it's current form and offering a smaller, cheaper and slightly pared-down version - probably in a 125B enclosure with top-jacks and fuzz, shape, fuzz vol, clean vol and maybe a gate toggle. AND a larger! slightly more expensive, more complex version - maybe in a 1790NS with gain, fuzz, shape, mids, feedback, bias, fuzz vol, clean vol, transistor toggle options, gate stomp.

thoughts? good idea, bad idea?

is that based on the fuzz face circuit?

Uncle Grandfather wrote:is that based on the fuzz face circuit?

yeah, but modified and with an additional preamp circuit, etc.

smallsnd/bigsnd wrote:

Uncle Grandfather wrote:is that based on the fuzz face circuit?

yeah, but modified and with an additional preamp circuit, etc.

rad, thanks.

Maybe don't take this overly seriously because I don't see myself ditching my current version for either of those, but I think it's a good idea! Especially the smaller version, I think that'd be kickass! I very rarely use the little switches, and although input is useful you could maybe make it a trimpot in that version? Or a high/low input switch or something. I think it changes the character so much it'd be a shame to lose it entirely, but it's also definitely the knob i'd leave out if it had to be done.

Dunno about the bigger version. I think it's plenty versatile already, but then I haven't heard these extra mods, maybe they're killer!

monkeydancer wrote:Maybe don't take this overly seriously because I don't see myself ditching my current version for either of those, but I think it's a good idea! Especially the smaller version, I think that'd be kickass! I very rarely use the little switches, and although input is useful you could maybe make it a trimpot in that version? Or a high/low input switch or something. I think it changes the character so much it'd be a shame to lose it entirely, but it's also definitely the knob i'd leave out if it had to be done.

Dunno about the bigger version. I think it's plenty versatile already, but then I haven't heard these extra mods, maybe they're killer!

cool. good thoughts - high/low switch could be cool.
yeah i'm not 100% sure about the whole thing yet - i still need to make a proto of the big guy to see if the additions would be useful. they were pretty fun though!

given that I have a sparkle motion and a TAFM that are almost always on in some manner, I'd definitely be into the larger one. The octave up and bloom seem super compelling. Could you see an expression pedal or CV in?

I like the "TAFM Mini" and "TAFM Deluxe" idea a lot - making the mini version simpler and cheaper should open you up to more potential customers, and the deluxe would appeal even more to us fuzzheads.

I'd kill the gate on the mini version too (both versions, really)...but maybe that's just me. Gate is for chumps who can't handle the FUZZ POWAH

Hyphen Nation wrote:given that I have a sparkle motion and a TAFM that are almost always on in some manner, I'd definitely be into the larger one. The octave up and bloom seem super compelling. Could you see an expression pedal or CV in?

hmmm expression or CV over what parameters?

DuoSonicII wrote:I like the "TAFM Mini" and "TAFM Deluxe" idea a lot - making the mini version simpler and cheaper should open you up to more potential customers, and the deluxe would appeal even more to us fuzzheads.

I'd kill the gate on the mini version too (both versions, really)...but maybe that's just me. Gate is for chumps who can't handle the FUZZ POWAH

indeed.

I liked the TAFM overall but I like the idea of a more crazy and extreme deluxe version even more.
The gate function is nice but I agree it would be better to either have more control over it and to be able to make it more extreme for synthy sounds or omit it altogether.
Oh yeah, the ability to have more bass and more tonal control would be great as well, and more gain, just the ability to dial in a dirtier and nastier fuzz overall would be great.
Just some rambling thoughts.

the lil' TAFM is a great idea IMO. just like the Fmini. whatever you wind up deciding to go w/, just make sure to keep the clean in there!!!

smallsnd/bigsnd wrote:

Hyphen Nation wrote:given that I have a sparkle motion and a TAFM that are almost always on in some manner, I'd definitely be into the larger one. The octave up and bloom seem super compelling. Could you see an expression pedal or CV in?

hmmm expression or CV over what parameters?

I'd keep it simple but amount of fuzz or the amount of octave up signs in the mix could be pretty powerful…I sometimes wish I could fade up the amount of fuzz/noise/dirt while playing…CV could be cool if it was synched with something like one of the foogers or a sequencer...

smallsnd/bigsnd wrote: a larger! slightly more expensive, more complex version - maybe in a 1790NS with gain, fuzz, shape, mids, feedback, bias, fuzz vol, clean vol, transistor toggle options, gate stomp.

which exactly are new options - the feedback, bias and trans toggle? that would be germ/silicon?
and how is the feedback working?

DuoSonicII wrote:I'd kill the gate on the mini version too (both versions, really)...but maybe that's just me. Gate is for chumps who can't handle the FUZZ POWAH

Noooo the gate makes the fuzz sound really cool and spitty, I love the gate!

Yeah, both sound really cool ideas (I would be most interested in the mini probably). I also agree on the 'kill the gate': no gate is best gate, feedback is king