put the cathode (negative) side of that cap to ground and the anode (positive) side on row 15
if you have a polarized cap, the negative end goes to the part of the circuit with lower voltage and the positive and goes to the part with higher voltage
Univox - Superfuzz [schematic]
put the cathode (negative) side of that cap to ground and the anode (positive) side on row 15
if you have a polarized cap, the negative end goes to the part of the circuit with lower voltage and the positive and goes to the part with higher voltage
bitchen! thanks for the swiftness too man. I just realized I have pretty much the same question for the .56u cap (#C13): I just have an electro in .56u, so then the positive side would go in the hole directly left of the cut under R26, and the negative stripe on C13 would be facing downward/twrds the bottom of the board? (wouldnt that be the side with less voltage?) Sorry man, I'm gettin there tho 
And as far as the 390pf in C15, I def wanna "reign in the highs" as you put it, and have a darker sludge type sound, so should I even bother with the socket there or just solder that 390p in & be dun w/it....I know its subjective, but I have a sneaky feelin you know the doomy sludgefest sound Im after even more than I do.
And as far as the 390pf in C15, I def wanna "reign in the highs" as you put it, and have a darker sludge type sound, so should I even bother with the socket there or just solder that 390p in & be dun w/it....I know its subjective, but I have a sneaky feelin you know the doomy sludgefest sound Im after even more than I do.
I don't think it really matters for c13 because there's no DC voltage on it, but out of habit I'd still put the negative side on track 12
I designed the pedal for my amp and guitar etc so 390pf sounded right to me
if were you I'd just still go with a socket (or do something to make c15 easy to unsolder and replace) because I'm sure your overall rig sounds different than mine
and i don't really play doom, just know how doom works
I designed the pedal for my amp and guitar etc so 390pf sounded right to me
if were you I'd just still go with a socket (or do something to make c15 easy to unsolder and replace) because I'm sure your overall rig sounds different than mine
and i don't really play doom, just know how doom works
Im totally smellin what yer steppin in my man....Ill socket for sure. And putting the negative side of C13 on track 12 would mean its going to face the opposite direction of all the other electros that are all around it (C14&C16) .....so just to clarify, all of those lil grey shaded small stripes on the pink capacitors in the layout are for the negative sides... just like the same small stripes on actual electro capicitors are for the negative sides, yes?
yes, the little grey shaded small stripes represent the negative side of those caps
not all of them are oriented the same way relative to each other but they are oriented so that their negative side faces the side of the circuit with less voltage than what the positive side is facing
not all of them are oriented the same way relative to each other but they are oriented so that their negative side faces the side of the circuit with less voltage than what the positive side is facing
been trying to debug...exact same problem as my last one (super gated, farty, zero sustain), and the trimmers do nothing. I'm pretty certain I have the legs oriented properly, but mine are the kind that lay flat, and the ones in the layout look like they must be the vertical kind. I'm starting to think its just my crap soldering because I can build the layouts that aren't so tight without issue. Plus when I reflow suspect cold joints, it gets a lil better each time. I am concerned about heating up the caps/resistors so many times (sockets the Q's), I also made an audio-probe, but because I don't know the circuit path from the schematic to vero, its not working too well. Ive also knifed the gaps between the copper strips so much that now the copper strips arent as wide as they used to be, don't know if thats an issue, but I know a solder bridge is not 
Gonna keep messin with it for a lil longer tmrw before I put a fork in it. 
Gonna keep messin with it for a lil longer tmrw before I put a fork in it. -
astrobass
- Cap Cooler
I mean if you have the equipment and skillset to etch your own PCB it's not a difficult build. But you need a laser printer, access to copper clad board and ferric chloride, and a decent drill press. Ideally you'd get a set of carbide drill bits around 0.6mm, and a centre punch as most entry level drill presses have issues with runout.
It honestly sounds like that might be three or four steps from where you are and if you don't already have the laser printer and drill press, it's not an entirely trivial investment in hardware before you can even start.
Reflow all of your solder points and double check everything against the layout. I remember when I had the worst time just getting a point to point fuzz face build to work, so I feel your pain.
It honestly sounds like that might be three or four steps from where you are and if you don't already have the laser printer and drill press, it's not an entirely trivial investment in hardware before you can even start.
Reflow all of your solder points and double check everything against the layout. I remember when I had the worst time just getting a point to point fuzz face build to work, so I feel your pain.
voltage readings....do I need a drill press for that? 
hahaha...j/k. I'm workin on gettin some readings posted, gonna get over to the store to pick up a fresh battery shortly. I took some already but then realized the battery was putting out 8.57v. Those readings posted by solidhex for the OG SF say the battery is 9v dead on, so I just thot I should try to start from the same point since I was going to use those readings for reference. In the meantime I had started to tinker with the one I built a while back, (that layout I mentioned before from tagboardfx), and I actually have sound coming out again! lol. There aren't any trimpots in the TBFX layout, and Im perty sure the octave pair might be different than on your layout. So I was going to try to "tweak" the resistor values like solidhex said, but I still cant figure out which resistors to replace with trimpots and yada yada. Anyways, you've been way past patient and helpful derringer, really. So I definately don't expect you to help me with an entirely different build from someone else's layout. It was just somethin I was revisiting until I could get over to pick up a fresh battery to get those voltages.... And again, I can't say thanks enough for all of your help man, it's really appreciated. I'll get those readings posted asap
hahaha...j/k. I'm workin on gettin some readings posted, gonna get over to the store to pick up a fresh battery shortly. I took some already but then realized the battery was putting out 8.57v. Those readings posted by solidhex for the OG SF say the battery is 9v dead on, so I just thot I should try to start from the same point since I was going to use those readings for reference. In the meantime I had started to tinker with the one I built a while back, (that layout I mentioned before from tagboardfx), and I actually have sound coming out again! lol. There aren't any trimpots in the TBFX layout, and Im perty sure the octave pair might be different than on your layout. So I was going to try to "tweak" the resistor values like solidhex said, but I still cant figure out which resistors to replace with trimpots and yada yada. Anyways, you've been way past patient and helpful derringer, really. So I definately don't expect you to help me with an entirely different build from someone else's layout. It was just somethin I was revisiting until I could get over to pick up a fresh battery to get those voltages.... And again, I can't say thanks enough for all of your help man, it's really appreciated. I'll get those readings posted asap OMFG!!! IT WORKS! IT WORKS! Im ashamed to say that it had to have been either my use of the flat-style trimpots (or the soldering connecting them) or the power jumpers 
...got ahold of the upright trimmers with the same leg pattern as the ones in the layout, and ditched the 9v jumper (took both 9v rails str8 to the breadboard/input), and sweet, sweet fuzz came pouring thru. It wasn't quite as easy as getting laser carbide etching drill presses, but it did come to life ...and I need to adjust the trimpots and especially the caps still (thanks for making me socket those when I was getting impatient), but she sounds every bit as good as I expected it to..... Dood, for the layout itself, and all the patience and help, THANK YOU. A thousand times. THANK YOU Derringer. Today is a victorious day. Have I mentioned it's working? Haha, it's time to go and crush the neighbors
...got ahold of the upright trimmers with the same leg pattern as the ones in the layout, and ditched the 9v jumper (took both 9v rails str8 to the breadboard/input), and sweet, sweet fuzz came pouring thru. It wasn't quite as easy as getting laser carbide etching drill presses, but it did come to life ...and I need to adjust the trimpots and especially the caps still (thanks for making me socket those when I was getting impatient), but she sounds every bit as good as I expected it to..... Dood, for the layout itself, and all the patience and help, THANK YOU. A thousand times. THANK YOU Derringer. Today is a victorious day. Have I mentioned it's working? Haha, it's time to go and crush the neighbors whatsup derringer...so I just finished my 2nd SF using your layout (sounds even better than the 1st one- as I figured out which resistors to fiddle with) 
thanks again man
I was gettin ready to build a One-knob-muff, and Id planned on using a simple vero layout for a splitter/blender and boxing it with the one knob muff for a rude version of a BMP w/clean blend...and then using it with the superfuzz to get the doomydoom that you mentioned... dumb idea? a buncha reasons why it won't work?
thanks again manI was gettin ready to build a One-knob-muff, and Id planned on using a simple vero layout for a splitter/blender and boxing it with the one knob muff for a rude version of a BMP w/clean blend...and then using it with the superfuzz to get the doomydoom that you mentioned... dumb idea? a buncha reasons why it won't work?
Hi Guys!
First post here, I'm Luca from Italy.
Amazing forum and really interesting thread.
I just built my Superfuzz, IvIark layout.
It sounds awesome, really similar to the original (unfortunately I heard it only on youtube...) and really similar to the boss fz2 (that is almost a copy, right?)
The only problem is that when I don't play, the fuzz "pulls in" an incredible amount of noise. Could be the power supply? Maybe I should try with a 9V battery...or maybe putting the circuit in his chassis can help, shielding it from radio signals and magnetic fields (such as the field of the power amp transformers or the mains)?
Another easy question...I am quite noob to electronics
I didn't find 50k pot, only 47k: it seems they work fine, but where's the difference between them? On the sound I mean...especially in the balance pot
should I put a 2k7 resistor in series with the pots in order to have a total (about) 50k resistance?
Thanks,
Rizla
First post here, I'm Luca from Italy.
Amazing forum and really interesting thread.
I just built my Superfuzz, IvIark layout.
It sounds awesome, really similar to the original (unfortunately I heard it only on youtube...) and really similar to the boss fz2 (that is almost a copy, right?)
The only problem is that when I don't play, the fuzz "pulls in" an incredible amount of noise. Could be the power supply? Maybe I should try with a 9V battery...or maybe putting the circuit in his chassis can help, shielding it from radio signals and magnetic fields (such as the field of the power amp transformers or the mains)?
Another easy question...I am quite noob to electronics
I didn't find 50k pot, only 47k: it seems they work fine, but where's the difference between them? On the sound I mean...especially in the balance pot
should I put a 2k7 resistor in series with the pots in order to have a total (about) 50k resistance?
Thanks,
Rizla
-
induction
- Resistor Ronker
Definitely try a battery. If that helps, a regulated adapter should work fine too. Putting it in an enclosure usually helps a lot for shielding, but not for mains hum. You may have either or both problems. If it's not quiet in an enclosure with a battery, you may have to look at your lead dress, but chances are it will be fine.
47K should be fine for the balance pot. You don't need to bother with the series resistor.
47K should be fine for the balance pot. You don't need to bother with the series resistor.
-
digi2t
- Degoop Doctor
I had a mind-numbingly slow day at work yesterday, so as I normally do when in said predicament, I started thinking about pedals. Specifically, the Superfuzz. It occurred to me that the Honey Special Fuzz, was also a "Superfuzz" type circuit, but from memory, I couldn't remember what the differences were. I decided to investigate that today.
First off, here's the Superfuzz schematic that I based my Superfuzz build from;
The only differences between the above schematic, and my build are; I'm using a pot instead of a switch for the scoop control, I have a trimmer below the clipping diodes to adjust the clipping, and I have a trimmer on the base of Q6 to tweak the transistor voltages to the original specs. So that gives me this as a final product (Thanks to UKToecutter for the schematic).
From memory, I could remember that the fuzz section of the Special Fuzz carried six transistors, like the Superfuzz, but I couldn't remember if the layout, or components were the same. Looking at it today, I see that there are many differences. The six transistors are there (same 2SC828Q's spec'd for the Superfuzz), but the layout, and many of the component values are different. For the sake of clarity, I've taken Dirk Hendrik's schematic of the Honey Special Fuzz, and cut out the auto wah section. Here is the fuzz section;
What surprised me wasn't so much the different component values here and there, but the fact that the gain stage on one is at the beginning, and at the end on the other. I decided to do a side by side shootout between the two;
Soooooo.... what's going on here? I can probably see why they used a boost at the end of the chain on the Honey, since you could run through the auto-wah section direct (no fuzz). I guess the dry signal needed a bit of a boost to help match it up unity-wise with the fuzz. But, I'm wondering if there's any advantage/disadvantage to building a Superfuzz using the Honey layout. Sure, you can add an Expander pot, and even throw a Tone switch section (or pot) in there, but does the one transistor being in front, or behind, REALLY make a huge difference? As the video demonstrates, to my ears, yes.
Insert opinions here...
First off, here's the Superfuzz schematic that I based my Superfuzz build from;
The only differences between the above schematic, and my build are; I'm using a pot instead of a switch for the scoop control, I have a trimmer below the clipping diodes to adjust the clipping, and I have a trimmer on the base of Q6 to tweak the transistor voltages to the original specs. So that gives me this as a final product (Thanks to UKToecutter for the schematic).
From memory, I could remember that the fuzz section of the Special Fuzz carried six transistors, like the Superfuzz, but I couldn't remember if the layout, or components were the same. Looking at it today, I see that there are many differences. The six transistors are there (same 2SC828Q's spec'd for the Superfuzz), but the layout, and many of the component values are different. For the sake of clarity, I've taken Dirk Hendrik's schematic of the Honey Special Fuzz, and cut out the auto wah section. Here is the fuzz section;
What surprised me wasn't so much the different component values here and there, but the fact that the gain stage on one is at the beginning, and at the end on the other. I decided to do a side by side shootout between the two;
Soooooo.... what's going on here? I can probably see why they used a boost at the end of the chain on the Honey, since you could run through the auto-wah section direct (no fuzz). I guess the dry signal needed a bit of a boost to help match it up unity-wise with the fuzz. But, I'm wondering if there's any advantage/disadvantage to building a Superfuzz using the Honey layout. Sure, you can add an Expander pot, and even throw a Tone switch section (or pot) in there, but does the one transistor being in front, or behind, REALLY make a huge difference? As the video demonstrates, to my ears, yes.
Insert opinions here...
The problem was definitely the DC transformer, I tried another one and the noise decreased significantly.induction wrote:Definitely try a battery. If that helps, a regulated adapter should work fine too. Putting it in an enclosure usually helps a lot for shielding, but not for mains hum. You may have either or both problems. If it's not quiet in an enclosure with a battery, you may have to look at your lead dress, but chances are it will be fine.
47K should be fine for the balance pot. You don't need to bother with the series resistor.
Fortunately now that the circuit is in the chassis I have no more problems with radio signals (before happened that receives radio signals...)
I mounted the 47k pots and it works fine, thank you.
Rizla
-
astrobass
- Cap Cooler
Makes a huge difference. There are diodes to ground at the end of the Superfuzz. Those will limit your output to whatever their voltage is. So putting the boost at the start won't increase your signal coming out the end, it'll just increase your compression.digi2t wrote:Soooooo.... what's going on here? I can probably see why they used a boost at the end of the chain on the Honey, since you could run through the auto-wah section direct (no fuzz). I guess the dry signal needed a bit of a boost to help match it up unity-wise with the fuzz. But, I'm wondering if there's any advantage/disadvantage to building a Superfuzz using the Honey layout. Sure, you can add an Expander pot, and even throw a Tone switch section (or pot) in there, but does the one transistor being in front, or behind, REALLY make a huge difference? As the video demonstrates, to my ears, yes.
Insert opinions here...
Common silicon diodes like the 1N4148/1N914 or 1N4001 will clip anything above approx 650 mV. Common germanium diodes like the 1N60 or 1N34A will clip all the way down to 250 - 350 mV.
An average single coil pickup pushes around 200-250 mV. Coils in series will have somewhat higher output.
Why is that relevant? Marketing.
I might be alone here but I've found people expect a fuzz pedal to be loud. The BMP has a gain recovery stage at the end that and I've never seen anyone with their BMP's level cranked or with a booster after it. When it came out stuff like the Fuzz Face was popular, and that's a super loud design. All of the mainstream distortion pedals I've used have also consistently been loud enough that they don't need to be turned up more than halfway before they begin to mess with the pre-amp (a good or bad thing depending on whether or not your pre-amp is designed to overdrive pleasantly).
When I've shown people my Superfuzz or Harmonic Percolator they often ask why it isn't louder. This has happened with I want to say at least a third of the people who've played with them.
So you tack on a gain stage. It costs nothing, a single transistor and a few resistors costs literally pennies if you're operating at any kind of scale. But then nobody asks why it isn't as loud as their Boss pedals. People are immediately impressed by the astounding amount of volume on tap.
That's why I think they did it.