CLASS A Germanium
Amplifier V2

Voicing switch:

• Mid: Effective at boosting for more drive, without the bottom end getting too flabby.
• Bright: Slightly fuller than a classic treble booster.
• Full Cream: Extra body, and fat tone.

GE / SI
Silicon mode can be used as a backup in extreme temperatures, or for some harder clipping texture. This switch mechanically 'hot swaps' the transistor. This secondary slot can be used to swap in almost any PNP germanium or silicon transistor, if you'd like to experiment with finding other devices.

N.B. for purity of design, this pedal uses a positively grounded case. As such, it needs to be run from an isolated power supply, or battery. IE this pedal may not be suitable for a daisy-chain power supply.

This is built in a small-footprint Hammond 1590B enclosure.

Please note: that the huge metal LED holders shown in the photo are no longer available, and are no longer used. Any orders may be sent with a (still huge) black plastic LED mount, not the one shown in the photo.

or

USD$159 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

Powered by

My tremolos are easily my favourite circuits, and have occupied more of my design time than anything else. This was my first unique effect circuit design from scratch, which I started in high school. Development took over a decade before I was happy with the way that it sounded and functioned.

By shining a fluctuating light against a photo-sensitive field, this tremolo uses all-analog photocoupling to restrict and modulate the output volume. Careful waveform construction, with non-linear shaping, creates an organic and lively volume fluttering, far divorced from sounding like a basic electronic waveform function. The square wave is similarly processed, so as not to sound like a computerised chop.

Symmetry switch: This toggles between two modes which are subtly different. The asymmetric mode (up) has a slightly uneven rhythmic pattern - think of the first spinning liquid can tremolos. I feel this mode is sweeter when the playing tempo is not matching with the tremolo rate.

The symmetrical mode (down) has an even 360 degree spin, with a very slightly deeper scoop. It has a classically pronounced tremolo shape - think of a rotary speaker.

I generally prefer to use the asymmetrical mode for the square wave, as the signal stays 'on' longer, with less gap time. The symmetrical mode (down) square wave will give more perceived depth.

This circuit operates with in a split rail power supply for increased headroom, and has a very low noise level.

As with all of my tremolo models, you should expected perceived unity volume with all depth and rate settings, without having to make any manual volume adjustments. The wet level can be adjusted internally by a trimpot.

or

USD$149 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

SONIC SUSTAINER

Here we go again. This revisits a collaborative development with Shaun Klinger. This crossover completed a gap in both of our fuzz collections - the IC Muff. With a decade of good intentions to bring this design back, we had numerous side quests delay finishing a new release. There were new ideas which were too tempting to not explore, which resulted in several prototypes and back-and-forths.

So what's new?

The original design had three knobs, as well as Shaun's contribution of an internal "mids" trimpot to reduce the depth of the tone knob scoop. This was such a powerful tonal transformation tool, that it got moved outside of the case.

If you really want to max out the "mids" knob, then at some point it may sound nicer just to bypass the whole tone control. That's why we included a tone bypass switch. This steps away from the signature scooped tone and towards a more transitional fuzz voicing.

Later production IC muffs were made a little bit warmer and smoother. This helped with top-end noise, and also to match modern amps being a little brighter. It's a common DIY mod to bring this back to the original settings to add a bit more presence. Both versions are selectable using the bottom toggle switch, as well as a "cut" mode in the middle position which gives tighter distortion in the bottom-end.

The first five have a cheeky graphic on the circuit board. We will begin a larger batch after selling the first few.

Biiig Fuzz

A point-to-point version of my compact Big Fuzz pedal.

This pedal was intentionally designed to look as homemade as possible, while still being structurally built like a tank. The point-to-point application comes from my youth, when I worked in a valve amplifier factory exclusively with tag strip.

There's no user manual. I assume that this won't be your first muff. The only thing to know is that the 73 switch toggles between standard muff setup (LED red) to a '73 Supa setup (LED green). The 73 mode has less diode compression on the low-end, widening the dynamic range in the bass, and allowing the natural transistor fuzz character to be better heard. This difference is heard most when the sustain knob is turned up.

This pedal is expensive, as it takes me days to build. Built to-order. Please allow approximately one week construction time before posting.

"It sounds like... God. If God was a Big Muff pedal. If God was a fuzz pedal, I reckon, you know, it might sound like this" - Brett Kingman.

Sold out. Thank you.

TSX XXL

My take on the famous Ibanez TS10 Tubescreamer, constructed entirely point-to-point on tagstrip. Featuring:

• NOS Japanese Radio Company (JRC) high-performance audio amplifier IC.
• Extended double gain range. This is shown from 2 o'clock onwards on the knob.
• Three-way toggle for different clipping modes. This expands versatility with different pickups and play styles.
• Separately biased input buffer, not at half-supply. This is taken from the buffered bypass circuit of the TS10.

This pedal is built to order, as it takes multiple days to finish. Please allow approximately 1 week construction time. Components used may vary to those shown in the photo. Photos are shown as a general guide for construction and components quality. For demos, check out the standard size TSX build.

AUD$599 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$449 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

BLACK RUSSIAN XXL

Version 7C "Bubble Font" Green Russian / Black Russian build. This is a very similar circuit to the ТРАНЗИСТОР build.

This pedal is built to order, as it takes multiple days to finish. Please allow approximately 1 week construction time. Components used may vary to those shown in the photo. Photos are shown as a general guide for construction and components quality.

AUD$599 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$449 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

ULTRA RAD DISTORTION

A larger, point-to-point version of the compact Rad Distortion.

This pedal can be used either as a classic ratty fuzz/distortion, or as a raunchy germanium overdrive. This is a sound of the '80s and '90s, with some Dazatronyx tweaks.

The 'stock' silicon mode is the classic ratty sounding fuzz-distortion. This is achieved by a two-stage distortion of first overdriving the metal can 308 amplifier into fuzz, and then recovering some shape by further compressing the signal using hard-clipping silicon diodes.

In the germanium mode, the silicon chip fuzz character gets removed. Germanium transistors and germanium diodes are used to achieve a rounded and organic overdrive-distortion with tight definition.

The HAIR control dials the mid/high drive saturation. Turning this completely to the right achieves the classic metally ratty distortion. Turning this left achieves a full, flattened response. This is a variable version of the popular reutz mod.

There is no internal battery space. A battery may be used by means of an external adapter (not included).

This pedal is built to order, as it takes multiple days to finish. Please allow approximately 1 week construction time. Components used may vary to those shown in the photo. Photos are shown as a general guide for construction and components quality.

AUD$599 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$449 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

This is an old-recipe, classic germanium fuzz, built to end your Fuzz Face search. New-old-stock European AC128 transistors are used, housed on a turret circuit board.

The Roger Mayer Hendrix mods have been implemented, which make better use of AC128 transistors. These mods notably 'clean up' neater. The FUZZ knob has an extended range, and improved sweep.

There is no internal battery space. Power supply is internally conditioned with an inductor. A battery may be used by means of an external adapter (sold separately).

This pedal should be placed first in the signal chain to voice correctly, connected directly to the instrument, and before any buffered pedals.

The aluminium can capacitors are ridiculously oversized for their rated voltages. They are audio rated for very low ESR.

This circuit uses PNP type transistors. The power supply input is the industry standard 9V type with negative centre. However, for purity of sound; the case is positively-grounded, and as such cannot share a power supply with other pedals unless the supply has isolated outputs.

Different tonal responses are achievable by balancing the instrument volume knob with the FUZZ knob. Rolling back the instrument volume knob makes the pedal sound less dark.

The transistors used are cherry-picked for suitability from my collection which I have saved for many years, and as such are limited in availability. First in, best dressed. Germanium transistors are temperature sensitive, and will perform differently according to the ambient temperature. Leakage and performance degrades when ambient temperatures go above a comfortable room temperature.

A Carling DPDT footswitch is used for the familiar under-foot haptic clunk.

Silver hammertone powdercoat by Dulux Australia.

Sold out. Thank you.

The THD is an '80s metal fuzz distortion, a rework of the original Japanese HM-2. This was my first guitar pedal, which later formed its own cult following.

By using a dual-gang potentiometer, the DISTORTION knob has been redefined from the sloppy classic one. This is actually a dual-function control for two cascading gain stages: The first half of the range of the DISTORTION knob controls a full-bodied fuzz. The second half adds a further layer of compression and sustain.

The signal is processed through germanium diodes in the final compression stage. This is a crucial part of the tone, which would be omitted from commercial reissues due to RoHS.

The LO+ and HI+ are frequency boost controls. For a flat EQ response, try starting with these set to zero, rather than straight up. If you want to 'max out' all of the controls for the Swedish chainsaw tone, then you will need to reduce the VOL control to-taste, as it has an increased output level from the classic.

The FOCUS switch changes the bass boominess.

The SI/GE switch hot-swaps the main distorting transistor for a gain-selected germanium device. This has rounder and smoother distortion, where the silicon mode is fuller with squared clipping.

This is built in a small-footprint Hammond 1590BS enclosure.

AUD$269 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$189 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

4 knob surface-mount hybrid build documents:

• Build video guide
• Bill of materials and build notes
• 1590BS parts layout and drilling cut-out
• 1590N1 / 125B (larger size) drill layout cut-out

Through-hole + mod switches version documents:

• Bill of materials and build notes
• PCB component placement
• 1590BS Drill layout cut-out
• 1590N1 / 125B (larger size) Drill layout cut-out

BIG FUZZ

The Big Fuzz is a muff circuit, which has been critically re-tuned to improve the tone, playability, and versatility of the pedal. This is a modern fuzz-distortion, with a big sound and higher gain and sustain than the classic Russian version muffs which I make.

The MIDS control knob sweeps from the classic scoop (all the way left), through to a more focused modern tone, with everything nice in the middle. This flattens out the effect of the hi-low TONE control knob.

The BMP/STB switch toggles between a modified muff setup, to a 1973 Colorsound Supa Tonebender style mode (with the variable mid knob, and an altered tone pot sweep). The STB mode has less diode compression on the low-end, widening the dynamic range in the bass, and allowing the natural transistor fuzz character to be better heard.

This is built in a small-footprint Hammond 1590BS enclosure. There is also a point-to-point "XXL" model available.

AUD$219 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$159 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

BIG FUZZ CONSOLE

This is the deepest muff dive that you're ever going down. I've built this project as a development tool to sculpt classic and custom muffs. Breadboards are one of the best ways to innovate and quickly try ideas. But being able to instantly A/B/C different parts in a rock-solid giggable box is the holy grail for me.

This tool takes all of the parts which varied in the classic muff designs, and makes them switchable. Mix and match as you like to design your own ultimate muffs. Hot swap transistors to test on the fly. Being able to sculpt the shape and scoop of your tone control is a very powerful thing. As well as changing the bass responses in the clipping stages. The circuit is completely analog with only mechanical switching.

Think you've got a special ear for tone? Your best-ever version muff is in here. You'll need to find it. Rather than trying to design pedals for people, I would rather hear back from people what they have been able to make for themselves.

Hunter Kegan has made a thoughful quick-reference diagram available for free download on his website: Bipolar Recorder.

AUD$699 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$499 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

How do I use this thing?

The good news is: there are no bad or wrong settings to begin with. So the more that you fiddle, and listen, the better suited it can become to your own, unique, ideal muff tone.

The part numbers match the original muff circuits, so you can find your favourite historic builds on websites like bigmuffpage.com, read up on any additional notes, and then find the best-matched values.

Cheat sheet quick reference suggestions:

• Simplified schematic
• V1 Triangle Pi
• V2 Rams Head
• Civil War / Russian
• NYC Reissue

The signal flows through the pedal from right-to-left, with the controls grouped together in five sections progressing accordingly. The progression is:

Transistor stage 1 - gain boost.
Transistor stage 2 - 1st gain boost with diode clipping.
Transistor stage 3 - 2nd gain boost with diode clipping.
Passive tone control stage - Blends a high-cut and a low-cut as a high/low control.
Transistor stage 4 - final volume boost before the volume knob.

A note on the parts selections

Most of the controls allow for three selections, or more selections. With this limitation, I have selected values which are most-commonly occurring, so that you should be able to "dial in" almost any transistor muff version, or get practically close to it. Especially considering part variations, tolerances, and drift over time. In some instances, however, the parts were chosen to give a wider use of practical differences.

For example, many muffs used 100Ω emitter resistors. And many also used 120Ω, or 150Ω. Similarly, for many of the bypass/low-pass capacitors, a 1μF capacitor will do the same practical job as any other all-passing capacitor such as 0.68μF, or 3.3μF, and sometimes 100n.

Transistors

For each of the 4 transistors, the are 6 device selection options. There are internal screw-terminal sockets to experiment with finding your own NPN transistors to install and test. Units are sent out with metal-can (TO-18 package) 2N2222A installed in the sockets. Using that, you could even try installing a germanium-silicon hybrid combination. Particularly with germanium in Q2 and Q3.

The transistor selections are of commonly suggested devices, along with their higher and lower gain bracket counterparts. BC547B / BC547C, 2N5088 / 2N5089, etc. BC337-25 is useful for V1 circuits.

Clipping (capacitors)

The Clip switches are an interesting place to start. These control how much bass is clipped by the clipping diodes. 47n clips the low-end frequencies less than 100n, resulting in more bass volume and body clarity left over. 100n gives a flatter tonal compression. 100n is the most-commonly used value.

Clip 1 is first in the signal, and help defines the boominess of the fuzz. Clip 2 later in the signal has more influence on the final tonal volumes. The Soviet versions famously stood out partly because they used 47n for both clipping positions, allowing for the most bass clarity and body.

The 1973 Colorsound Supa Tone Bender used no clipping diodes in the first stage, and 100n in the second.

There are no other diode options, as most circuit versions can be recommended to be built with 1N914/1N4148 small signal silicon diodes. The line had to be drawn somewhere.

Tone control

The low-high style tone control on a muff circuit can be famously love-hate, and was a large contributing factor to the tonal variations between the many models. All of the tone control options are sectioned together, between Stage 3 and Stage 4.

With the TS HPF (Tone stack high pass filter) capacitor C9, starting with 10n will give a flatter tone control. As you rotate left to lower value capacitors, you really start to hear the signature muff-flavoured mid scoop get more pronounced. 4n is a commonly used value to try.

The Scoop control (R5) reduces the depth of the tone control scoop. Since the scoop is usually mids-heavy, it works to flatten that mid scoop back out. Most classic models used a lower value here such as 22K, or even 10K. Increasing this is more of a suggested optional mod. Balance this with TS HPF (C9).

10n was a common value for the TS LPF (Tone stack low pass filter) capacitor C8.

TS LPF (Tone stack low pass filter) resistor R8 commonly used values from 22K through to 39K.

Duncan Tone Stack Calculator is some classic software to help design and visualise the EQ curve.

Boost and gain stages

As the transistors used varied, so too did their supporting passive components.

The Emitter resistors (R22, R21, R10, R4) can be thought of as "gain-setting" resistors here, which changed to match the transistor selection. The lower the resistor value, the higher the gain at that stage. Often all of the first three stages had the same value emitter resistor. The last emitter Em 4 (R4) determines final output volume.

Collector resistors (R13, R18, R11, R6) change the boost nature, and also affect bias. Generally, a lower value performs neater, where higher values have a little bit more of a transistor-distortion nature to the fuzz character. Using an extremely large value here for stage 1 (Q4) can be helpul get a sound like the V1 muffs.

HPF (high pass filter) capacitors C1, C4, C5, C13, C3, C2 connect the audio signal between stages, while blocking DC voltage. The larger the capacitor value, the more that lower frequencies are allowed to pass. Smaller values can reduce bass, and tighten the fuzz character. These were commonly 100n throughout the circuit. Try 1μF everywhere for bass.

Miller capacitors (C10, C12, C11) smooth out high frequencies and reduce the harshness of the fuzz character. A lower value of 470p leaves more clarity and brightness, where 560p is warmer and smoother. 500p was often used, and may be the Goldilocks in the middle. Generally when building fuzzes, are larger value may be selected when more gain is used, to remove some shrillness. It's a very subtle, but still noteworthy difference.

Impedance resistors (R2, R19, R12) can be thought of as "loading" the signal, making it less strong, but not necessarily by simply lowering the voltage/volume so much. This influences the interaction between the signal and how the transistor can amplify it. A lower value resistance allows for more top-end clarity, or sharpness. Think more-'hi-fi' sounding. Higher resistance can make the fuzz nature smoother and more pleasant, while also reduces overall boosting slightly.

Bias resistors (R9, R17, R15, R7) set where the signal will swing within the transistor's operating voltage, to make best use of the available "headroom".

Buffers

It is often said that muffs sound best when following a buffer. Unlike many other classic fuzzes, the muff doesn't necessarily need to plug directly into the instrument to perform at its best. Leave the Buffer In switch off for a classical sound, or turn it on for a bit more clarity and edge. Buffers will also change how the instrument volume knob interacts with the fuzz tonally.

Bright Sweep (mod)

This is a mod which I use in the small Big Fuzz model. It's a small-value capacitor across the sustain pot which allows a little bit of top-end to bleed across, and not have the sweep become so dark in the low settings. Middle position turns this subtle mod off.

Simplified schematic with part value labels.

^The diodes and some capacitors being used now are different to those shown above. See notes.

ТРАНЗИСТОР

The ТРАНЗИСТОР (TRANSISTOR) is a faithful recreation of the famous and most sought-after V7C "Tall Font" Russian Muff. I've kept the design true to the original, but have also added the mids control, as this has been too helpful to neglect. This creates exactly the original tone when rotated fully left. This model provides more musical clarity and bloom in the lower frequencies.

Notes on the construction? It is all designed, powder coated, drilled, printed, soldered, and assembled at home. The powder coat is by Dulux Australia, and won't flake like the originals. Carbon film resistors are used, keeping to the classic builds. I am now using the "correct" soviet diodes (not shown in gut shot).

I don't do as much home powder coating anymore. These cases are admittedly more expensive and labor intensive as they are the real Hammond brand boxes, and I take care to not lump a tonne of extra powder coat overspray inside like imported cheaper cases. It's nicer, just for the sake of being nicer.

Components used may vary to those shown in the photo. Photos are shown as a general guide for construction and components quality. Mainly, the candy-yellow film caps and also the silver axial polystyrene caps have been discontinued, and builds are being made with whatever values I have left in-stock.

AUD$299 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$199 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

Build documents:

• Bill of materials
• Parts layout
• Schematic
• Tayda drill layout (order any colour you want)

BLACK RUSSIAN

Version 7C "Bubble Font" Green Russian / Black Russian build, in a compact 1590B footprint enclosure. This is a very similar circuit to the larger-box ТРАНЗИСТОР "Tall Font" build. A point-to-point version is also available: Black Russian XXL.

This project is also available as a complete DIY kit, or just the PCB. The enclosure supplied in the kit comes pre-drilled and printed with a smilar "DIY version" artwork on a raw metal box. Contact me if you would like me to include a 1:1 scale printed drill template for the enclosure of your choice.

This board layout can be used to make any other version of transistor muff by changing to the corresponding part values.

AUD$219 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$159 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

Build documents:

• Bill of materials and build notes
• 1590BS parts layout and drilling cut-out
• 1590N1 / 125B (larger size) drill layout cut-out
• Schematic (offboard wiring not shown)

RAD DISTORTION

This pedal is the classic ratty fuzz/distortion. This is a sound of the '80s and '90s, with some Dazatronyx tweaks. This is achieved by a two-stage distortion of first overdriving the metal can 308 amplifier into fuzz, and then recovering some shape by further compressing the signal using hard-clipping silicon diodes.

The HAIR control dials the mid/high drive saturation. Turning this completely to the right achieves the classic metallic ratty distortion. Turning this left achieves a full, flattened response. This is a variable version of the popular reutz mod.

In the germanium mode, the silicon chip fuzz character gets removed. Germanium transistors and germanium diodes are used to achieve a rounded and organic overdrive-distortion with tight definition. While this adds interesting versatility, the stock silicon mode is still my favourite setting.

AUD$249 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$189 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

BROWN SOUND

The BSIAB2 circuit (Brown Sound in a Box 2) was my favourite distortion during school. The cool thing was; if you wanted one, you just had to build one. Or know somebody who would. The circuit was designed by Ed Guidry, similar to works by Jack Oran and Aron Nelson.

Back in the day, it was one of the highest-recommended builds on the forums. Forums were a thing. Many would suggest that this design was the original precursor to many of the "high gain amp" pedals that came out in the '00s.

It has a tonne of gain, and can dial in a fat bottom end to make a big amp sound. Some pedals claim to "stack well" together, but the Brown Sound can also be a "stack" all by itself, as it cascades three gain stages. This circuit also responds excellently to rolling back the instrument volume knob. It stacks best with other drive pedals running into the input.

Distortion is achieved by overdriving Fairchild 5457 field effect transistors (FETs), being the closest solid-state relative to vacuum tubes. Diodes are not used for distortion.

This build uses a hybrid mix of both surface-mount (SMD) and through-hole assembled components. Why go SMD on this one? A while back, Fairchild stopped producing the through-hole versions of some of our beloved, once common parts, such as the 2N5457, and the J201. The market quickly filled with counterfeit parts. The building community adapted to accept using the known SMD versions, rather than trying to hunt new-old-stock versions through non-reliable distributors. Those parts numbers are now being reproduced at a premium price by different manufacturers.

The SMD versions is, after all, the exact same transistor, however packaged in a different way which is more convenient for machine handling and assembly. In that fashion, the SMD resistors used are selected for lower noise than common through-hole versions. The SMD multilayer ceramic power filter capacitors have superior performance characteristics over the common electrolytic tube capacitors, as well as not suffering from limited shelf life associated with electrolytic. This makes for reliable circuit which can perform consistently for a long lifetime.

This is built in a small-footprint Hammond 1590BS enclosure.

AUD$199 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$149 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

Build documents:

• Bill of materials and build notes
• 1590BS parts layout and drilling cut-out
• 1590N1/125B parts layout and drilling cut-out
• Schematic (offboard wiring not shown)

My recreation of the EJ silicon Fuzz Face. This is built in a small-footprint Hammond 1590BS enclosure.

All of the gold powdercoat cases are now sold. Contact me for a metal + gold print case.

Build documents:

• Bill of materials and build notes
• 1590BS parts layout and drilling cut-out
• 1590N1 / 125B (larger size) drill layout cut-out
• Schematic (offboard wiring not shown)
• Tayda drill layout. Order any colour you want. (UNVERIFIED)

TSX OVERDRIVE

The TS10 circuit had some minor variations to the TS9 and TS808 circuits, and is now highly sort after for its secret-sauce flavour.

This circuit includes the true TS10 stock tone in STD mode, as well as two other variation modes:

• STD - Classic tubescreamer symmetrical clipping, with the traditional mids focus.
• ASYM - Asymmetrical clipping shape begins to ‘look’ more like valve amplifier clipping. This can better suit input signals which already have a full bottom-end, such as a neck pickup, and allows chord detail to better shine through.
• FAT - Asymmetrical clipping, with a fuller bottom-end.

The gain control has twice the amount of gain range as a classic TS. The extended range begins at the 2 o'clock position onwards.

The current builds use the following high quality parts:

• Polypropylene tone capacitors. These provide a more linear and sweeter frequency curve over most capacitor types.
• Obsolete SIP-8 (single inline 8 pin package) high performance audio amplifier chip by JRC (Japanese Radio Company).
• Long-life-stable and high tolerance metal film MELF resistors. These are over-spec'd for voltage and current ratings.
• Long-life and low ESR power filtering caps. Along with the MELF resistors, this ensures that the pedal has a very long life and won't need servicing over time.
• True bypass.

This is built in a small-footprint Hammond 1590BS enclosure. A point-to-point "XXL" version is also available.

AUD$189 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$149 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

PROFESSIONAL DRIVE XL

This is the result of my work redeveloping the classic TS overdrive circuit over many years, and critically evaluating every tone-shaping aspect of the signal path.

This XL sized version is 808-based, and using over-spec'd parts. I also make the compact size TSX build which has the same mods.

The three-way switch which toggles between three modes, which is helpful to suit a broader range of pickups and play styles.

• STD - Classic TS symmetrical clipping, with a focus on mids.
• ASYM - Asymmetrical clipping shape begins to ‘look’ more like valve amplifier clipping. This can better suit input signals which already have a full bottom-end, such as a neck pickup, and allows chord detail to better shine through.
• FAT - Asymmetrical clipping, with a fuller bottom-end.

The gain control has twice the amount of gain range as a classic TS. The extended range begins at the 2 o'clock position onwards.

Metal film resistors are available on request instead of carbon film resistors.

AUD$249 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$159 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

Tweedsville

The three-position switch toggles between amp models of varying gain and bottom-end saturation. This is achieved by a bipolar silicon transistor preamp, with secondary distortion created by J201 field effect transistors.

This circuit is where I have landed from requests to build a pedals similar to the Lovepedal Les Lius, which is fundamentally a '70s Electra Distortion circuit.

This is built in a small-footprint Hammond 1590BS enclosure.

AUD$185. Free delivery world-wide. See returns policy.

TWIN FET BOOSTER

This is the continuation of a design which I have been building over the years under the names Fetish Booster and Little Fetish. This discrete circuit is an adaption of a valve topology used to squeeze extra gain from vacuum tubes. 5457 Field effect transistors are used, being the closest sold-state counterparts.

The body control shapes the output tone. Turn it all the way up for a full bodied, flat frequency response.

The Twin FET Booster runs on a split-rail power supply (-9, 0, +9) for increased headroom. There is an internal gain adjustment trimpot which can be dialed for clinical sterility, through to crunchy FET breakup.

The artwork was drawn by Melbourne artist Mr Kade.

This is built in a small-footprint Hammond 1590BS enclosure. This circuit is also available as a DIY build as the Discrete Boost.

AUD$169 Delivered within Australia or New Zealand only. See returns policy.

or

USD$125 Delivered everywhere else world-wide. See returns policy.

STEREO PANNING

 OPTICAL TREMOLO

After a decade of development, I've created this completely unique circuit as my ideal tremolo. This is easily my favourite effect circuit.

By shining a fading light against a photo-sensitive device, this tremolo uses all analog photo-coupling to restrict and fluctuate the output volume. There is automatic perceived volume compensation for the full sweep of the controls.

This is a stereo variation of my smaller mono Optical Tremolo. It can take a stereo input, or split a mono guitar input between stereo channels. The PAN switch changes the oscillator of each channel to be out of sync - so one comes up in volume while the other drops. This creates a strange swirling effect. All original analog circuitry and true bypass mechanical switching.

As with all of my tremolo models, you should expected perceived unity volume with all depth and rate settings, without having to make any manual volume adjustments. The wet levels are adjustable internally by a trimpots.

Currently sold out. Hoping to bring this project back one day. It's, by far, my favourite effect design.

harmonic

OPTICAL TREMOLO MK1

This build is not a black face style tremolo. This particular circuit works in a unique way, as two varying high-pass and low-pass filters. Instead of modulating the volume of two registers, it actually modulates the frequency cut of each register. This is done using two very particular photocell sensors, paired against lights which fade in and out. Think of turning two low-pass and high-pass frequency knobs at the same time.

As with all of my tremolo models, you should expect perceived unity volume in all modes with all depth and rate settings, without having to make any manual volume adjustments. As you increase the depth of the harmonic mode, you encounter more cuts in the low and high registers, which results in a mid-focused tone. Dialing the depth back will flatten the tonal response.

TSUCHI FUZZ v2

The Tsuchi Fuzz V2 takes a new look at the classic two-transistor fuzz circuit. The circuit's tone has been carefully evaluated at every shaping point, to produce either classic or modern fuzz tones.

For a classic germanium fuzz, dial the GAIN back, and turn the CUT right up. Leave the BASS EXPANDER off.

For some reshaped flavour: turn the GAIN up higher. This is more gain than you should rightfully squeeze out of a two-transistor fuzz, but dialing the CUT knob back a little can tighten the bottom-end flabbiness and make some refined fuzz-drive. The BASS EXPANDER can optionally be used to-taste to replace the low end reduced by the CUT control.

N.B. for purity of design, this pedal uses a positively grounded case. As such, it needs to be run from an isolated power supply, or battery. IE this pedal may not be suitable for a daisy-chain power supply. Battery use is not necessarily preferred.

This is built in a small-footprint Hammond 1590B enclosure.

Sold out. Thank you.

DISCRETE BOOST

This is an easy beginner project; a discrete boost using two JFETs. There are options for either through-hole transistors, or SMD pads. The IC chip is used to create a split rail power supply (+9V, 0V, -9V) for doubled headroom.

The controls are MASTER (volume) and BODY. With the BODY knob turned fully up, you get a flat and even boost across all frequencies. GAIN can be set by an internal trimpot, or a fixed value resistor.

To make things simple, there are some pre-installed surface-mount parts included (shown). These mostly help to build the power sections. This leaves only a small handful of audio parts left to solder, saving you on part costs, and build complexity errors.

The surface-mount multilayer ceramic capacitors offer superior ESR properties, and don't have the short-lived shelf life as compared with the electrolytic capacitors. Included SMD parts are: schottky polarity protection diode, self-resetting overcurrent fuse, 33K LED limiter (with through-hole option for value reduction), 3M3 input pull-down resistor, and 12x 22μF capacitors for power switching and filtering. No other parts are included.

I have previously built this circuit under the names "Fetish Booster" and "Little Fetish".

Circuit boards are posted as letter post.

Sold out. Thank you.

Build Documents:

• Bill of materials and build notes
• Schematic
• 1590BS Drill layout cut-out
• 1590N1 / 125B (larger size) Drill layout cut-out