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Hi there, welcome to my blog - La Revolution Deux. It's an odd name - but I like it! Here you will find all the info on my various DIY Guitar effects builds, amplifiers and guitars. Everything from a humble Ibanez tubescreamer to the holiest KLON Overdrive.

You may also find a few effects builds that I am looking to move on - usually in exchange for other effects/gear/cash. You can always check my ebay account to see what I've got up for grabs.

Have fun, enjoy the blog - Fred Briggs :-)

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Feel free to get in contact with me about anything you see on this blog or with any general questions about guitars, amplifiers and effects, I'll be happy to answer! Just click the button above to email me directly or alternately my email address is fredbriggs2007 [at] googlemail [dot] com

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Tuesday 31 March 2009

Emma - ReezaFRATzitz


Well, well, well. I just built this thing up. What a suprise - I loved it, which is a suprise seeing as I loath the sound of the "Tube Sound Fuzz" that this circuit seems to have taken it's inspiration from. I really love the Bias control and the tone control is very effective too. It's a much better distortion (In my opinion) than, say, a Rat. Pretty dynamic and cleans up well with the guitar volume pot. A nice find, I've recently started exploring CMOS technology with a view to developing my own distortion! I knew that invertors *could* be used to create a nice distortion as inside those little CMOS invertor blocks there are MOSFETs, and we all know how nice they are :-) Check the CD4069 datasheet here: http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheets/90/206781_DS.pdf

Here's a demo video for the Reezafratzitz;



Anyhow, here is the Marketing blurb from the Emma website:
"Just when you thought you had seen the strangest name for a stompbox, EMMA offers up the Reezafratzitz! Like it's unconventional handle, the RF-1 is a unique type of OD/Distortion unit that stands out in an extremely crowded playing field. The RF-1 offers incredibly rich, full-bodied crunch that is so close to tube-amp overdrive that you''d be hard pressed to choose which was which. The secret to the RF-1's amazing tone lies in it's Bias control. This knob allows the user to morph between Class B and Class A biasing, altering the harmonic structure of the signal and providing a much wider variety of tonal options than your standard distortion. In Class B mode, the RF-1 exhibits a thick, chunky grind similar to a Marshall or Fender amp. Class A mode provides sweet, singing saturation worthy of the finest Vox AC30. Additional controls for Level, Gain, and a Hi Boost/Hi Cut Tone circuit allow the user to fine tune the RF-1 to taste. When you're ready to set trends rather than follow them, the Reezafratzitz will provide the audio inspiration you need to set yourself apart!"

Here is a project put together by thn.technik;




You'll notice this project has a "Bass/mids" mod performed on it, this slight alteration adds a lot of new tones to the pedal and is well worth doing. 

I must say a huge thanks to all those involved - you know who you are! For more info and build reports visit the freestompboxes.org forum.

11 comments:

  1. hi.i am fun to freestompboxes.org and i build EMMA ReezaFRATzitz clone and iam very happy with result but i dont find the mod fore more mids you can help me?thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. for mids mod
    my username is akaloupotos
    and e-mail nik_morello@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. how can we know about the spec of the caps, resistor, or even transistor used in this project ?? for example, what kind of caps we're using, is it panasonic ecq or polyester or metal film or what... then how about the resistor voltage, is it 1/2v 1/4 1/4 or 1/8v ?? is it germanium transistor and diode or just a silicon one ??

    ReplyDelete
  4. I built this on veroboard using the above schematic as a general model. I modified the circuit to be true bypass and use standard 3PDT switching. The good: the resulting distortion sound is super and roaring. Very amp like, and lots of options with the tone and bias knob. The bad (or ugly): lots of hiss and noise when pedal is at full gain. I've read this is the nature of the chip used, which was not originally meant for this purpose. You'll need a noise gate for sure to use this at full gain.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm one of the original designers of this pedal. It wasn't based on any fuzz pedals and doesn't sound like a fuzz at all. I can't wait for you to market a pedal so that I can put the schematic on the internet and encourage people to build clones of it, making it hard for you to make a living and discouraging you from coming up with any new ideas. Reezafratzitz is a trademark and can't be used arbitrarily without permission especially when it applies to work done by anyone other than EMMA Electronic.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Search of Trademark database indicates you are confused. TM are real things and don't happen just cause you 'say so'. I may pay for the TM and send an cease and desist letter that you no longer use the name on EMMA Electronics products. Thank you.

    For quick search of TM database, use this link;
    http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4808:khnx35.1.1

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dear designer dude. DIYers would not buy your pedal anyway. DIYers build pedals because that is what we like to do, not because it is "Cheaper" or anything. We like to see how things work and how to change and modify them. In fact, we are more likely to buy your pedal to reverse engineer it. DIYers are not commiting "internet piracy". If anything, we bring more attention to your pedal, increasing your sales to the hundreds of gazillions of people who don't know how to use a soldering iron.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sorry Mr. Bunk, you obviously didn't search Danish data about our trademark.
    International treaties deem our ownership legal.
    Anonymous DIY dude, I couldn't disagree with you more. Using your logic, Ibanez should stop advertising seeing as how the tubescreamer must be the most copied pedal on the planet.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You are making a mistake if you think this is a situation of "us" against "you".
    We are total DIY guys and have been all our lives. The difference is that we have managed to come up with our own, unique product without having to publicly give away any of your hard gained work.
    We are known because of our work. You are known because you give away the work of others.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No sir. Nobody is giving away the work of others. They are giving away only knowledge. It's no different than giving away the knowledge of how to build a chair. These are the instructions. Why don't more people build their own chairs? Because the tools are expensive. The experience to use them correctly and expertly takes years of practice. Lumber is pricey. A working circuit, on the other hand, is easy to make. The tools of the trade are cheap. And even an inexperienced person can manage to cobble together a working model of your circuit. People who can't craft will pay for craftsmanship. People who can craft will simply build their own. Rather than whine about the free exchange of knowledge, perhaps it would be wiser to get into a trade that requires more skill and expertise. Perhaps chair building?

      Delete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

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