Barber - Dirty Bomb

Culturejam took one of these apart over at freestompboxes ages ago, I thought I'd add the project here just to keep things ticking.

Here's the description from the Barber website:

"Extremely versatile, high gain distortion, provides wider range of stellar tones.

From ultra chunky, to scooped and back to thick again.

Toggle switch selects mid range character for three distinct modes.

Sweet and powerful Vintage two band E.Q.

Internal adjustable Bass Boost for powerful sub frequencies.

True bypass footswitch delivers clarity when bypassed.

All hand wired in the USA, traditional award winning Barber layout and wiring.

Cascading FET circuit, with MOSFET distortion for incredibly realistic tube quality sounds. "

Ok, now here's an internal gutshot for you:

And a schematic drawn by Culturejam:

As you can see from the gutshot the build quality is top notch. However I'm not sure what they mean "by cascaded FETs". Hmm. It's basically a Marshall Shredmaster with Mosfet clipping diodes... 

It does sound nice though:

Now, what you need to do it go and build a Marshall Shredmaster with switchable diode clipping options..

Here's the freestompboxes.org forum topic for reference: http://freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5592

Skreddy - Lunar Module

[The three knob standard Lunar Module]

[5 knob Deluxe Lunar Module]

Marc Alfs of Skreddy pedals is a top builder, he creates some of the best "Pink Floyd" tones there are out there. Here's the description from the Skreddy website:

"The Skreddy Pedals™ Lunar Module was designed for "that" certain silicon fuzz tone guitar solo I fell in love with on a best-selling 1973 album [sic - Dark side of the Moon!]. I intentionally voiced this thing aggressively so it will cut through any mix. Very satisfying and addictive "vintage" fuzz tone.

Unlike typical silicon fuzzes, which can sound thin and raspy, the Lunar Module has a dense sound that can be darkened to taste.

Classic late 60's/early 70's fuzz tones with extra control, versatility, and added noise reduction. Using 3 transistors instead of 2, a pre-distortion bass control, and a post-distortion treble control, the Lunar Module yields a multitude of uses."

And here's a description of the controls:

"Controls:

Volume - This sets the output volume. You can adjust your Skreddy Pedal to roughly the same volume as your bypass signal (i.e.; “unity gain”) or you can boost your signal for a fatter tone.

Fuzz - Takes you from gritty, touch-sensitive overdrive all the way to aggressive, saturated, slightly sick fuzz. Warning: it can get noisy at high settings.

Body - Dials in the amount of bass going into the fuzz section, for everything from tight overdrive to full-voiced distortion to thick, nasty fuzz. Warning: it can get noisy at low settings.

Brite - You can get more brilliance and “hair” or make it darker and smoother, to suit your amp and taste.

Range - Sets the gain of the input transistor. Turned all the way up, the Lunar Module will be fuzzier and more aggressive, but also noisier. Turned lower, there will be a darker, tamer response. I tend to like it about 20% backed off from max."

And here's a demo of the Lunar Module in action:

You've got to admit it sounds pretty damn good! Marc really does wring the best tones possible out of his circuits...

Well, the schematic is available thanks to Marc himself:

As you can see it's basically the same as his Screwdriver with parts substitutions but don't dismiss, they mke a big difference (Marc is well know for being very particular about his parts selection and actually uses it as an integral part of his design philosophy). Now go and build one using this vero layout by gilmour_pugliese and play Dark Side of the Moon over and over and over again:

And here's the freestompboxes.org forum topic for reference: http://freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6270

Tone Monk - Seed of Life

Tone Monk effects have been around for a while now. He's run into a little trouble recently: http://freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15903 (The shortened version is that he's been building lots and lots of "his circuits" using PCBs he's blagged for a knock down price from Madbean (and possibly General Guitar Gadgets) by pretending he was using them in an educational manner *AND* that all his circuits are ripped off - but that's nothing new now is it!). However, the Tone Monk pedals are still very popular so I thought I'd cover a few! First up the "Seed of Life", here's the official Tone Monk description:

"Our Seed of Life Professional Overdrive was developed for guitarists to end their ultimate quest for tone. In the beginning of 2010 we released our Seed of Life VII and took the circuit a few steps further. There are several features in the circuit of the Seed of Life that allow you to actually control your tone. An Input control that controls your input the way a tube preamp does. With the texture options and controls of this pedal you have the power to shape your tone in ways you have never heard it before. The 3-way texture switch offers an array of saturations from transparent to colored tube driven qualities. The Form EQ control allows you to roll off high end frequencies at half the rate that it accentuates low-mid frequencies, in reaction to the texture you choose, to 'form' your over all tone. The drive control works as gain drive saturation. All controls interact with each other, so you can literally get thousands of sweet spots and finally have the ability to create your own sound. The Lush/Fat option allows you to choose between the standard rich tone of the Seed of Life and a wider tonal option. Many players who use a combination of Humbucking, Single coil, and P90 pickups find this feature to be extremely useful and a breeze to compensate for the change in pickup output/tone on the fly without having to actually change the tonal settings on the pedal. All of our pedals are hand built, one by one, and include: A combination of silver, lead free, and rosin core solders where needed in the circuit. No PC mounted potentiometers, switches or jacks- everything hand wired. 22 gauge silver/copper/tin wiring where needed for minimal resistance and proper conductivity. WIMA, Panasonic, and Xicon (electrolytic) capacitors. All tested. All properly matched diodes. CLIFF Switches and Switchcraft Jacks."
Here's the Pro Guitar Shop demo:

So what's inside? Well have a look:

And another:

AAAAAANNNNNNDDddddddd it's a Tubescreamer built on a General Guitar Gadget's PCB: http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/projects/17-distortion/82-its8-tube-screamer-808-replica-project

If you check out the modifications sections the circuit in the Seed of Life is the same as is noted in the "Expensive Boutique Screamer", which is in fact the same as the Landgraff Dynamic Overdrive. Seiche posted this diagram on freestompboxes.org:

So there you have it, if you want to build one buy a GGG pcb and get building.

Here's the freestompboxes.org forum topic for reference: http://freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=15708&start=40

Colorsound / Sola Sound Tonebender MKII Professional

The Sola Sound/Colorsound Tonebender MKII Professional is probably the second most famous Fuzz box after the Fuzz Face. It's a three transistor fuzz circuit that creates an unholy amount of gain and sustain. For an idea of how it sounds - Jimmy Page used one with his Dragon Telecaster from the Led Zeppelin 1 era, yes, it's THAT tone. Sola Sound also produced the circuit for Vox, Marshall and RotoSound. These units were named the Vox Tone Bender Professional MKII, Marshall Supa Fuzz and RotoSound Fuzz Box. For a really detailed history of the Tonebender series of pedals check out this:  http://www.stompboxes.co.uk/History.html from David Main of D*A*M (A guy who really does know fuzz boxes!).

[an original Marshall Supa Fuzz]

[three original Vox Tonebenders]

[a Tonebender MKII circuit with Mullard OC81 germanium transistors]

Here's a 1968 advertisement:

And here's a receipt for Jimmy Page's Tonebenders from SolaSound!

And here's a video of the D*A*M Tonebender MKII Professional in action, I think you'll agree it sounds pretty mind/ear/sense destroying:

Now here's the schematic. Here you can see the three transistor layout. As with any simple fuzz circuits the transistor type and gain is a huge factor in deciding the overall tone of the unit. It's recommended that the gain of Q1 ~ 70hfe with Q2 ~ 70-90hfe and Q3 ~ 100-120hfe. I've built many Tonebenders with many different type of transistors. Always use a germanium transistor for Q1, then you can experiment with low gain silicon transistors. Experiment and have some fun, you'll certainly find a decent fuzz tone or two! For some more detail on exact circuit operation and mods visit: http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/mkII.php

Here's a PCB layout available from Tonepad: http://www.tonepad.com/getFile.asp?id=86

References:

1) http://www.led-zeppelin.org/joomla/studio-and-live-gear/312
2) http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/mkII.php
3) http://www.stompboxes.co.uk/History.html
4) http://theheliopolisofblossius.wordpress.com/2011/06/12/tone-bender-mkii-build/

Keeley - Katana Boost

The Keeley Katana has been a popular boost pedal since it was introduced. It's circuit topology is simple yet it manages to produce everything from a small boost to add a bit of life to leads right through being able to smash the front of a tube amp into submission and natural break up. Here's the description from the Keeley website:

"As far as guitar clean boosts go, the Katana is KING TONE. It's the pedal to have for the finishing touch on your tone.

Want a mirror image of your tone, only louder? This is it. The Katana is also a fat, harmonically rich boost, just pull out on the volume knob and stretch your imagination with overdriven tone! You can keep it on all the time to push your amp harder, or as an occasional boost to cut through the mix.

Obsessed or Compelled with the Fattest, Fullest Drive? Well, Before other people started using Blue LED's and non-diode clipping stages, there was the TMB and Katana.... Cascading FET stages do the tube-amp-thing like nothing else!"

And here's a video of the Katana in action:

And here's the schematic redrawn for you:

And a nice PCB Layout by RYANUK: http://www.box.com/s/zqpak9putdef8up82m51

And the transfer: http://www.box.com/s/z6fry11n4g10dldqraug

The dual cascaded Jfet stages do sound good, the charge pump ups the voltage to 18v and gives the circuit double the gain of a similar circuit running at 9v. It does introduce it's own clipping when the 10uF cap is switched into bypass the source resistor on the first stage, I prefer the tone without the cap switched in, a possible mod would be to use a smaller cap here to introduce some treble/mid boost to the tone. I also suggest changing the 4k7 resistors for 10k trim pots to allow you to tune each jfet to it's optimal bia's point around about 1/2 V (9v in this case). Build one up, they sound pretty decent for such an easy build!

Here's the Freestompboxes.org forum topic for reference: http://freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2946