Hey all!
I decided to have another crack at pedal building...I've always been a bit stiff in the trouser department for the Univox Superfuzz..so after subscribing to Mike's youtube shenanagins and seeing the one he made for Rob, I thought it'd be a damn fine tribute to him to use his Vero layout he posted on Freestompboxes.org..
Gather Yer Bits
First i printed off Mike's Vero Layout, and colour-coded the resistors and caps so i could tally up exactly how many of each id need..bought everything from DrTweek using Paypal..dead quick delivery!!
Took a sneaky peek as to how his looked in the box laid out...
The Hard Bit..Roll Yer Sleeves Up!
Bloomin eck! you need eyes like a shit-house rat, and the steadyness of a bomb disposal expert...but my advice is take your time and go over the layout twice...nay! three times!!...
Me Fuzz Design..
Well, i thought it only appropriate to pay my respects to Mudhoney, by scaving their piccy off SuperFuzz BigMuff...but i went one better and found the original pics on line, and so came up with a horizontal design, and a vertical design..so's i could choose depending on which way round i fancied it...
I had to call it the MuffHoney ha ha!! And re-drew and rescaled everything to fit the pedal enclosure...spent bloody hours getting the lettering right and scale..but it was worth it!...turned out better than i imagined!!
I mocked it up in paper first to get the right scale, and to see where the pots and switches would fit, then when happy i drilled the enclosure and blasted it with white paint, then printed the design onto self adhesive transparency....
Coming Together Nicely..
Managed to figure out the BT Telephone exchange of wires, and had to scratch my head more than once!!
In order to work out the 3pdt switching, as well as the 2pdt tone switch and the Starve wiring..and where the leds connected, i had to consult the net, and thru trial and error sorted it all out...
TaaDaaaaa!!..
Have some of that!! Wow! im happy with the outcome...i gave the design about 8 coats of lacquer before assembly, and tried not to scratch or damage the design putting everything together..DAMMNIT!! i had to print it out again, as i caught the top with the socket doing the pots up...FOOKIN TYPICAL!!...Lucky i had more patience and transparentsticky!!..
Does it work???..
Firstly, i could hear it really low coming thru the practice amp...and the knobs worked but in the opposite way...so a simple job of switching the grounds on the pots over sorted that....then the tone switch popped like a bugger, as if shorting out...
When i inspected the board i found one tranny leg had shorted out..i had to twist the tranny legs to get the correct pin layout as id used 2N3904 trannys instead of 2SC828s, and the two legs had touched...sorted that with a bit of heat shrink...
Then....BINGO!!! worked like a dream...just like how Mikes youtube vid sounded......Although it doesnt like being in my chain for some reason...very very hissy..but when separate its quiet, until you hit the buttons then all hell breaks loose....TOUCH ME IM SICK!!!
The only other mod i may do is a double colour led for either tone, but ill enjoy it first for a while before i do that...
Anyway, go and buy the bits and make one yourself!! Cheers for the vero Mike
That's nowt Shad, I had to forcibly pull and twist the INSIDE LEG of 6 trannys whilst making this pedal!
And when I was finished one of them wouldnt play ball, so I had to use PROTECTION!
Cheers HNB, glad u like the design...it sounds loud as all hell!
Niiice. If the end result sounds as good as it looks, you've done great. The building process is fiddly for us noobs though, so you really do get a clear idea of how much work the likes of Mike and Timhulio put into these things.
I made a Ram's Head/Triangle era muff using Mike's vero layout last year, and it sounds pretty good. There are some things I wish I'd done differently - there's a splattiness and warbling to the decay of the notes, hinting at a transistor gone bad, or possibly a mixup with the resistors - but this thread has encouraged me to have another go. The first prototype is still in the temporary enclosure I used for testing, but I've managed to record a couple of songs with it...and when I detune to C# and run my amp through a closed-back 2x12 I can get some rad HEAVY BORIS TONEZ as well as the Pink Floyd-style stuff. Trouble is, you've made me want to try a Superfuzz too now...
lorez wrote:That artwork is one of the best album covers on one of my favourite albums ever
Yep! Agree totally, and that's what sticks in my head when you say SUPERFUZZ...I came close to exactly that fuzz sound once, using a big muff...but should easily get it with this...and we cover Touch Me, and Suck You Dry so a very fitting build methinks
Concretebadger hit the nail on the head with the difficulty levels for noobs and kudos to Tim, Mike Aen and all the rest of the pros..
