FREESTOMPBOXES.ORG RSS FEED ADDED TO APOCALYPSE AUDIO

if you look over to the lower right, you'll see apocalypse audio's new freestomp rss feed.  now you can keep up with the coolest stompbox forum on  the planet at a glance.  you'll never have an excuse again to not know what's inside that new, totally original, totally awesome electra copy that yer favorite solder jockey has been working on nonstop for years before it's release. or why not get in a heated debate about the "sound" of capacitors?  it's all there.  and i mean "all"!  i'd be surprised to see a production stomp by a major manufacturer that hasn't had it's schematic and inner workings fully analyzed.  join in the fun! we don't have much time before we are all turned back into dust anyway.

GREAT BOOKS TO DOWNLOAD

click on the title and get sent to a bevy of the highest quality audio electronics books for download.  now you can use your original 75 dollar copies for kindling!  just hurry and get 'em before they decide to get their electrilives cut short by the evil horde of junkpile robots from greedtown.  

GREEN BOMB FUZZ TAGBOARD LAYOUT

here's a tagboard layout for the GREEN BOMB that i built up today.  it's got a great deal of variation due to the wide range of gain and the phase cancellation.  lots if tones, but it always has that great FuzzRite buzz.  it's going to be a fun fuzz when i get it fully built.

GREEN BOMB FUZZ

here's something i was working on the other night.  it's a revved up mosrite fuzzrite based off of gus's gusrite circuit.  i basically juiced up the gain even more, did some stabilization and frequency response adjustments and added a nfb based tone control to add even more weird phase shaping possibilities than what was had in the original.  it's basically like a fuzzrite on steroids.  i'd suggest a mid gain transistor for Q1 and a high gain for Q2.  different transistors do different things, so it's worth trying out some different ones.  oh, and it can totally do that spirit in the sky thing perfect!  when you turn the gain all the way up you get that ratty almost misbiased thing that greenbaum had going on in his onboard fuzz.  back the gain off and rattyness goes away.  this thing is my new go to for crazy psych madness.  if you want more of a honky sound, lower the transistor gain a bit.  i'll probably try and do some more tweaks in the future, and i'll post them when i get a chance.

also-  i've got a tagboard layout that i'll post when i get it verified. ;]

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here are the schematics from Gus's rite fuzz and the mosrite Fuzzrite for reference.  if the owners have a problem with my posting them here, i will gladly take them down.

also, i was asked on FSB to describe the added tone control.  i tried to explain it to the best of my ability.  if anyone has anything to add, please, feel free.

the fuzz control on the fuzzrite works by adding the output of the first stage, an out of phase signal, with the output of the second stage, in phase signal.  this is what produces some of the thin, hollowed out, phase cancelled sounds that the fuzzrite is known for.  the shape control takes the non-inverted output of the first stage, with the output of the second stage, which also gets mixed in with the output of the first stage with the fuzz control.  the shape control has a low pass filter due to the .01 cap to ground, so when when it's negative feedback takes place, it only cancels out the lower frequencies and leaves the highs.  with this control you are still able to get the brite, zippy sounds of the original fuzzrite, but are now also able to get the thicker sounds of gus's ritefuzz- all through the same negative feedback techniques similar to what was used in the original fuzzrite!  

FEEDBACK IN AMPLIFIER CIRCUITS

click on the title of this post, and you'll get directed to part of the excellent Fun With Transistors Page on amplifier feedback. feedback can be used to increase linearity of the output, curing oscillation, reducing gain, and tonal shaping among other things when used in amplifier stages. usually when we speak about feedback, we are talking about negative feedback in amplifiers. this is accomplished by adding an out of phase signal to the input of a gain stage, often by taking the output of an inverting amplifier. the webpage takes an in depth look at different types of feedback complete with diagrams and equations for those that are so inclined. check out the rest of the site as well as the Fun With Tubes page which has some great info, too.

CIRCUIT SIMULATOR JAVA APPLET

if you click on the title of this post, you'll get directed to the instructions page of a cool little circuit simulator program. while i doubt that this this is nearly as in depth or accurate as something like the SPICE-based programs out there, it's a fun little program that runs on JAVA, and it can definitely help the learning process along. not too mention, it is much easier to learn. there are a number of circuits that have already been put together that you can easily adjust and add to as much as you like, or of course you can start from scratch. i had a lot of fun messing around with a gain stage that i have been trying out as of late, seeing how the output changes with component values. it's a lot of fun, and is a great learning experience as well.

JACK DARR'S ELECTRIC GUITAR AMPLIFIER HANDBOOK

HERE is a page from Paul Marossy's website with a number of downloadable chapters from this great book by Jack Darr. there is lots of info, including tube and early solid state, that is guaranteed to be helpful for anyone out there looking to get into this of thing. check it out, it's an excellent book!