4.16.2011
Spray paint and space
Ever seen guys downtown, or at exhibits doing super colorful spray paint art? Usually they make land/spacescapes. Actually, if you've seen my ABsynth post, you might know what I mean. I have a pedal painted by Ben Nerisen in the same fashion. Anyways, I gave it a shot on my day off, and here's a couple of the 25+ that have been made over the past 4 days by my roommate and I.
4.03.2011
A Big Muff on the Horizon
My latest project, a work-a-like of the famed the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi. A fuzz/distortion unit used and abused by guitarist and bassist alike. I got the circuit board from capsnsuch, a nice one man electronic supply operation. The same guy also runs a great effects/diy forum called circuitworkshop.
For those who may not be familiar, here's a little backstory on, IMO, one of the most widely used dirt box's to date...
"The first Big Muff π was released to the world by Electro-Harmonix in 1969, though variations of it appeared earlier than that. Electro-Harmonix referred to the pedal as “The finest harmonic distortion-sustain device developed to date,” and it was. Fuzz pedals like the Fuzz Face were very popular in the late 1960's and the Big Muff was a very different and fresh take on the fuzz territory."
"The Muff had an independant four stage silicon-based circuit that did not have the limitations of the typical guitar-into-fuzz circuits around at the time. It could go anywhere in a pedal chain, and the tone was not at the mercy of the temperature of the tranistors like a Fuzz Face. The Muff had monstrous loads of gain and sustain, and a monstrous sound to go along with it, from thunderous mud to hammering treble. It was the first fuzz pedal with such a huge bottom end, and it stepped on just about any typical fuzz pedal out there. There is a characteristic underlying harmonically doubled octave mixed into the Muff tone, sometimes described as the Muffs "buzz" or "fizz". It was quite different from what was a common "fuzz" tone at the time. The tone sweep ranged from huge, dark, bassy sludge to thick, piercing, buzz saw treble, all with a deep mids scoop. Somewhere in the middle was a "sweet" spot that just about anyone could dial in for the signature Big Muff tone."
"There are four primary eras of the Big Muff, each with their own unique tones, and each model having several variants, along with some other odd related models. They were first manufactured in the USA, then jumped over to Russia, then back to the USA again."
I went with what they call the "Civil War" version. Due to primarily playing bass, I figured, "why not?" This is actually the first Big Muff I've ever built, & I'm quite fond of the sound. Sustain for days, and deep fuzz fuzz fuzzz!
"THE SOUND - Identical to the first edition Red Army Overdrive, just different graphics and colors. Sort of a mix between the V1 and V3 Muffs, but with a fatter bottom end, brighter and less scooped mids, and less gain. All of the 1990s Sovtek Muffs (Civil Wars, Green Russians, Black Russians) had very similar component values, and had very similar sounds to each other; but the Civil War tone was special. It was very dark and bassy, but with a smooth and clear mid range, and a very musical clarity. Those mids were still scooped out like a typical Big Muff, but the Sovteks had more than vintage USA models, so they stand out in a live band mix better. They are noticeably smoother and have less grit than the later Green Russian and Black Russian Big Muffs, which is probably why they are the most favored and desirable of all the Sovtek Big Muffs. They are a favorite of bass players due to the low gain and huge, bass friendly bottom end they produce. The bass and treble of the tone varies slightly from unit to unit. Listen to Pink Floyd's Pulse live album for some great examples of lead tones using this pedal. The Black Keys and Sonic Youth have other examples of this sound."
-from The Big Muff Page
Photos of original EHX effects are from TBMP
You may have noticed the sockets in a few choice areas, such as the diode and transistor sections, as well as a few capacitors. This allows a bit of experimentation with various versions, fuzz/gain characteristics, etc.
For those who may not be familiar, here's a little backstory on, IMO, one of the most widely used dirt box's to date...
"The Muff had an independant four stage silicon-based circuit that did not have the limitations of the typical guitar-into-fuzz circuits around at the time. It could go anywhere in a pedal chain, and the tone was not at the mercy of the temperature of the tranistors like a Fuzz Face. The Muff had monstrous loads of gain and sustain, and a monstrous sound to go along with it, from thunderous mud to hammering treble. It was the first fuzz pedal with such a huge bottom end, and it stepped on just about any typical fuzz pedal out there. There is a characteristic underlying harmonically doubled octave mixed into the Muff tone, sometimes described as the Muffs "buzz" or "fizz". It was quite different from what was a common "fuzz" tone at the time. The tone sweep ranged from huge, dark, bassy sludge to thick, piercing, buzz saw treble, all with a deep mids scoop. Somewhere in the middle was a "sweet" spot that just about anyone could dial in for the signature Big Muff tone."
"There are four primary eras of the Big Muff, each with their own unique tones, and each model having several variants, along with some other odd related models. They were first manufactured in the USA, then jumped over to Russia, then back to the USA again."
I went with what they call the "Civil War" version. Due to primarily playing bass, I figured, "why not?" This is actually the first Big Muff I've ever built, & I'm quite fond of the sound. Sustain for days, and deep fuzz fuzz fuzzz!
"THE SOUND - Identical to the first edition Red Army Overdrive, just different graphics and colors. Sort of a mix between the V1 and V3 Muffs, but with a fatter bottom end, brighter and less scooped mids, and less gain. All of the 1990s Sovtek Muffs (Civil Wars, Green Russians, Black Russians) had very similar component values, and had very similar sounds to each other; but the Civil War tone was special. It was very dark and bassy, but with a smooth and clear mid range, and a very musical clarity. Those mids were still scooped out like a typical Big Muff, but the Sovteks had more than vintage USA models, so they stand out in a live band mix better. They are noticeably smoother and have less grit than the later Green Russian and Black Russian Big Muffs, which is probably why they are the most favored and desirable of all the Sovtek Big Muffs. They are a favorite of bass players due to the low gain and huge, bass friendly bottom end they produce. The bass and treble of the tone varies slightly from unit to unit. Listen to Pink Floyd's Pulse live album for some great examples of lead tones using this pedal. The Black Keys and Sonic Youth have other examples of this sound."
-from The Big Muff Page
Photos of original EHX effects are from TBMP
You may have noticed the sockets in a few choice areas, such as the diode and transistor sections, as well as a few capacitors. This allows a bit of experimentation with various versions, fuzz/gain characteristics, etc.
3.24.2011
Check these out!
A couple of music blogs worthy of mentioning...
Scream From a Blank Mind
Great demos and reviews of some cool pedals
Effectswire
Cool interviews with builders, reviews, etc
Scream From a Blank Mind
Great demos and reviews of some cool pedals
Effectswire
Cool interviews with builders, reviews, etc
3.21.2011
FuzzHugger ABsynth
*Will be edited/updated occasionally*
"I will free you first from burning thirst
That is born of a night of the bowl,
Like a sun ’twill rise through the inky skies
That so heavily hang o’er your souls.
At the first cool sip on your fevered lip, you determine to live through the day;
Life’s again worth while, as with a dawining smile,
You imbibe your absinthe frappé. "
-Glenn MacDonoughThe FH ABsynth, is much like the drink in Glenn's poem. It's one of those pedals I just can't get enough of. You go trying different fuzz's, or other effects, looking for something specific...something special. One day, there it is...
The FuzzHugger ABsynth
A harmonic-blasting, liquidy, light-sabery, layered fuzz--with tone-shaping Fuzz and
Texture controls that take you from smooth and searing to splattery!From there, add a mind-altering second mode with wild oscillation, whale calls, blips, self-arpeggiation, more synth tones, and fat octave down!
The AB-SYNTH.
• Dual silicon diode fuzz!
• Fuzz, Texture, Level, Trip, and Mode controls.
• Professionally printed circuit board.
• Green gem button LEDs.
• Black ABS synth knobs
• True-bypass switching.
• 9v negative tip adapter power. (No batteries.)
• Rugged aluminum enclosure (4.7" x 3.7")
• Lifetime warranty!
Texture controls that take you from smooth and searing to splattery!From there, add a mind-altering second mode with wild oscillation, whale calls, blips, self-arpeggiation, more synth tones, and fat octave down!
The AB-SYNTH.
• Dual silicon diode fuzz!
• Fuzz, Texture, Level, Trip, and Mode controls.
• Professionally printed circuit board.
• Green gem button LEDs.
• Black ABS synth knobs
• True-bypass switching.
• 9v negative tip adapter power. (No batteries.)
• Rugged aluminum enclosure (4.7" x 3.7")
• Lifetime warranty!
Mine, before and after Tom added the 5th knob (gain) and toggle switch (bass/guit voicing). Eventually he started making the ABsynth 5k, which has the 5 knob standard. This particular enclosure was painted by Ben Nerison.
Personally, I can use this pedal for anything. I was still figuring out different things MONTHS after owning it. Hell, I'm not sure I have found all the sounds yet. No one trick pony as for instruments either. Being primarily a bass player, trust me it's no slouch. You will get tons of various characteristics, whether you're using a bass or guitar. A little tip: Roll your volume back, or adjust your pick attack, and you can play the oscillations. Also makes for some very synthy bass tone.
3.19.2011
Some things of the past...
Above, used to be a combo amp I got with a bass starter pack when I first began playing. Sounded like crap so I never used it. Eventually I swapped the speaker in an old Teisco amp and found out the amp portion sounded pretty good through a large cabinet. Decided it was time to make it look nice enough to sit with the rest of the family. Some dovetails and a couple coats of stain later...tah-dah.
Below, we have a couple of DAM Sonic Titan workalikes. I got the boards from Departure Electronics. Awesome 386 based dirt box.
Next in line, is this Fuzz Face I had built for me by a guy named Pete (Scruffie from Ilovefuzz.com). It came unfinished, so I got to have my first go at painting a pedal. Used model car type spray paint from joanne crafts/hobbylobby/etc & hand brushed a poly coat. *Paint is still going somewhat strong about a year later.*
3.17.2011
A look back...
Here's one of the first pedals I built. Got a "buzzrite" board from Mahoney. Very similar to the Mosrite Fuzzrite. A nasty little fuzz monster indeed. I built it into an old Walco Sustainer enclosure...what a squeeze!
So it begins
The time has come for me to dump/collect all my diy projects, gear/pedal demos, interesting music, and the like. Perhaps you'll find something you enjoy.
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