Who's brave enough to clone my #1??

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NoctisAvis
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Re: Who's brave enough to clone my #1??

Post by NoctisAvis »

chatmatt wrote:New video. More wanking, less phasing. This one highlights the low gain sounds a bit more. I should note that this demo and the other one are with the guitar on full all the time! I dont touch the volume knob on the guitar at all. The stuff that sounds like rolled back fuzz... boom!

Because everyone loves hearing a white person play slowly in E for a few minutes at a time.
This thread was a surprise find full of good ideas. Dig the sound of that demo!
Did an external bias knob make it onto the final/latest version of this pedal?
Best-sounding FF I've tried was a Cornell 1st Fuzz which was truly exceptional...but the internal bias trimmer made it too much of a project to use with regularity. It had a battery door...but still required removal of 4 screws to access the trimmer. :doh:
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joegagan
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Re: Who's brave enough to clone my #1??

Post by joegagan »

we have two protos that made final rounds, one is NPN, one is PNP. currently the PNP sounds a wee bit better ( it is the black one in the video), but the difference between the two may be something other than the npn/ npn equation as we were trying various pregain and tone shaping schemes.

the bias knob will not be external as it currently stands, the best bias setting is best, this fuzz is meant to be a purposeful tool for usable tones, more off-kilter/ adventurous tweaking modes are not the core target. battery door is a possibility though, thanks for the post and your thoughts.
more to come!
"Scuze me while I rip the sky....."--DucRyder
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NoctisAvis
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Re: Who's brave enough to clone my #1??

Post by NoctisAvis »

I've gotta defer to your experience with biasing transistors...but a bias setting of "set & forget" will be best even with the PNP version?
In addition to the 1st Fuzz, I recently had a 1.5 TB with an OC76 and OC72 which (thankfully) had an external bias knob for that particularly sensitive-to-temperature pedal.
Those original NKT275s from the 1st Fuzz were a similar story...at least where I live...as temperature fluctuations can be quite volatile. From one day (or few days) to the next I would have to tweak to fix the flub...in the otherwise massive bottom end.
I know all PNP and hybrids aint equal...the Drag'N'Fly I had didn't suffer the effects, neither did a Lumpy's Lemon Drop...and neither does my desert island dirtbox, the Harmonic Percolator. My own desire for a bias knob isn't so much to tweak, but to make tweaking (when necessary) a bit less of a hassle. However once again, I've gotta defer here as you're the one working on the circuit. :harp:
twitchey
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Re: Who's brave enough to clone my #1??

Post by twitchey »

NoctisAvis wrote:I've gotta defer to your experience with biasing transistors...but a bias setting of "set & forget" will be best even with the PNP version?
In addition to the 1st Fuzz, I recently had a 1.5 TB with an OC76 and OC72 which (thankfully) had an external bias knob for that particularly sensitive-to-temperature pedal.
Those original NKT275s from the 1st Fuzz were a similar story...at least where I live...as temperature fluctuations can be quite volatile. From one day (or few days) to the next I would have to tweak to fix the flub...in the otherwise massive bottom end.
I know all PNP and hybrids aint equal...the Drag'N'Fly I had didn't suffer the effects, neither did a Lumpy's Lemon Drop...and neither does my desert island dirtbox, the Harmonic Percolator. My own desire for a bias knob isn't so much to tweak, but to make tweaking (when necessary) a bit less of a hassle. However once again, I've gotta defer here as you're the one working on the circuit. :harp:
Living in England is great for germanium fuzz (mostly), but I would concur with the above, an external bias knob is what I would be looking for as pretty much essential. Not just for setting to adjust for humidity etc. but also for different rooms and recording (sometimes a little more rasp cuts through, sometimes I may want a fuller, warmer honk).

I really dig the idea of having two pre-set levels of fuzz at a click (for keys and stuff): nice idea ... but not for a clumsy footed / obsessive volume roller such as myself. :)

Finally, ChattMatt if you have the opportunity perhaps you could do some clips with adjusting the volume control on your guitar (re: clean up) and also rolling down the treble control on your guitar?

Good luck with it all ... awesome thread!
chatmatt
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Re: Who's brave enough to clone my #1??

Post by chatmatt »

Thanks! I did do a bit of guitar rollback in some of the demo videos, but didn't narrate at all, so it's probably impossible to tell. I should really re-do that! Next time I do a demo, I'll try to better show that the sound of the rolled back guitar is the same as the rolled back channel when switched in. Same with tone knob. Thanks for the tip. Right now both pedals are with Joe - maybe he can whip up something?

As for the bias knob... Joe and I are still on the no-knob side of the argument, as they seem to be the kiss of death for many mainstream pedals. People dial them in all wrong and complain that the pedals sound like shit. Conversely, I understand that a SET bias control can ALSO sound like shit.. and not be able to be fixed! It's a bit of a Catch 22 for sure.

I'm meeting tomorrow with a builder/manufacturer here in CA about finally producing this pedal. Our prototype is just about dialed in, and I'm looking forward to getting the circuit laid out for PCB production. The same facility also handles the populating and graphics, so I'm reeeallllyyy hoping we're in the final leg here after almost 2 years.
twitchey
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Re: Who's brave enough to clone my #1??

Post by twitchey »

chatmatt wrote:Thanks! I did do a bit of guitar rollback in some of the demo videos, but didn't narrate at all, so it's probably impossible to tell. I should really re-do that! Next time I do a demo, I'll try to better show that the sound of the rolled back guitar is the same as the rolled back channel when switched in. Same with tone knob. Thanks for the tip. Right now both pedals are with Joe - maybe he can whip up something?

As for the bias knob... Joe and I are still on the no-knob side of the argument, as they seem to be the kiss of death for many mainstream pedals. People dial them in all wrong and complain that the pedals sound like shit. Conversely, I understand that a SET bias control can ALSO sound like shit.. and not be able to be fixed! It's a bit of a Catch 22 for sure.

I'm meeting tomorrow with a builder/manufacturer here in CA about finally producing this pedal. Our prototype is just about dialed in, and I'm looking forward to getting the circuit laid out for PCB production. The same facility also handles the populating and graphics, so I'm reeeallllyyy hoping we're in the final leg here after almost 2 years.
Dude ... you must be so excited! :headbanger: :headbanger: :headbanger:
chatmatt
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Re: Who's brave enough to clone my #1??

Post by chatmatt »

Very successful meeting today! Finally seeing a light at the end of this fuzzy tunnel. Once Joe and I finish this last revision, it's off to the races! It'll take about 45-60 days from when we wrap up the schematic until the first batch of test pedals is done and ready to enter the world. So.. maybe a not-so-ironic April 1st goal date?
chatmatt
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Re: Who's brave enough to clone my #1??

Post by chatmatt »

It's alllliiiiiivvvvvveeeeeee (although probably not till May now)

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joegagan
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Re: Who's brave enough to clone my #1??

Post by joegagan »

hell yeah
"Scuze me while I rip the sky....."--DucRyder
chatmatt
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Re: Who's brave enough to clone my #1??

Post by chatmatt »

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