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D*A*M Fuzzaround

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 1:03 pm
by The Captain
[just making a start moving the more official stuff here from the old ship whilst fine tuning things a little]

D*A*M Fuzzaround

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The Fuzzaround is the 3rd custom project that I have run via the D*A*M Forum. Please note these lists were filled months ago. No more places are available.

In a nutshell, the Fuzzaround is a replica of the Baldwin Burns Buzzaround. Built as close as possible to the original unit using the exact same construction methods. Every part of the pedal was selected for the highest possible quality and similarity to the components used in the original Buzzarounds.

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The following components and hardware make up the D*A*M Fuzzaround.
  • NKT213 Germanium transistors
    Carbon composition resistors
    Wima metallised polyester capacitors
    BC components axial aluminium electrolytic capacitors
    NOS Mullard Germanium diode
    UK made tag board
    Omeg carbon track potentiometers
    Cliff audio jacks
    Carling DPDT footswitch
    High quality stranded tinned annealed copper equipment wire
    Screened audio quality copper conductor cable
    Lead-free solder with 2.5% silver and 0.5% copper content
    Schurter control knobs
    Superior quality custom made enclosure, made by http://www.pedalenclosures.com
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The first ten pieces were finished in Black hammerite paint. Lists #2 & #3 units have a Amber pearlescent powder coated finish. (I'll update this pic when they are back from screen print...which will be very soon!)

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The Fuzzaround was made using two different original Buzzarounds for reference. The original Schematic was made from Geefuzz's unit back in 2007:

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The test pedals and the all sound tests were made with Graham's Buzzaround in 2008:

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The following info and history lesson was complied by Mr. Picard :)

The Baldwin Piano Company (Baldwin) has a long history in the music industry. Dwight Hamilton Baldwin began by teaching piano, organ and violin in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, in 1857. By the early 1900s the Baldwin Piano Company was exporting pianos to 32 different countries with numerous retailers throughout the US. Having weathered both the Great Depression and World War II, the company introduced the first electronic organ in 1947 and later changed its name to the Baldwin Piano & Organ Company. In 1965 Baldwin failed in an attempt to purchase the Fender Musical Instruments Company so it purchased Burns of London and started selling guitars and amplifiers (manufactured by Burns) under its own brand. In 1967 the empire expanded with the purchase of the Gretsch guitar company. By 1984 the company hit hard times and went into bankruptcy. The company recovered but by 2001 it was in difficulty again and re-entered bankruptcy. Today the company is now part of the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

Between 1965 and 1968 the merged UK subsidiary of Baldwin Piano & Organ Company and Burns London, called Baldwin Burns Ltd, produced a small number of guitar effects pedals. One of these was a fuzz pedal called the Buzzaround. Gary Hurst reportedly designed this pedal around 1966/67 (unconfirmed and probably hearsay) and the circuit is extremely close to the 3-Knob Tone-Bender circuit. Those with a flair for the conspiracy theory suggest that, with very good reason, the Sola Sound Tone-Bender MKIII is basically the Buzzaround circuit with the addition of a tone control. The Buzzaround pedal contains three low-gain NTK213 transistors, which have a similar sonic profile as the NTK275. The pedal contains three knobs, being:

- Sustain. Self-explanatory.
- Balance. This is basically a bias control for Q3.
- Timbre. This is a volume/tone control, which is never fully off.

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Users of the pedal describe the pedal as having a huge amount of volume and saturation with the fuzz operating in a very smooth manner. The controls interact with each other and the fuzz cleans up on interaction with the guitar volume control. For one of the best demonstrations of an original Baldwin-Burns Ltd Buzzaround you can see this video held on YouTube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pZViQ2H-5s4


Fuzzaround wait lists

#1

Waiting time : complete

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1. Puzzleloaf (AKA ~ kb892)

2. Graham

3. Mr Picard

4. 1bottlerocket

5. The Captain…that’s me! (needed for reference)

6. Mr. Min T. Fresh

7. The_original_mr_nice

8. Dazed and Confused

9. Philip

10. Psycho*Daisies

#2

Waiting time : 4-8 weeks

11. mhat

12. skybone

13. tonebender

14. Mr. Maestro

15. chicagowarmth

16. jacobjj5

17. aaland_brian

18. Sagezero

19. Happiass

20. Blobcaster

21. Nurket

22. Sblue

23. Garyrouge

24. Pigeontoe

25. Cubba

26. Eastcoast

27. Jp30

28. Josoap

29. Poorbob

30. LZ_69

The secret stash

31. ?

32. ?

33. ?

34. ?

35. ?

#3

Waiting time : 8-12 weeks

36. dirty finger

37. sundayfeast

38. Tommy1966

39. squarewave

40. Emjee

41. Ted

42. d4niel

43. slomatic

44. Damn-deal-done

45. william

I'll update again soon... :badteeth:

Re: D*A*M Fuzzaround

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 1:09 pm
by squarewave
It's great seeing my 'name' one the list again :badlove:

Re: D*A*M Fuzzaround

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 2:50 pm
by fuzz-tone
I've already begged and pleaded... but if somebody wants to sell theirs, or backs out of their place in line - Dave knows I'm dying for one of these!

Re: D*A*M Fuzzaround

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 3:14 pm
by cubba
fuzz-tone wrote:I've already begged and pleaded... but if somebody wants to sell theirs, or backs out of their place in line - Dave knows I'm dying for one of these!
It'll cost you $1825.00 please.

;)

Re: D*A*M Fuzzaround

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 3:19 pm
by cubba
I almost forgot about the different finish on the second run of pedals.
They both look pretty sweet.
Can't wait to hear it thru my rig.

:love:

Re: D*A*M Fuzzaround

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 3:40 pm
by kb892
Thanks for recompiling and posting this Dave, my heart still skips a beat when I see this pedal! My first love :love: ... in the world of pedals at least!

Re: D*A*M Fuzzaround

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 5:33 pm
by grygrx
Every day that goes by without my name on that list makes a baby octopus die.

Re: D*A*M Fuzzaround

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 5:59 pm
by modeerf
So there's no way I can get one of theses? :bangs head: Maybe get in on the secret stash. :whistle:
Man, I want one of these baby's bad. Anyone care to give up their spot? :cheers:

Re: D*A*M Fuzzaround

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:38 pm
by jimi_dylan
grygrx wrote:Every day that goes by without my name on that list makes a baby octopus die.
:lol:

That one liner cracked me up big time!

Re: D*A*M Fuzzaround

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:56 am
by 1bottlerocket
Hey Dave, any chance you are going to sell that big box version with the knobs on top? Looks nice.

Graham, that's a nice looking pedal Dave used for reference, whew!