FUZZFOOT
Stand alone FuzzFoot - Coming soon!!!!
Now in the prototype stage
FUZZFOOT - The modular fuzz. Get ready for the stand-alone FuzzFoot. This Fuzz will be anything you want it to be. The design is modular, making it easy to swap or modify the circuit any way you want.The fuzz circuit is on a daughter board (FuzzCard) You can actually remove the Fuzz circuit without disrupting the rest of the pedal. The FuzzCard will be available in different versions. You can order a blank FuzzCard and build your magic fuzz circuit onto it. An experimenters dream!
FUZZFOOT NPN and PNP There are two versions of the main unit - FUZZFOOT NPN and FUZZFOOT PNP. NPN is red and PNP is blue. NPN is a negative grounded box. PNP is a positive grounded box. You can't use a PNP circuit in an NPN box and vice versa.
Different versions If you're into Fuzz, you already know that there are several different versions of the classic circuit. There's PNP germanium, NPN silicon, germanium/silicon hybrids, custom mods. I'm working on a variety of versions to address every preference. There are so many different versions that it's impossible to make one version that will please everyone, but the original FUZZFOOT circuit, which is part of Captain Coconut comes pretty close...See below for more info on the original FUZZFOOT circuit.
Mother board and daughter board There are two circuit boards, one is the main board and the other is the FuzzCard.
The main board has the input/output jacks, a voltage regulator circuit and all the main pot/switch/voltage connections. It also has a header that the FuzzCard plugs into.
The FuzzCard has all the Fuzz circuitry. Just about any versions of the classic fuzz circuit can be built onto this card.
The FuzzFoot runs on two 9Volt batteries. It has a 9 Volt regulator to insure a consistent internal power supply. By using two 9 Volt batteries, there is plenty of reserve to keep that regulated voltage steady. The regulator, along with a filter cap guarantees quiet, hum-free performance when using a wall wart.
Original FUZZFOOT circuit
The original FUZZFOOT is hybrid silicon/germanium PNP version of the circuit. It has a variable resistor in series with the input to up the input impedance. This makes it work well with wah wah pedals and smooths out the tone. At the input there is also a high frequency filter capacitor. It helps to reject radio transmissions and internal oscillation but does not subtract from the tone. The first transistor in the circuit is a super quiet, high gain silicon PNP. The second is a hand picked germanium PNP. This combination allows the FuzzFoot to perform consistently regardless of temperature. A germanium transistor in that first position can be very temperature sensitive. The GRIT control alters the DC bias to the transistors, allowing you to dial in tones that range from loud and harsh (full CC), to smooth and round (in the center) to harsh and farty (full clockwise). It works like a "variable battery" The Fuzz control is slightly altered from the original FuzzFace circuit to provide more usable range. On the original FuzzFace, and it's clones, the Fuzz pot does almost nothing until you turn it up all the way. Then, it abruptly kicks in giving you almost no usable range to play with. The FuzzFoot offers more usable FUZZ range and smoother control.
Other versions of the circuit will be available including all germanium PNP and NPN, Super high gain NPN, NPN/PNP hybrids...
If you're interested in a pre-production FUZZFOOT, check out the PROTOTYPES page. If you're interested in the NPN Silicon version of the circuit, let me know. I have a batch of super high gain BC109C NPN silicon transistors.
More about the fuzzfoot
The research that led up to the FuzzFoot left behind some great prototypes.
FUZZFOOT Controls:
GRIT One thing that makes FuzzFoot different from other similar fuzz's is the GRIT control. This knob allows you to fine tune the attack, tone and fuzz level. The control is subtle, but very effective.
Counter clockwise: Dull loud tone. Sounds
great when over driving a tube stage.
Middle: Even blue tone with lots of fuzz and sustain.
Clockwise: Clipped, farty and burnt out. Great turned up
loud with feedback.
Fuzz The Fuzz control allows you to back off on the intensity of the fuzz. This is useful when looking for special vintage sounds and when driving more overdrive stages. This is also great if you want to dial in some wimpy fuzz tones for effect. If you want the fuzz to clean up when you role back you guitar's volume knob, back off a little on the Fuzz control. One common application for the Fuzz control is to set your amp up for a good amount of natural distortion, or use a tube screamer type of overdrive. Turn the Fuzz control down and crank the volume up. You can use the Fuzzfoot as a great sounding clean boost, milking some incredible sounds from your amp.You can dial in a massive range of great sounds just by playing around with the GRIT and DRIVE controls. Don't forget about your guitar's volume and tone knobs - they're effects too!
Volume Guess what- it controls the volume. Turn it up and it gets loud.