Ashton Audio Fuzzsilla

matta

Thanks CDee, I will post some comments there, but think the Beavis is great for prototyping and playing with circuits, though with a bit of ingenuity you can build your own protoboard and he even provides pin out for his to DIY one.

Alan, thanks for the list, ALL of those are ones I had in mind, just hard, esp. in SA to keep stock of ALL of them, so deciding which to start off with.

RE socketing, I think ALL opamps should be socketed, period! I mean even a more expensive tulip DIL8 socket is only around R4,00 at WORST, so there is no excuse not to, and as you shared it allows for experimentation as the different opamps do indeed... well... sound different!

Right now I'm in the throws of finishing off my take on Fuzz Face pedal that will be sold as Fuzzsilla, and available as kit or finished unit (the commercial units will be power coated and silkscreened, but the PCB is identical between DIY and commercial).

Fuzzsilla is pretty much a classic styled Fuzz Face but with few additions and enchantments.It is based around a pair of silicon transistors rather than germaniums, but unlike the later silicon reissues of the 70's uses modern silicon transistors that match the current gain of the old germs, giving a more pleasing fuzz tone. Silicons have advantages as they don't suffer the instability, heat and leakage problems germs do.

I've also added power filtering as well as diode protection (incase someone accidentally plugs in the battery or power with the polarity reversed) and the 2nd transistor stage has a trimmer to set the BIAS so you can taylor the sound to taste, correctly Biased at 4.5V-5V, but can be under or over biased to your spec.

There will also be an internally jumped 'tone' cap that will allow you to roll off some of the tops for a smoother fuzz sound, or jumper it out for a harder ice pick/wasp like quality.

One addition I've not seen on Fuzz/Distortion Pedals (outside of the Zvex and one of the EH pedals) is a SAG or (IN)STABILTY control.

SRV used to love playing his Fuzzes with old batteries, about 7V NOT 9VDC, it gave the Fuzzes a more compressed tonal quality and so I've added an series varistor into the power line so you can decrease the voltage to the pedal to achieve similar results, go too far and it with oscillate and splutter like a crazy... but sounds oh so good!

Thanks again for all your feedback, looking forward to putting these projects into your hands!

Cheers

Matt

[deleted]

Where can i get a Fuzzsilla??? ? Can i have one in orange please? ?

and how about an OctaFuzzsilla?

matta

Brentcgp wrote: Where can i get a Fuzzsilla??? ? Can i have one in orange please? ?

and how about an OctaFuzzsilla?

Hah Hah

Brent, what is quite funny is that the commercial version WILL be orange, orange sparkle, LOL! That was always the plan, with custom MXR style 19.5mm knobs in yellow (not the bog standard black), yellow LED and some great custom illustrative work that a friend is working on for me.

I've thought of adding in adding in an octave as well, looked adding a green ringer type design in front of it for some weird ring mod/octave effects, but it increases costs and would prob need to get a larger case... he idea is to keep cost down here and offer a GREAT sounding boutique Fuzz.

The prob. with designing something like this is you can go to freaking town, adding in switchable caps/resistors/transistors, front panel biasing, tone controls... the works... but I just decided to not go too far down the rabbit hole and keep to the TRUE essence of a simple Fuzz with a few killer mods and 3 knobs... FUZZ, LEVEL and VOLTS (or rather DEVOLTS).

That said it WILL be able to be over/under biasing using an internal trimpot and the tone cap can be switched in an out with an internal jumper, giving you some additional flexibility.

Cheers

Matt

[deleted]

? Just what i need then. Well when the Fuzzsillla becomes available I'd love to try one out. I'm all for boutique pedals!

Something about being made by somebody that loves what they do and it shows in the work.

I can see you love what you do and i'm sure it will reflect in your work too. That's what i like.

And LOCAL IS LEKKER

matta

Squonk wrote: @ Matt

So when can we order our Kits, you got me excited ?

Hah Hah, well the circuit it done (finished laying it out few hours ago), now comes the PCB layout (hopefully will have a proto by the end of the week) and I'm in discussions with a company in the USA about providing me with custom drilled cases/switches/knobs etc (makes it even easier to build), waiting on lead times and total costs.

If all goes well they should be ready within a month or 2, can't rush it, must be right or not worth putting my name on it ?

Cheers

Matt

TomCat

Hey Matt

Just read this thread and am definitely interested in the Fuzzsilla.........How is it coming along....

Also interested in the Orange Squeezer....

Cheers

matta

TomCat wrote: Hey Matt

Just read this thread and am definitely interested in the Fuzzsilla.........How is it coming along....

Also interested in the Orange Squeezer....

Cheers

Hey TomCat,

Well the design work is done (as shared above), I'm just waiting on the PCB prototype revisions. It has changed quite a bit over the various REV's since it's inception.

I'm also tying to do something I've not seen on any commercial kit and that is to have 90% of the parts onboard, which will allow for easier assembly and lower assembly 'errors'.... but makes getting all the parts to fit into the MXR style enclosure a challenging feat.

I've decided to stick to a 2 knob design, like the 'classic', FUZZ and LEVEL, but internally their is a Bias Adjust trimmer on the 2nd Q, an overall 'Volt' trimmer to simulate a dead/dying battery along with a jumperable 'tone' cap that will act as a high end roll off (more germanium type tone).

I'm hoping it will meet a mid-July release, but prob closer to to August me thinks... it has to be done right!

Will post picks when I'm happy with the layout.

Cheers

Matt

TomCat

Cool...Thanks Matt

Looking forward to the final result.....and the tone of course.....HeHeHe...(Rubs hands together in anticipation...)

ed

Hi. When is the fuzzsilla going to be released. Cant wait?
Oh ya can a voodoo labs sparkle drive be done as well as a visual sound jekkyl and hyde be done? Lemme know. Thanks

ed

Hmmm...what happened to this thread?

matta

Hi Ed,

It is on going....

Fuzzsilla is done and the prototype is doing the rounds in Joburg. I am actually flying up on Sunday and will bring it back to CPT for further testing/tweaks. The proto is missing the onboard DC Jack, but other than I don't expect much to change from the current proto to the production model.

With me closing down the studio I have been swamped with last minute sessions, so now aiming for an October release, fingers crossed (we need an emoticon for this kind of thing!).

I will try get some pics if the proto and samples up in the next week or 2.

Thanks again for the support & interest.

Cheers

Matt

ed

Thanks for the update buddy.

matta

Hey Ed (et al),

As promised here is a pic of the Fuzzsilla prototype, it has been though a fair tweaks along the way, and is STILL being tweaked... I did 4 changes to parts/circuit today alone and am very happy with the way it is coming along and about 90% of the way to completion

The DC jack is missing on the prototype, but will be in the commercial unit...

I've been working with a UK, now SA based band on their new record and they used Fuzzsilla today to lay down a solo over one of their tracks and have granted me permission to share it with you.

You can hear their Warmorth Tele being used, it is a thinline with a Humbucker in the neck, the first 2 bars are the clean tele tone and then Fuzzsilla kicks in... the track is VERY raw, the song unmixed and as it went down to proverbial tape (on in this case Pro Tools). It was played through my '67 Fender Bandmaster and accompanying 2x12 with Jensen C12N's.

Fuzzsilla Demo Clip +-4MB

Cheers

Matt

TomCat

Sounds promising......like it....keep it coming... ? ?

[deleted]

It looks and sounds good Matt

Im so keen to get one of these.

I must commend you on your work. That has to be one of the neatest and cleanest pedal work I have seen!!
It oozes quality ? Congrats!!

Can you PM me so I can order Serial#000000001 ? ?

Manfred-Klose

i suppose i'll take Serial#000000002 then? ?

Matt, that is the neatest pedal i have ever seen.

Gearhead

Brentcgp wrote: That has to be one of the {} cleanest pedal {} I have seen!!

That's a funny thing to say about a fuzzbox? ?

Tauriq

So any news with regard to this Matta?
Any idea on an ETA?

matta

Tauriq wrote: So any news with regard to this Matta?
Any idea on an ETA?

The design is done! PCB mount DC jack that arrived this week ?

Ordered a proto Hammond Case 1590B (same as the MXR style case) and am meeting with a company who will hopefully do the CNC machining for me. I'm waiting on the final PCB design (I do mean FINAL!!! ) and I need to build one more prototype from the last circuit revision and then off to manufacture, which takes 3 weeks... if all goes well it should be done by Xmas.... at least holding thumbs.

The unit now has a 3rd knob, this adjusts the BIAS on the 2nd tranistor, in the previous pic this was inside the pedal, you can now adjust it from the case, it is insane and just too much fun to put inside the box!

It has been a long road, but the lengths I've gone to now pave the way for quicker turnarounds on other pedal designs, like the Tube Screamer type design hidden in the wings...

Cheers

Matt

matta

Manny,

There are quite a few valves that will run off of 9V, but honestly I've yet to hear one running on what we call 'starved plate' voltages that give you that sweet/smooth 3rd order sound that a 'real' (read full plate) one gives you, the Valvecaster is an interesting pedal none-the-less.

Manfred Klose wrote: there is one valve that can run of 9V , a 12AU7 ?

Alcatrax@
Here is a very simple valve pedal project you can try out(the Valve caster):
http://www.beavisaudio.com/projects/ValveCaster/

I spent this morning running around to different power coating and CNC milling places to look at samples for Fuzzsilla, still going with orange, just not orange sparkle as the costs are unreal... I'd need to buy a 50kg bag of power @ R250+ a kg... and a 2-3 kgs will do 20-30 pedals... it is just not economical.

I think I'm going to go with a smooth orange finish vs the hammertone, which is on the right, hammertone is great for more industrial applications/pedals, but me thinks the smooth looks fancier.

I've had to make a call on the commercial, i,e pedals I make vs the DIY options. ONLY the ones I build will be power coated and silkscreened, the kits will be plain diecast aluminum, no screen, this allows the builder to choose their own finish, lowers costs on the kits and it protects me from guys who might build a kit and then sell it off as built by me, which I can't have because of QC issues.

Cheers

Matt