big muff

[Scott!]

Ok! I've got the parts list, so before I head off to Maplins I was wondering if the schematic on the website you posted (http://www.eskimo.plus.com/fxstuff/bigmuffboard2.jpg) would be compatible with the one here. Sorry for all these stupid questions, it's been so long since I've done anything like this and I don't want to come home from Maplins and realize I've blown 20 quid on little bits I can't do anything with because I've the wrong schematic.

Zeenat: As long as the way that jack functions is similar to a 1/4" jack, you could probably just cut the end off and wire on a new tip. Ask somebody else first, though; I'm pretty new at this too and wouldn't want to screw up your stuff.

[Guest Zeenat Aman]

Zeenat: As long as the way that jack functions is similar to a 1/4" jack' date=' you could probably just cut the end off and wire on a new tip. Ask somebody else first, though; I'm pretty new at this too and wouldn't want to screw up your stuff.[/quote']

Oh no, no, no, that little pickup is worth a bit of money, plus, it's the perfect length for it's original purpose, which is as a sax pickup which should connect to an effects box(which I dont have) on the players belt, hence my search for an effect-less in/out box.

[Scott!]

Is that sort of plug common? Because if you could get a connector for it at Maplins and a 1/4" one you could just wire the ends of the jacks together and put it in any suitably sized container.

[Guest Zeenat Aman]

Is that sort of plug common? Because if you could get a connector for it at Maplins and a 1/4" one you could just wire the ends of the jacks together and put it in any suitably sized container.

Umm' date=' you have to keep in mind that i'm clueless about any electronic stuff, even basic soldering and so on. :O

I could just buy a cable that has that plug as an in and a guitar type jack at the end, but i;m a bit worried about it getting pulled apart in the midst of an intense [b']Electric Tibet freak out.

For sandy... lets play again soon please?

[Scott!]

You could probably just tape it

[Guest Zeenat Aman]

You could probably just tape it

You're killing my box ideal.

[Guest lime ruined my life]

You're killing my box ideal.

you want something that has mono in? and a mono out?

what about one of those guitar wireless systems.

other than that, it'd be pretty easy to make.

[Guest lime ruined my life]

Ok! I've got the parts list' date=' so before I head off to Maplins I was wondering if the schematic on the website you posted ([url']http://www.eskimo.plus.com/fxstuff/bigmuffboard2.jpg) would be compatible with the one here. Sorry for all these stupid questions, it's been so long since I've done anything like this and I don't want to come home from Maplins and realize I've blown 20 quid on little bits I can't do anything with because I've the wrong schematic.

Zeenat: As long as the way that jack functions is similar to a 1/4" jack, you could probably just cut the end off and wire on a new tip. Ask somebody else first, though; I'm pretty new at this too and wouldn't want to screw up your stuff.

the one from ggg uses a pcb, the one i posted uses a "strip" board, which maplin call it, you see those horizontal golden strips?

for this build the strip board is easiest, its just a hassle to make the pcb, for other circuits, pcb is best.

[Guest lime ruined my life]

although, the stripboard (vero board) uses the schem from ggg, so it's probably the same design.

you can find the schematic here: http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/bmpsc.gif

[skuzzlebutt]

over priced effects...

i think the worst case of "open the fx box with dismay" has to be the fuzz face....70 quid... and the most expensive semi is a a 2n4401 tranny ( of which there are 2)...13 pence to you mate... chuck in a couple of pots... jack sockets... cast smiley face enclosure... and no more than a couple of quid worth of passives... and thats about it really... :o(

..i like jd's stuff...and have some good mxr pedals, but the fuzzface has to be overpriced....

[Guest Zeenat Aman]

you want something that has mono in? and a mono out?

what about one of those guitar wireless systems.

other than that' date=' it'd be pretty easy to make.[/quote']

Yup, mono in and out, you offering?

[Scott!]

although' date=' the stripboard (vero board) uses the schem from ggg, so it's probably the same design.

you can find the schematic here: [url']http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/bmpsc.gif

w00t! So it's the same circuit then. I saw the ggg schematic, but all the disorderly wires, barely visible cyan, and overtyped "GENERALGUITARGADGETS.COM" caused me to look away in immediate terror at the (seemingly) massive complexity. Oh well. I'm going to convince my dad to drive me to Maplins tomorrow, try to find a metal case there (would they have any?) and the great Big Muff build will begin.

[David]

w00t! So it's the same circuit then. I saw the ggg schematic' date=' but all the disorderly wires, barely visible cyan, and overtyped "GENERALGUITARGADGETS.COM" caused me to look away in immediate terror at the (seemingly) massive complexity. Oh well. I'm going to convince my dad to drive me to Maplins tomorrow, try to find a metal case there (would they have any?) and the great Big Muff build will begin.[/quote']

maplins have some decent cases, the ones i always use are the same width/length as a mxr pedal, but taller, and solidly built, i think they are about 6.

i would check the website to make sure maplins stock all the parts you need, i have gone to get parts before to find that they didnt stock the transisters i wanted (MPSA13, for a bazz fuss)

its also a good idea to work out all the parts you want in advance, saves you spending hours there trying to find caps and everything in the right sizes and whatnot (as there are quite a few different types, and not all come in the values you want)

on the stripboard layout for the muff, the red square/dot bits are where you cut the tracks, use a knife or something sharpish to scrape away the copper so it splits the track in two at that point, so if you look at the top left corner, 9v is only connected to the resister, not the capacitor a few spaces down that track.

building a box to change the jack should be easy enough, it just would be a case of finding the right jack and wiring it directly to a 1/4 one, piss easy to make as long as you can work out what the jack is

45 for a big muff isnt bad at all, depends if you prefer to save 20 and build it yourself, or save a few hours of your time and buy premade, i will have to try building one sometime though, just to see how it compared to the monkeyfuzzle3 (www.monkeyfx.co.uk )

i intend building the bazz fuss i liked to above sometime soon, then use a load of switches to change clipping diodes and input/output caps and so on, so i can completely change the sound of it (even though i will probably use one or two sounds if any - still interesting to do) to suit what i am playing, switching the led can change the amount and type of gain it has, a 1N34A will have a lot more gain than an led, which will be a more overdrivey sound

the offboard wiring will be quite fun, it will be interesting to do at least, even if i do rebuild it later to just a couple of the settings i use

David

[David]

if you want a couple of sites about diy stuff, generalguitargadgets is pretty good, as is geofex, and home-wrecker

the forums at www.diystompboxes.com are brilliant to, and very helpful if you have questions

David

[Guest lime ruined my life]

w00t! So it's the same circuit then. I saw the ggg schematic' date=' but all the disorderly wires, barely visible cyan, and overtyped "GENERALGUITARGADGETS.COM" caused me to look away in immediate terror at the (seemingly) massive complexity. Oh well. I'm going to convince my dad to drive me to Maplins tomorrow, try to find a metal case there (would they have any?) and the great Big Muff build will begin.[/quote']

yep, they have a whole section of "boxes"

[Guest Zeenat Aman]

I bought this hand made fuzz pedal: http://www.danielbull.org/fuzz/

Really good, I recommend it for those wanting an old, late 60's sounding fuzz tone. Plus the guy who makes em is a nice chap.

[Guest lime ruined my life]

I bought this hand made fuzz pedal: http://www.danielbull.org/fuzz/

Really good' date=' I recommend it for those wanting an old, late 60's sounding fuzz tone. Plus the guy who makes em is a nice chap.[/quote']

ooh, germanium devices is it.

i might make a germanium device.

when i finish making my silicon ones.

on another note, you can make germanium diodes style response from silicon diodes, by putting a few of them in series.

[Guest Zeenat Aman]

ooh' date=' germanium devices is it.

i might make a germanium device.

when i finish making my silicon ones.

on another note, you can make germanium diodes style response from silicon diodes, by putting a few of them in series.[/quote']

I like making new music with old sounds.

[Guest lime ruined my life]

I like making new music with old sounds.

are you giving up instruments and becoming a dj?

[Guest Zeenat Aman]

are you giving up instruments and becoming a dj?

Huh? No! I ain fat bot slim.

I have been getting into sampling/looping/editing drum breaks though, the end is nigh!?

[Guest lime ruined my life]

Huh? No! I ain fat bot slim.

I have been getting into sampling/looping/editing drum breaks though' date=' the end is nigh!?[/quote']

you know, from the 1940's to 1950's, most "originals" by the jazz greats were just reworking of pop/folk/blues songs which had been around for ages.

originals indeed, pfff!

There's no more true originals, why dont we just kill ourselves.

[Bobby]

There's no more true originals' date=' why dont we just kill ourselves.[/quote']

As the captain says, its all the same song

[sonhenry]

The general guitar gadgets site. I've built a bunch of stomp boxes using the printed circuit boards from the general guitar gadgets site. The first one was a little rough, the board worked great but I had a hard time jamming all the components into a small enclosure. Once I rebuilt it into a bigger enclosure it was reliable as any commercial one. In fact, the clean boost I built actually does sound better than the fulltone fat boost, cost me about 10% of the street price.

He's in the states, but I got a bunch of parts from here:

http://www.smallbearelec.com/home.html

It's a great source for the germanium stuff. A little slow, but easy to deal with.

[David]

small bear issupposed to be excellent for small builders and diy guys

for a uk place, check out www.cricklewoodelectronics.co.uk i ordered parts from there before and everythign went fine, i was looking for older parts (AC128 transisters - like used in trebleboosters which are out of production) which they had

David

[sonhenry]

that's cool, thanks for posting that link. small bear is good, but a more local supplier is cool.