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Friday 26 October 2012

Emma ReezaFRATzitz RF1

Requested by a few people.  Horrible to do a layout for because of multiple cascading stages with close connections from a 14 pin IC which means you can quickly run out of space, but managed to work my way through it eventually.  At 22 columns wide it will just fit in a 1590B if you file the sides down (or use a bench grinder like me), but would be more comfortable and with more room for wiring with a 125B.  Turn it 90 degrees though and it would probably fit more comfortably in the 1590B, even with 22 columns to accomodate vertically,   This has a built in buffered bypass and so only needs a SPDT stomp, or DPDT if you want to include LED indication. If you would prefer to use a 3PDT stomp and conventional true bypass switching, then the Stomp 4 connection becomes the output, you can omit the Stomp 6 connection completely, and also ignore the 2.5mm pitch 150n and 470K at the top right hand side.

Info about the Emma original:

A unique type of  OD/dist. pedal that was designed to emulate as faithfully as possible the distortion characteristics of a real tube amp.

 With the inclusion of a bias control the user is allowed to adjust the inner workings of the amplifier from class B ( far left) to class A ( far right) and anywhere in between, altering the harmonic structure of the signal and providing a much wider  variety of tonal options than your standard OD/ dist. pedal.

 Additional controls for Level, Gain,and a Hi Cut/ Hi Boost tone circuit allow the user to fine tune the Reezafratzitz to taste.







BOM:

Resistors 120R
1
Resistors 10K
4
Resistors 22K
4
Resistors 27K
1
Resistors 100K
6
Resistors 150K
2
Resistors 470K
6
Resistors 1M
4
Capacitors 47p
5
Capacitors 100p
2
Capacitors 1n
2
Capacitors 6n8
4
Capacitors 47n
2
Capacitors 150n
4
Capacitors 100u
3
IC CD4069
1
Transistors BC549
1



Modified version with additional Bass and Mids controls





BOM:

Capacitors 47p 5
Capacitors 100p 2
Capacitors 1n 2
Capacitors 2n2 1
Capacitors 6n8 4
Capacitors 47n 2
Capacitors 150n 4
Capacitors 100u 3
Resistors 100K 4
Resistors 10K 6
Resistors 120R 1
Resistors 150K 2
Resistors 1M 4
Resistors 22K 4
Resistors 27K 1
Resistors 470K 6
Resistors 47K 2
IC CD4069 1
Transistors Q1 1
at

95 comments:

  1. Jimijam26 October 2012 at 21:20

    WOW! that was fast :) I am going on vacation, will be back 1st of November, then I will take a stab at this beast!

    thank you IVIark!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gc6626 October 2012 at 23:03

    Doesn't Emma make a killer filter effect?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IvIark27 October 2012 at 00:35

      DiscomBOBulator

      Delete
    2. dexxyy27 October 2012 at 01:13

      Shit I gotta get me one of those, sound fkin awesome with bass too :-)

      Delete
  3. johnk26 October 2012 at 23:20

    i'd actually like to build the one with the bass and treble controls.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IvIark26 October 2012 at 23:28

      I've got a modified scheme with Bass and Mids controls. I'll have a look to see how easy it would be to adapt it, although it may end up a few columns wider and looking like a bit of a pig! :o)

      Delete
    2. johnk26 October 2012 at 23:36

      yeah, i saw that one on Brigg's site. for me, those two extra controls would make it alot more useful.

      Delete
    3. IvIark27 October 2012 at 00:11

      Added above. Wasn't as bad as I thought and could still fit in a 1590B sideways! :o)

      Delete
    4. johnk27 October 2012 at 00:16

      awesome. thanks! now i just have to go pick up a 4069 for it tomorrow.

      Delete
  4. G5120fx27 October 2012 at 10:44

    Mark I love you!
    I etched a PCB months ago, but forgot to flip it while printing.... So I tried to solder the IC and the tranny on the solder side. Never got it to work put it in my "check again" drawer....

    So I´ll give it a go on vero. Thanks I was looking for a vero for a long time!

    Cheers,
    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  5. G5120fx27 October 2012 at 18:29

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. G5120fx27 October 2012 at 18:30

    "Mark" the original layout as verified ;)

    I like the sound a lot, but its a little noisy with gain maxed!

    ReplyDelete
  7. johnk28 October 2012 at 07:28

    just finished the one with the mids and bass control. it works to spec but the volume is backwards, as are the bass, mids and bias control.
    the manual ( http://www.emmaelectronic.com/media/RF-1%20manual.pdf) says that there's a 'thump/whoosh' sound between 2 & 5 o'clock, but mine was between 10 & 7 o'clock. reverse those pots and it should be verified.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IvIark28 October 2012 at 10:11

      Awesome thanks John. I got the pot numbering off the schematic as well. AARRGGHH!!!!

      Delete
    2. mamat29 October 2012 at 11:24

      fantastic to hear the modified layout too is verified! mark, has the layout been updated?

      Delete
    3. IvIark29 October 2012 at 11:30

      Yes

      Delete
  8. G5120fx28 October 2012 at 10:39

    Yeah that´s what i forgot to say....

    ReplyDelete
  9. simurgh29 October 2012 at 09:58

    what's next, PisdiYAUwot? :D

    ReplyDelete
  10. johnk7 November 2012 at 09:58

    finally got my 'reeza' mounted in an enclosure tonight. i built the one with the mids and bass control. since i use mine for bass, i also added an 18V charge pump so i can switch it between 9 oand 18 Volts. on 18V it has more dynamics and sounds smoother. here's a pic of it:

    http://johnkvintageguitars.homestead.com/Effects/Fuzz-ODs/ReezaFRAT/Reeza-01.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  11. johnk8 November 2012 at 02:47

    since this pedal has a buffered output, it makes it a perfect candidate for a clean blend control, so i modded mine today, added the clean blend and converted the stomp switch to a ture bypass. this pedal is awesome as a bass overdrive set up this way.

    http://johnkvintageguitars.homestead.com/Effects/Fuzz-ODs/ReezaFRAT/Reeza-01-1.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just Start Drawing8 November 2012 at 07:53

    How did you implement the clean control? Sounds and looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. johnk8 November 2012 at 08:52

      it was super easy. just wire the stomp 4 and 6 leads to the outer lugs (1 & 3) of a 100K linear pot. then lug 2 is the output, and that goes to a 3PDT stomp switch.

      Delete
  13. Box10 November 2012 at 20:12

    Hi,Ivlark! Great schematic but a little bit noisy! I want add speakersim to this layout and upload here. Can you send me layout? my mail sashurkin@ukr.net

    ReplyDelete
  14. Unknown15 November 2012 at 18:35

    For BC549 B or C???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IvIark15 November 2012 at 18:46

      It doesn't matter, either would be fine

      Delete
    2. Unknown15 November 2012 at 19:25

      thanks

      Delete
    3. IvIark15 November 2012 at 19:32

      It's just a unity gain buffer and so it'll be 1x gain no matter what transistor you use.

      Delete
    4. Domenico Leoci5 December 2012 at 20:25

      "It's just a unity gain buffer and so it'll be 1x gain no matter what transistor you use."

      Might be a silly question but can I use any transistors ie. 2N2369, 2N2222, 2N70000 or 2N2907? That's all I have in my house...
      Thank you.

      Delete
    5. IvIark5 December 2012 at 20:52

      You can use any NPN bipolar transistor that has the correct pin out. 2N7000 is a mosfet, 2N2907 are PNP and so you can't use those. 2N2369 and 2N2222 would be fine though, just make sure you connect the correct pins.

      Delete
    6. Domenico Leoci6 December 2012 at 23:23

      Thank you so much!!! will do.

      Delete
    7. Unknown19 September 2013 at 15:07

      It sounds better (and louder) with a BC546

      Delete
  15. Unknown15 November 2012 at 18:36

    RF-1 .... sorry

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gc6619 November 2012 at 02:02

    Stupid question... Is the Dpdt in the layout the bypass switch?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IvIark19 November 2012 at 12:36

      Yes, it's buffered bypass and so doesn't use conventional true bypass wiring which is why I included that. If you don't want LED indication you could do it with a SPDT stomp

      Delete
    2. Gc6616 December 2012 at 15:05

      Thanks Mark, great build. As others have said it is a bit noisy... Do you think replacing the ceramics with silver micas would help? If so looks like the 47pfs are "tamers" so would 22-68 be acceptable values?

      Delete
    3. IvIark16 December 2012 at 15:36

      Yes I think anything from 22-68 would be fine, with higher values cutting more high end. You could certainly try the mica's, ceramics can be noisy

      Delete
    4. Unknown6 January 2013 at 19:05

      noise caused by chip. Try to change first stage by common source JFET.

      Delete
  17. Box13 December 2012 at 08:12

    IvIark, I asked about vero layout file for great upgrade. Can you send it?
    Waiting for your ansver. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Boodgemeister18 December 2012 at 01:04

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Domenico Leoci13 January 2013 at 16:18

    pls need help with this one.
    I soldered the board time ago and did a tidy job.
    I wired everything up but all I can hear is a whistling noise (high pitch).
    LED switches with stomp but noise remains in both on and off positions.
    Any clue?
    I used a DPDT and wired as you advised (1 to LED, 2 to ground, 3 empty, 4 to the board where indicated, 5 to output on PCB, and 6 to where indicated). I've done the modified version, and used DC 9v power... any help will be appreciated!! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Domenico Leoci14 January 2013 at 22:09

      anyone please?

      Delete
    2. IvIark14 January 2013 at 22:22

      Have you boxed it yet? That often helps out with oscillation. If you have then you're just going to have to check for the usual suspects, most probably a poor joint somewhere or maybe an unwanted bridge.

      Check the IC pin voltages to see if that gives any clues.

      Delete
  20. Domenico Leoci15 January 2013 at 15:19

    thanks Ivlark, I boxed it and then took it off. Can you confirm I soldered the DPDT properly and that pin 3 needs to be left empty? Thank you again, Dom.

    ReplyDelete
  21. hako15 January 2013 at 18:21

    Build this and it sounds wonderful! Only issue is the noise this circuit produces Compared to some other distortion pedals (Stone Grey, Dyna Red, OCD....) it puts out almost double the noise.... Any ideas how to tame it a little bit?

    tia Heiko

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IvIark16 January 2013 at 17:20

      You could try increasing the 100u caps to maybe 220u to see if larger filter caps will do more about the noise.

      Delete
    2. hako17 January 2013 at 07:44

      Thanks Mark! Maybe you got me wrong (because i`m not a native speaker;-)), i meant hiss that might be there by circuit design(?). It`s no power supply or grounding issue....

      Delete
    3. johnk17 January 2013 at 08:42

      the noise(which is mostly hiss)is kind of the nature of the beast with pedals that use a CD4069 chip. mine's not too noisey unless I crank the gain all the way up.

      Delete
    4. hako17 January 2013 at 14:30

      Thanks John, might running it at 18V help (as you do)?

      Delete
  22. Domenico Leoci16 January 2013 at 17:08

    what do stomp 4 and stomp 6 stand for in terms of circuit? i mean, what is their funtion? thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dave16 January 2013 at 17:14

      It means you have to solder a wire to lugs 4 and 6 from where it says on the board. The stomp switch bypasses or engages the effect. Hope this helps
      Dave

      Delete
    2. IvIark16 January 2013 at 17:23

      Thanks Dave. Lug 4 is the effected output, lug 6 is the buffered bypass output, and the state of the stomp switch decides which is linked to lug 5 which is the main output to the socket.

      Delete
  23. Domenico Leoci16 January 2013 at 19:56

    Thanks Ivlark and Dave, I am totally new to all this and your advise is vital to me. I wasn't sure what they represented in terms of signal stages...
    I still need to fix my attempted pedal. Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Terrordrone18 January 2013 at 19:06

    Hi Mark!

    What means this: "and also ignore the 2.5mm pitch 150n and 470K at the top right hand side."

    I don't understand it :-(

    Regards,
    Marcell

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Terrordrone26 February 2013 at 16:40

      Can nobody help me? :-(

      Delete
    2. IvIark26 February 2013 at 17:26

      It means if you want to use true bypass switching instead of buffered you don't need to include the 2.5mm pitch 150n and 470K resistor at the top right hand side of the board.

      Delete
    3. Terrordrone1 March 2013 at 13:58

      Thanks Mark!
      Now i've to found the mistake why my pedal won't work.
      All cuts, bridges, connetions etc are right. When I conneht the pedal, there coming just synthesized sounds when I turn on the poti's.
      Sounds like a theremin :-D (I had many fun with it, but this isn't what i want)

      Delete
  25. RAD31 January 2013 at 17:45

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  26. RAD31 January 2013 at 18:31

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  27. RAD31 January 2013 at 18:34

    Hi. Is there a need for a pull down resistor to prevent popping when engaging/disengaging the footswitch? On my true bypass pedals, I usually have a 1M or 2M2 resistor to ground at the input. As this is my first pedal build with a buffered bypass, I was wondering if that somehow took care of the popping as I don't see a pull down resistor here. Thanks for any insights.

    ReplyDelete
  28. RAD31 January 2013 at 20:19

    Hi mirasol,
    For this build I am going to try the built-in buffered bypass that Mark mentions in the pedal description at top. Because I've never done a buffered bypass before (only true bypass), I was unsure if a pull down resistor was needed in a buffered bypass pedal such as this. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mirosol31 January 2013 at 20:31

      I think it's taken care in the circuit, as that doesn't have same type of switching.
      +m

      Delete
    2. RAD1 February 2013 at 00:04

      I thought it might be. Thanks for the clarification.

      Delete
  29. Unknown12 February 2013 at 13:27

    I built the version with bass and mids controls a couple days back and it sounds great! Only issue I have (apart from the noise with the gain up, but I guess that's just the nature of the beast) is that the 'tone' control starts at 'decent amount of treble' and goes up to 'ear-destroying treble overload'. Even set half-way it sounds insanely bright - is that just how this schematic sounds, or could there be something wrong with my pedal? If so, any ideas as to what it could be? I've attempted a pretty thorough diagnosis and I can't find any bad connections or bridges or anything. I'm not too sure where specifically to look though, I'm still a bit of a noob when it comes to the actual schematics. Thanks for any help!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown12 February 2013 at 22:28

      Never mind, spent another couple hours poking and prodding with a multimeter and a soldering iron and I seem to have fixed the problem - think it was a dodgy connection on a capacitor. Regardless, this thing rocks! Thanks for the layout, and all the hard work IvIark!

      Delete
  30. RAD18 March 2013 at 12:21

    Just finished this build (bass/mids version) with a few small mods:
    1) Added another 120R resistor (power section) which is on the schematic but appeared to be missing on the vero layout;
    2) Changed pedal to be true bypass using a standard 3pdt switch;
    3) Added a 2M resistor to ground at input.

    As many have commented, the pedal is very hissy and noisy at full gain. I also find that there is not much volume boost above unity when pedal is engaged and volume/level is at full (which is not a problem, just a comment) as compared to other pedals.

    That all being said, the sound of this pedal is phenomenal, the distortion convincing, and the range of tonal options is huge considering the interaction of the 3 tone controls and bias knob.

    This pedal has not yet hit my pedal board. As long as the noise gate on my board can control this hiss, then this pedal will have been well worth the effort. Thanks for this one!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Boodgemeister5 April 2013 at 11:25

    I have maybe one stupid question. On all of your projects, including this one... I can't figure out... Are the stripes on the side of the components or the opposite?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown5 April 2013 at 11:40

      The board looks as it would look on x-ray. The stripes are on the opposite side from the components and when you are making your cuts you need to mirror the image left/right.

      Mind you, there are some instances where you also get the "flipped" strip side but then you usually get both so it's not hard to tell.

      Delete
    2. IvIark5 April 2013 at 12:48

      Have a look at the build guide here:

      http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/04/vero-build-guide.html

      You'll then be able to relate the layout to the actual build.

      Delete
    3. Boodgemeister5 April 2013 at 12:53

      Niiice! Thank you very much!

      Delete
    4. Boodgemeister12 April 2013 at 09:40

      Do I HAVE to put it in a box? Because I can't get it to work.

      Delete
    5. Boodgemeister12 April 2013 at 14:18

      I get small hiss and low volume "retared" clean when I turn Bias pot on the right. I don't really know what the Hell I am doing wrong here...

      Delete
    6. mirosol12 April 2013 at 14:55

      Does it work correctly with the bias set higher?

      I for one am strongly against having bias pots outside the box, as those are in 9,9 cases out of 10 just useless and they can kill the signal. Here, i think it is a feature.

      That pot just basically acts as variable resistor determing how much resistance there is before the voltage reaches the CD4069. I suspect that too much resistance (10K in this case) will make it unusable.

      If the pot works ok in lower settings, i'd suggest to swap it for smaller value - like 5K or even 2K.
      +m

      Delete
    7. johnk12 April 2013 at 17:34

      IMO, on the Reeza, the bias pot actually is quite useful on the outside of the box.

      Delete
    8. mirosol12 April 2013 at 19:18

      Does it kill the amplification on yours if set "wrong"?
      +m

      Delete
    9. johnk12 April 2013 at 19:38

      nope. it just changes the way it clips and amount of gain.

      Delete
    10. Boodgemeister23 April 2013 at 20:42

      Jesus... Finally made it to work. Very nice pedal! I had two contacts soldered by accident. Only bad things I noticed it was a little more noise than expected and volume pot issue. Linear pot is maybe not ideal, because when it comes to almost full volume already on 50%. Thanks for the help guys, the pedal rawks, I strongly recommend it.

      Delete
    11. Unknown24 August 2013 at 18:25

      Hi Stevan, I'm listing all parts to build this one so did you end up using a log volume pot instesd of a linear one? Thank you

      Delete
  32. Kostis19 April 2013 at 21:00

    What if I replaced the CD4069 with the C4069. Both are CMOS Hex converters. Does anybody know the difference?
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Unknown8 September 2013 at 12:51

    Thank you for this layout, it sound amazing, love it. Pictures of my build:
    http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff176/pm7300/01_zps04ea0446.jpg
    http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff176/pm7300/02_zps3983c005.jpg
    http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff176/pm7300/03_zps17ccef5b.jpg
    http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff176/pm7300/04_zps4d66a03a.jpg

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Digadadave9 September 2013 at 14:56

      Nice looking build. What type of box is that?

      Delete
  34. Unknown9 September 2013 at 19:13

    The box: http://www.pedalenclosures.com/ProductDetail/tabid/104/rvdsfpid/yy-polished-finish-5/rvdsfcatid/yy-1/language/it-IT/Default.aspx

    ReplyDelete
  35. Unknown1 January 2014 at 14:21

    Can you do a layout of the Pisdiyauwot? from what I've heard it should be a heavily modded Reezafratzitz.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Unknown3 July 2014 at 01:03

    is the jumper on column 5 actually 2 jumpers that both go into hole 13?

    here? http://prntscr.com/3yu3q1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown3 July 2014 at 01:06

      on the modified version, sorry.

      Delete
    2. IvIark3 July 2014 at 02:27

      Yes. That's the symbol I use for a double link, one going up and one going down from the same hole

      Delete
  37. Le Comte de Fourques31 August 2016 at 09:22

    Hello ,

    I need some help to debugging mine , the signal go through , led is on , but no effect , the sound stay clean. Only the tone and bias control seem to work , gain and level doesn't change anything.


    Any idea ?

    ReplyDelete
  38. Le Comte de Fourques1 September 2016 at 10:09

    I changed the DPDT for a 3PDT circuit , same thing , no effect , the signal stay clean . Something wrong on the vero , but I double checked evrything , solders seems to be right . If you have suggestions about this kind of bug ... Thank you for your help.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Chris3 September 2016 at 07:56

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  40. Chris3 September 2016 at 07:56

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete