Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Orpheum Fuzz

How come i can never seem to find any good info about these circuits :|

Anyway. Here's another 60's "classic". Ugly and mean. Simple, yet effective. Added both versions; Silicon and Germanium.

Please take note that the Ge version is positive ground with PNP germanium transistors, while the Si version is NPN with negative ground.



Posted by at 05:45
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29 comments:

  1. superferrite18 December 2012 at 14:02

    Awesome lil' layout for this!
    Works great with a Ge Q1 depending on the bias.
    Ripping.

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    1. mirosol18 December 2012 at 14:23

      So you built it? Verified?
      +m

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    2. Doron Barness18 December 2012 at 19:20

      What was the Hfe of your Ge Q1? did you measure leakage?
      +1

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    3. superferrite18 December 2012 at 21:16

      Hfe was around 150, didn't measure for leakage, and several other Ge samples didn't sound good. Q2 was a metal can 2N2222 or a BC109, I think.

      Sorry, used another layout.
      The "tone" control mixes the two distorted transistors, I think. You can have just Q1 at one end, then the other one phases in.

      Dragonfly's "wrong" capacitor sounds alright too, but a bit buzzier.

      Delete
  2. mirosol18 December 2012 at 17:19

    Built NPN version myself. At least it doesn't sound like FF :)

    Pretty sick for such an simple design. I put on 2N2369s, and it's really splatty. I tried it with Escobedo's Tripple fuzz in front of it, and wow. Don't know if i'll ever box that though. But it's wild.

    Don't have a clue if the "tone" is reversed or not as it doesn't work like you'd expect from "normal" tone control :)
    +m

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  3. Doron Barness18 December 2012 at 19:36

    I built this one a while ago. It was my first attempt at building a real nasty splatty fuzz. I like it better than the Fuzz-rite and better than the Shin-Ei as it is a little of both.

    It sounds amazing on bass too but what I really like about it is that it is totally different than the FF or the BMP or even the Maestro Fuzz Tone.
    It's simple and mean. The Tone goes trebely as you crank it higher.

    You've got the TONE lugs backward from what I see on my build. The Tone and Volume are very interactive.
    very buzzy on neck pickup: You can get some great "Spirits in the Sky" (don't use a pick) and even "Pushing Too Hard" solo (lower Tone Knob), "Satisfaction" riff.

    http://fuzzquest.blogspot.co.il/2012/04/orpheum-fuzz.html



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    1. mirosol18 December 2012 at 20:51

      Thanks. I'll reverse the tone... And probably change the pot values too. 200K and 250K work, but... I'll answer to that one comment lower :)
      +m

      Delete
    2. Doron Barness18 December 2012 at 21:29

      If you are referring to the Andrew Carrell schematic from 2009 than the Germanium version has 200k and 250k for the Tone and Volume, respectively. The Silicon one doesn't show the values but the one I built which is super wicked was 1M Lin and 100kA.

      If anyone can share experience with various values and recommend the best it would be great.

      D

      Delete
  4. Unknown18 December 2012 at 20:13

    Whoa mirosol, you read my mind... I actually built a silicon Orpheum fuzz JUST LAST NIGHT based on Dragonfly's old layouts, but correcting the .01uF to .1uF.

    But one thing was that I was pretty sure that the pots were:
    1M Lin and 100k Log

    This was per a thread on DIYSB where a guy who had one tested the values of the pots in his. But perhaps I got this wrong and those values were for the Germ version? But either way, one of them has 1M and 100k pots.
    For some reason I cannot seem to connect to DIYSB at the moment (all requests are timing out), so I can't reference the exact thread.

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    1. mirosol18 December 2012 at 20:54

      200 and 250 are from the schematic i have, but Si-version has no values.. The schem says 200-500K should be ok. And it works ok, but i do believe it would be the best with 250K on tone and 1M on volume :)

      I'll update those too...

      Thanks guys!
      :)

      Delete
  5. Alex S.18 December 2012 at 22:19

    I breadboarded a silicon one with the 100k+1M pots combo and wasn't impressed with the tone control at all as I could only get good fuzzy sounds when I had it cranked. Definitely worth trying out a few values.

    Alas won't be able to build/verify/try pot values out as I'm off on holiday tomorrow. Actually, not that gutted about it now that I think about it..! ;)

    By the way, loving the advent calendar thing. Got a little Peavey amp with spring reverb which I'm more and more tempted to gut since you posted the reverb driver layout... Been thinking about doing something like that for a while...

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  6. Gc6619 December 2012 at 03:19

    I second the love for the advent calendar! This site friggin rocks!

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  7. KT13 April 2013 at 22:49

    I like this better with 2N4401 compared to 2N2222A and 2N3904. With 2N4401 the tone control (A100K) is more useful. Really really like this site !!

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    1. Doron Barness14 April 2013 at 18:03

      Do you mean 2N4401 for both?

      Delete
    2. KT15 April 2013 at 08:46

      yes for both. But first try it only in Q2. Q1 2N2222A or 2N3904 and Q2 2N4401 is also nice

      Delete
    3. Doron Barness15 April 2013 at 16:28

      I didn't feel too much of a difference between the various combinations with those trannies.It could be more related to the hfe than to the 2NXXXX name. Nevertheless, after a few replacements back and forth, I did leave it with both Q1 and Q2 at 2N4401.

      Thanks. Try a little spring reverb and an AC30 amp. Great Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western sound.

      Delete
    4. KT15 April 2013 at 17:18

      If you like this, also try the fuzz rite. Fuzzrite is more refined and very touch responsive in a way. (my Fuzzrite is with 2N2222A and 2N4401.

      Delete
  8. Doron Barness16 April 2013 at 14:04

    Thanks,

    I've built the Fuzzrite with the RFNR Green Bomb Modifications which add some more versatility to the pedal. It's such a great pedal. I've also ended up using a 2N222A and a 2N4401. Guess we have the same taste. The Orpheum gets me more to the "Pushin' to hard" solo by the Seeds (also fantastic with bass). The FuzzRite Green Bomb is more Spaghetti Western style.

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  9. Unknown9 May 2013 at 22:30

    Just finished this build, 2N2222's and 47k tone 500k volume pots (all I had), the tone pot seems odd, more like the level pot from a Fuzzface, it's nice and splatty when it's cranked but like a nasty (in a bad way) overdrive under about 2 o'clock. Goes well with the Magnavibe though.

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  10. Peeps5 August 2013 at 23:29

    For me Q1 needs higher hfe than Q2 in the Si version. I have BC108s, 274/24 (!) hfe. A 2n2222a (100ish hfe) works well too in Q2. Above that in Q2 and the sound gets too gated. I have a fuzzrite and FY-2- must I box this too?

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    Replies
    1. Doron Barness6 August 2013 at 17:49

      Indeed you must. The Orpheum, for me, is the best 60s, spaghetti western, psych garage fuzz. It has the most buzzy noise ever similar to the FY-2 but the versatility and playability of the Fuzzrite.
      Try it on Bass, it is just awesome.

      Delete
  11. Doron Barness6 August 2013 at 19:05

    Did anybody compare the Dragonfly (Andrew Carrel) versions from 2008 and 2009? the 2008 had a 1M 100kA Tone/Vol combo and the 2009 had the lower 250-500k unknown combo with some parts variations.

    please explain the difference between them. I built the 2008 which is wicked but my fingers are tingling to give a go at the 2009 version.

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  12. Unknown3 October 2013 at 16:47

    wondering if i could substitute a lower value for the 10M resistor on Q1... what does that R do exactly? feed a low Voltage back to the base? i tried a 1M and the fuzz tone seems different.. for obvious reasons.

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  13. Doron Barness13 December 2013 at 11:16

    I have recently started playing again through the Orpheum pedal which I built because it is just so awesome. Did anyone manage to build a silicon version which doesn't introduce a lot of RF and static noise on the higher settings of the Tone/Fuzz pot? It is just so noisy on the best tone setting that it is really a shame.

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    Replies
    1. mirosol13 December 2013 at 11:56

      You could try adding a RF-filter cap from input to ground. Something like 10p. Other known method to tame those is placing a small cap (47p-100p or such) between Q1 base and collector. There's not much room on the board for that though...
      +m

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    2. Dave13 December 2013 at 12:00

      Maybe up the filter cap as well, 15uf is quite a bit lower than what most pedals have...
      Cheers
      Dave

      Delete
    3. mirosol13 December 2013 at 12:07

      Si version doesn't have one, so that could be one thing to try too. Assuming it is caused by power supply.
      +m

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    4. Doron Barness14 December 2013 at 10:09

      Thanks mirosol and dave. I'll give it try. Orpheum and Fuzzrite have just become my primer go-to fuzz these days so getting rid of noise is such a crucial thing for using these pedals live.

      Delete
  14. Hozy3126 April 2015 at 19:01

    Yep, Another build. Not so sure about this one tried with both 2N2222As and 2N5088s and its a tad splatty on the higher strings to the point of the sound vanishing. Alright with the tone pot at the lower end. Might have to try some other transistors before i find the right ones or combo.

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