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Friday, 24 May 2013

Boss FZ-3 Fuzz

I recently got a Behringer clone of this one in a trade for free and thought i'd check the schematic out. Turned out a little simpler than expected with a few nice, quite interesting things in its topology. There's basically a buffer driven by transistor, which drives something not completely unlike a fuzz face. After that there's one more gain stage that's driving the tone stack that's not completely unlike the usual BMP tone stack. Pretty simple, still there's something that isn't done in every fuzz..  Doesn't sound too great to my ears, but i think this'll be a nice addition.
This layout omits the electronic switching and in/out buffers. Omitting those also frees us from having vref on board, which isn't touching the effect itself. Original has 2SC2458 transistors, but i've drawn the layout to accomodate the usual supects, 2N3904, 2N5088, 2N2222, BC109, BC550 and so on. You can use the original ones or what ever you prefer - just mind the pinout. Use sockets to find the ones you like the most... The pinout/orientation on the layout matches 2N3904/2N5088. Original also has W-taper pot for tone control, but i suspect that linear will do the job without any issues.



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17 comments:

  1. Nicholas25 May 2013 at 02:03

    oh god pleasepleaseplease an FZ-2

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. pedalst25 May 2013 at 09:07

      I want it tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

      Delete
    2. Unknown25 May 2013 at 09:33

      Oh god yes! Those things are amazing

      Delete
    3. Geezer25 May 2013 at 12:20

      Those wanting the FZ-2 might want to build the Univox SuperFuzz whilst waiting on the FZ-2 Vero. It's apparently the "Mother" of the FZ-2 (same basic circuit) and the Pete Townsend "Live at Leeds" fuzz sound.

      http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/01/univox-super-fuzz.html

      Delete
    4. Geezer25 May 2013 at 12:34

      SuperFuzz Demo

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4DUiUObY5SQ

      The "Orange" SuperFuzz can be clearly seen in this Who video..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htz9CS-Zmms

      Delete
    5. mirosol25 May 2013 at 15:57

      For those who are waiting.. Don't hold your breath.
      +m

      Delete
    6. visualdistortion25 May 2013 at 18:40

      I've the boss fz-2! My favorite pedal ever! You got the "electric wizard" sound in one box. The fz-2 sound totally amazing

      Delete
    7. mirosol25 May 2013 at 18:49

      Looking at the FZ2 schem, i can say that i won't be drawing it. Even without the buffers it would make klon board seem like a fuzz face. So that's one that is undoable for me.
      +m

      Delete
    8. mirosol17 June 2013 at 18:35

      Rechecked the schem and my previous statement is now even stronger than before. 2 dual opamps and 6 transistors and that's without in/out buffers (8 with buffers) - plus DPDT switch for three modes that are basically their own channels. PCB would definitely be the way to go here.
      +m

      Delete
  2. Unknown25 May 2013 at 05:31

    Gees, the first bit sounds like me farting a tune in the loo. lol. And I own a few Boss pedals but not this one. All in good Jest.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown25 May 2013 at 05:42

    This might be the single worst fuzz sound I've ever heard.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fredrik Lyxzén25 May 2013 at 20:50

    A friend of mine just sold his FZ-3 because it sounded horrible. Funny to see it pop up here.

    He borrowed a few of my DIY pedals insted and found his sound with my Bearfoot Honey Bee :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. rudeez8 September 2013 at 01:18

    TAG IT! Built mine with a split n bleed added to it, tried 5088 and 3904, cant decide but im leaning towards the 3904 just because 5088 sounds a bit harsher. altho i recommend sticking with a anit-log pot for the 1K fuzz, used a linear in mine as i dont have any 1K ani ones in stock and the fuzz kicks in at 3 a clock with it. It actually sounds good on bass this one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mirosol8 September 2013 at 08:58

      Cheers. Tgged.

      To address the fuzz pot sweep, you could try to use 2K lin pot and add a 220R resistor between lugs 2&3.
      +m

      Delete
  6. Unknown21 September 2021 at 04:54

    I know I'm late to the party but on the bottom leftish side of that board, is that really a 1uf film cap (1000nf)?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jun d7 February 2023 at 11:20

    Tnx tagboardeffects!

    ReplyDelete