Here's a collection of vero (stripboard) and tagboard guitar and bass effect layouts that we have put together covering many classic and popular effects in growing numbers. Many of these have been posted on freestompboxes.org, so check that site out for great discussions on building your own effect pedals. Enjoy the builds and please also visit us on Facebook and Twitter
Request for vero version. Info about Fulltone's slightly modified copy of Jack's Mini-Booster circuit:
This magic little box (the size of an MXR phase 45) is for the Purist, whether you're a Guitarist, a Bassist, whether your thing is Jazz, Rock, Acoustic/Electric, or Heavy Rock.
Not a distortion box, the Fat-Boost is a Class A Discrete design offering up to up to 30db of Clean Boost without ANY change to your EQ.... and at the same time it makes your sound Bigger, with more even order harmonics! You Blues players with the vintage-type tube amps will never turn this thing off... and it works great in front of Master-Volume amps to kick them up a notch as well.
The Fat-Boost gives you the feeling that your amp is cranked at living room volumes so clean playing is more dynamic, notes hold on longer without being distorted!
And the bass version. This is based on the guitar version but with the passive changes to match the filters in the bass version. The diodes seem to have changed often in this, some with symmetrical mosfet/germanium combinations with a 1N34A in both directions and some with asymmetrical as shown here. Some with more than one 1N4001 (or 4005) or asymmetrical on the silicon side with 2 x 1N4001 and 1 x 1N914. So I'm just leaving the clipping as per the guitar version, and you can put your favourite combination in there if you choose.
Info about the discontinued original:
Bassists need dirt too! But no one, until now, has given you something that works, with all the full, rich bottom-end that you deserve, damn-it! BTW, many guitarists use and prefer the Bassdrive for Guitar!
The Bass-Drive is a lot like its cousin the Full-Drive2, but voiced with an extra octave of bass coverage... still giving a natural, uncolored FATNESS to your thang.
From just adding a little grind, to replicating a raging SVT, to sounding like Jack Bruce in Cream. (He's got one already!)
THIS WILL DO IT!
Here is another version seen in one schematic and confirmed by John K based on values noted in ones he repaired. This one based on symmetrical clipping with the mosfets using 2 x 1N4001 in that section. If you prefer to use the asymmetrical mosfet clipping with a germanium diode shown in the first layout, then just use the V1 layout as a base and change the capacitors to the alternative values mentioned in John's post:
1) 100n input coupling cap is 22n 2) 10p input cap to ground is 51p 3) 51p cap between pins 1 and 2 is 100p 4) 220n at pin 2 is 330n 5) 220n at pin 5 is 68n
Requested by a few people. Even at 22 columns wide it could still fit in a 1590B if you wanted, and the first person to do it wins the TagboardEffects Awesome Builder of the Week award! :o) But I wasn't too bothered about the board size because I suspect most people will want to put this in a 1590BB with two stomp switches. The layout is based on this schematic on FSB posted by mozwell.
Info from Fuller about his original souped up Tubescreamer:
Housed in a beautiful powder coated Blue 16ga. steel enclosure, the dual-channel FullDrive2 gives you the best of both worlds. The first channel is the "Overdrive Mode" capable of clean boost or non-compressed overdrive or choose light to medium softer overdrives all while retaining your guitar's original tone. The Tone knob is a very effective presence control that can smooth out or add upper harmonics. The second channel is the "Boost Mode" with its own separate distortion control for medium to higher gains with a more singing violin-like sustain!
In 2007, the FullDrive2, the most popular boutique overdrive ever made, and staple on many pedalboards for years, became the FullDrive2-Mosfet, sounding better than ever before.
One mini-toggle lets you choose between a "Vintage" FD2 sound with mid-heavy tones that cut through the mix and "FM (flat-mids)" for a more natural, transparent sound that works awesome with a Strat's neck pickup.
The other mini-toggle lets you choose between Mosfet and Normal clipping modes. Normal mode is even more asymmetrical, sweeter and more open, with no "blanket" over the sound.
And, of course, the FD2-Mosfet features super-bright LEDs (borrowed from the OCD) and Fulltone's exclusive "no-thump/no-pop" True Bypass switches. We are the first to offer a switchable "Boost" Channel in an overdrive and manufacture our own Super-Duty 3PDT footswitch allowing True-Bypass plus LED.
Chosen by Guitar Player Magazine as "Best Stompbox of 2006" and as one of the all-time top 50 effects ever!
I wasn't a great fan of the asymmetrical mosfet and 1N34A diode configuration in an OCD version 4, which quite frankly I thought sounded like ass. So I've done an alternate version based on symmetrical clipping with 2 x 1N4001 instead of the germanium diode. This has been noted in some versions of this pedal and was definitely used in the Bassdrive so I think I personally would opt for this version.
Request. A Tonebender set of transistors should do very nicely in this, aim for somewhere between 50 and 80 for Q1 and Q2, and 100 to 130 for Q3. This is a positive ground effect and so can't be daisy chained with your negative ground effects, so consider using a small Negative Voltage Inverter daughterboard for your supply to solve the issue.
Info about the original:
Our Soul-Bender is based on the legendary Colorsound and Vox Series III ToneBenders made by Sola-Sound/England in the late '60's that was used by Beck and Page on much of their circa 1968-70 recordings.
Equipped with 3 gain-matched germanium transistor for a FAT, searing lead tone, I also made the Tone control response and range more usable and much less shrill sounding... Full clockwise is SMOOTH sounding.
The Soul-Bender cleans up when you back-off on the guitar's volume control. This pedal has tons of tonal character and even harmonics and of course, true bypass w/ LED is included with every one.
Ever played an original FuzzFace from around 1970? (HINT: Not AT ALL the same sound as ones with the same namesake being mass-produced currently.) Ours has two intentionally mismatched (for harmonic content) silicon transistors that snarl and spit... not for the meek! If you put the "Fuzz" on 10 you will rip, and you might get all sorts of oscillation and weirdness... but that's Rock. Don't try using it with a wah wah... you can't, and neither could Jimi, without it screaming and howling. You want polite and quiet? Go elsewhere. You want art in a box? Come on in.
Housed in a 16 gauge steel box and powder coated deep blue, this pedal is a bit unruly but with some warmth... ideal for older 4 input Marshall amps, it has much more FUZZ than the '69 Pedal and includes a Mid control for extra clarity and cut.
I got my hands on Eric Johnson's Blue Fuzzface that he used from Tones through Ah Via Musicom period (now owned by Ian Moore) and incorporated a few of its tonal secrets into the '70 pedal with staggering sonic results!
Product Updates: In December 2009, after 15 years of production, the 70 was discontinued. However, I recently found/bought a couple thouusand excellent BC108C transistors, so am happy to announce the return of the 70 pedal... this time, in a small (OCD-sized) housing. These transistors sound outrageous! This model 70-BC still has the secret-weapon "Mid" knob which will allow you to do something other Fuzzfaces won't let you do.... be heard in the mix. ;)
Request. As everyone knows this is Mike Fuller's version of the Fuzz Face, but it has something that we haven't included in the multitude of Fuzz Face layouts we have on the site so I thought it was worth adding a mojo layout. Sticking two fingers up at convention Mike called what most would consider to be the bias pot "Contour", and a pre-effect level control "Bias". So just to confuse matters further the trimmer which biases Q2 is part of the Contour circuit (doh!). But they all make things sound a bit different so you can call them what you like I suppose.
This is a positive ground effect which can't be daisy chained with your run of the mill negative ground pedals, so consider including the negative voltage inverter circuit to provide the -9V which will make this daisy chain-able (is that a real word?). That is my favoured way by far to deal with positive ground effects because it also allows you to use the much more consistent PNP transistors and so not have to take a gamble of hit and miss NPN germaniums.
Info from Mike about his original:
This is how you wished your Fuzzface sounded... Fat and Harmonic. And it cleans up like a vintage Fender amp when you turn down your guitar's volume control. The Rolling Stones and the Black Crowes have discovered this trick.
If you love the first 2 Hendrix releases then you'll love this pedal, with 2 Germanium transistors hand-picked and tested for optimum performance. A Contour Knob lets you dial in Midrange, Harmonics and Sustain, also an Input Bias knob that takes out the "woofiness" and gives great Overdrive/Distortion sounds when its level is reduced. An Internal Trimmer allows for adjustment of Clipping Symmetry, Harmonics, and Tracking.
Specifications subject to change at any given moment due to availability... and whimsy.
Robin Trower is known for TONE. While working with Robin during his 2008 tour, I developed an overdrive truly worthy of the Trower namesake.
Touch responsive, huge sounding, sustain for days... and crystal clear when the guitar's volume knob is reduced for great live dynamics. Being that Robin uses Fenders as well as Marshalls, it had to work well with both types... and it does. And Robin hits so hard that the front end of the pedal had to be tuned for those .012-.048 tuned-down strings. The RTO holds tight and smooth for Strat and Les Paul players alike.
Robin's quite happy with the way it turned out, and I think you will be too.
Here's Geiri's build, with AMZ mini-booster in front of it:
For many, many years you've basically had 2 choices for your
Overdrive/Distortion pedals: You could either get "Soft-clipped" Bluesy,
slightly compressed, (Toob Screemer, FD2, etc.) type Overdrive
pedals... or you could get "Hard-Clipped" (OCD, Distortion+, Boss DS-1,
etc.) type Distortion pedals.
What if there was a pedal that offered both? There is now... the Patent Pending Fulltone PlimSoul.
PlimSoul has those Softer Bluesey, Compressed capabilities but also
has a Second Stage that you can roll in with the turn of a little dial
to add that firmer, crunchier, British output tube style Distortion!
What's more is you not only hear and feel it... you can SEE the pedal
reacting to your every mood via a firey LED that glows brighter and
dimmer depending on how distorted it is and how hard you're hitting it.
Touch sensitive? Doesn't get any better.
Clean up with the guitar's volume control? More than any, yes, even more than the OCD.
Speaking of OCD, people ask "What's the comparison?" Easy answer: OCD
has an honest flat EQ, won't change your amp's tone. PlimSoul has a
gorgeous enhanced Midrange and Lower midrange... excellent to transform a
combo into a Marshall-like lead machine, not so necessary if you
already have a Marshall-like amp. I use PlimSoul on any combo, I use my
OCD on both combos and larger Marshall-style amps/cabinets.
Good with Humbuckers as well as Single coils? Yep.
Does it play nice with other pedals? Yes, it has an Ideal 500K Input Impedance, ideal super low 10K output impedance.
Can I blend the 2 types of Distortion? Yes, and you can have ONLY Soft clipped or ONLY Hard Clipped :)
In a Nutshell? Extremely good Sustain/Feedback qualities, just the
right amount of Mids, bottom, Great touch sensitivity, dynamics, and all
those in-between shades available when you know how to use your
guitar's volume control. I guess I should be flattered, I'm already
starting to see pedal builders taking notice and "getting inspired" by
the PlimSoul's unique design, which combines independently adjustable
soft & hard clipping and successfully emulates the "sag" and other
behaviors associated with a tube amp's output section and tube
rectifier. With the OCD, I gooped the pcb for 5 years or so to slow them
down, but you're now seeing a handful of "OCD inspired" pedals being
sold under various names. Now I'm seeing Photoshop renderings popping up
from other makers claiming to be developing "emulates output tube
distortion" pedals ala Plimsoul. I didn't bother gooping the PlimSoul,
but we are well into the Patent process. :)
Not sure exactly how they're hoping to get one seeing as this is basically a Rat and Tubescreamer hybrid (with the two high pass filters at the inverting input of the first opamp - exactly like a Rat) and the pot to control the hard clipping was done by Jack Orman years ago (AMZ saturation control), not to mention dual pot gain control used by Maxon and Klon. But if they do it will be interesting to see details of the first court case where Fuller tries to defend the technologies he's taken from other very well documented sources.
The OCD V4 for me is my most underwhelming and disappointing pedal. It was hyped up to the max and so I was expecting drive Utopia, but instead I got a thin, brittle sounding effect that seemed to suck all the meat out of my signal. I'm sure the pedal reacts differently with different guitar and amp combinations, but I can safely say that for me, with a Gibson Les Paul, Marshall 6101 or Engl Thunder it sounded pants.
So I sold it thinking that I would have preferred one of the earlier versions that had a bit more girth. So if you too want one of the previous versions, I think this pretty much covers what the changes were. If you have any further info about differences I may have missed or other changes that may have happened, then please let me know and I'll add the different variations.
Revised layouts - March 2014
I have redone all the layouts because I could see they could be made slightly smaller, require only a single ground connection and make better use of the space.
