T-Rex Mudhoney V1.1

I recall reading how most of the Mudhoney DIY builds were just not sounding right.. Recently re-traced on FSB by Kasper, from his V1.1 version of the pedal - there may have been a fault with the schematics that previously floated around the web. When i saw this, i thought "the switch shouldn't work like that".. But it seems like it really does, and with this configuration, instead of the Ruetz-style mods on the Rat, one may finally get that Mudhoney (err.. tuned Rat?) tone out from a stripboard. There are the BJT transistor buffers in place to keep the topology close to an idol, but obviously the electronic switching is removed to accomodate true bypass. The oldee PSG demo may look outdated today, but it does not sound bad. And hey! It starts with a Dinosaur Jr riff with the pedal!

I'll leave a note on the orginal take of this layout...

..And there's been slight development. This V2 of the layout incorporates 47R CLR for power supply and a 10K pulldown at the output as on Kasper's later revision of the schem. Making this now verbatim with the original. I doubt it'll sound any different from the slightly smaller layout above. But for the sake of completeness.. Here's a layout again as revision 2.

T-Rex Gristle King

Original FSB thread and schematic available here.

T-Rex Mudhoney

Info about the original:

Mark Sullivan from daddys.com wrote this

The Mudhoney is a Distortion/Fuzz pedal with a very wide tonal range. It features a typical 3-knob gain/volume/tone layout plus a boost switch. I played this for a few minutes with the boost off and it is quite impressive; very thick tone with warmth that could quickly find its way to being your main dirt for jazz, blues, etc. Then I pushed the boost and cranked up the gain! The speakers in my little Princeton cried for mercy. Hitting it with the bridge pickup of a Les Paul brought sustain of Spinal Tap proportions. Chords were a menacing wall of sound but yet unlike its name would imply, the Mudhoney didn’t get muddy and muffled. Note and harmonic separation was impressive giving a very dimensional sound at gain levels where most pedals sound flat.
 
Features

This baby is designed for those who want an in-your-face wall of guitar sound jumping of the speakers.

The boost button and the tone knob enable you to dial in every sound you like right from ultra fuzz to smooth jazz sounds.

In "OFF-MODE" (with the boost-function bypassed) the Mudhoney delivers moderate gain and a smooth rich sound favoured by many jazz-guitarists.
For a more hairy sound, -just hit that "boost-button" and feel the rumble from hell.

The BOOST button switches between moderate- and high gain.

The GAIN knob controls the distortion amount.

The LEVEL knob sets the overall volume
In mid-position (twelve o’clock) the volume level is 1:1. When turned full over (clockwise) the input signal is boosted 15dB.

The TONE knob affects the top end (edge) of your signal without compromising sonic quality, allowing you to dial in the perfect tonal flavour for you taste.

 

(Edit on 2023/01/03 -  Note that there has been a new version of the traced schematic and we have a layout for it here. It may or may not sound closer to the original Mudhoney.. Read more about it on FSB / Miro)