ilovefuzz.com

Dandolin wrote:niiiiice!

i need to give you some feedback on mine, but it is currently the entirety of my fuzzy world!

gets nasty and weird when pushed or starved, but rocks hard and with a snarling, nervy edge just like DLJ

i'm sure i'll go back to playin' with some other fuzzes someday, but right now and for the foreseeable, it's not even a thought - total satisfaction

(and for those wondering who may not have rocked a buzzaround-based fuzz before - here there be mids no getting swallowed in the mix)

So glad you are digging yours! Do let me know at some point how it compares to other buzzarounds you have played. I have entertained trying out other different boosts / preamps for the front end section but maybe later down the road, I actually have made some progress on the Cystech V2. Just finished laying out the board and getting really close on the graphics so that should be next.

LaoWiz wrote:Do let me know at some point how it compares to other buzzarounds you have played. I have entertained trying out other different boosts / preamps for the front end section but maybe later down the road

the Sinews is killer! i had a pretty traditional four-knob buzzaround clone with a master volume, that sounded very close to a tonebender mkii....to my ear, the Sinews is a bit brighter and can be a little bit more gated than that one, but still hits the traditional buzzaround sounds. it can do that harmonic feedback thing when you rake your pick in just the right way. stacks great with a green ringer. and it is LOUD. when I say 'brighter', it still has tons of lows and mids, but it doesn't get too muddy. makes me feel like overdrive is just a bad idea in general

the_bright_undead wrote:

LaoWiz wrote:Do let me know at some point how it compares to other buzzarounds you have played. I have entertained trying out other different boosts / preamps for the front end section but maybe later down the road

the Sinews is killer! i had a pretty traditional four-knob buzzaround clone with a master volume, that sounded very close to a tonebender mkii....to my ear, the Sinews is a bit brighter and can be a little bit more gated than that one, but still hits the traditional buzzaround sounds. it can do that harmonic feedback thing when you rake your pick in just the right way. stacks great with a green ringer. and it is LOUD. when I say 'brighter', it still has tons of lows and mids, but it doesn't get too muddy. makes me feel like overdrive is just a bad idea in general

I am so glad you are still digging yours! Of all the pedals I have made over the years this is probably my favorite thing all around. I'm am so glad I found something to do that was a little different with all of the germanium transistors that have been laying around the shop. I still have a shitload of germaniums but going to try and build a few Zonk machines with those.

I'm using my Sinews with the sustain and balance rolled back a bit and it's super responsive to pick dynamics. Dig in and you can really hear it.
Super good.

the_bright_undead wrote:makes me feel like overdrive is just a bad idea in general

Edit: it’s a bad idea in general, unless it’s a cystech v2 in which case, yes please.

@laowiz - have you ever done a fuzzrite build?

oldangelmidnight wrote:I'm using my Sinews with the sustain and balance rolled back a bit and it's super responsive to pick dynamics. Dig in and you can really hear it.
Super good.

I am so glad people are enjoying the lower gain tones, as well. I like it maxxed out or some dialing back on the timber and In controls for my lower gain sounds. If I kept this truer to the Buzzaround the master volume would be nixed and then the balance control would act more as the volume control. But the balance control also shaves off some high end so it's not a traditional volume control. Kinda like a texture volume control. Overall, I think there's enough interaction with all of the controls to tailor to one's needs so I am happy about that.

the_bright_undead wrote:

the_bright_undead wrote:makes me feel like overdrive is just a bad idea in general

Edit: it’s a bad idea in general, unless it’s a cystech v2 in which case, yes please.

@laowiz - have you ever done a fuzzrite build?

Oh man, I am getting so close with the Cystech V2. Board layout is done and new graphics are about 90% there. If it ends up sounding as good as my proto setup in the shop then I will be really happy. I think collector//emitter will be doing a demo sometime in April. Will probably have a couple of other folks do demos too.

I have done a few fuzzrites. I have the ghost effects lunar incantation board and it sounds great. I like that circuit but when experimenting with it in the past I found other things more interesting. Over 10 years ago I had a nice circuit going where I had a boost going into a fuzzrite circuit where I omitted the fuzz pot and it was pretty nice. Always wanted to revisit that one. But I think any vintage fuzzes I may do in the future outside of a few Zonks would be the Roland Double Beat and the Shin Ei Companion fuzz which is in the fuzzrite circuit family tree. That one has a more extreme sound. I had built a handful of those way way back and they sounded really incredible but don't remember how I modded them. It's such a simple circuit but I experimented with that one for a really long time and found that it's really capacitor and transistor sensitive so difficult to get right.

LaoWiz wrote:But I think any vintage fuzzes I may do in the future outside of a few Zonks would be the Roland Double Beat and the Shin Ei Companion fuzz which is in the fuzzrite circuit family tree.

I've got John Lyon's take on the Double Beat....he modded it for me and added a starve control, which really cuts into the thickness of the sound nicely. It's an incredible fuzz! Hard to imagine stacking it with a wah because the mids are already exploding on that one.

the_bright_undead wrote:

LaoWiz wrote:But I think any vintage fuzzes I may do in the future outside of a few Zonks would be the Roland Double Beat and the Shin Ei Companion fuzz which is in the fuzzrite circuit family tree.

I've got John Lyon's take on the Double Beat....he modded it for me and added a starve control, which really cuts into the thickness of the sound nicely. It's an incredible fuzz! Hard to imagine stacking it with a wah because the mids are already exploding on that one.

Oh I bet a Double Beat by John would sound incredible!

LaoWiz wrote: ... the Roland Double Beat and the Shin Ei Companion fuzz which is in the fuzzrite circuit family tree. That one has a more extreme sound. I had built a handful of those way way back and they sounded really incredible but don't remember how I modded them. It's such a simple circuit but I experimented with that one for a really long time and found that it's really capacitor and transistor sensitive so difficult to get right.

I'm not sure if the Helldoctor is one of them, but I can look inside and let you know what's in there if you want too ...?

fuzzonaut wrote:

LaoWiz wrote: ... the Roland Double Beat and the Shin Ei Companion fuzz which is in the fuzzrite circuit family tree. That one has a more extreme sound. I had built a handful of those way way back and they sounded really incredible but don't remember how I modded them. It's such a simple circuit but I experimented with that one for a really long time and found that it's really capacitor and transistor sensitive so difficult to get right.

I'm not sure if the Helldoctor is one of them, but I can look inside and let you know what's in there if you want too ...?

HellDoc.jpg

Woah, old school. Can't remember that one being a part of your collection. I am pretty sure that's an Acetone FM-2 on the left side and Double Beat on the right. Looks like the double beat has an input cap blend too.

LaoWiz wrote:

fuzzonaut wrote:

LaoWiz wrote: ... the Roland Double Beat and the Shin Ei Companion fuzz which is in the fuzzrite circuit family tree. That one has a more extreme sound. I had built a handful of those way way back and they sounded really incredible but don't remember how I modded them. It's such a simple circuit but I experimented with that one for a really long time and found that it's really capacitor and transistor sensitive so difficult to get right.

I'm not sure if the Helldoctor is one of them, but I can look inside and let you know what's in there if you want too ...?

HellDoc.jpg

Woah, old school. Can't remember that one being a part of your collection. I am pretty sure that's an Acetone FM-2 on the left side and Double Beat on the right. Looks like the double beat has an input cap blend too.

Yeah, that one has been on the bench for a while now, I remember it beeing two mean fuzzes. So, Double Beat and Acetone FM-2 it is, thanks for clearing that up.