Tube sound fuzz question

[matthewfuzz]

I'm new to effects building and I just joined the forum. I decided to build the anderton tube sound fuzz to see how it sounded. It came out great but there are a few things I'd like to change. First up, The output of the effect is very sensitive. just a small turn of the output pot and the effect is blasting in your face. Is there a way that I can make the output pot a little less sensitive? Instead of unity gain being at about 10 O'clock can I set it so that it happens at around 12:00 to 1:00? Also, the overall sound is very bassey for my taste. The lower notes of an open chord can get muffled. Is there any way to reduce the bass with out making the sound to thin so that the low end of a chord retains its clarity? Any help anyone can give me would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[Jazz P Bass]

Potentiometer Taper

Can you tell us value the output pot is? What taper.
I am thinking you have a log pot. Linear would be a smoother transition.

[matthewfuzz]

Hi Jazz P bass, I'm using a 10k log audio pot. That's what the schmatic calls for. Should I change the pot out? I thought of adding a resistor before the output put. Would that pad the signal down and make the output less sensitive, or would it affect the tone? Thanks again.

[Mark Hammer]

A log pot should not reach a strong output so low in the rotation, but then pots are all approximations of a particular taper and there are variations between them due to tolerances.

If you want to reduce the overall output level simply place a fixed resistor in series with the input lug of the pot. In your case, I would suggest starting out with a 3k3 fixed resistor.

What is it doing?

The fixed resistor is added to the total resistance of the pot. Since you obviously cannot make the wiper of the pot move out of the pot past the resistive strip and onto the fixed resistor, the whole thing behaves like a 13k3 pot that can never be turned up beyond about 3/4 of the way. The advantage this provides is that not only is the maximum output a bit lower, but the lower 3/4 of the volume range is now spread over the entire rotation of the pot, and not just part of it. This will make it easier for you to dial in the level you want.

If you find the bass too overwhelming, there are two approaches you can take. One is to remove the bass after the distortion has taken place, and another is to remove it before the distortion takes place. These have different impacts.

For post-distortion tone shaping, I recommend taking a look at the SWTC suggestions on Jack Orman's ever-helpful AMZ site: AMZ Stupidly Wonderful Tone Control 2

If you built this particular version of the TSF http://www.tdd.lt/~antonas/guitar/gifs/tsf.gif jacks circuits can be inserted just before the volume pot. If you want to cut some bass at the input, you might consider lowering the value of the input cap to .047uf.

[matthewfuzz]

Mark,

Thank you very much for taking the time out to anser my questions and for helping me. I'll try you r suggestions and I'll post my results. Thanks again, Matthewfuzz.

[matthewfuzz]

I tried the B taper pot and it did help so I left it in. I'm happy with the way it turned out. Off to build my first fuzz face. Thanks again

[Maxaman]

Hi,
I have a weird problem. When I put on the tube sound fuzz it just lowers the signal near to nothing, but it distorts signal a bit. Anyone know how to fix this problem? I appreciate any answer.

[Mark Hammer]

Did you make sure to use the unbuffered version of the 4049, ending in 'UB' or UBE?

[Maxaman]

yes i'm sure that it's the right ic. it says 4049ubcp

[Mark Hammer]

Okay, good to be able to scratch that one off the list.

Do the controls do what they are supposed to do, even though it isn't loud?

[Maxaman]

yes they do, but there is a modification. i removed the rythm position completely(no switch, 100kohm resistor and no 1Mohm potentiometer for tone) so there is only lead. but that sould not be the problem.

[Maxaman]

that is not the problem. i found something and fixed it. now it works allmost as it shoud. only thing is that signal level is still very low it just consumes it. it's like on but no battery connected even thoug i have one 9V battery connected. bypass works fine. even the led that indicates if it is on won't light and i have tested the led it works. faulty led not the problem. any ideas?