TUBE SOUND FUZZ

Deflnltlon: Recreatesthe types ot distortion normally

associatedwith tubes, but with a solid-state design tor
low current consumption, compactness,and reliability.

Figore 5-137 1

The Tube Sound Fuzz mounted in a small box for

onstage use.

Background
Musiciansin general,and guitarists in particular, prefer
the sound of lube amps to the sound of conventional
transistor amps. However, tubes have certain disadvan-
tages(fragility, sensitivity to mechanicalvibration and
shock,needfor high-voltagepower supplies,high current
consumption,and changein sound as they age),' there-
Jare, transistorampsare often usedwherereliableoper-
ation is paramount.
Luckily, however,there is a memberofthe transistor
family called the field effect transistor(FET) that hap-
pens to distort in very much the samemanner asatube. Levelof Difficulty: Beginnerto intermediate
Thisfuzz takesadvantageofthe FET's distortion charac-
teristicsto yield a tube-typedistortion sound. Contruction Tips
. This project usesCMas ICs; be sure to rereadthe
Features instructions on handingCMaS ICs inc1udedin the "Con-
. Low.levelor line-leveloperation struction Tips" sectionofProject No. 15.
. Low noisecomparedwith conventionalfuzzes . Plug the IC into its socketafter a11wiring is com-
. Rhythmjlead switch giveslaw levelsof distortion p1etebut beforeyou app1ypower to the unit.
for playing chords,andhigh levelsof distortion for . Separateinput and output leadsby at 1eastl cm
playingleadlines. (1/2").

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 . ShieIdthe input Iead. If the wires connectingto Modifications
SI and R5 exceed7.2 cm (3"), use shieIdedcabIefor . De-emphasizedlow-frequency response:Reduce
thesealgo. the value of C4 to O.O5slFor even O.O2slF.This gives
. EventhOUghsectionsICIC-ICl F appearto have you nice, biting lead lines for guitar without havingthe
no influenceon the operation of the circuit, be SUTe
to hass strings muddy things up too much when you hit
wiTethem up exactly as shown. Leavethe outputs of them.
thesesectionsunconnected. . De-emphasizedhigh-frequencyresponse:Increase
. Keepall wiring asshort and direct aspossibIe. the value of C2. A value of 50pF starts rolling orf the
high frequenciesat approximately4000Hz.
Usingthe Tube Sound Fuzz . Less intense fuzz effect: Une-level signalsmay
produce too fuzzy a sound for some tastes.In this case,
This fuzz works best willi line levels; however, it will increaseR3 to 220k or even470k.
also work very well willi low-Ievel inputs. Willi SI in
the rhythm position, R5 compensates for differences in
In Caseof DifficuIty
input signallevels.
. Excessive current consumption (eats batteries):
. Plug your instrument into JI and patch J2 to your
Same 4049s draw moce current than others. If you have
amp. Although most people associatefuzzes willi guitars,
this unit also works well willi electric pianos and other a couple fo 4049s around, tfY plugging in different chips
keyboards. (tum orf power while changing chips!!) and reading the
. Willi SI in the rhythm position, vary R5's position. current consumption willi a meter (see Project No. 19).
You should obtain more intense fuzz effects as you tum Choose the chip willi the 10west current consumption.
this control clockwise. Try playing some "chunky," . Oscillations or squeals: Check lead layout. Check
R&B types of riffs; adjust R5 until you get that old tube
amp type of sound. that C6 is correctly polarized. Increase the value of C2
to 20 or 3OpF.
. To increase the fuzz beyond the options offered
by R5, changeSI to the lead position.
. By tuming R7 up fulI, you can probably overload
the input of your amp and thereby create additional
distortion.
. To increase the intensity of the fuzz still further,
patch a compressor (Project No. 8) between your instru-
ment and the fuzz input.

Figure 5-138
Artwork for the foil side of the circuit board,
shown1 to 1.

. .
e -8m

. .
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"
Specifications *Since this unit doesn'thard clip, thesefiguresrepresent
where distortion startsincreasingrapidly. If you observe
Current consumption:t7mA (dependson the individual
a sine wave going through the fuzz and slowly tum up
4049) the level of the sine wave, it will becomeincreasing³y
Maximum input before clipping, SI in lead position*:
distorted. With very largeinput levels,the output wave.
15mV
form is a squarewavewith gently roundedcomers.
Maximum input before clipping, SI in rhythm position,
R5=0*: 150mV

Figure 5-139
Component /ayout for the lube sauna fuzz.

C2 C3 IC1
C1
~
C:=)
~
+-
nl~I . I .

8m
MNCD
csO ".~~
~ ~
-R1- C4

O~6 e
o + c; I A B C

How it Works
ICI is a 4049 hex CMOSinverter/buffer that wasneverreally intendedfor
audio use. It's a digital IC (the type usedin computers),and is generally
grouped willi Iots of other digital ICs to impIement sametype of digital
function (microcomputer,industrial control, and so on). But asit sohap-
pens,eachinverter of the IC may be modified to run asa linear (audio) IC,
and becausethese inverters ale basedon FET circuitry, distorting them
givesa tube-typedistortion sound.
The input couplesthrough R3 and C4 into the first stageof the fuzz,
IC 1A. This basicallyamplifies the input signala lot, and may or may not
add samedistortion, dependingon the settingof SI/RS. However,evenif
this stage doesn't add distortion, the greatly amplified signallevel will
overloadthe secondstage(ICIB) and causedistortion in that stage.CI and
C2 are designedto discourageoscillation in the first and secondstages,
respectively;C2 also helps cut out same of the superhighfrequencies
generatedby the fuzz. Mter leaving the secondstage,the output signal
couplesthrough CSinto output control R7.
How a musician reactsto a fuzz is highly subjective,perhapsmOle so
than willi any other type of effect. Nonetheless,this fuzz haspleasedhard-
to-pleasemusicians. . . it distorts in a very smoothmanner,doesn'tsound
gritty or harsh, and is very quiet (I measuredthe noise specin the lead
position as -S8dB, which is pretty remarkablefor a fuzz device!). One
prominent manufacturerhas evenbasedthe designof one of its products
around this circuit; 1 hope you enjoy it asmuch asother peoplehave,and
that you fmd it asusefulas1have.

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