Built an effects pedal for my guitar. It doesnt work :(

[blueroomelectronics]

Why doesn't the OP contact the manufacturer? They can often provide insight to their products.

 

[mneary]

Did you ever get Germanium transistors? Do you have a clue why the genuine Dunlop Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face uses them?

If you insist that the design is correct, then you just built it wrong. So fix it already.

 

[bboy_jon]

my god, thats what i've been asking...for help on how to fix it. All the advice you guys have given me is that its a shitty circuit...

if i knew how to fix it...i wouldnt be asking you guys for help...

are you guys saying that if i get the germanium transistors than it will sound how it should?

 

[mneary]

are you guys saying that if i get the germanium transistors than it will sound how it should?

If you have built it right. And if your guitar pickup is the same. And if your amplifier sounds the same.

 

[Torben]

What people are saying is that there are a lot of things which go into achieving a certain guitar sound. Wonder why Jimi Hendrix could get a certain sound, but you can go out and get exactly the same gear and it won't sound the same? It's partly because of the way he chained his effects, partly because of how he played, and partly due to aftermarket mods done to his gear. Same with many others.

There is no magic box (pedal) which will give you That Sound (TM). Your guitar, its pickups, its internal electronics (if any), the amplifier, and anything else in the signal chain will affect the sound. The best anyone can do is say "yes, this pedal is performing as designed", which isn't the same thing as getting a certain sound. As already mentioned, the original circuit may have been designed to get that sound when matched with a pickup which would be loaded down the proper amount--perhaps your pickups are too loaded by the circuit, or maybe not loaded down enough. The germanium diodes should also make a difference.

Do you know exactly what gear was in the signal chain from the reference sound clip you're using? What guitar the guy was playing, what pickups he was using, what the tone and volume settings were, what the amp was, how it was mic'd, etc? Was there anything else in the signal chain?

Anyway, I'm hungry which makes me wordy. I hope you can get it sounding the way you like, but it might mean using a different guitar or altering the input stage to work better with what you have. If the circuit is working overall, the last step is to use your ears to tweak the thing to get the sound you want with the gear you have.


Torben

 

[audioguru]

The articles about the Fuzz Face circuit say that the germanium transistors were selected for a certain sound because each one is different.
The articles describe how the sound changes (gets fuzzier) when the guitar is played very hard.

The recorded sound you like sounds very muddy in the lows and squeaky in the highs so I think the speakers had a lot to do with how it sounds.