I came across these kits a little while back from Pigeon FX. Im still in the midst of building a rather excessive fuzz pedal collection and decided to add one of these babies to my board. The Fuzz Face kits from Pigeon FX are quite seriously authentic. Vishay BC and Tropical Fish caps. Along with vintage PCB and original tracings. I am waiting for some matched AC128 germanium's to go inside but will build what I can tonight. I don't think you can get quite as close to the real McCoy than this. These are NOS parts and by the looks of things an NOS PCB! Well, I'm not sure if I believe that, at the very worst, its a stunning replica.
I will updating the build as I go. Adding to this post to complete a build guide.
First things first. If you want to build one of these you can get the parts from the link below.
Pigeon FX
Damn! I think this is going to be good!
The kits from Pigeon are very basic. You get a PCB, resistors and Caps in the bag. No tranny's. You have to buy some germanium transistors from somewhere. I decided on the AC128's. I got some matched ones off eBay. It seems that eBay is a good resource for germanium transistors. If you dont like the whole eBay thing, you could try Small Bear Electronics. Here. Although these kits will happily run on a range of transistors. Take a look at the image below.
Schematic for reference purposes. Please Note! The 470R resistor has been replaced with a 330R one in this project.
As you can see, its a very easy build. I will be adding updates of everything I do to make this. Including enclosure finishing and wiring. This is an excellent project for beginners, so keep tuned for more.
The PCB.
The PCB is quite impressive looking. Very retro, and hand made by the look of things. It was not advertised as a NOS PCB. I'm sure these guys make it the way they were made in the 60's (Magic Marker and ferric chloride) . Either way the board looks pretty retro and after internet image searches, identical to the original PCB used between 1966 and 1969 - iss.1. circuit.
First step - Stuff the PCB.
Ok, first thing's first. Stuff all the little components into the correct holes and solder away. Be sure to get the orientation of the 2 electrolytic capacitors correct. For the PNP version + goes on the left. (from reverse side of the pcb).
Resistors First
Resistors First
Then the 2.2uf Capacitor (Check polarity - reversed if you are doing an NPN version)
The rest of the caps. Note the insulation over the leg of the tropical fish capacitor - 0.01uf.
No we are ready to fit the tranny's. I haven't received them yet, so check back. This post will grow.
Enclosure
It makes sense to make the enclosure while I wait for the transistors to arrive. I slapped a quick design together for this project.
One thing that is often overlooked is the way the components fit into the enclosure. It is important to test the layout before you drill any holes. I've rushed pedals before and ended up throwing good enclosures away because I was too sure of myself to check. So do your self a favor! If your making your own layout's then check the fittings. You don't want to end up with a pedal that doesn't fit your battery. I like to put the switch on the far bottom right for my pedals. I like the way it looks and it leaves loads of space for the Battery without setting the switch too close to the center off the enclosure. Some might complain that the pedal might flip over when stomped, but I generally use these guys for studio work, re-amping, vocal and drum effects processing. To be honest, the Hammond enclosure are quite heavy, I'm yet to have one flip over on me, also difficult when there are cables coming out of each side of it. Also note, I don't put DC power inputs on my pedals. Call me old fashioned but I prefer just batteries. I've often had noise problems with AC hum when using power supply's and prefer to keep things quiet and simple.
Nice circuit delivery. Silk screen looks awful! : )
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