Dub-T-123 Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I bought this broken Maestro FZ-1A for cheap because I can see that even though it's broken and tampered with the circuit board and components are original. The bad: missing all screws, broken foot switch, missing foot switch grommet, missing circuit board mounting bracket, broken battery snap, battery leads disconnected, original input cable removed and new hole drilled for input jack, hideously soldered wire from input jack to board I'm not sure exactly how the serial number is coded, but it seems to me that it indicates it was made feb 1967. I'll look into that later, for now I want to start working on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Still super cool, I can't wait to see how you clean it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 Yeah, I just got it working and it sounds pretty awesome. Dirtier than my Jerms FZ-1 with single coils, which is exactly what I was hoping for. At this point it works great and I made it true bypass also (the fuzz bleeds into the bypass signal on the original). The way I fixed the battery snap is kinda ghetto though because I was too excited to hear this pedal to wait for my replacement. Basically the snap currently has -1.5V running though the snap and into the bottom plate because I riveted the tab and spring directly to the metal bracket. Since this is a positive ground circuit, that means it shorts out if I attach the plate. So I can only test it with the bottom plate sitting next to the pedal right now. Anyways, I have an exact replacement for the battery snap and the missing screws incoming, after that I'll be able to put this on my pedalboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Sweet. Talking about pedalboards I just came from Summer NAMM and it was pedalboards galore over there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Very cool project! Can;t wait to hear it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 How was NAMM? I've gone to the winter one which is here in Anaheim. Favorite booths were Gibson (of course) and Moog. Moog had just debuted the Moog Paul Vo guitar, which aside from being butt ugly is one of the most amazing guitars ever Searcy, I thought of you when posting this thread :) This pedal feels incredible to play. Such a raw sound with clarity and touch responsiveness. It's sharp and lively and electric. You can't quite recreate this sound with anything else.. Gibson knew what was good when they made this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 It was great, a last minute thing for me. There was so much going on. I was expecting Gibson to have a much larger booth, Fender did not even bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 That's kinda surprising. Anything jump out at you? I'm starting to think that I really scored here. This pedal is the bomb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Yea, I actually liked the new Les Paul DC Classic, the minor changes they made won me over, I have never been a fan of the previous models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I have one of the reissues. I don't have the electronics knowledge to repair one like you do so buying a broken one would not do me any good. I'm glad you know how though because these fuzz boxes need to be kept around - especially since they quit making them. Between these and the Gibson Gold tone amps I just don't understand you Gibson company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 How do you like your reissue? I'm skeptical about Gibson being able to properly reissue this. You really need to have the right transistors for this circuit to sound good Anyway I have a little update. I have repaired the pedal to the point where it's pedalboard ready, although it's still not complete in terms of vintage correctness. After I replaced the broken foot switch, my next big problem was this broken battery clip As you can see it is riveted to the bottom plate, so I carefully drilled out the rivets to remove the broken clip And here you can see I've cleanly removed the old clip Now, my buddy is sending me an exact replacement for this battery clip, but for the time being, I installed this plastic clip which only cost me $1 and of course does the trick. It's simply secured by hot glue So now that the pedal is in perfect working condition I've taken it to band practice and experienced it's sound at full volume with keys and bass and drums. To say that I'm impressed would be an understatement.. I'm in love! I have no idea when I'll have a recording setup capable of handling this volume but I promise recordings when that time comes. Until then, you'll just have to believe me that it sounds amazing :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I promise recordings when that time comes. Until then, you'll just have to believe me that it sounds amazing :P I believe you! Jealous. But I do look forward to hearing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 How do you like your reissue? I'm skeptical about Gibson being able to properly reissue this. You really need to have the right transistors for this circuit to sound good I like the reissue a great deal. Of course since I don't have the original to do a side-by-side shoot out with I can't give you a comparison between the two. But like I said - your doing a historically correct restoration is a thing of beauty and thanks for sharing your photos! Will continue to monitor your progress. Keep up the great work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoya Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 What is scratched into the bottom? It looks like it says "By ?uck" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 I believe you! Jealous. But I do look forward to hearing it. Get on the lookout for one of these deals mang! This had a lot of problems and was still really easy to repair! Just try to get them before me, cause I'll be looking for broken vintage pedals a lot more I like the reissue a great deal. Of course since I don't have the original to do a side-by-side shoot out with I can't give you a comparison between the two. But like I said - your doing a historically correct restoration is a thing of beauty and thanks for sharing your photos! Will continue to monitor your progress. Keep up the great work I'm glad to read that you enjoy it. Hey, if yours breaks, I can fix it for you and give you a comparison :P What is scratched into the bottom? It looks like it says "By ?uck" Sharp eye, Hoya! Ahh yes.. This pedal is steeped with a rich history indeed. Back in the day a dude named Buck took out the built in input cable and replaced it with a jack. While he was there, he scratched "Improved by BUCK" into the bottom plate This is functionally an improvement, and Buck even had the sense to drill the hole for the jack on the right side. However, Buck couldn't solder worth ****. I weep for the other pedals he has almost certainly violated with his daft hand Legend has it this Buck went on to become an uncle and coach a Jamaican bobsled team to victory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Cool! Reverb cable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Yup. Couldn't resist for $9. Bass player got one too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Here we go. The pedal ain't broke anymore, but I'm gonna continue to fix it :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I was on ebay earlier and I couldn't believe the prices these pedals are fetching. I think one was $800 Holy crap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Not sure anyone is actually GETTING $800 for them, unless maybe it's an FZ-1 and not the FZ-1A. But yeah prices on most vintage pedals are pretty crazy I installed the battery clip, and changed my switch to a more vintage accurate Carling. The original uses a Carling SPST, which cannot be wired for true bypass, and it bleeds fuzz into the bypass signal. I have replaced this with a similar Carling DPDT to keep it looking true, although I modified it to be true bypass so I can use this no problem in my band Now that I have my screws, battery clip, and switch, only thing I need is to fabricate the circuit board mounting bracket. With all the solid core wires, the board stays perfectly in place with no bracket, but with the bracket this will be extremely durable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 .. The original uses a Carling SPST, which cannot be wired for true bypass, and it bleeds fuzz into the bypass signal. I have replaced this with a similar Carling DPDT to keep it looking true, although I modified it to be true bypass so I can use this no problem in my band Nice mix of vintage and modern... well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Thanks. Lots of vintage fuzz pedals were true bypass but this one normally has a really annoying buzz that sizzles over your clean sound. It seemed wrong to put the blue 3PDT in there but I wanted true bypass so I could use this to the fullest extent. My friends and I got a new rehearsal studio, and I've been blasting the hell out of this thing over there. I'm sure if you could ask anyone they'd say I'm enjoying it a little too much :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 As far as vintage fuzz pedals go - this is still my favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 You own one? Looks like the DAM made reissue. Gotta love a good MKII Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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