Rabs Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 So ive been thinking about this sort of thing, I think if I can get a nice sounding fuzz it could be cool to have a fuzz switch on some builds... (im actually thinking about doing it for a bass build but that started me wondering about my latest guitar build too)... But I was wondering.. Does a fuzz circuit need a battery or is the power going through the guitar enough? (or does that depend on the type of circuit?) Then I guess, does anyone know a good place to get such a thing or would I have to make it myself? As an alterative, could I just buy a pedal and take the board out of that? Man I wish I knew more about this stuff :unsure: :) As always, any advice or ideas appreciated. (and no, that doesn't mean im gonna start using auto tuners ;)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Not pooping on your parade, but I've been around guitars and guitar players a long time, and they don't like stuff in there like that thank you very much. It's why the two big ones haven't done it all that much even as technology has allowed more and more stuff to go in there. People are knutz about their pedals, and they don't like tricksy circuits in their guitars, that has been my experience. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 Not pooping on your parade, but I've been around guitars and guitar players a long time, and they don't like stuff in there like that thank you very much. It's why the two big ones haven't done it all that much even as technology has allowed more and more stuff to go in there. People are knutz about their pedals, and they don't like tricksy circuits in their guitars, that has been my experience. rct Yeah I have had similar thoughts.. But I think a nice fuzz, and I will obviously select it myself rather than just using any old POS, is useful, I wouldn't take it any further than that.... something that compliments the guitar, not just there for the sake of it as such. Plus more than anything, the reason I have these thoughts is because I need more experience so doing stuff like this helps.. At the moment I can wire and probably fix any standard wiring say that you get in a LP or Strat/Tele but after that I start to get lost... Plus in my latest build I already routed the control cavity but with the new layout im using I wont need all that space, so I started thinking of other stuff I could put in that gap.. So this is the rough idea behind the design But I already drilled for 4 pots and a switch so will have LOADs of room in there :) lol, serves me right for changing stuff on the fly :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 k Check out something called Black Ice. I have seen the name around in recent years. Again. It's an on board fuzzer thingy. First time I saw it? Late 70's. They may have some drawings and stuff that could be of help. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 I've seen exactly the sort of thing you are asking about on a parts site somewhere but haven't traced it yet. But in the meantime - this isn't quite it and it's EMG (the horror!) http://www.emgpickups.com/accessories/guitar-accessories/boost/ab.html And this is more like it, from the Seymour Duncan site - http://www.seymourduncan.com/tonefiend/guitar/onboard-distortion-without-a-battery/ I'll keep looking..... EDIT - got it...Axes r'us onboard effects..... http://www.axesrus.co.uk/On-Board-Effects-s/1883.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 The "Clapton Strat" (for one) has a distortion boost feature, that if you listen to some of his concert DVD's sounds remarkably like a "Fuzz" tone, even more than a overdrive boost. So, if done right, it shouldn't be any more "hassle," for the player, than coil splits, or other commonly "build in" tone modifiers. I knew a player, in the mid '60's, that had a built in Vox (or Maestro...not sure which) Fuzz tone, in his Danelectro Guitarlin. It sounded awesome! He had s mini push switch, and had wired a 2nd set of volume and tone controls, for just the Fuzz. So, he could control the actual volume, and amount of distortion, as well. The arrangement, of the knobs, looked quite like a Rickenbacker, with the "blend" knob. He felt, that having it available all the time, no matter where he was on stage, trumped the pedal arrangement. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 Cheers guys.. I will check all that out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 The "Clapton Strat" (for one) has a distortion boost feature, that if you listen to some of his concert DVD's sounds remarkably like a "Fuzz" tone, even more than a overdrive boost. So, if done right, it shouldn't be any more "hassle," for the player, than coil splits, or other commonly "build in" tone modifiers. I knew a player, in the mid '60's, that had a built in Vox (or Maestro...not sure which) Fuzz tone, in his Danelectro Guitarlin. It sounded awesome! He had s mini push switch, and had wired a 2nd set of volume and tone controls, for just the Fuzz. So, he could control the actual volume, and amount of distortion, as well. The arrangement, of the knobs, looked quite like a Rickenbacker, with the "blend" knob. He felt, that having it available all the time, no matter where he was on stage, trumped the pedal arrangement. CB Interesting.. Cheers CB And yeah I am using the word fuzz as a general description of distortion of some type... fuzz, od, distortion its all sort of the same thing with varying fuzziness and or gain :) I like the idea of separate controls for the effect.. that's cool.. And yes I will use a mini on off toggle switch for it for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 EDIT - got it...Axes r'us onboard effects..... http://www.axesrus.co.uk/On-Board-Effects-s/1883.htm Cool.. I buy pickups and bits from them already (in fact all the pups I have for this build are from them :)) One of the better suppliers I have. So I will check that for sure. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Interesting.. Cheers CB And yeah I am using the word fuzz as a general description of distortion of some type... fuzz, od, distortion its all sort of the same thing with varying fuzziness and or gain :) I like the idea of separate controls for the effect.. that's cool.. And yes I will use a mini on off toggle switch for it for sure. I asked that player if the mini switch was a toggle or push down, and he stated he'd tried the toggle, but kept bumping it (off or on) at times, so he went to the mini push down, instead. Never had a problem, after that. But, I'm sure either would be fine, depending on where it was located. Cheers, and good luck! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 I asked that player if the mini switch was a toggle or push down, and he stated he'd tried the toggle, but kept bumping it (off or on) at times, so he went to the mini push down, instead. Never had a problem, after that. But, I'm sure either would be fine, depending on where it was located. Cheers, and good luck! CB I just checked that Black Ice thing out.. VERY interesting BUT the issue is the volume drop you get.. I cant see a lot of people liking that.. I guess id have to play with it.. Maybe one of those and a lead boost? but then we start getting complicated. So what about my idea of ripping out the guts of a pedal.. Like say one of those Mooer Mini Pedals? I know its an expensive route but will give you a genuinely great effect...? (because mooer is less ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Well, that was exactly what my old friend, that I spoke about, did! He just transferred the electronics from his fuzz pedal, and incorporated it into his guitar. I just don't remember, after 50 years, if it was a Vox "Tone Bender" or Maestro Fuzz, that he used. But, it really doesn't matter, as long as you have a pedal, that YOU like the sound of. I know you can get the "Clapton" mod, as an aftermarket part, as well. But, depending on what your tone requirements are, it seems like the sky is the limit, as to possibilities! Go For It!! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Rabs, you might also be interested in the Epiphone Slasher FX http://epiphonewiki.com/index.php/E-Series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Rabs, you might also be interested in the Epiphone Slasher FX http://epiphonewiki.com/index.php/E-Series That was cool.. I will look into that too.. cheers :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Late 70s Electra had guitars with effects modules that plugged into a back compartment. Chorus, distortion, boost etc. Had one myself. A Les Paul copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 im thinking about this one at the moment... I think its a cool feature to have a boost and it should work well with other pedals.. (or possibly that HOF Reverb mini :)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I use an MXR Micro Amp which is similar, provides 26db of gain and does allow for 9V battery (which you'd probably want for a guitar) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 I use an MXR Micro Amp which is similar, provides 26db of gain and does allow for 9V battery (which you'd probably want for a guitar) Cool.. thanks.. I will check that out... Ive now looked at so many options im probably more confused then when I started this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Late 70s Electra had guitars with effects modules that plugged into a back compartment. Chorus, distortion, boost etc. Had one myself. A Les Paul copy. Yeah, this whole concept is about 40 years old. It didn't sell then, and it won't sell now. The Electra Les Paul mentioned above was a "MPX" model. Great gimmick that died on the vine. Guitar FX are way too personal to be "built-in". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8_4thesh0w Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Add a variable gain pre-amp. It will require a 9v battery but it can partially make up for an amp without overdrive. Maybe? Maybe not? This rationale is based on personal experience using a brand-name acoustic-bridge-pickup pre-amp in line between my guitar and amp. Result was fuzz like "Revolution"!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Yes, it will require a battery. And once you don't like the fuzz any more you probably won't like the guitar any more. But doing it to mess around with it is cool. Just be ready to change it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Well, IF you pick a "Fuzz" or distortion that you truly like/love, there's no real difference, other than convenience, between stomp box, and "built in!" And, there are ways, of modding, that will allow a return to original spec's, as well. So, you really have nothing to lose, IMHO, save the time and money, it takes to do it. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 The "built-in" feature I'm surprised no one has done yet (at least to my knowledge) is a guitar with a built-in wireless transmitter. Then sell a line of amps with the built-in receivers, and you've got whole new product line. You would, of course, have to be able to buy the receiver as a separate unit, for use with your "favorite" amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Hmm, yeah.. im not sure about the whole thing now... If I do do something like this I will use a power boost... I think that's the most useful of all for built in features.... I will keep thinking about it... I don't think I will do it for this build. But maybe the next. But thanks for all the suggestions.. I learned a lot during my research alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 im thinking about this one at the moment... I think its a cool feature to have a boost and it should work well with other pedals.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRL8KoAtle4 (or possibly that HOF Reverb mini :)) That is a fantastic pedal! I picked one up and am smitten with it... For whatever reason the Db boost seems to drive the power section even when placed in the signal chain pre-preamp... For whatever reason it seems to give the sound of a headroom increase or more utilization of that capacity and is crystal clear and seems to add presence to the overall tone/sound... It really is an amazing sounding pedal! I love it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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