A year has passed since my last pedal release, so I decided it was time to break out the soldering iron and create something new. I am proud to announce my most modified fuzz yet – the Fuzz Day Afternoon.
The inspiration for this pedal came from one of my clients asking for mods to a Dunlop Fuzz Face that he saw in a JHS video. The mods featured adding a Q1 Bias and moving the Fuzz knob to the inside of the pedal and also adding an external Q2 Bias. After playing through the pedal I figured, why not put all the knobs on the outside for maximum control.
The Fuzz Day Afternoon is a turret board silicon Fuzz Face circuit with the following mods to the original Arbiter Silicon Fuzz Face:
B500K volume potentiometer substituted for the stock A500K
C1M external “BANK” potentiometer added for transistor Q1 bias control
B10K external “CASH” potentiometer added for transistor Q1 bias control
The sound of this pedal is a medium to high gain silicon fuzz. The matched BC108 transistors are hand-selected for gain and character. The added “BANK” and “CASH” bias controls provide an infinite range of fuzz tones from compressed to sputtery. I have also incorporated additional components to reduce radio interference common in high gain fuzzes.
The Fuzz Day Afternoon is hand-wired and features turret board construction. The circuit consists of N.O.S. (New Old Stock) components to capture as much of that old school mojo as possible. I even found the ultra rare Mullard 341 Chicklet Mepolesco capacitor which is as close to original Fuzz Face component as you can get! Also employed, are 16mm Alpha potentiometers, Switchcraft jacks, an LED indicator, and, fat 22AWG PTFE wire throughout. Velcro comes preinstalled so it’s ready to go right onto your pedal board.
Power for the Fuzz Day Afternoon is supplied by a standard 9 volt negative-center DC jack to integrate seamlessly with your existing power supply. No battery clip is supplied or can be added due to space limitations.
The Fuzz Day Afternoon also carries a full lifetime warranty. If it breaks anytime during my lucid lifetime, I will repair it or replace it free of charge.
Circuitboard Parts List:
Phillips 22uF electrolytic capacitor
Phillips 2.2uF electrolytic capacitor
Allen Bradley carbon composition resistors (all positions)
Philips/Mullard 341 Chicklet Mepolesco capacitor 10nF
BC108 transistor Q1 with an hFE of ≈ 200 – 250
BC108 transistor Q2with an hFE of ≈ 200 – 250
