Here is a Fuzztone F-1 clone (i.e. “Rab” Fuzz) I recently built and installed inside an Orange enclosure, as a tribute to the original Kay Fuzztone pedal. Personally, I think this looks better than black:
The original Kay was all orange (plastic), but I chose a black rubber foot pad here, because I figured an orange one would look start to look dirty rather quickly.
Here are some photos of the latest updated version of the “Rab Fuzz” (Kay Fuzztone Clone) Pedal:
I’m very happy with this updated version…It uses military grade metal film resistors throughout the signal path, which help make it one of the quietest Kay fuzztones I’ve ever used. Perhaps I will make an orange one next…
Some new circuit boards just arrived as part of an update/redesign of my “Rab Fuzz” which I’m excited about:
In this version I’ve moved the audio jacks off of the PCB. It requires a little more wiring, but this will allow the circuit board to interface with a wider variety of wah enclosures. (Some older enclosures have sloping sides which don’t work well with the board-mounted Neutrik jacks.)
Here a Rab Fuzz pedal I built recently using a Vox wah case that came out rather nice (I thought):
Though the Vox wah gets props for having shiny chrome, the shell feels much heavier than a Crybaby case so I’d have the give the Dunlop the edge on it’s being more practical.
After installation of the conversion circuit board, it’s a Kay Fuzztone clone. I’ve nicknamed it the “Trab Fuzz.” 🙂 Here’s what the finished pedal looks like – basically a stock Crybaby wah except for the blue LED and extra knob on the side.
It’s under the hood where things are clearly different from a stock wah:
Basing this project around a Dunlop Crybaby Wah enclosure, I designed a circuit board to be a direct drop-in replacement for the wah circuit board. Unlike the wah, the Fuzztone needs true bypass, so I built the bypass onto the board using a relay, and this way the same switch from the old wah can be used. All that’s required for assembly is to connect the circuit board as before and to disconnect two wires from the switch. That’s it! Of course LEDs are not required, but are fun to add, too…
Here you can see the wah circuit board on the left, and the replacement board on the right.
(The two orange wires are part of a mod to the original circuit – they connect to a pot that acts as an extra tonal control over the fuzz distortion.)
Whenever I build I pedal I like to make a prototype version of the circuit on a breadboard. This is a good way to test a schematic and to try different part values. Here’s a quick look at the proto for the Rab/Kay Fuzz:
A note on the diodes: I show 1N914 in the schematic. You can use these, but you will get a bit of a volume boost with the pedal. That’s because these are silicon diodes and the originals were germanium diodes. Silicon diodes clip at a higher voltage than germanium diodes. If you want the circuit to be more like the original, then you can also use any of the germanium diodes out there commonly used in pedals. I recommend trying a few to find what you like.
