rookie help... siliface/ fuzz face

I am building the runoffgroove siliface fuzz and I think it is going well so far....
however, how do I connect the switch, volume pot, and jacks? I am using the layout linked below... can you tell me what goes to what or point me to a drawing? Thanks!

http://runoffgroove.com/sili-face.html

This should help:

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/ggg_ff5_lo_npn.pdf?phpMyAdmin=78482479fd7e7fc37680 44a841b3e85a

Cool, thanks!

The two jacks I have only have a tip and sleeve, can i still wire it this way or must I use an input jack that has a tip, sleeve, and a ring?
Also, the only switch I have is a on/on toggle... I think it is a dpdt but I'm not sure. I don't need it to be a push button... a flip switch is fine for my needs. What should inlook for at radio shack?

The two jacks I have only have a tip and sleeve, can i still wire it this way or must I use an input jack that has a tip, sleeve, and a ring?
Also, the only switch I have is a on/on toggle... I think it is a dpdt but I'm not sure. I don't need it to be a push button... a flip switch is fine for my needs. What should inlook for at radio shack?

You need a TRS (stereo) jack for the input if you want auto-off when you unplug. Otherwise you need an on/off switch, or you'll run thru batteries really quickly.

DPDT is fine if you don't need an LED. The Shack carries a good DPDT toggle switch.

Sili Face is a cool circuit...what kind of transistors are you using?

Everything is from radio shack, the transistors are 3904's. However the. Circuit isn't working... at all. It produces no sound, and whenever I flip the toggle, It just hummms... no sound from the guitar at all. I also tried the bazz fuss circuit, which is even fewer components and I was able to get the guitar to play through regardless of which way the toggle was thrown,but there was no fuzz or distortion at all. This is my first pedal and I am determined to learn this stuff because it is fun, and neat to make something.... once I get it working. My next step is to make an order from smallbear to get some stereojacks, sockets, and a breadboard. Thus far I have been doing it on pert board only. It would be better to breadboard them to verify what I'm doing is correct first, I think.

Can you post photos?

It would be better to breadboard them to verify what I'm doing is correct first, I think.

Smart. RS sells a decent breadboard too. Get one that's mounted on a metal plate. You will want to start ordering parts though, RS is expensive and many of their parts are very low quality.

Here is a shot of the top and back side of the Siliface (Fuzz Face) and the Bazz Fuss. What can you see?


... and Thanks!

Tacomamc, I noticed that you didn't solder your components to the p.c. board. It would be a good idea to do that it will keep your solder joints from breaking loose and/or moving around and shorting out inside your box. Great start!

Thanks for the suggestion, I will do that. Honestly, I'm not sure if it ever even dawned on me to do that. I realize the copper "rings" are there but never gave it another thought. I may pick up a breadboard today to see if i can recover what I have now. I'm also planning a purchase from smallbear (or equivelant- recomendatiins?) to get some resistors, caps, and stereo jacks. Thanks for all the input thus far!


As a side note, I was considering building a booster of some sort next to run before the fuzz as a seperate pedal. However, I am playing into a solid state Roland cube 30x. I know boosters are intended to push the front end of a tube amp into overdrive...do I stand to damage either the fuzz pedal or the amp if I run a boost into it?

I'm also planning a purchase from smallbear (or equivelant- recomendatiins?)
Lots of places. I get most of my parts from Mouser, Pedal Parts Plus, and Small Bear.

do I stand to damage either the fuzz pedal or the amp if I run a boost into it?
No.

Here is a shot of the top and back side of the Siliface (Fuzz Face) and the Bazz Fuss. What can you see?

Your transistors are backwards...

http://www.reprise.com/host/circuits/images/to-92.gif

Also, it's hard to see, but I think your trim pot is wrong. It should be wired as a variable resistor - use only the middle and one of the outer pins, or - short the middle to one of the outers.

Awesome! Thanks fir your help. It'll probably be a few days at least before I can fire up my soldering iron again, but as soon as I do I will switch these around and let you know. Thanks again.

Other than the transistors being oriented backwards, everything else appears to be in the right place, from what I can tell.

I doubt that any standard-issue booster, DIY or retail, is going to boost the signal enough to damage an amp or pedal, but it probably isn't going to sound very good to overdrive the input of the Cube.

The Sili-Face is designed to connect right to your guitar, with nothing in between. The relatively low input impedance allows you to get a nice clean tone by rolling back the guitar volume. Putting a booster in between, whether it's a FET, transistor or op-amp based design, is going to kill that effect, by acting as an impedance buffer between guitar and fuzz. It will also allow you to put the fuzz elsewhere in the effects chain - it doesn't have to be first in line.

The current MXR fuzz pedal has a switchable buffer circuit.

By the way, I built a Sili-Face not too long ago, as my first build. All Radio Shack parts except for the potentiometer:

http://youtu.be/EM5BPmZYe4g

Awesome... ihave referenced your video many timesnfor motivation... thanks!

Cool!

I'm getting ready to order my parts from pedalparts.com (or small bear) . I am confused on capacitors. I know what values I need to order, but do I need ceramic, electrolytic, film, or silver mica? Also, are the voltages important here?

I'm getting ready to order my parts from pedalparts.com (or small bear) . I am confused on capacitors. I know what values I need to order, but do I need ceramic, electrolytic, film, or silver mica? Also, are the voltages important here?

This question usually starts a long debate, but don't worry about the tone differences of caps for now.

The big (4.7u, 47u, 100u) caps should be electrolytic, because most big caps are. The other 2 can be about any type that will physically fit your layout. 100pF will probably be best as a ceramic, because they are most available at that small of a value, but you can pay more and get a silver mica. The .047u can be film or ceramic. I usually use film caps, but a lot of people like ceramic caps in a fuzz.

Voltages won't matter either, because they all will be above 9VDC. If you are ordering, you might as well order different values either as extras or to experiment with. For example, using a value larger than the .047 will add bass and volume.

Great, thanks! Is the same true for wattage on the resistors? That is I can use either 1/4 or1/8 watt resistors? Also, the siliface false for a "VR 1=10K. Is this a variable resistor? I didn't see it listed on pedalpartsplus.com. where should I be looking for that?

Thanks so much.

EDIT: I think I found it... is it a 10K trim pot?

Great, thanks! Is the same true for wattage on the resistors? That is I can use either 1/4 or1/8 watt resistors? Also, the siliface false for a "VR 1=10K. Is this a variable resistor? I didn't see it listed on pedalpartsplus.com. where should I be looking for that?

Thanks so much.

EDIT: I think I found it... is it a 10K trim pot?

Most people stick with 1/4 watt resistors for everything pedal related, but yes, 1/8 watt is more than enough for a siliface.

The trim pot is to adjust the bias of the 2nd transistor. You could avoid a trim pot by building the circuit and trying different resistances before soldering one in place.

I have a few guitar volume pots (250K and 500K), can I use this inplace of th e100K audio Pot as specified in the Siliface or the Bazz Fuss layouts?

Another couple question: I was going to use Pedal Parts Plus, but would like to get a faster turn around on my order than it sounds like I will get from PPP. So, I am looking at Mouser... man is there a lot to sift through!

#1: how much attention do I need to pay to tolerances of these capacitors and such?

#2: I also need a basic breadbord, what should I get from Mouser? There are so many options, and I am new to this. I just want a basic one like at Radio Shack, but i dont want to pay the $10 RS charges for it.

I just ordered everything for a silicon fuzz face from Tayda Electronics. Way cheaper than anywhere else I found. Can't vouch for shipping speed, as the order was just placed. I think you can upgrade to 2 day though?

www.taydaelectronics.com

Cool, thanks for the link. I am hoping to work on it this next week. I just got two FREE enclosures from a friend who is a "picker". Most would recognize these enclosures as the motor casings from a grill rotisserie, but my friend knew they'd be great pedal enclosures!

Please let us know how you found the experience with the company you linked. I will check them out tonight.

I just ordered everything for a silicon fuzz face from Tayda Electronics. Way cheaper than anywhere else I found. Can't vouch for shipping speed, as the order was just placed. I think you can upgrade to 2 day though?

www.taydaelectronics.com

Did you have any other shipping options that the DHL for $16?

I want to order from them, becasue they are CHEAP, but $16 in shipping doesn't make sense fro the realitively small amount I'm ordering.

You can order from Tayda with confidence. I've ordered from them about 3 or 4 times. Even with their cheapest shipping option, I usually get my order within 1-2 weeks - and that's coming from somewhere in Asia! They don't always have every single value of cap or resistor that I need, but what they do have is priced very well and ships fast. Their $0.50 pots are excellent for my needs.

FWIW, I've had very quick delivery times ordering from PPP.

Well, I placed my order with poppy and picked up a breadboard from radio shack. I 'll let you know how it goes next week.

Well I got my breadboard and all my parts.... now to try to put together this thing together.

Well, here it is.. I went with the Bazz Fuss because it was simpler. My next build will be the Fuzz Face/ Silliface. Thanks everyone for your help!

I honestly had the most difficulty with wiring everything off the board (switch, pot, jacks)

The next one will have an LED, and I'd like to build something that has TONS of sustain... any recommendations? (I may start a new thread for just this).

Congrats! For xtra sustain, maybe a Big Muff clone?

I'll look into it, thanks. The bass fuss is nothing like the fuzz face I used to have. It doesn't clean up with the guitars volume and has a pretty fast note decay. It also sounds great on th bass notes but fades quickly in the treble notes. Still, I learner quite a bit and will do another fuzz soon.