Lately I’ve been diving into the world of DIY effects building, and last night I completed a new creation (to me, at least!) that I wanted to share with everyone! It’s a Fuzzrite clone that I’ve dubbed the “Ennio” in honor of our much-beloved composer.

Main Features:
-- Handwired point-to-point construction on perfboard
-- Solid components - 2N4401 transistors, Alpha pots, Neutrik jacks, etc.
-- All jacks are top-mounted on a 125B enclosure to maximize the squeeze factor on the pedal board
-- True bypass switching with a very well-placed LED
-- Paint job is covered in multiple coats of gloss urethane for protection

I finished wiring it up last night and had a chance to plug it in for a bit, and tone-wise I’m very happy with it! It’s as buzzy, trashy and nasty as I hoped it would be, and absolutely nails the classic Spaghetti and fuzzed-out Ventures tones. The pedal itself, though, doesn’t seem to have a lot of self noise and is very quiet at idle. Nice sweep across the controls, and the gain goes from crazy to crazier.

I also fooled around with the guitar’s volume knob a bit, and it’s interesting because rolling back the volume cleans the pedal up into some very interesting overdrive-esque tones.

The graphics were fun, too. I spent a lot of time figuring out how to mount and lay out everything, and I’m really happy with how it all came together. I wanted it to have a bit of texture and feel a little rough-hewn, and it ended up very close to what I was hoping for.

I’m supposed to have rehearsal this week and am looking forward to putting it through it’s paces at full volume, but for now... here are the pics!!

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Last edited: May 09, 2011 20:00:46

wow, amazing job. how did you get the graphics on? i'm building a delay pedal at the moment.

-Pierre
The Obsidians! (Ottawa surf)
The Obsidians debut EP

Thanks for posting. I have been searching for decal slide paper for a printer. Great graphic and font.

Man that is really sweet looking. Hows the sound? You should post up some clips!

So are there DIY kits for making your own pedals? Did you use an online resource to get the parts and maybe see some diagrams?

K I L L E R looks! Really nice work! Absolutely love the LED placement - great artistic touch.

I've been tempted to try DIY, but haven't jumped. Your work makes the idea all that much more tempting.

josheboy - here are a few sites dedicated to DIY.
http://www.diystompboxes.com/
http://www.buildyourownclone.com/

B.Y.O.C. (build your own clone) appears to have more pre-fab kits.

You can find some one-off kits on eBaY too.

Fady

El Mirage @ ReverbNation

Last edited: May 03, 2011 09:47:47

Much thanks again, everyone!

Josheboy - I'm working out the best way to get a couple clips posted - To my ear it sounds right in line with the Fuzzrite clones I've previously played.

As far as kits and parts, there are a ton of resources that have popped up. Mine's not a kit build - mostly because I wanted to try it from scratch, and also because I wanted a different knob/jacks layout so I could do the graphics like I did and make it topmounted - but there are a ton of cool kits out there.

Where I got my parts from: http://pedalpartsplus.com/
Great kits at solid prices: http://generalguitargadgets.com/

If you have any interest in DIY, I'll forewarn you that it's addictive! Here are a couple additional links I used:

Beavis Audio - Offboard Wiring
Fuzzrite Schematic

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Very cool, Camello... That's a burly bit of soldering you've taken on! Love to see how it turns out.

Also, on the Ennio - I was able to record some samples last night, so I'll try and post those this evening, and I also experimented with a couple mods/tweaks to make it even more fun.

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Thanks, Scot!

I finally got around to getting some clips together! The first set are with my Hallmark Custom 60, and I also recorded some shorter samples with my Jag Tan Anniversary just to show how Filters work (TV Classic Bridge pickup). At some point I'll also get samples up with my Tele, because this thing loves it some lower-output Fender pickups!

These were recorded Guitar -> Ennio -> Tascam DP-004 Line In jack, so the following caveats apply:
1) Please excuse the playing!
2) Please excuse the lack of reverb - It felt like sacrilege, because this type of fuzz just doesn't sound right to me without surftacular reverb, but I wanted to give everyone the best listen at the circuit itself without distraction.
3) I didn't level adjust after the fact, so the volume might be a bit uneven in places.
4) All clips are with the guitar's volume at full - There are some great tones to be found by knocking back the volume a bit, but I left it alone to avoid muddying the waters.
5) Even though this circuit is all about the single-note stuff, I've included some D-minor chord stuff just for mayhem's sake.

• Low Gain = Gain Knob at 8:00
• Med Gain = Gain Knob at 12:00
• High Gain = Gain Knob at 5:00

Without further ado...

• Hallmark Custom 60 - Low Gain
• Hallmark Custom 60 - Medium Gain
• Hallmark Custom 60 - High Gain
• Gretsch Anniversary w/ TV Classics - Low Gain
• Gretsch Anniversary w/ TV Classics - Medium Gain
• Gretsch Anniversary w/ TV Classics - High Gain

I'm also finalizing a three-way switch of mods/adds to the circuit that I'm tentatively dubbing the Trilogy Switch. Once that's locked in, I'll try to get some more samples up, but for now, enjoy and let me know what you think!

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Last edited: May 20, 2011 09:38:09

Hey Surfin --

Indeed it is! I posted one a week or so ago on a whim, just to gauge interest, and ended up selling two by Sunday night! A nice surprise, as it confirmed that there are apparently more guitarists like me who want the Fuzzrite sound in a normal, small-box enclosure.

Those were the "bone stock" version, and I've held posting them for sale here and on the Gretsch Discussion Pages because I'd rather offer you guys the full magilla with the switching options, because they'll make for a more versatile pedal while still giving you that stock Fuzzrite nonsense when you want it.

That said, if anyone would like to buy one in the "bone stock" form, I'm more than happy to oblige! I have a parts order coming in tomorrow, so I'm currently working with a turnaround time of one week.

Thanks again for the interest!

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Hey Doc -- Just checking back in, and I love that pedal! Very cool layout and finish!

Also, I've been "unofficially" taking/building orders for the Ennio, but I'm finalizing a "Deluxe" option for the pedal to give everyone here on SG101 a choice of two versions, so stay tuned...

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