AND/OR Switching Part II: Active and Passive components

One of the goals with this switching system is to make it with as small of a footprint as possible. With the increased access to SMD services the use of the 14 and 16 pin CMOS chips for switching purposes are no longer a barrier which would take up large amounts of real estate. However, they are not without their drawbacks .

The challenge:

The BYP/CH1 and SEL/CH2 switches would need to pass the signal when not engaged. This is where we run into a road block. Its probably already apparent to most, but I struggled with it and figured I'd share it anyway, but the CMOS chips such as the CD4053 are electronically controlled, even when logic levels are low and you would expect that the SPDT would pass a signal, it will not if there is no power connected to the pedal.

This raises a small issue. Normal pedals using mechanical 3PDT bypass switches, are entirely passive. It doesn't matter if power is supplied to the pedal, when the 3PDT has its connections being met correctly it will pass the signal. This is not the case with the 4053.

I don't know how often people are trying to play through their pedals when they have their pedals unplugged. If power fails to your pedal board, I imagine it would be close to an outlet supplying power to your amp and trying to play anything would be pointless. Nevertheless it does present a challenge.

As I alluded to in the last post, this system would be very difficult to implement with a purely mechanical switching system. Instead I will be developing a microcontroller & CMOS system. If you haven't read through it already, I recommend checking out the GEOFEX article on the electronic bypass system. This project will be based on this and an of course expand upon it.

The first step is figuring out the signal paths and number of switches that will be passed through.

After sketching out some ideas, I have a rough draft where ≥10 SPDT/SPST switches would be required to move between the OR and AND switching. This corresponds to Channel 1 OR Channel 2 as well as Channel 1 INTO Channel 2. With this many switches involved at the moment, I think its safe to stop here for debugging purposes. Drawing anything further will get complicated quickly.

Given the digital nature of all of this we can already start to think of how a sort of "TRUTH" table could be set up to switch between modes and what each of the switches would need to do in order to achieve a given outcome.

Word to the frustrated:

When using photoFETs for muting, make sure you use a current limiting resistor. I had burned some out and not re-tested them and kept wondering, why isn't this muting?

  

AND/OR Switching System\\ Part 1

Part 1: The Gestalt

   The ability to control two different effects is one of the joys of having multiple pedals or multiple effects. To date, I have focused most of my attention on switching between channels in a "parallel" manner. However, while doing research for the DBA sound saw and the Kill Kill Filter, it seems that users were interested in the ability to run one filter into another. The challenge ahead is how to develop a system which could accomplish at least 3 modes of operation (1) A into B, (2) B into A, (3) A or B, and (4) A and B.

    Here's a version of a generalized schematic diagramof the switching systems we're interested in with. It should be noted that (1), (2), and (4) could use different grounding methods depending on your preference. 

    I have left off the LED switching systems at the moment for simplicity. Regardless, moving from (1) to (2) can be accomplished in a simple manner using the Geofex Juggler Effects Reverser.

 

    What we can see from this is that in addition to the Switching system to turn each effect ON and OFF, we require an additional 3 (or 4) SPDT switches to change the effect order.

    So the challenge becomes mostly focused on getting between mode (3) and either mode (1) or (2). As well as getting to mode (4) and making sure that there aren't any phase issues. If we can draw out the paths to get between these modes, then its just a matter of a couple more SPDT switches to change the effect order.

    Herein lies four of the starting challenges I've identified thus far:

A. The number of SPDT switches required.

  We are already at 3 or 4 to just move between modes (1) and (2) NOT including the LED indication. Adding in mode (3), and it should be clear that there is probably not going to be an analog toggle switch or rotary switch which will be able to accomplish this switching. In addition, we will need a way to cycle through states in a relatively easy way.

B. Switch life time.

    Part of the fun of the OR configuration is the ability to switch back and forth between effects/channels to quickly switch between different sounds. This will result in the "Channel Select" switch getting pressed more than the "Bypass" switch. Like everything, mechanical switches have a lifetime, can get worn out, and die on us, which present challenges with replacing them. Normally Open (NO) momentary switches have been used to toggle states of relays for pedals and can be used, but we'll need a way to address the toggled status of effects after power is disconnected. This is notably a problem in the OR mode.

C. CMOS switching and pop.

    To accommodate the anticipated large number of switches, we'll likely need to use CMOS chips for switching. In my experience, there has always been a popping issue for me when I have breadboarded this. We'll need to include a form of muting system to prevent popping from being an issue when switching between the AND/OR modes when the effect is powered up.

D. Method of indicating which MODE we are in.

    Switching between 4 modes, pretty much eliminates a single toggle switch (e.g. ON-ON-ON) to select the mode. I believe the choice is between (i) a rotary switch, and (ii) a push-button switch that cycles through the modes with some additional LEDs to indicate which mode is currently selected. I am leaning toward the pushbutton cycle selection since it is a new area for me to explore and doesn't take up as much space as a rotary switch. In my experience with Alpha Rotary switches (both plastic and metal) is that they stick up higher than the potentiometers, and often times require additional washers or an additional nut to get the right spacing/height with the inside of the enclosure. The issue with LEDs is finding the optimal way to communicate with the user which mode is currently active.

    At the moment, the solution seems to be pointing toward a microcontroller-based solution. I'm pretty sure this switching system could be achieved to a degree without a microcontroller. But one of my goals for 2021 was to push myself in a different direction. I think that incorporating microcontrollers into my effects pedals will push me into uncomfortable territory but ultimately improve my creations.

Beginning with The End

 Well 2021 is off to a strange start, and I have finished up a batch of pedals.  I've started a YouTube Channel, posted items to my Reverb Store, and created an Instagram account to keep people posted on different developments.

There are a couple existing projects I want to finish up and others I want to update and expand on. In no particular order other than my thoughts at the moment, here's what I've got planned for the year.

1. The AND/OR switching system is under development, and is somewhat of a priority since I have a fetish for dual channel designs. Moreover, I think my future designs will require the use of micro controllers to accommodate the ideas I have in mind.

If I can get this to work, I'll document the process for those interested. For two-in-one projects it just seems like it would be a cool option to switch between A or B, A->B, and B->A in with a simple interface..

2. I will be revisiting the Solaris this year. Belton has a new brick coming out that should be interesting to work with. Its based on the Cool Audio multifx chip, but at least it doesn't require me to do any SMD soldering.

3. I have been wanting to do a tremolo pedal for so long and I think I have some ideas. Laowiz suggested I try out the Gristleizer, and I think I will start to breadboard that. I've seen some cool videos and of course the VCA/VCF modes fit nicely into my fetish :)

While learning more about microcontrollers, I may try and put out something for a 

4. Modular Interfacing Longterm Fuzz is something I have been toying around with. Mostly to satisfy my crusade for the ideal fuzz for me. This will probably take the longest time to develop and may never be complete, but the basis of it will involve microcontrollers to simplify my life.

I don't want to get too far ahead of myself 4 projects for the year sound doable. The beginning always starts out strong, and right now since I have been drawing schematics and breadboarding most of December.

All along the way I'll put out some updates for the projects; the microcontroller work especially. I think it'd be nice to see simple microcontroller projects pop-up for other guitar pedal hobbyists out there.

Here's to a productive 2021

Best regards,

   Bradford

THE END: Dual fuzz dream eater

 So, I've been diving deep into the V1 Fuzz War again and again, and have another variant on the horizon.  Last year's Dark Sun was more of a re-imagining with a harsher edge, but I was still looking to capture the thick fuzziness of the V1 Fuzz War and something close to the Silver Armageddon.

Well after a couple months of testing, tweaking, and re-testing. I have (re-re-re-)designed a functioning silver Armageddon. This was largely based on the gut shots from a known source and the values from tracing my personal V1 Fuzz War.

As an overview,

 The End is a dual fuzz which allows you to select different filters via footswitch.  In addition, there are two toggle switches, 1 to allow more or less low frequencies to enter at 2 points in the circuit, and one to switch between the original silver Armageddon, and a personal variant for the fuzz/filters.

I made some small tweaks to the design to optimize performance, but this pedal "The End" is supposed to be as faithful of a recreation of the silver Armageddon as possible. In the next series of posts I'll post more details about 'The End'.

In this post I'll talk about options for the notch filter also referred to as "Filter 1":

Here is what the silver Armageddon's notch filter looks like. It provides a very deep cut that can be shifted up and down the frequency range so that you can cut out lows, mids, or highs. The notch ranges from approximately 100Hz up to 1.1kHz with an approximate 50db cut.

This may be too extreme for some guitar players when cutting the lower frequencies, but then again if you are interested in the V1 Fuzz War, you probably aren't interested in a typical friendly sounding fuzz. This thing can get harsh...Think MEDICINE harsh!!! Nevertheless, I wanted to add versatility to the fuzz and I've incorporated an option to change the depth and sweep for the filter to something a little more open sounding while still blown out and amazing.

As you can see, the notch is attenuated (-35db), which results in a louder sound throughout the frequency range from 150Hz through 1.2kHz.

On the other side (Filter 2), we have a tilt filter which functions like a BMP tone stack but the notch is shifted much lower than your typical BMP. This tilt filter is centered around 600Hz, a more useable range that shouldn't be as competitive in the mix.

This fuzz output from Filter 2 is hard clipped to give it an aggressive sound, but once again with the "add options mindset", I've added the option to lift those diodes, which adds a volume boost and a blown out sound to compliment the Filter 1 notch adjustment.

So in summary, the "Clip" switch on THE END will allow you to switch between the original silver Armageddon sound, and a more blown out variation that I've added.

More details to come soon...

The Journey to New AND/OR...

 While looking over how to improve the functionality of the Receiver Operator. It has occurred to me that there are a bunch of routing options that could make this pedal incredibly versatile. I took a look out at other companies who create multi-channel pedals and noticed a "gap in the market". There are a number of ABY switches out there, Lehle, Earthquaker Devices, Morley, EHX, to name a few. All of these are outstanding pedals in their own right in terms of straightforward use, or options galore depending on what you are looking for.  However, I have yet to see a pedal which can do what I am looking for.

The RecOp and the pedals it was inspired by are known for their dual channel nature. Let's call this "OR", after the A OR B function of the operation.  This is an easy to implement function using a 3PDT switch, which is what the new J Mascis Fuzz from the previous post most likely uses. The next step in the evolution would be driving A into B, and naturally following that would be driving B into A.

These aren't ABY type of options, but they aren't that different. The AB component remains the same.  The Y option is not in question, although with the creation of one design, another is born. We'll tackle that at a later date.

So the three functional goals for this design are:

1. A "OR" B

2. A "INTO" B

3. B "INTO" A

Ideally, the end product would be simple enough to control with a 3-way toggle switch so that any body could drop this design into their DIY pedal and have a wide range of control over 2 different effects in the same box.  Similar to the 3PDT/4PDT order switcher boards out there.

At present the RecOp can do Notch "OR" Boost, I have figured a way to re-route the signal as Boost "INTO" Notch, but the effects are not independent. In this first draft of the INTO mode switch, the bypass button turns the Notch on (which makes sense since it is on the left hand side below the Notch controls), and the Select button turns on the boost, which then runs into the Notch. If we only toggle Select, it does not engage the boost section. it just lets us know that when we do turn on the Circuit, we will be slamming the notch with the boost. 

In my mind this is a cool feature, but it is not exactly where I want to go with this pedal.

The challenge at present is the number of SPDTs that have to be used and changing the LED indication status to reflect how the pedal is going to work. For the "OR" function I am partial to DBAs approach of having dimmed channel indication in bypass.  For the "Into" functions (if they work as independent units) I don't think dimming is necessary, but a tri-colored LED would be nice as a sort of visual cue to which mode you are in. Albeit unecessary, LEDs always make things neat.

So I'll try and do a better job about documenting how I implement this and get more shots of the breadboard up in the meantime too.

Switches & channels

Switches, either mechanical or digital, provide opportunities to route different part of the circuits around in some interesting ways.

To start, I have always been a fan of having two channels on pedals, something attracts me to that sort of design. Probably my early exposure in pedals to the DBA soundsaw and kill kill filter.

Recently, there is a Big Muff by Wren and Cuff ("Garbage Face")  that has been released which allows for two different volume settings for a channel.

I can't say for certain how they implement this, but if I had to guess it would be like the old Beavis audio, two pots on a stomp with an LED approach. http://beavisaudio.com/techpages/switches/

Not a bad approach at all! Easy to implement, minimum parts count and greatly expands the sonic pallete of a certain pedal.  In fact the DBA KKF uses this type of control, to change the tone potentiometer. Move this over to the potentiometer for gain, and you can have two channels which allow you to vary the saturation of your dirt circuit. All of this with a 3PDT switch (Stomp or toggle pick your poison)

If you don't care for the LED indicator, you could get by with the DPDT. But wait!!! What about other options.  As far as mechanical switches go, we can move up the the 4PDT. Which depending on how we want to implement it for channel switching, we could get creative and allow changes to be made to 3 controls of a circuit, but would need to isolate components so they don't interact across channels. I.e. the we don't want the volume control for channel one to change the volume of channel two. Digital switching systems are more complicated, but offer a longer life-span and the potential for more parameters of the pedal to be channel switched.  This comes at the cost of more knobs to interact with though. Digital presets are the next evolution which allow you to have the base number of potentiomers and the ability to cycle through "saved" states.  The challenge with this approach is not being able to see what the preset was.

The NEW DBA ROOMS pedal looks to have 3 channels switchable on their "ALT" footswitch. While there are large knobs for Frequency, Depth, and Time, there is also a smaller 9mm potentiometers for F, D, and T which I am going to guess is tied to the ALT footswitch.

This of course depends on how the potentiometer is oriented in the circuit to begin with. This is most ideal for potentiometers set up as voltage dividers.


This is brief post covering aspects of mechanical switches for "multi channel" modifications to your pedal, but also serve as a backdrop to part of the process going into the Sound Saw REMAKE. The pedal toggles back and forth between the boost and the filter sides of the circuit.

Thoughts on the SoundSaw

Hey team,
 Glad you could join me, now let us begin.

SOUND SAW
what was the deal with that pedal anyway? Crazy awesome sounding demos on the old DBA website, but they are hard to come by and there is one schematic that has been floating around for years now.

Back in 2014-2016ish, I was helping Glass Hero screen some enclosures with the Sound Saw artwork until he disappeared (hope all is well). It was about that time that my life got complicated and I had to put a lot of things on hold and move states to a new job, now after moving to another state for another job, I feel like building pedals again. I have been ever so slowly unpacking my tools and reviewing old schematics I had drawn up to try and start being a little more efficient with my design process.

Part of this process is putting out a SOUND SAW REMAKE. I am looking at the instruction card from the original and tasking myself to recreate a pedal like this. Something that has the same functionality, but with improvements based on my knowledge thus far and what I would want, and something that adds to the original

After looking through the forums and customer reviews and feedback, I hope to incorporate those ideas and create an excellent REMAKE.  At the end of the day, I will probably email Oliver the results of my passion project and send him my REMAKE.

I have sent off for PCBs to test the backbone circuit of the pedal.

From here I will be developing the upgraded (deluxe) variant of the pedal.

I would really like to dig into some programming to make this process incorporate a challenge of a different dimension. Another reason is the relatively short foot switch lifespan of mechanical bypass pedals. With a pedal which you can toggle channels for huge variations in sound, a foot switch will most likely get plenty of use.  Once it is all used up, what is the customer left with? a dead foot switch. Let's try and avoid that from here on out.

I'll keep you all posted as I move forward with this project.

After this I can get around to....reverb pedal REMAKE.

Best regards

Solaris reverb, feedback, and diagrams: Where the past listens to the future

"Where the past listens to the future"

In directed acyclic graphs, one of the defining rules is that a variable cannot cause itself. In "reciprocal" chicken or the egg situations the question needs to be depicted by indexing variables by time.

   Without diving too deeply into my growing elementary understanding of analytic methods for causal inference, I always come back to schematics and feedback paths in schematics. The state variable filter is a design that has always interested me, and Beavis Audio Flaming Howl of Death mod for the fuzz face was another crazy example.  Basically tapping a connection at some point after the circuit input and connecting it back to the input. This creates a feedback loop in which the signal is fed back into itself for chaotic results.

With delay and reverb type of circuits, the output of the affected signal can be fed back to the input of the signal to create some fun results. In delay circuits this achieves the "repeats", in a reverb circuit this regeneration of the signal creates a deeper reverb that migrates towards self oscillation.

I plan on revisiting the Solaris reverb and making modifications to the circuit that are informed by my experimentation and understanding of time-based effects as well as making some modifications. 

My goal is to maintain the character of the source material, but to put more of my spin on it.

This includes a modification to the affected signal, the feedback control, and the bypass signal. One of my personal issues with some time based effects is the use of mechanical 3pdt true bypass switching.  This can result in a ridiculously loud echo for the popping of the mechanical switch.  Sometimes this can be cool, other times it can be annoying if you are trying to "ease" into a part. 

I'll keep posting my progress and thoughts about this reverb project as we continue along this year.

Madbean 2019 POTY contest entry

As I am getting back into pedals this year, i only successfully built one... Ha, so this was an easy choice. Definitely learned a lot about how not to do things, so hopefully this next year is a productive one with more choices for me to choose from.

\

Some gut shots were shown before, but this is a little closer and a little bit more tidy :)

I will try and post more on the blog this year, as I keep people posted on what I'm working on, and my thoughts, etc.

Best, 

   Bradford1

DREAMEATER Dark Sun

I'm back!!!

After a whole lot of life happened, I have found relief back in my hobby of building electronic guitar pedals.  

To start back up, I decided I would take on the long drawn out battle I have had with the 7 transistor Fuzz War by Death By Audio.

This pedal has always interested me and I loved the sound every time I would start building it on the breadboard. Problems would arise however, whenever it came time to complete the circuit and there would be strange pedal properties or problems that were encountered.  

Also there was a skeptical issue regarding the schematics that were floating around. So this time around I cracked open the pedal myself and started to trace it out only to discover that the circuit was different from the designs floating around.

So I messed around with it on the breadboard and made some improvements based on all that I have learned all this time that I've spent on websites and forums. and voila!!! 

The sound I have been looking for and a more stable 7 transistor design that overcomes issues with the "original" V1. I say original because apparently there were multiple versions of the 7 transistor design before they transformed the pedal into "yet another big muff" type of circuit.

1. Louder output volume

2. External gain knob

3. Added tonal options

4. Gating incorporated into the design

The prototype

Back at screen printing...

Assembled pedals...

Pedal promotions on my kitchen counter with some duo chromatic bags for the duo chromatic pedals...

I put some youtube demos together, I'm still learning how to put a video demo together that doesn't use the phone audio, I think I can synch up the timing with a video and the recording from my DAW.

Oh well, in the meantime at least there isn't a foot in the video.

Enjoy

Bass

https://youtu.be/b8LStLAE1cw

Guitar

https://youtu.be/WM2y8F8FtZo

In the context of a Song

https://youtu.be/uoUQD6ly9qI

Solaris

Solaris, based on the sunshine reverberation by DBA, which appears to be a digital rendition of older tube based reverb tanks.  Definitely a cool sound!

Baku Baku overdrive

So after messing around with some different DBA inspired designs on my breadboard, i went ahead and drafted the PCB and had it sent off and created with OSHPark.

The main goal with the PCB was to reduce my frustration with offboard wiring! So for this i used smaller board mounted pots and input/output/9v/GND pads that could be connected to a separate 3PDT stomp switch board.  I bought some ribbon cable to use to make it look a little tidier than 4 separate wires, and I have to say that I am rather pleased with the ease of installation and how much nicer it looks on the inside.

In addition to this I wanted to give my pedal a little something extra with the presentation on the outside, so I used some contrasting hardware colors, as well as screenprinted a lion logo on the side.  The screenprint on the side isn't my best idea, but somewhat of an idea of the direction I'd like to head with my designs so its not just good looking on the top of the pedal, but more so that all surfaces will have something interesting going on with them.

One last thing I'm thinking of doing with this is trimming some of the plastic from the inside of the grey knobs so that theys it a little bit lower, right now the height of those knobs and the empty space below them is bothering me a  bit.

Here is the schematic for those of you interested in breadboarding this guy.  The sound may not be for everyone but I dig it so far :)
If you breadboard it, please let me know what you think, or if you see any design issues which would improve the performance of the pedal please let me know. I'd really appreciate any feedback.

Another etched attempt

My latest etching attempt failed to take into consideration the use of the brayer, and the ink didn't stick to the enclosure that well.  But I went ahead with the best version of it and just said what the heck...

Testing out etching

So i bit the bullet and tried out etching with Ferric Chloride.  It works, but is a little bit on the sloppy side.  Very much "space junk" kind of look.

Here is what the mask looked like.  I think I could have spent longer, it took me about 10 minutes of rotating it under the iron. My goal was to try and get the ink to show through the paper while I was ironing it.

Here is what the etch came out like after alternating dunking in Ferric Chloride and water for 20 minutes.

I scrubbed it after it had been through its last rinse, but it still retained some sort of rust look to it.  I can't seem to scrub it off, i'll have to see if it'll be an issue if I try and spray paint over it.  However it does look like the mask didn't entirely protect what it was supposed to.  Its all good, since I was going for a really beat up type of look.  I have to drill through the holes first and then test out spray painting it.

After cleaning off more of the gunk with a green scrubby pad and nail polish remover it looks a a lot nicer

After this I hit it with a base of flat black and then topped it off proceeded to wet sand the raised parts.  It appears that the Ferric Chloride didn't come out as clean of a process as I had hoped, but I like the aesthetic that it has going on.  Using a reverse etch to invert the color of the text like on the tone stacks doesn't seem to work that well either.  I think i'll just go with raising the text. As you can see the large Aluminum exposed areas have major holes in them...

I was debating whether or not to coat it with anything, I got some great advice to clear coat it with stuff from the automotive department from Cody (CHECK OUT HIS AWESOME BLOG!), and another Madbeaner DMinner (MAKES SOME REALLY GREAT ETCHES) said it might be fine with out it.  After holding the pedal for a little bit, it became clear that it was still rubbing blackness off onto my hands.  So i used some of the Krylon Gloss Clear coat that I had around and laid it on there.  In person the light hits the metallic flakes in the paint and it looks great!

And the guts

And testing out another one for a friend...

This one was at first red, but too bright so i tried spraying some black at a distant over it all and it came out to be a pretty awesome darkened red color.

Update 08APR2016

If you have to use Kinkos to print (as I did) then here is the paper you should ask for them to print on.

"Gloss White"

Simple switch between big muff and supa tonebender using Madbean's Mudbunny board.

Check carefully, but its all about the 100nf cap.

lifting the miller cap will not do what we want it to do!

Basically we do is move c6 to be switched in and out of the circuit using an SPDT.

This is what was done for the "Screaming Firebat" pedal.

7 Transistor Armageddon

Prototype board in a 1590BB

3d view of the prototype board

reverse boosting

Working on the fuzzwar and there have been some issues with transistors.  So i've been messing around with the reverse booster and came up with something that works pretty stable for the 2n5089s that I have.

I think the 51K is alright so far, I think that a 10k instead of the 51k is better for impedance, but 51k is a lot louder at this point and gets close to the sound of the 7 transistor fuzz war.

I'll have to see how they stack together though, with both the 10k or 15k the bass frequencies clip more. But obviously not as much as the 51k.  At 100k, theres some gating and the start of that velcro sound, 180 is entirely gated and velro-esque... 

Getting back into screen printing

Well its been a while since i screen printed anything.  I've been working on a design for quite some time and trying to get the circuit to match. I know I know, I really should figure out the circuit first before making artwork for pedals, but this time I'm going to do the right amount of planning!

So this is my heavily modified big muff design with different clipping options.

Its not my finest, I goofed on the upper right hand corner.  The screen had a lot of holes in it and I just left it.  It looks OK enough and I'm just trying out some ideas at the moment.  I'm going to put the 9V and INPUT and BYPASS in red , and I'm going to try to put an image on the side to take it a step further than I usually do.  But this will require a large amount of back and forth in terms of clearcoating, drying and screen printing.  Ah well hopefully its worth it.  I'll keep you guys posted in terms of what the result slowly develops into.

The circuit was previously housed in this

But I kind of botched that enclosure and right now a friend is borrowing it, and since I had another enclosure that I've just been sitting on for a year, I wanted to try some more artwork out..

Here was an earlier version with the red knobs...

Bringing it all home: the reason for blackcraft

When I was first learning about pedals I was intrigued by Oliver Ackermann's Armageddon.  No doubt you could tell because of my cloning of his artwork. Over the course of my time messing around populating other people's PCBs i've taken some time to try and breadboard various designs all thanks to my good friend Micah over at Glass Hero.  To him i owe very much as he has been patient with me and dropped tidbits of information for me to learn from.

So after thinking about it for a long time, I've decided to try and build the original 7 transistor fuzz war.  this has reportedly given many people problems. Without knowing what they've done wrong I've decided to take a stab at building one myself.

I've got the schematic in hand and I've got some experience playing around with reverse transistor setups and have figured what the heck...

Here is the infamous 7 transistor schematic most people have probable seen. The starting point...

I've seen both this and the armageddon v1 pedal and they are based around the same circuit but have a couple notable differences.

Here is what I've re-drafted to identify stages and a more suitable looking schematic for me to follow.

And here it is on the breadboard...

Ahh but then there is the issue of variability, using some OEM motorola 2n5089s and the boost stage has huge sputtering issues...

This is probably the issue that others have run into.