Looking for a high gain veroboard in 1590A box

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Hello,
I'm building some 1590A pedals: I built a IC Buffer, a booster SHO, probably I'll build a Speaker Crancker to get an overdrive. But I still didn't find a nice high gain distortion circuit on veroboard to fit in this small box.
I'm building a Smash Drive (LM386 based on), I like it enough. And I'm building also the Mockman II, and it's nice, too, but I can't get insert a gain pot to clean up well. It's ok with the stock maxxed gain, but the decay of the note is not so natural and, unfortunately, with less gain the issue get worst.
In the end I think I'll build them anyway, but I want something different.

I know I never can fit high gain circuit like Triple Wreck, Tight Metal, Dr. Boogie, etc... but I would like something high gain distortion like MXR Distortion+, RAT, DS-1, even modded. No overdrive, but something hard rock modern aggressive pedal.
What you can advice?

Thank you!

[ibanez48]

I don’t of anything on here that would fit in that box. Unless someone could redo some of the simpler high gain vero layouts on here to squeeze it in that box. If u want a good high gain circuit look at the brunetti mercury/or the protone body rot 2.

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Thank you.
I built the Protone Body Rot 2. The board of the Smash Drive I have built is more or less a simplified Body Rot, without booster in front and without the tonestack.
The Brunetti Mercury seems a fine pedal, but it has a pretty large schematic. I didn't look at it well, maybe it can be simplified, but I'm not so sure. I guess it's too big.

I didn't say, but it's enough for me just two controls: Volume and Gain.

Yestarday I was working on a Rat but leaving out the last stage and with fixed filter setting. It's an idea I still didn't see around, and I don't know how it will sound. But the veroboard will not so small, I guess. Maybe I should leave out even the filter, and tame the treble modifying some value parts.

[Stymie13]

Can't go wrong with a RAT or BMP variant (Supercollider or Dope Priest). I've built a ton of high gain circuits but always come back to one of these.

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I'm afraid I can't fit a stock Rat nor a Big Muff (too fuzz for what I want) into a 1590A.

[ibanez48]

I think you or going to have to go to a bigger box. Unless you want to go the smd route.

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Myabe I can't do it, meanwhile I hope I can find some circuit can fit, or I can squeeze somehow into a small box.
It's hard for me work with smd stuff. Probably I will not.

There are some small circuits like Bazz Fuzz or one-knob fuzz, or the high gain fuzz pedal by D*A*M. I don't know, if there some way to make them sound more distortionish?

What about two JFET stages? It's enough to get high gain setting?

[ibanez48]

I don’t know if u have heard of this this its a great sounding circuit. And it’s really small I wonder if u could cram 2 of these in a box and use a dual gang pot for both of them. Because  it’s a overdrive but if u use 2 of them that should get u in the high gain territory. Or u could use 2 separate gain pots for more control over each circuit. http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/file/n27303/Golden_Dragon_Overdrive.png

[fx-fidden]

Thank you.
It was in my overdrive list.
In this demo we can hear it. It sounds like an aggressive overdrive, but the bypass is already dirty, and I can't say if the gain is at max. It isn't so high gain stand alone.
https://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/DRAGONFLY-LAYOUTS_0/album87/goldendragon.mp3.html

I found even this smaller protoboard layout
https://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/Xaviers-shrine-of-noise/Layouts/Golden+Dragon.gif.html

I'm not so sure I can squeeze two board (or two of that in one board). Anyway, I tried to emulate it with my emulator software, but it seem's doesn't work fine if I double it in chain.
What about a boost in front of the stock Golden Dragon Overdrive? A SHO is very powerful.

[nocentelli]

I recall the Mountain King megalith is pretty heavy: I think it just has a two BJT fuzz core circuit, and there is a third boost stage you could omit to fit on a vero in a 1590A

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Thanks.
I know the Mountain King Megalith, I can simplify it omitting the switches and some pots, I guess.
I'm not sure that omitting the third stage I'll reduce enough the dimension of the board. I could try it.
But I guess it remains a fuzz. Once I'll build it, but in this case I think it will not good to me.

[nocentelli]

1590A and vero don't really go that well: Could you squeeze more in if you used perf/pad-per-hole?

[cjonesplay]

I like the Ritual Fuzz and the Acapulco Gold. One knob, a few parts, super-heavy. Either could be made to fit in a 1590A, I think.

[mug]

Hi, Astronaut's X Fuzz is super high gain and pretty small:
http://effectslayouts.blogspot.com/2016/03/deadastronaut-x-fuzz.html
Actually, effectslayouts has a whole list of 1590a sized layouts - many are simple boosters, but there's some interesting stuff there:
http://effectslayouts.blogspot.com/search/label/1590a

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Of course, I could try even some perfboard layout, if I found a small version. I prefer stripboard, but the Mockman I'll build will be on perfboard.
Acapulgo Gold was in my list, then I choose the Smash Drive because it has less parts, so it's smaller, then I didn't like too much the idea to use LM386, though then I realized on stripboard the Smash Drive. It was ok, it has the typical sound of the LM386, not everybody loves that. I like it, but not really much. It's just ok.
Ritual Fuzz sounds nice, but pretty fuzzy. It's not what I'm looking for now.
I have a classic Bazz Fuzz in a 1590B box, and I'd like to have some simple fuzz into a 1590A, too. But I guess the list for a good and small fuzz will be very long!
I already realized an extra features version of the X-Fuzz. For some reason, maybe for my low hfe 2N5088, it seems have less gain of the demo I heard, of the modified version sounds less aggressive. But overall I like it, as nasty and dirty fuzz sound.

I know effectslayout, indeed I visit it many times. I might do it again.

[Alex]

You could try this if you want:


It's a distortion/fuzz from the 80s but I can't find any video.
PCB and schematics are on the PedalPCB webiste.

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Thank you Alex. I saw this circuit in these last days. It should be a kind of fuzz. The problem is I can't find any demo of this pedal. Well, I could try it on breadboard if I have all the parts and to see if it's not so fuzzy, but I guess it is.
(The layout didn't say, but on the PedalPCB codument the transistors are BC547).

I'm thinking about what is the single stage or the way to get more distortion I can with just the necessary parts.

Transistors: BJT, JFET or MOSFTE probably can give enough distortion with the help of some diodes.
About the BJT I thining about Electra type of schematic, but the distortion is minimal (I tried on breadboard the Speaker Crancker that I like. I guess I'll take on count the Golden Dragon Drive for a gainy overdrive, too).
JFET? I guess one stage doesn't make too much, too. Something the early mentioned Golden Dragon Drive si not enough. Can I push in overdrive one single JFET stage?
MOSFET: I built the SHO, it has a lot of volume, but not too much overdrive at max gain. I built the board even of the Box of Rock, thath has three SHO, and neither this has too much gain, and of course the board is larger. Can I push in overdrive one single SHO stage? Maybe there's some way to push more gain using tow stages?

Opamp: I'm considering something like the Dist+, one single stage in the non-inverting input + diodes to the ground, with the gain maxed as possible.
A stock Rat can sounds pretty heavy, in a way it can be ok, for me. In the Rat case, if you know the schematic, I'm considering to try to build something small, excluding the JFET stage, I have to see if I can reach more or less the same response using from the feedback to the ground just one root resistor+cap, instead the stock pair, saving room.

[Alex]

Not sure how fuzzy it gets.
An MXR Distortion+ layout (with standing or 1/8 watt resistors) may fit in a 1590A box.

[Silver Blues]

You can try JFET mu-amps too, although those involve two transistors per stage.

[fx-fidden]

I'll see if I can try it. ;)

I'm going to build something on veroboard or perfobard. I never used the small 1/8w resistors. Is it really necessary? The sapce depends from the holes of the boards and 1/4w resistors are small enough, sometimes I place "stand up", so the 1/8 will safe just a little bit of space, but I have to use box film cap, and probably a 100uF or 47uF I usually find in the shops has an height of 11mm about.

Silver Blues, do you mean two JFET mu-amp stages? Probably I'll need more space.

(I drawn a Golden Dragon Overdrive with a SHO in front, but I guess it's too much big.
I just drawn the schematic and the layout, I didn't try even the Golden Dragon Overdrive stand alone, but it could be a nice pedal.)