Pearly Gator
06-07-2006, 02:20 PM
This is a review of the two transistor fuzz kit available from Electronics Express (http://www.elexp.com/kit_2026.htm) for $9.30. I've also seen it on eBay for $9.99. Schematic (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/pearlygator/Schematics/EKIFuzzKit.jpg). I have no affiliation with the manufacturer or distributor.
The kit is marked "EKI Fuzz Kit" and comes in a zip lock baggie. The instructions are well written on two sheets and easy to follow. The skill needed to assemble it would be the BEGINNER level. This is an excellent first effect to build. If you can solder on a PCB without lifting up the traces, you will have no trouble assembling it. All the parts are of good quality.
Before putting it together, examine all the parts. Mine came with the wrong value potentiometer (100K S/B 50K) and wrong switch. (2 Pole 3 position S/B DPDT) I had the correct parts in my pulls box so this was a minor annoyance. If you order one of these, ask them to examine the kit for you. The jacks did not look like the plastic bodied type in the pictorial but were open metal-fiber types as seen on the web page. This was no problem. The kit includes solder and pre-stripped hookup wire. Though I will mod it later and install it in a metal box with a true bypass stomp switch, I just built it per the instructions to see how it would work following the instructions.
It took 15 minutes to populate the board with the components and another 20 minutes to wire up the potentiometer, jacks, battery and switch. I plugged it between a Strat and a Marshall SS practice amp, applied power and I worked immediately. Cool.
Sonically, it's a fuzz for sure. It is very buzzy and funky and will put you in the Innagoddalavida zone handily. Sustain? Ummm… no. It’s a fuzz. The tone control has a good range and good sweep but works backwards. Clock-wise rotation mellows it out and counter clockwise it attracts insects. The output level could be a little higher and replacing the R7/R8 divider with a 100K potentiometer will be a future mod. Rolling back the volume control of the Strat cleans it up just like a Fuzz Face. It’s character is very similar in tone to a Fulltone 70’s fuzz with silicon transistors.
The EKI Fuzz makes an excellent first kit and was a lot of fun to build. It reminds me of those circuits we used to see in Radio Electronics Magazines in the 1960's. Want an economical and fun pedal kit? I recommend this one.
Later,
Gator
The kit is marked "EKI Fuzz Kit" and comes in a zip lock baggie. The instructions are well written on two sheets and easy to follow. The skill needed to assemble it would be the BEGINNER level. This is an excellent first effect to build. If you can solder on a PCB without lifting up the traces, you will have no trouble assembling it. All the parts are of good quality.
Before putting it together, examine all the parts. Mine came with the wrong value potentiometer (100K S/B 50K) and wrong switch. (2 Pole 3 position S/B DPDT) I had the correct parts in my pulls box so this was a minor annoyance. If you order one of these, ask them to examine the kit for you. The jacks did not look like the plastic bodied type in the pictorial but were open metal-fiber types as seen on the web page. This was no problem. The kit includes solder and pre-stripped hookup wire. Though I will mod it later and install it in a metal box with a true bypass stomp switch, I just built it per the instructions to see how it would work following the instructions.
It took 15 minutes to populate the board with the components and another 20 minutes to wire up the potentiometer, jacks, battery and switch. I plugged it between a Strat and a Marshall SS practice amp, applied power and I worked immediately. Cool.
Sonically, it's a fuzz for sure. It is very buzzy and funky and will put you in the Innagoddalavida zone handily. Sustain? Ummm… no. It’s a fuzz. The tone control has a good range and good sweep but works backwards. Clock-wise rotation mellows it out and counter clockwise it attracts insects. The output level could be a little higher and replacing the R7/R8 divider with a 100K potentiometer will be a future mod. Rolling back the volume control of the Strat cleans it up just like a Fuzz Face. It’s character is very similar in tone to a Fulltone 70’s fuzz with silicon transistors.
The EKI Fuzz makes an excellent first kit and was a lot of fun to build. It reminds me of those circuits we used to see in Radio Electronics Magazines in the 1960's. Want an economical and fun pedal kit? I recommend this one.
Later,
Gator