This is the Francard Fuzz, which I have finished recently.
The original idea was to make a pedal based on Fran Blanche's 'Fuzzcard' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DMsNxn7kBg). The Fuzzcard was based on 'stacking' two LM386 chips, which is the basis of most of Fran's fuzzes. The two strange things about this are that the LM386 is an op-amp (so it is designed as an amplifier, not a fuzz!) and people don't 'stack' them in the way Fran does.
The main difference between my pedal and Fran's Fuzzcard is that Fran left pins 1 and 8 (of the chips) unconnected, so the chips had a fixed gain of 20. However, I connected pins 1 and 8 with a potentiometer (one per chip), so the chips have a variable gain (25 to 200).
Firstly, I made my own schematic and stripboard layout based on Fran's video. I then tested the circuit on breadboard, but it was difficult to test as breadboards can be noisy and the chips amplify the noise.
Eventually, I built the circuit and it sounded good, but there was a lot of 'hiss' and the fuzz was 'stuttery'. So I looked at a Peach Fuzz schematic (the Peach Fuzz is one of Fran's fuzzes) and worked out that one capacitor value in my pedal was probably incorrect. (I also put in a capacitor to eliminate noise, like on the Peach Fuzz.) I tested this on breadboard and it seemed to work.
I then applied those fixes to my pedal - it worked!
I also wanted to paint the case as a homage to Fran, so I used 'Hepcat' colours (light blue and white) and the 'F' from her signature. I also put in a purple LED, as it matches the colour of the closing credits of her videos.
The original idea was to make a pedal based on Fran Blanche's 'Fuzzcard' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DMsNxn7kBg). The Fuzzcard was based on 'stacking' two LM386 chips, which is the basis of most of Fran's fuzzes. The two strange things about this are that the LM386 is an op-amp (so it is designed as an amplifier, not a fuzz!) and people don't 'stack' them in the way Fran does.
The main difference between my pedal and Fran's Fuzzcard is that Fran left pins 1 and 8 (of the chips) unconnected, so the chips had a fixed gain of 20. However, I connected pins 1 and 8 with a potentiometer (one per chip), so the chips have a variable gain (25 to 200).
Firstly, I made my own schematic and stripboard layout based on Fran's video. I then tested the circuit on breadboard, but it was difficult to test as breadboards can be noisy and the chips amplify the noise.
Eventually, I built the circuit and it sounded good, but there was a lot of 'hiss' and the fuzz was 'stuttery'. So I looked at a Peach Fuzz schematic (the Peach Fuzz is one of Fran's fuzzes) and worked out that one capacitor value in my pedal was probably incorrect. (I also put in a capacitor to eliminate noise, like on the Peach Fuzz.) I tested this on breadboard and it seemed to work.
I then applied those fixes to my pedal - it worked!
I also wanted to paint the case as a homage to Fran, so I used 'Hepcat' colours (light blue and white) and the 'F' from her signature. I also put in a purple LED, as it matches the colour of the closing credits of her videos.
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