the times of stompbox yore.
One such pedal that almost cuts the
mustard is the Colorsound Bass Fuzz.
In 1973, Colorsound offered no bass-
centric pedals, and performed the
aforementioned capacitor swap job on
its Supa Tone Bender, which was itself
a modifi ed Big Muff circuit (but missing
the recovery stage). Its low-frequency
retention involves the above method of
sucking out low end, then adding it back
in. Though this pedal does it well, it’s still
a little on the muddy side. I have fi xed
this circuit considerably by considerably
changing the tone circuit and adding a
clean blend, along with a couple other
handy features. You’re going to love it, and
dear thundergunner, you’re going to build
it.
First, I advise you to take a look at the
disclaimer:
Neither I, nor Tone Report Weekly
bears any responsibility for any kind
of personal or property damage that
may occur as a result of the instructions
provided herein. Legal mumbo-jumbo
PARTS NEEDED:
RESISTORS
• 2x 100 ohm
• 1x 1k
• 1x 2.2k
• 1x 3.3k
38
aside, I ask that readers be familiar with
a soldering iron and its accompanying
safety procedures before trying
anything listed here. Furthermore, if you
fi re the pedal up and it does not work, it
will need troubleshooting. Assuming the
components are not damaged, the pedal
will work. I built this very unit according
to these instructions and it fi red up,
fi rst shot, so I know the instructions
are correct.
Some circuit notes:
I’ve added a clean blend circuit that ranges
from completely dry to completely wet.
Bass players will typically turn the blend
to the maximum, then back off to taste.
I’ve also installed an “input gain” trimpot
that will help prep active pickups for the
fuzziness. Bypassing the tone circuit adds
a considerable degree of midrange, so I
turned the tone control into a midrange
fi lter. I also added a toggle to switch from
the stock silicon diodes to more open
and raw green LEDs. Simply put, it’s a
thunderous bass destruction device.
• 1x 4.7k
• 2x 8.2k
• 1x 10k
• 2x 15k
• 5x 100k
• 3x 470k
Clean Blend
Fixes
Everything:
Build Essential
Your Own
DIY
//
Th e First
Pedal Geeks:
Eff Colorsound
ects for Dub Bass Fuzz
TONE // TALK