Fuzz Stacking Fun: Colorsound Powerboost, Fuzzface and Green Ringer DIY Clones

Using a booster, fuzz and octave devices together affords a lot of flexibility over tone.

Single Coils (Squier Strat)
0:00 Preamble
0:53 Clean tone
1:02 Powerboost on
1:20 Treble boost, mild overdrive
2:09 More Drive
2:57 Turning the Colorsound into a fuzz
4:21 Powerboost into Fuzzface
6:00 Powerboost into Green Ringer
6:30 About the Face and Green Ringer
7:45 Powerboost into Green Ringer, Synth sounds, kinda
9:06 Traditional octave fuzz
10:00 Everything on 11
10:50 Humbuckers of doom
11:45 Humbuckers and fuzzfaces don't get on
14:40 Let's try a different pedal order
17:04 Summing up


In this video I'm using the Colorsound Powerboost, you can find the veroboard layout used to make this pedal here: https://dirtboxlayouts.blogspot.com/2...

The Powerboost was probably most famously used by Dave Gilmour (you can hear it all over 'Live at Pompeii'). The schematic advises BC184L transistors, I've put BC108C's in there. They roar more IMO. I've dropped a quick clip in there of horrible quality with Jeff Beck showing his off. Note that his is the later 9V 'Overdriver' version. They're the same but the 18V has more headroom.

You can find the vero board layout for the 18V charge pump here :http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2...

Gilmour often used his Powerboost into a Fuzzface and the one I'm using is from Das Musikding: https://www.musikding.de/The-Face-Sil...

(they make a germanium version should you so desire too).

Finally I'm using the guitar PCB 'Emerald Ring' https://www.musikding.de/green-ringer which is an octave up device that likes to sit after a fuzz or booster.

You'll notice I simply didn't have room for LEDs in this set up so you can see on screen when the various effects are engaged and what order they're in.

Recording wise I used a very simple set up. Into a cheap ART Tube Preamp, my AKAI soundcard and and old drawmner DL221 on the insert acting as a limiter (the powerboost is LOUD, the limiter was just to stop any distortion). In Reaper I used Amplitube's Sunn amplifier on a pretty flat and clean setting.

I could have used a tube amp and cranked it, and it's true that something special happens with the interplay of a tube amp and a fuzzface. However for ease of recording DI won out this time.