Old goofball USSR era fuzz I repaired a while back

[Rambozo96]

Around 2017 or so I received this oddball fuzz box made in a factory in Kazan Russia which at the time (late 70’s or so) was the Soviet Union. I got it from a Facebook friend in the Ukraine that collected Soviet synths and found this thing in a second hand shop for next to nothing. 3 weeks later I finally received the pedal to find it was stone dead and someone haphazardly soldered about the cheapest plastic 1/4” jacks you could find and other less than stellar attempts at repair. The construction of the unit was overbuilt where it didn’t matter and rather janky in places that it did matter. After somehow locating a schematic and undoing the past repairmans attempt to wire it up for regular 1/4” jacks (the Soviets and East Germany seemed to have liked those 5 pin din connectors.) I was able to get it running. The tone circuit is pretty lousy as there is no final change until the end of the sweep so it was more of a tone switch and the unit outputs just a few notches below unity gain so probably not well suited for the modern player but it gets that Smashing Pumpkins style wall of fuzz. I was able to reuse the original footswitch to convert it to true bypass, it looked like something you’d find on an old lamp in the livingroom but it works and I didn’t feel like doing much more modifications than I needed to on this thing.

 

[GAD]

Glorious!

 

[Rambozo96]

Even though I wouldn’t gig with this until I have made a proper clone with some improvements I keep this one around for full out fuzz. The volume control is on the output which means you pretty much have it on full blast no matter how it’s set unless you turn the guitars volume down. Then it surprisingly cleans up nicely.

 

[Default]

Sounds pretty good to me!

 

[Canard]

@Rambozo96

Here's the guy who was probably the coolest dude from behind the Iron Curtain - Czesław Niemen from Poland.

Plug back into your new toy and add some appropriate lead fills.

 

[Canard]

OK ... one more stab at a response ..



Metallica covers Niemen (and not so well ... I might add)

 

[SFIV1967]

Never heard about Czesław Niemen from Poland but the song Metallica is covering is also the official anthem of Polish soccer club Legia Warszawa, so it is regularly sung by the fans and you hear that Metallica doesn't need to sing! The fans know "Sen o Warszawie" !
Ralf

 

[Canard]

Never heard about Czesław Niemen from Poland but the song Metallica is covering is the official anthem of Polish soccer club Legia Warszawa, so it is regularly sung by the fans and you hear that Metallica doesn't need to sing! The fans know "Sen o Warszawie" !
Ralf

It's a Niemen song.

Metallica’s ‘Dream about Warsaw’ officially online

The latest concert of Metallica in Warsaw took place on August 21, 2019.

polandin.com

Does this all count as a veer?

Veer or not, it is a long way away from the cool retro Soviet fuzz pedal.

 

[SFIV1967]

Back to Soviet pedals !

 

[Canard]

Back to Soviet pedals !

 

[Guildedagain]

I have this odd pedal called The Soviet, a clean boost with an overdrive switch, can't quite remember what's in it. Picked it up at a pawnshop DOA. Tracked down the builder (this is years ago), some college kid in Missoula, sent it to him and he fixed it. I've actually kept this pedal over dozens of others.

As you can see there's not much inside, but it has an insane db boost - unity is at 10 am and actually works as an attenuater under that which is a fantastic feature when you need it quiet (so it's an underdrive?) and the second boost is spectacularly clean and detailed as well.

Somehow The Soviet seems to be channeling some Rising Sun in the graphics?

 

[Rambozo96]

I have this odd pedal called The Soviet, a clean boost with an overdrive switch, can't quite remember what's in it. Picked it up at a pawnshop DOA. Tracked down the builder (this is years ago), some college kid in Missoula, sent it to him and he fixed it. I've actually kept this pedal over dozens of others.

As you can see there's not much inside, but it has an insane db boost - unity is at 10 am and actually works as an attenuater under that which is a fantastic feature when you need it quiet (so it's an underdrive?) and the second boost is spectacularly clean and detailed as well.

Somehow The Soviet seems to be channeling some Rising Sun in the graphics?

Looks to be a very basic Opamp based booster. Nothing at all wrong with that of course because that’s quite literally what an old MXR Microamp was. For the Distortion Plus they set the gain a bit higher added clipping diodes and a volume control. Looks way better made than the Soviet stuff I worked on in the past, my friend from Illinois collects various old USSR pedals and I was the only one dumb enough to accept them for repairs. They were usually an odd combination of bulky and fragile.

 

[Guildedagain]

There's a guy over there (a bunch probably) that were making fantastic fuzzboxes, I wanted one so bad. I'll have to check back into that. I also have a copy of the grey DOD OD250, great copy from a guy over there somewhere called an ODD OVERDRIVE PREAMP 741 , but it also has a side boost switch that compresses like crazy, 1/3 volume with great saturation. That one was #10 the guy built, it was only $75 way back when I got it, and I won't get rid of it. It's got some weird 9v jack, looks like a regular 9V jack but it isn't, could be reversed polarity.

I just recently switched everything around because of the SF-4, went to that Roland amp with a lot more headroom, running into an pair of 70's 25W Celestions. I started listening to all of my OD pedals again, and nothing even comes close to this monster that take a 12AX7, 12AT7, 12AU7, AY7, etc.

I also have like 20 of these tubes, RCA's, Sylvania's, Marshall, Fender (GT), a handful of killer vintage R factory Sovtek, Mullard, Telefunken, each one has a different tone. The pedal (very early SIB Varidrive from 1997) has click stop pots for absolute Gain and Volume reference settings, which is critical for accurate comparisons. Controls are; Gain, Volume, triple EQ, you can see the tube glowing while you play.

It actually makes a fantastic tester to hear what a preamp tube sounds like before you even put it in. Things like is it low gain and very clean, or is it very high gain with audible static? Just little details like that and also tonal characteristics.

I usually have too many pedals... The yellow Guyatone ROLLY Phase Sonix BOX fourth from the right top drawer said to have been at one time the possession of David Gilmour. This is the best use of an old dresser yet ;]

Here's the chip inside the ODD 741 pedal

And what it looks like on the outside. I noticed you have an OD250 in your pedals. I had one of the early gray ones, paid like $20 at a pawn shop ;] Sold it for big bucks later. It actually was total magic. Very underrated, these old DOD boxes.

 

[Rambozo96]

There's a guy over there (a bunch probably) that were making fantastic fuzzboxes, I wanted one so bad. I'll have to check back into that. I also have a copy of the grey DOD OD250, great copy from a guy over there somewhere called an ODD OVERDRIVE PREAMP 741 , but it also has a side boost switch that compresses like crazy, 1/3 volume with great saturation. That one was #10 the guy built, it was only $75 way back when I got it, and I won't get rid of it. It's got some weird 9v jack, looks like a regular 9V jack but it isn't, could be reversed polarity.

I just recently switched everything around because of the SF-4, went to that Roland amp with a lot more headroom, running into an pair of 70's 25W Celestions. I started listening to all of my OD pedals again, and nothing even comes close to this monster that take a 12AX7, 12AT7, 12AU7, AY7, etc.

I also have like 20 of these tubes, RCA's, Sylvania's, Marshall, Fender (GT), a handful of killer vintage R factory Sovtek, Mullard, Telefunken, each one has a different tone. The pedal (very early SIB Varidrive from 1997) has click stop pots for absolute Gain and Volume reference settings, which is critical for accurate comparisons. Controls are; Gain, Volume, triple EQ, you can see the tube glowing while you play.

It actually makes a fantastic tester to hear what a preamp tube sounds like before you even put it in. Things like is it low gain and very clean, or is it very high gain with audible static? Just little details like that and also tonal characteristics.

I usually have too many pedals... The yellow Guyatone ROLLY Phase Sonix BOX fourth from the right top drawer said to have been at one time the possession of David Gilmour. This is the best use of an old dresser yet ;]

Here's the chip inside the ODD 741 pedal

And what it looks like on the outside. I noticed you have an OD250 in your pedals. I had one of the early gray ones, paid like $20 at a pawn shop ;] Sold it for big bucks later. It actually was total magic. Very underrated, these old DOD boxes.

At one point in time I collected DOD pedals from the same era as my yellow 250. With the chip for the grey spec being the most common single opamp you can get I could not justify the money a grey spec commanded. I had a guy send one in for repair and it was a hell of a overdrive but oddly enough I preferred my old 81’ 250 I paid maybe $40 for but it was stone dead when I bought it. No power, original Carling switch broke right when I was testing it to make sure it worked and the jacks were heavily tarnished inside. But it didn’t take me long to get it running again. I also have a 1978’ DOD 201 that hasn’t left my pedalboard the 6 years I owned it. 2 stage phasers in my mind are underrated even though the only 2 stage offerings I’m aware of is the MXR Phase 45 and the DOD 201 which were very similar with the main changes being component values here and there. For a stronger phase sound I always tried to keep an old Dearmond 1900 pedal phaser. I had 3 in my life, for some reason I wasn’t quick to realize I liked them and they weren’t really common pedals so I bought a third one and have no plans to get rid of it. I been working on a pedal thats going to be two tube preamps of the Maesteo EP-2 that can be run in series or parallel. People always raved about the SS JFET loaded EP-3 preamp and its many clones but not much is said about the pre in the EP-2. I don’t know if it’s because making such a preamp in a stompbox is somewhat unwieldy and poses challenges for adequately powering it up seeing a vacuum tube’s heater draws considerable amounts of current. I need to get around to finishing that Maestro pre, I think I have been working on it off and on since probably May but from around July up until just last month I didn’t do much at all with the soldering iron unless it was a repair for someone else in which that was more or less an obligation.

 

[Rambozo96]

Once I figure out how to use those inexpensive $15 115/230v to 12v mini toroidal transformers I imagine I’ll go hog wild on tube based pedals. The main stickler that would make it a hassle on a modern board is the current draw and most tube based pedals take a 12vac wall wart.

 

[Quantum Strummer]

Oooh, I love the DOD 250! I had a gray one once but sold it due to an offer I couldn't refuse. My current oldie is from c. 1981 (edit: typo, should be 1991) and has been modded to the gray-era circuit, plus it's now true bypass with a new footswitch & added On/Off LED.

The 201 Phasor is also great. I currently have the most recent reissue but had an oldie long ago.

-Dave-

 

[Guildedagain]

Nice, with an LED so you can get more of a sense of wtf is going on in live conditions ;]

This was my old one, really the real deal that one was.

Found a picture of it, which led down the rabbit hole of other pedals, including Tycobrahe Octavia and Parapedal and others, enjoy.

MXR Distortion + into 1975 Marshall JMP50 w/4x12 cab. 4 input Marshall heads are supreme pedal platforms, pretty soon came two input heads with MV, and the JCM800, both actually horrible compared to the 4 input non MV amps, in terms of clean tones.

Heavy guitars, heavy amps, heavy sound. Looks like a BOSS Japan OD-1 driving an SD-1 (great combo) into a DOD Analog Delay for wetness.

 

[cupric]

I've had several older pedals. The above examples reminded me Of my lack of alchemy with electric music. I've always wanted to be able to use a pedalboard, but my ear always worked against me. I was a ok clean electric guitar player, but would get lost in the sonic mayhem of added effects. I was always amazed at guys who could hear subtle differences in the mix of a all out jam. I could not.
I realized I'm just a frustrated acoustic player. (Or a fairly clean stra t going through a Twin Reverb for crunch and headroom). I am no Gary Moore......

 

[Guildedagain]

I'm still learning about pedals. Clean tones are super important, if you still want to sound like a guitar. The best tone you can have is a touch sensitive tube amp that goes from clean to breakup at the touch of your fingers. That is the technique of the masters.

 

[Rambozo96]

some vintage stuff I collected through the years. I had much much more but sold a bunch off to buy a D-35 as I don’t play electric guitar much these days.