# Small-Format Fuzz Options?



## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

What's out there in terms of 1590A sized fuzzes? I'm aware of the JHS Mini Foot and Z.Vex Fuzzolo, but neither is quite what I'm looking for. I prefer Tonebender and Fuzz Face fuzzes to Big Muff style.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

Lumpy makes good pedals at great prices.


https://www.lumpystoneshop.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html


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## suproman (Mar 1, 2006)

KO Amps makes a few different fuzzes in the small enclosures, including a Tonebender: http://www.koamps.com/kosound-fuzz.html


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## Arcane (Oct 14, 2012)

hollowbody said:


> I prefer Tonebender and Fuzz Face fuzzes to Big Muff style.


Both of those circuits can fit into a 1590A.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

suproman said:


> KO Amps makes a few different fuzzes in the small enclosures, including a Tonebender: http://www.koamps.com/kosound-fuzz.html


that's right! I'd forgotten about them. thanks!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I get the weekly e-mails from effectsdatabase that announce new pedals. And I have to say there seems to be at least a half dozen 1590A-sized fuzzes released every stinking week. At the moment, there are easily 150 commercial products out there...seriously.

You can browse through this list of what was unveiled at the Franfurt Musikmesse recently: http://www.effectsdatabase.com/events/musikmesse/2015

between Hotone, Mooer, Moen, and at least a couple dozen other companies you and I have never heard of before (Tom's Line Engineering? Who dat?), you have more than enough choice to consider.

Having seen all the commercial products built into a 1590A, not to mention the thread on the diystompbox forum for people to show off their 1590A builds, I thought "What the hell", picked myself up a box and am trying my hand at fitting a Shin-Ei FY-2 into one. Certainly the tiny 9mm knobless pots like the one below make it possible. And the absence of any requirement to find space for a battery is helpful, too. I'm using a standard blue 3PDT stompswitch, but you can get smaller footprint ones now, too. The DC power jack come in twoform-factors: innies and outies. The outies have the threaded part sticking out of the box, freeing up even more space inside for the circuit. The little pushbutton switchs like you find on more and more pedals (also shown below) have a tiny footprint (smaller than an 8-pin chip). And finally, if you use 1/8w resistors and small ceramic capacitors, you can fit a lot in there. If you go surface mount, you can fit a ton of stuff inside.


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## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

That is a tiny box. Why do you want one that small? Don't have enough room for a bigger pedal?


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

dcole said:


> That is a tiny box. Why do you want one that small?  Don't have enough room for a bigger pedal?


Yup. I don't use fuzz enough to justify dedicating more than a tiny part of my pedalboard to it, but I could definitely use it in a couple songs. I basically don't want to go bigger than a PT-Jr., due to constraints on stage size, our set-up requirements and the size of my vehicle.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The trend towards tiny enclosures is partly prompted by the increasing number of effects players like to have on hand, and their inability to be able to easily reach and step on the right switch, and desire to avoid tripping over their pedalboard, and hauling something that weighs as much as their amp and cab together. I suspect this is why any of the manufacturers that DO make tiny pedals end up making an entire catalogue of them, instead of just making the ones that might be different. I guess the idea is that the consumer simply trots into the showroom or website, and orders a whole armful of everything from the same maker.

What makes it possible to have a nice neat row of miniatures is all the things I listed earlier: small pots, small switches, no battery requirements, surface-mount.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

mhammer said:


> The trend towards tiny enclosures is partly prompted by the increasing number of effects players like to have on hand, and their inability to be able to easily reach and step on the right switch, and desire to avoid tripping over their pedalboard, and hauling something that weighs as much as their amp and cab together. I suspect this is why any of the manufacturers that DO make tiny pedals end up making an entire catalogue of them, instead of just making the ones that might be different. I guess the idea is that the consumer simply trots into the showroom or website, and orders a whole armful of everything from the same maker.
> 
> What makes it possible to have a nice neat row of miniatures is all the things I listed earlier: small pots, small switches, no battery requirements, surface-mount.


Yup, for instance, here's my board:









I'm already planning on adding the new EHX Nano Pog into the space between the Plexitone and the Timeline. I'm hoping to replace the Tone Press with a Mooer Yellow Comp and that will give me space to add a fuzz.

I'm in a cover band that does everything from 50's Motown to current Top 40, so I need a really flexible rig. The Strymons give me that luxury, but I've been wanting a Pog forever and now that the size has come down a bit, that will help. But like mhammer said, I don't want a giant board that weighs a ton. This one already weighs enough as it is and I definitely can't take up any more space on-stage.


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## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

mhammer said:


> What makes it possible to have a nice neat row of miniatures is all the things I listed earlier: small pots, small switches, no battery requirements, surface-mount.


I adopted Zvex's style of mounting the PCB when building my 2 fuzz pedals. I find it works well and anyone using this layout style should be able to build a fuzz that fits in the 1590A size. Sorry I am no help in regards to production pedals as I don't have any.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

wouldn't a PT-1 hold all that a bit better, without adding much size?

I run a PT-2 and it could hold a few nano pedals if I slammed everything together, but as it is it's pretty loaded up.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Budda said:


> wouldn't a PT-1 hold all that a bit better, without adding much size? I run a PT-2 and it could hold a few nano pedals if I slammed everything together, but as it is it's pretty loaded up.


I have a PT1 as well (actually, I have 2 Jrs, a Mini and a PT1), but I really want to use the Jr. Anything bigger and its just too damned heavy and big to carry around on top of my amp, guitars, accessories, etc.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Cant argue prefences! I'd deal with the weight for the space, but that is me.


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