# Dream Fuzz (OpAmp Big Muff)



## MichaelW (Oct 8, 2022)

Double dipping build reports today.

This one went really quick and smooth.

Interesting that there's been a bunch of BMP build reports in the last 24 hours hahaha.
As part of my "Muff-ducation" this is my latest Muff sampling effort.

I really didn't know what to expect as I've never played one before nor heard one (knowingly that is...)
Wow, this thing really takes your head off!
Tons of sustain and a wall of over the top gain. Not as articulate as the "Triangle" version that I built but very sweet for singing single line solo'ing
or laying down a blanket of sound.

Another Tayda sand enclosure. This board fits very nicely in a 1590B. I did not have a lo profile 220u cap so the board is tilted a bit on the right side and the cap "just" squeaks in with the back cover on. And another nod to @fig with the "hot dog" 10k resistor.


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## Dan0h (Oct 8, 2022)

Looking good. I might have to do a op muff. Haven’t tried one before.


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## Coda (Oct 8, 2022)

Very nice. The Op-amp Muff is a special one. It’s definitely a Muff, but there is something a bit different about it. I find it one of the more useful BMP circuits…


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## MichaelW (Oct 8, 2022)

The tone stack defeat toggle is pretty interesting. Definitely a different pedal with the tone stack in or out. Sounds really good both ways but maybe a bit more "old school" with the tone stack out of the circuit.


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## cdwillis (Oct 8, 2022)

That looks really good. I like that textured powdercoat. It looks really classy with the cream knobs. I built one a while back and was a little disappointed, so I pulled some parts off and replaced them with sockets to tweak it more. I have another board to build with the modded circuit, once I figure out what to use. I need to get the socketed pedal back out and see what I can do.


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## szukalski (Oct 8, 2022)

What jacks are those? I am using Lumbergs in my 1590B builds but they’re pricey for average pedals..


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## Bricksnbeatles (Oct 8, 2022)

Awesome! This reminds me that I need to build an op amp muff at some point! Adrian Belew used a V5 op amp muff with the tone bypassed and an MXR EQ mid-boosted after it for a lot of the bowie and talking heads era stuff


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## Route14 (Oct 8, 2022)

szukalski said:


> What jacks are those? I am using Lumbergs in my 1590B builds but they’re pricey for average pedals..


They look like Neutrik Rean open frame jacks. They work great and cheaper than Switchcraft and Lumberg jacks. Tayda has a switchcraft 111x copy that is super cheap and works pretty well.


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## MichaelW (Oct 8, 2022)

szukalski said:


> What jacks are those? I am using Lumbergs in my 1590B builds but they’re pricey for average pedals..


They're actually GLS jacks. Cheaper than Nuetriks and I actually like them better. Not as good as Switchcraft but less than 1/2 the price.
The fiber wafers are nice and thick and extend a wee bit past the collar so that you can cram them against the enclosure and not have to worry about grounding out. (As opposed to the Neutrik Reans that I've had some issues with, you have to have them turned "just so" so it doesn't ground out).

I tried them because they were cheap, but they've become my preferred jacks at this point.

The only problem I've had with them is that the plating on the solder lugs don't like to take solder. So I have to smear a little flux on them before soldering the wires.


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## Roberman (Oct 8, 2022)

Great info on the GLS jacks, I'll give those a try. I bounced around btwn a few different brands before settling on the switchcrafts bc the quality is so high but I'm not gonna lie, over 100 builds in and it gets harder and harder to justify $5 of jacks per pedal


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## MichaelW (Oct 8, 2022)

Roberman said:


> Great info on the GLS jacks, I'll give those a try. I bounced around btwn a few different brands before settling on the switchcrafts bc the quality is so high but I'm not gonna lie, over 100 builds in and it gets harder and harder to justify $5 of jacks per pedal


Yah, there's Switchcraft then there's all the rest. But I was running into the same issue, I've been building so many pedals that it was getting expensive.  And honestly I really don't need the ruggedness of the Switchcraft jacks for my own use. If I were selling pedals or I was gigging regularly, I'd be using Switchcraft for sure.


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## Route14 (Oct 9, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> Yah, there's Switchcraft then there's all the rest. But I was running into the same issue, I've been building so many pedals that it was getting expensive.  And honestly I really don't need the ruggedness of the Switchcraft jacks for my own use. If I were selling pedals or I was gigging regularly, I'd be using swithcraft for sure.


I’m in the same boat. I love the switchcraft jacks but for my use I don’t need them in most builds. Thanks for the info on the GLS jacks. I’ve purchased a fair amount of their cables and it’s all decent quality. To be honest, other than the low profile aspect I don’t like the Lumbergs. I don’t like the way the tabs are oriented and the jacks are really tight, which on a pedal board is probably great but when you are switching things in and out it gets annoying trying to remove right angle patch cables.


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## MichaelW (Oct 9, 2022)

Route14 said:


> I’m in the same boat. I love the switchcraft jacks but for my use I don’t need them in most builds. Thanks for the info on the GLS jacks. I’ve purchased a fair amount of their cables and it’s all decent quality. To be honest, other than the low profile aspect I don’t like the Lumbergs. I don’t like the way the tabs are oriented and the jacks are really tight, which on a pedal board is probably great but when you are switching things in and out it gets annoying trying to remove right angle patch cables.


Be careful with what you say about Lumbergs around here….the Lumbergers are quite defensive about them hahaha. I personally don’t use them unless I absolutely have to (E.g, the Sushi box FX tube builds). I don’t care for them. I think they’re cheaply made and the spring tension of the Jack holders are easily over bent. Really the only benefit for me is the lower “depth” of how far that plug  sticks into the jack. The “always out of stock” status and over priced cost just make it that much of a no brainer for me to move on. Having said that, I need to order a couple for my Echo Foxtrot build.


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## xefned (Oct 9, 2022)

You're killing it lately!

I love the look of the red sand finish! I think they're fairly new at Tayda so thanks for our first sneak peek.


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## MichaelW (Oct 9, 2022)

xefned said:


> You're killing it lately!
> 
> I love the look of the red sand finish! I think they're fairly new at Tayda so thanks for our first sneak peek.


It helps the illusion when I never post my total fails.......... 😄


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## xefned (Oct 9, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> It helps the illusion when I never post my total fails.......... 😄



We really should have a FAIL Thread around here. I could single-handedly fill it up with early perfboard projects from Craig Anderton books.


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## Route14 (Oct 9, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> Be careful with what you say about Lumbergs around here….the Lumbergers are quite defensive about them hahaha. I personally don’t use them unless I absolutely have to (E.g, the Sushi box FX tube builds). I don’t care for them. I think they’re cheaply made and the spring tension of the Jack holders are easily over bent. Really the only benefit for me is the lower “depth” of how far that plug  sticks into the jack. The “always out of stock” status and over priced cost just make it that much of a no brainer for me to move on. Having said that, I need to order a couple for my Echo Foxtrot build.


I forgot about that issue. I've had them get bent out of shape too.  Yeah I've been careful about voicing that opinion!!! But it's just my opinion. We all have stuff that works for us and not for others. I bought a ton of the Lumbergs a few years ago since they were cheaper than the 111Xs and a lot of people were using them. Now I try to avoid them or reuse them in builds that are specifically designed around them. If you ever need a pair let me know, I'd be happy to pull them out of a build to send to you! It would be a great excuse to upgrade the jacks in some of my builds using them!!!


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## xefned (Oct 9, 2022)

If a Lumberg is too close to a PCB and you jam a jack into it anyway, you'll bend the tip to the point of dysfunction.

It's user error, and it's not Lumberg's fault. But it's a pretty bad feeling until you bend it back into shape with pliers. 

I still like Lumbergs, but they're not the end-all, be-all input jack.


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## MichaelW (Oct 15, 2022)

@Roberman @Route14 

Just fyi, I bought a couple of these jacks from LMS to check out.

They look identical to the GLS jacks and its the lowest price I've seen anywhere yet. (under $1ea if you buy 25).

They look solid. I'm going to use them in my next build.


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## Coda (Oct 15, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> @Roberman @Route14
> 
> Just fyi, I bought a couple of these jacks from LMS to check out.
> 
> ...



I’ve been using those for years. They are great…


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## MichaelW (Oct 15, 2022)

Coda said:


> I’ve been using those for years. They are great…


Awesome, that's great to hear!


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## cdwillis (Oct 15, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> @Roberman @Route14
> 
> Just fyi, I bought a couple of these jacks from LMS to check out.
> 
> ...



I've been using these for a while with no issues:









						6.35mm 1/4" Mono Chassis Socket / Jack
					

Get It Fast - Same Day Shipping




					www.taydaelectronics.com
				




Really hard to beat for under $1 and they're actually decent.


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## MichaelW (Oct 15, 2022)

cdwillis said:


> I've been using these for a while with no issues:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Is that an optical aberration or do those look like they are shorter overall in length compared the typical Switchcraft? Would be cool if they were.


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## Coda (Oct 15, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> Is that an optical aberration or do those look like they are shorter overall in length compared the typical Switchcraft? Would be cool if they were.



I believe they are a little shorter. I have a few pedals where the jacks are different sizes…


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## andare (Nov 8, 2022)

I find the Lumbergs to be less sturdy than the Switchcrafts. Luckily most pedals that see frequent use are probably permanently plugged in on a pedalboard so it's no biggie.


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## xefned (Nov 8, 2022)

andare said:


> I find the Lumbergs to be less sturdy than the Switchcrafts. Luckily most pedals that see frequent use are probably permanently plugged in on a pedalboard so it's no biggie.



Switchcrafts are definitely more sturdy. I dig their vice-like grip, especially the stereo jacks.

I preferred the Lumbergs when they were $1.50 each. Now that they're getting up in the Switchcraft cost territory, there's less price-to-performance reason to go with them.


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## andare (Nov 9, 2022)

xefned said:


> Switchcrafts are definitely more sturdy. I dig their vice-like grip, especially the stereo jacks.
> 
> I preferred the Lumbergs when they were $1.50 each. Now that they're getting up in the Switchcraft cost territory, there's less price-to-performance reason to go with them.


Switchcrafts cost the equivalent of 5 euros here in Poland, Lumbergs about 2 euros. They are both cheaper from Germany with 8 euro shipping so I'm putting together a larger order to justify the cost. I need the Switchcrafts for the guitars I gig but for most pedals I use cheap encased jacks.


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