# Shika Fuzz (EQD Hizumitas)



## Kroars (Jan 16, 2022)

Wow.  Just wow…. Built a couple of these last night and got to testing them around 9:00pm so unfortunately couldn’t play too loud but wow…. Used 2n3904 hfe around 280-320.  Definitely my favorite EQD circuit, definitely in my top three favorite fuzz circuits.  Hard to pick a favorite fuzz because they all sound a bit different and have different applications, but for your super thick, super saturated fuzz/distortion this one takes the cake for me.  Makes me want to build the Elk Sustainer it’s based off of.


----------



## Chuck D. Bones (Jan 16, 2022)

Nice build!

You know this is (just) another BMP, right?


----------



## Coda (Jan 16, 2022)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> Nice build!
> 
> You know this is (just) another BMP, right?



Yea, but this one is different…


----------



## jimilee (Jan 16, 2022)

It's another flavor, like more different flavors of chocolate. You can never have enough.


----------



## Chuck D. Bones (Jan 16, 2022)

I'm sure it sounds great.  I set myself up for disappointment when I expected EQD to make something new.


----------



## Kroars (Jan 16, 2022)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> Nice build!
> 
> You know this is (just) another BMP, right?


Thanks! Yeah, I know it’s nothing new but I really do like that circuit -always have.  This one does sound incredible to my ears.  Tons of fun to play.


----------



## Kroars (Jan 16, 2022)

Coda said:


> Yea, but this one is different…


“It’s like the same thing, only different”


----------



## Chuck D. Bones (Jan 16, 2022)

jimilee said:


> It's another flavor, like more different flavors of chocolate. You can never have enough.


I prefer the high-quality 72% Belgian chocolate.  Not those Tootsie Rolls that certain Booteek pedal builders make.


----------



## Kroars (Jan 16, 2022)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> I prefer the high-quality 72% Belgian chocolate.  Not those Tootsie Rolls that certain Booteek pedal builders make.


Cork sniffer


----------



## jimilee (Jan 16, 2022)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> I prefer the high-quality 72% Belgian chocolate.  Not those Tootsie Rolls that certain Booteek pedal builders make.


Of course, I wouldn't have anything less.


----------



## Barry (Jan 16, 2022)

You can never get enough Muff!


----------



## Coda (Jan 16, 2022)

Barry said:


> You can never get enough Muff!



Maya Angelou? Right?…or was it Hugh Hefner?…I often confuse them…


----------



## Mentaltossflycoon (Jan 16, 2022)

Lol, tootsie rolls.  That's actually a significant burn. Straight torched.


----------



## dawson (Jan 16, 2022)

Coda said:


> Yea, but this one is different…





Coda said:


> Maya Angelou? Right?…or was it Hugh Hefner?…I often confuse them…



^This guy's on FIRE!


----------



## Chuck D. Bones (Jan 16, 2022)

Barry said:


> You can never get enough Muff!


So is that like *I* can't get enough, but _*you *_can?


----------



## fig (Jan 17, 2022)

Great looking build! 

I know what you mean about _this_ one. Mine is permanently on a mini breadboard.....can't risk fixing whatever I plugged in wrong to make it sound so good.

Here I am rambling about _my_ old build on _your_ report (classy eh?).

Great looking build!


----------



## gheorge77 (Jan 21, 2022)

Just reporting in as well that this project is awesome. The low end on this is better than on any muff I've played before. I got a chance last night to crank it up through my 18 watt and even with the not-ideal handling of low end, it sounded glorious. I even did a short demo playing heavy rocks. I was inspired by that eqd demo video by Boris playing with this pedal. Great job!

Now I need to learn how to make a clean uv printed enclosure from Tayda for it.


----------



## mcluff (Feb 8, 2022)

gheorge77 said:


> Just reporting in as well that this project is awesome. The low end on this is better than on any muff I've played before. I got a chance last night to crank it up through my 18 watt and even with the not-ideal handling of low end, it sounded glorious. I even did a short demo playing heavy rocks. I was inspired by that eqd demo video by Boris playing with this pedal. Great job!
> 
> Now I need to learn how to make a clean uv printed enclosure from Tayda for it.


I just ordered a Tayda UV print (with gloss) for a purple enclosure that would look like this (circle dots are where the drill holes go). If you're interested I could send you the PDF I uploaded.

(Ignore the white outline around the artwork. I deleted that.)


----------



## gheorge77 (Feb 8, 2022)

Thanks but I'm working on my own UV print. It's a little tribute to Wata. I'll post my mockup as well. Pretty stoked about it.


----------



## gheorge77 (Feb 8, 2022)

Here is where I stand so far. Just debating whether to have a matte or glossy layer and whether I want to coat the entire face or just the printed areas.


----------



## Harry Klippton (Feb 8, 2022)

gheorge77 said:


> Here is where I stand so far. Just debating whether to have a matte or glossy layer and whether I want to coat the entire face or just the printed areas.


The image is looking a little smooshed vertically tbh


----------



## gheorge77 (Feb 8, 2022)

It does look better through inkscape but you may be right.


----------



## Harry Klippton (Feb 8, 2022)

gheorge77 said:


> It does look better through inkscape but you may be right.


Just wanted to point it out now in case there's time to fix it. Be a shame to wreck a cool graphic


----------



## Pauleo1214 (Feb 8, 2022)

Nice muff! As a hobby pedal builder, I'm fortunate enough that I can brag to my friends that I'm drowning in muff! Like Barry, said, you can't get enough muff and I for one, can't wait to build this muff!


----------



## jesuscrisp (Feb 9, 2022)

Just looked at the schematic and a teardown video of it. TBH it really is just a triangle muff with a slightly smaller highpass cap (3n3) in the tonestack and different pot values (50K instead of 100K). 

The actual Elk is a bit weirder with the tonestack (330p cap instead of the usual 4n one!), and of course being PNP. I feel like the specific one from Wata may in fact have been some factory error. Or just being authentic to the EHX origins and putting in whatever they had kicking around in the factory. Or EQD did in fact just build an ever so slightly different muff and slapped the Boris signature on it.


----------



## Coda (Feb 9, 2022)

jesuscrisp said:


> Just looked at the schematic and a teardown video of it. TBH it really is just a triangle muff with a slightly smaller highpass cap (3n3) in the tonestack and different pot values (50K instead of 100K).
> 
> The actual Elk is a bit weirder with the tonestack (330p cap instead of the usual 4n one!), and of course being PNP. I feel like the specific one from Wata may in fact have been some factory error. Or just being authentic to the EHX origins and putting in whatever they had kicking around in the factory. Or EQD did in fact just build an ever so slightly different muff and slapped the Boris signature on it.



EQD stated that the component values in Wata’s Elk had drifted over time. That isn’t surprising. I build an Elk based on the schematic, and while it was definitely in the ball park, it didn’t quite sound like Wata’s. I ended up adding a second 330p in parallel. Now it sounds even closer, though still not quite all the way there. Maybe I should add a third…


----------



## jesuscrisp (Feb 9, 2022)

Coda said:


> EQD stated that the component values in Wata’s Elk had drifted over time. That isn’t surprising. I build an Elk based on the schematic, and while it was definitely in the ball park, it didn’t quite sound like Wata’s. I ended up adding a second 330p in parallel. Now it sounds even closer, though still not quite all the way there. Maybe I should add a third…


I get drift, but 10x higher value? I feel like it more likely is a misplaced/mislabelled component ending up in an ultimately more usable tonestack. I mean just put the elk tonestack into the calculator, that thing really notches deep into the mids!


----------



## almondcity (Feb 9, 2022)

How confident are we in the schematic on the Kit Rae site? It definitely seems like that cap is an error, and every single thing on the internet references that schematic so there is no way to verify it


----------



## jimilee (Feb 9, 2022)

almondcity said:


> How confident are we in the schematic on the Kit Rae site? It definitely seems like that cap is an error, and every single thing on the internet references that schematic so there is no way to verify it


There’s a t thread on FSB where it was disassembled and the values recorded.


----------



## jesuscrisp (Feb 9, 2022)

jimilee said:


> There’s a t thread on FSB where it was disassembled and the values recorded.


But was it a single one that has ever been traced or at least a couple? I know the Elk fuzz is a bit more obscure, but if it was just one, there's no way to know which is the correct one, the one on the muff page or the one the  Hizumitas is based off.


----------



## Mir9 (Feb 9, 2022)

I'm also curious about this, because that's a lot to "drift". That recovery stage is also pretty loud.
Besides the Hizumitas, I built a Sustainar according to the KitRae values, and it sounded pretty good to me. I liked the weird tone section and thought it was different enough from  other Muff builds to warrant being housed.  I have so many modded Muffs with different values that sound good, but like you all, I'm also curious how accurate the Elk Sustainar schematic is.

This is a good thead where someone wants to buy a Sustainar he isn't sure is original.





						ilovefuzz.com • View topic - potential bootleg "mid 70s" Elk Fuzz Sustainars
					






					ilovefuzz.com
				




He posted pics where you can see a ceramic "331' capacitor:


https://imgur.com/a/6ZSZF


The thread starter is the EHX megafan featured here:   youtube.com/watch?v=yG2CSXRN8i4

On page 6, Kit Rae says he owns one, and traced a friends, along with seeing pictures of the inside of dozens. He talks about the 330pf substitution.

The Wren and Cuff Elk clone has a single ceramic cap that could say 330p if you squint:
https://www.effectsdatabase.com/model/wrencuff/whiteelk
He also mentions the dramatic drift over time on the product page:








						White Elk Small Foot — Wren and Cuff
					

HOW CAN SOMETHING WRONG SOUND SO RIGHT?    True hard-wire bypass    9V battery or 2.1mm adapter    Made in the USA    Lifetime warranty




					www.wrenandcuff.com
				




Tymguitars discusses cloning it and having to go by ear because of drift.








						The 20th anniversary Tym Big Mud Sustainar
					

So here's another one of my silly ideas for making a limited edition anniversary pedal to join the Fern St Fuzz and the 20th anniversary Buzzrite of which there will only be 20 of each made this year to celebrate. I did similar things for my 10th and 15th anniversaries with effects and guitars...




					tymguitars.com.au


----------



## Coda (Feb 9, 2022)

If one component is drifting than it’s highly likely others drifted as well. There really is no way to tell. Unless someone finds an original schematic, or Fig finally gets that time machine working again, the best anyone can do is tune by ear…and it’s a lot easier tuning one component to match possible drift than 20…


----------



## jimilee (Feb 9, 2022)

jesuscrisp said:


> But was it a single one that has ever been traced or at least a couple? I know the Elk fuzz is a bit more obscure, but if it was just one, there's no way to know which is the correct one, the one on the muff page or the one the  Hizumitas is based off.


It was a breakdown of the Hizumitas.


----------



## Feral Feline (Feb 9, 2022)

mcluff said:


> I just ordered a Tayda UV print (with gloss) for a purple enclosure that would look like this (circle dots are where the drill holes go). If you're interested I could send you the PDF I uploaded.
> 
> (Ignore the white outline around the artwork. I deleted that.)
> 
> View attachment 22757


What knobs are you going to use?

Even small ones look like they’ll hide too much of the antlers, which would be a shame on such a great graphic!


----------



## mcluff (Feb 13, 2022)

Feral Feline said:


> What knobs are you going to use?
> 
> Even small ones look like they’ll hide too much of the antlers, which would be a shame on such a great graphic!



Not sure! Knobs are always the weak spot in my designs to be honest. But yeah, probably something small, or clear plastic?  Thanks


----------



## Feral Feline (Feb 14, 2022)

@mcluff 
I’m a big fan of Davies 1900 (or clones thereof)…


----------



## gila_crisis (Feb 18, 2022)

Here it is, my Shika/Hizumitas!
Note the 4th knob: I swapped R19 for a 20k resistor with a 50k pot in series to control the mids (actually it works backwards like the tone knob... so you can say it's a mid scoop, eheh).

It sounds very cool indeed, it's thick and slugdy as a good muff should be and there's a lot of clarity also with the tone knob fully on the bass side. 
Plus... I think I never played such a loud BM: It has tons of output volume available on tap!!!! Such that unity gain is already around 9 o'clock.


----------



## jimilee (Feb 18, 2022)

Very cool.


----------



## cdwillis (Feb 19, 2022)

Hey. gila_crisis, what is going on with your power and ground connections there? You're not using the ground pads for the input/output jacks and it looks like you've got multiple wires hooked to the led.


----------



## gila_crisis (Feb 19, 2022)

cdwillis said:


> Hey. gila_crisis, what is going on with your power and ground connections there? You're not using the ground pads for the input/output jacks and it looks like you've got multiple wires hooked to the led.


It's just the wires that are a bit on the way in the picture, the LED is fine and directly wired to the board.
For simplicity, I don't use the Ground pads for the jacks, because those connect to the same Ground as the negative power supply pad. So I need only 1 wire connection on the negative of the power plug and from there I wire a bridge to the input jack socket Ground. The rest you don't need, as the aluminum box is taking care of the grounding.


----------

