Busy Little (procrastinated) Bee

[jessenator]

Here's number two in the paint-laser-etch series, the first project I assembled* after coming back to DIY! The Madbean Bumblebee!



Went with some soviet era P416A germs in this one instead of tracking down OC75s. I had another set (GT108G) I didn't even try, oddly enough, mostly because the leads were so thin they didn't seat in the sockets. No idea what I'll do with those.

Overall I like the sound and it's slightly more nuanced than a good ol' two-transistor fuzz where your tone options are "just crank it" to get something usable.

Forgive the paint mishaps.







*this was originally wired over a year ago with ...whatever I had sitting around and looked like absolute trash, so like the DTTK prototype I shipped on to a friend, I went back through this one with some new wire, and thinkfully the wiring looks much better in this one. Though I wish I could have been a little less Peter Parker prom night with securing the germs in there. The main reason for the delay was that I wanted to wait until I had my ideal enclosure design, even though I went headlong into the drill phase. Even with its imperfections, it's more or less what I intended, and since it was going to be a project for myself, the fit and finish didn't need to be perfect.

Also like the DTTK prototype, I painted the enclosure with the holes were pre-drilled and somehow, the pot stem holes were actually spot on, but the LED hole I must've punched off-center, still the bee buzzes

Another tell-tale that this was my first foray in a decade is the soldered charge pump  :/  at least I've learned that much.

Thanks for looking.

[WonkoTheSane]

The lettering and bee are crisp and clear, I'd say for a prototype you got excellent results. Just a little adjustment for the next one and it should be perfect.

[Bret608]

Looks really cool! The Buzzaround is a great circuit for sure. I have a clone made by Ghost Effects (one of only three pedals I own not made by me), and I still love the beehive graphic. So you had me at bees, in other words!

[jessenator]

Thanks!

I've got a weird love/hate relationship with fuzz, even though some folks say it's an all or nothing deal

I definitely lean towards the octave fuzz camp, but the Bee is the bees knees.