1590a Hoof - more gain

[Philthy]

Hi All,

Recently build a nice little Hoof fuzz using a Madbean Rabbit Hole board. Love the tone, but I need more gain.

I used Kit Rae's schematic for the build with the 2N3904s in Q1 and Q4 and the germanium 2N1308s in Q2 and Q3: http://www.bigmuffpage.com/Big_Muff_Pi_versions_schematics_part4.html

It's a very tight build and I'm really reluctant to pull the board to mod Q bias or change pot values.

I did however socket the transistors.

Was thinking of swapping out the 2N3904 in Q1 and/or Q4 but leave the germ Q2/3 combo for the mojo. Does this sound logical given the relatively low gain Ge in Q2/3? Any suggestion re alternatives?

Cheers

[WormBoy]

More gain as in more fuzziness? Since you socketed the transistors, it's easy to try some others. A higher hfe transistor in Q1 might give you more fuzz. If that does not work, you could try to switch places of the Q2 and Q3 transistors (since no two Ge transistors are exactly the same, that just might change the sound, for better or worse). Q4 is just for a little volume boost after the tone stack. I would not expect a different transistor there to make a difference, and certainly not to the fuzziness.

[Philthy]

Yes, more gain as in more fuzziness.

Any suggestions for Q1?

[WormBoy]

The usual Muff suspects such as 2N5088, BC550C, BC549C, etc. sprint to mind. Anything NPN you can lay your hands on with a hfe in the 400-800 range. It might change the sound too much, or not enough, but it won't hurt to try, and doesn't cost much. Just watch the pinout of the transistors.

[matmosphere]

The usual Muff suspects such as 2N5088, BC550C, BC549C, etc. sprint to mind. Anything NPN you can lay your hands on with a hfe in the 400-800 range. It might change the sound too much, or not enough, but it won't hurt to try, and doesn't cost much. Just watch the pinout of the transistors.

This ^ is solid advice.

I'd also say don't get to caught up trying to get exactly a hoof. You might just stumble onto something you like better. That's the joy of DIY

[MTK]

The Cloven Hoof is super gainy. It's basically a fuzztortion. I've made both, and both are excellent.

https://pcbguitarmania.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Horn-Device-Building-Docs.pdf

page 4 describes what needs to be changed from the Hoof to make it the Cloven. It's only a few things.

From their description page
"The Cloven Hoof is the perfect solution for those of you who wish the Hoof had more low-end, higher gain, and was just a little bit Hoofier."

[Philthy]

Thanks MTK, I made a Cloven Hoof at the same time as the regular Hoof  - see here: https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=31126.0

The Cloven Hoof is a great pedal but more aligned with the traditional Muff sound IMO. The regular Hoof has something different going on that I really like.

I have a couple of 2N5089s leftover from the Cloven Hoof but I fear they'll affect the sound too much. Will roll a few different Q's through and report back.