General Guitar Gadgets

The project documents carry copyright lines in the name of JD Sleep, such as the ToneBender Mark II Professional bill of materials (2012) and the Muff Fuzz instructions (2012)⁴⁵.

The story of General Guitar Gadgets

GGG's own tagline is "Fine stompbox kits, projects & PCBs," and its history shows a steady stream of new replica projects. In July 2014 the maker announced four new projects and kits for bass, and in August 2015 it added compressor kits based on the Ibanez BP10 Bass Compressor and CP10 Compressor, along with a new kit and transistor set¹⁰¹¹.

The company has rarely retired a product. When the MXR Phase 100 replica kit reached end of life in May 2015, the announcement noted it was the first kit General Guitar Gadgets had discontinued in its history¹²⁴.

What comes in a GGG kit

A complete kit is designed to include everything needed to build the pedal. The Mosrite Fuzzrite kit, for example, "includes all the parts and materials you need to build one, all for about the price you would pay for a PCB and parts"¹³. The Ready-to-Solder Printed Circuit Board is included with the kits rather than sold separately¹⁴.

Common contents and options across the range:

• A Ready-to-Solder PCB included in the kit¹⁴
• Switchcraft jack connectors: metal jacks with most kits, plastic enclosed jacks with some¹⁵
• A heavy duty 3PDT footswitch for true bypass⁸¹⁶
• A DC jack for a 9 volt power supply⁸¹⁶
• Transistor sockets on many fuzz kits, so germanium transistors can be fitted later⁴¹⁷
• An enclosure option on many kits, including a smaller 1590B enclosure that comes with the bottom plate screws and double-sided foam tape¹⁸

GGG also publishes general build instructions in PDF format for easy printing, covering the guidelines to follow when building any project from the store¹⁵.

Tone Bender replicas: Mark II Professional and 3-knob

The ToneBender Mark II Professional replica (TB2) is a DIY fuzz kit based on what GGG calls the classic, vintage ColorSound ToneBender Mark II Professional, a stompbox that may also have been sold as the SolaSound ToneBender and possibly the Vox ToneBender, with no difference between the circuits under the different brand names⁴.

The kit includes transistors for the NPN silicon version (2N4401 for Q1 and Q2, 2N5089 for Q3) plus transistor sockets for PNP or NPN germanium transistors the builder provides. Four versions can be built: PNP germanium, NPN germanium, NPN silicon, and PNP germanium with a charge pump. All versions use the same PCB and the same wiring diagram⁴.

On setting the trimmer, GGG notes that "4.5v is sometimes recommended, but a lower voltage sounds better to us"⁴.

The 3-Knob ToneBender (TB3) replicates the ColorSound ToneBender 3-knob version, with Fuzz, Tone and Volume controls, each a 100k linear potentiometer⁸. It can be built in six versions on the same PCB: PNP Germanium, NPN Germanium, NPN Silicon, Tone Burner, Boutique Bender and Yard Box. The PNP Germanium version uses three PNP germanium bipolar junction transistors⁸.

Other vintage fuzz replicas: Fuzzrite, Companion and Muff Fuzz

The Mosrite Fuzzrite replica (MRFR) is a two-transistor fuzz using low-gain NPN bipolar junction transistors, with suggested types including 2N3904, 2N4401, BC546A, BC547A, BC548A and BC549A. GGG describes it as "Raw and awesome!" with a very good "Spirit In The Sky" fuzz sound. It is built on a multifunction PCB designed for more than one fuzztone, so some component spaces stay blank, and R9 needs a jumper (a zero-ohm resistor or a piece of wire)¹³.

The Shin-Ei Companion Fuzz replica (SECF) replicates the Shin-Ei Companion Fuzz FY-2. GGG says it has a mid range scoop filter stage that sets it apart from the similar Fuzzrite, giving added fullness, deep bass tone and clear highs, and describes the sound as "rough and nasty, but doesn't seem to sputter at the trail end of longer notes the way some of these 1960's type fuzz units seem to do." The project now includes a transparent booster stage on the output, designed by Gasper Vozelj, to increase volume without altering the fuzz sound⁹.

The Muff Fuzz replica (EMTR Fuzz) is based on the transistor version of the Electro-Harmonix Muff Fuzz, with a 100k log taper Volume control, 2N5089 transistors for Q1 and Q2, and two 1N914 clipping diodes⁵.

GGG's Fuzz Face replica, the FF5, is a $50 complete kit with low-gain silicon transistors, sockets and a bias trimmer, buildable in five versions: Dallas Arbiter germanium PNP, Dallas Arbiter NPN silicon, Boutique Late 60's, Boutique Early 70's and Easy Face. The kit upgrades the Fuzz control to a 1k reverse log taper instead of the original 1k linear, a change the maker considers worthwhile. On silicon versus germanium, GGG says silicon is cleaner-sounding, stable in any weather and the easiest first build, while germanium is the warmer, smoother 1966 sound but temperature-sensitive¹⁷.

Reverb: the D-VERB kit

The D-VERB is GGG's digital reverb kit, based on the Belton BTDR-2 or BTDR-3 Digital Reverb Brick, with the parts list naming the Accutronics Digi-Log Reverb Unit model BTDR-2H. It has a stereo quarter-inch input jack, a mono quarter-inch output jack and a DC jack, and the kit includes the Ready-to-Solder PCB¹⁴.

The Belton brick is the same reverb module other kit makers build around: Mod Electronics' Verb Deluxe kit is built around the Belton Digi-Log Mini Module¹⁹.

Beyond fuzz

GGG's range reaches well past fuzz. The Dynacomp Compressor replica is based on the original 1970s MXR Innovations Dynacomp rather than the current Dunlop-built version, with GGG adding true bypass and an LED indicator; it uses the same PCB and kit as the Ross Compressor project, with 2N5089 transistors and a CA3080 IC¹¹. The MBB replicates the original black Marshall Bluesbreaker of the late 1980s, the low-gain overdrive that boutique builders later copied into the King of Tone and Morning Glory; GGG describes it as an amp-like edge-of-breakup overdrive that keeps the guitar's own tone, with lower gain and no mid hump compared to a Tube Screamer, and offers documented mods to turn it into either of those boutique derivatives²⁰.

Support and contact

General Guitar Gadgets welcomes comments and questions by email, linked from each project page⁹. General build instructions are published in PDF format for printing, and separate guides cover building in the little box (1590B) and big box enclosures¹⁵¹⁸.

Questions