Anasounds FX Teacher Full Story

The Anasounds FX Teacher Full Story is a distortion and fuzz pedal that, in Anasounds' words, "takes the sound of the legendary massive disto-fuzz created in the United States in 1969"¹. Anasounds describes the original as an iconic pedal known for its massive gain and infinite sustain, used since by artists as diverse as Pink Floyd, The White Stripes, Muse, Dinosaur Jr, The Black Keys and King Crimson¹. The FX Teacher Full Story is a standard-sized pedal, but Anasounds presents it as containing "the complete history of a legendary sound"².

It is also one of the most customizable pedals in the maker's range. The manual calls it "the most versatile and customizable version" of the Full Story line, which began with a first limited edition pedal retracing the history of the fuzz through 7 historical versions³.

A massive disto-fuzz from a 1969 circuit

The circuit the Full Story traces is a fuzz that Anasounds characterizes as "a famous massive disto/fuzz pedal with huge sustain"⁵. In its technical analysis of the circuit, Anasounds breaks the pedal into 6 blocks, with two clipping stages that each amplify the signal and then clip it with the clipping diodes⁶. The maker's own description of the sound leans on the original's reputation: massive gain, huge sustain, and what the product page calls "many sonic tricks, perfect for many uses"¹.

The Full Story range itself is a history project. The FX Teacher version is the range's most versatile and customizable form, containing one Tone Card but offering many customization options, including different midrange responses, different clippings, and terminal blocks for swapping components³.

Controls: the mid and clip switches

The two main sonic controls are three-position switches, and both open onto deeper customization through internal terminal blocks¹⁴⁷.

The clip switch changes the character of the saturation as well as its amount. Anasounds says it "allows to change the compression and dynamics" of the effect⁷. The no-clipping position is described as producing a more natural overdrive, and the maker also mentions a SAG effect with no clipping at all⁷.

The mid switch interacts with the voicing in a similar way. With the switch down, the mids are turned off, which Anasounds associates with the original pedal's scooped, wall-of-sound character⁶. The custom position is where the terminal block comes in: you choose the capacitor value that sets the midrange response yourself¹.

One component value the maker singles out is the F3 capacitor at the second clipping stage. At 470nF it is "the original value of the FX Teacher Full Story, with aggressive, saturated highs for an acid fuzz"⁶.

Kit or pre-assembled, and the Full Story range

As with the whole FX Teacher line, this version of the Full Story is available as a do-it-yourself kit or pre-assembled¹. The options break down like this:

• Assembled version (179,00 €): one Full Story pedal assembled, tested and adjusted, with an assembled Tone Cards FX Teacher included, plus a bag of bonus components. Anasounds sums it up as "completely finished"¹.
• Full kit (129,00 €): a DIY kit with everything needed to build the pedal².
• Electronic kit (79,00 €): the electronic components kit alone, with the enclosure sold separately⁴.
• Enclosure kit: a Full Story enclosure with the Anasounds design and all holes already drilled, three transparent knobs and a power supply jack fitted, for a replacement enclosure or for builders choosing their own electronics⁸.

The full kit contains:

1. One Full Story enclosure with FX Teacher design and all holes already drilled
2. One kit with all the necessary components
3. One Full Story PCB
4. One Tone Cards PCB
5. One true bypass kit with 3PDT switching
6. Three transparent knobs
7. One bag of bonus components to better customize it²

The enclosure kit is the bare shell of the range: it does not include the electronics, the tester used in the FX Teacher assembly method, soldering tools, or a true bypass kit, all of which Anasounds lists as things you supply separately⁸.

Tone Cards and customization

Tone Cards are the heart of the FX Teacher concept. Anasounds describes them as "mini-circuits that allow you to radically change" the personality of the pedal, and the Full Story is compatible with all of them¹.

The card included with the FX Teacher Full Story is based on what Anasounds calls the most popular and modern version of the fuzz, "bright and aggressive" and the most versatile version, widely used in the 2000s⁷. The manual notes the circuit "has been slightly revised to work in the best possible way with all the clipping and voicing parameters" of the pedal³.

Beyond the cards, the customization runs through the switches and terminal blocks described above: your own clipping diodes, your own midrange capacitor, and the bag of bonus components that ships with both the assembled version and the full kit for experimenting further¹².

Power and placement

The pedal runs on 9V, with internal filtering that Anasounds says removes voltage fluctuation and noise from the power supply "to obtain a very stable 9V"⁵. Maximum consumption is 8mA³, a draw low enough to sit easily on a shared power supply.

At 10 × 10 × 10 cm and 0,1 kg, it is a standard-sized pedal in the Anasounds enclosure design¹.

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