The Devi Ever Ruby is a two-transistor fuzz pedal from Devi Ever. It belongs to the Tone Bender family of fuzz designs: the description of the original circulating among builders is "The Ruby is like a Tone Bender, but way classier and secretly more misogynistic."1 It is a compact, aggressive fuzz in the vein of other fuzz pedals, and it later appeared in revised form as the RB12S.
How the circuit works
The Ruby is a two-transistor fuzz with a 10K trimmer for bias, and each pot dials one transistor. That makes the two external controls more interactive than a typical volume-and-drive arrangement: the Volume and Intensity knobs each shape what one of the two transistors is doing, so the pedal's response changes as you move either one.1
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets output level. On the original linear-taper pot, the usable area is mostly the first third of the sweep.1 |
| Intensity | Sets the fuzz character. Raising it fully can produce oscillation and a high pitched background noise.1 |
| Bias trimmer | A 10K trimmer on the board sets the bias of the transistors.1 |
The Volume control drew comment from the builder who documented the layout: "the volume on this pedal is insane it seems like the usable area is the first 3rd of the pot."1 On the Intensity control, the same builder noted, "I got quite a bit of oscillation with the intensity up full, but guessing this is intentional :)"1
If your Ruby oscillates or whistles with the Intensity knob at maximum, that behavior is documented for the design. Rolling the Intensity back from full is the fix.
Versions
An updated revision, the RB12S, has been built since February 2012. It uses SMD components with everything board mounted, a 100k audio taper Volume pot, and a 100k linear Intensity pot, with the first unit labeled RUB201. Alongside that revision, an update on the maker's site noted that the Volume pot was changed to an audio taper, which addresses the original pedal's touchy first-third-of-the-sweep volume response.1
Videos
Sizzorfite Studio
Hello Sailor Effects Official and Reeves Electro Guitar Pedals
Leighanna Rose Walsh
Questions
Is the Devi Ever Ruby a Tone Bender?
The Ruby is described as being like a Tone Bender, but with its own character. It is a two-transistor fuzz circuit, and each of its two pots dials one of the transistors. A 10K trimmer on the board sets the bias. It sits in the same family of fuzz designs as the Tone Bender rather than being a copy of one specific model.
Why does the Ruby oscillate with the Intensity up full?
Raising the Intensity control fully can produce oscillation and a high pitched background noise. A builder who documented the layout on Guitar FX Layouts got quite a bit of oscillation with the Intensity up full and guessed this was intentional. Backing the control off from maximum keeps it in check.
Sources (1)
- Guitar FX Layouts: Devi Ever Ruby, Guitar FX Layouts (tagboardeffects.blogspot.com), 2012-06-19