Did this mod. Put in a switch between the unmodified circuit and a 500k trim pot. Drilled the case to mount the switch and trimpot, on the right side. Decided to add a 650 ohm resister across the unmodified side to take some of the noise out. Best of both worlds now.
Does your pot have a knob? The square green plastic PCB mount pots with shafts fit between the boards, no need for a switch just dial it down to 0 ohms. Amazon, 15 pots from 5k to 500k, comes with knobs
If you want the same effect without taking the pedal a part I found that just starving the power supply works. Using a 5-7volt, instead of 9,has the same effect. It also works on other fuzzes like the big muff.
Looking for an actual 7volt adapter to test this, but I'm not sure what's a safe bet to buy because we're talking about a nonstandard use-case here. Any advice?
Learning soo much from you, Paul and this channel. Really accessible and clear. I can go straight from these vids to my bench and have success. Love it. Thanks & keep 'em coming!
I have an earlier gated Cuvave and glad I do...Love the broken speaker/velcro ripping sound it produces...I use a different fuzz for more of a traditional fuzz sound, but the Cuvave stays on my board for when I'm in need of a serious fuzz fix...Thanks for your very informative video!
Yes! So happy i happened to see this. After I saw this I went directly to the local electric store and got the 1 mega ohm trim and modded my fuzz. Now I'm finally happy with it. Thank you very much!
I was randomly looking up my Cuvave fuzz when I saw this. Yes, I have the newer one without the velcro, but I actually prefer it that way. It's a cheap and good sounding fuzz. Too bad they didn't just add another knob so we could manually change the sound to whatever we want to, but I paid 15 euros or something so I can't really complain at that price.
If they added that knob, it would pretty much be a straight ZVEX Wooly Mammoth clone. They might have avoided this to not get sued, or to confuse people on what the circuit was based on.
@@erikvincent5846 I doubt it's anything legal. There's plenty of straight Wooly Mammoth clones and nothing can be done since most guitar pedals are slight modifications of public domain circuits. It's really only artwork and branding they can sue over.
Great job! Very informative. I was so dismayed when I got the new version. I tried the used market for another one and asking for the date purchased but no one had the old. Finally I tried finding a seller on a small platform that's not widely used for music gear and took a gamble on one on clearance (assuming he's had that inventory forever and bingo! Paid off. I got sent the old one. Now I have both and I can compare. I like the old one way better . Your mod looks super easy and does the job! Thats so great to know . Someone should show your video to Ryan on 60Hz so he can see it!
Would you mind comparing the PCB of the two versions and sharing your thoughts here? Knowing China's pedals I'd assume they've just changed the resistors but I'd like to know if there's something else in the new version.
Very interesting. My copy is in the later non-gated style enclosure, but DOES have the gated sound. Maybe it was an evolutionary, ever changing scenario. I imagine an assembly line where the worker has a bucket of microscopic resistors and just bungs one in at random! lol
I've seen another who has the same situation. Though I know that feedback resistor creates gating, I am also wondering if there is a starve resistor on the carrier board that further reduces the voltage. That is a trick used on Fuzz Faces to add gating by changing the bias.
@@50Something no worries. I just ordered one. It will likely be non-gated. I have a noise gate anyway so might just click that on. One extra press! I use that for my DS2 which is noisy when cranked. All the best.
@@Tone-Oz I took mine apart last night, I didn't realize just how tiny the surface mount parts are. This is going to be a challenge to solder for sure! The half watt resistor I have is way too big so I'll have you get a smaller one! Will keep you updated
Also maybe good way is removing R7 zero-Ohm resistor and add 500k small pot instead S1 switch. It might balancing sound between gated velcro and no-gated classic fuzz. As I know cutted out part of this scheme can give a classic no-gated smooth tone. And you can turn this pot from outside.
I just removed R7 and added S1 switch. And now I have a dirty velcro mode like in a stock pedal and a classic Si Fuzz Face mode. Both mode is no-gated but velcro is shutted up a little after a good attack. Just happy! )
I replaced the 0 ohm with a mini 500k pot that I mounted through the side above the usb power socket, there's enough room for the square green plastic body for pcb mount type and the knob doesnt take much lateral space than the patch cable in. Needs a bit of buffer sorcery to get anything to live well in front of it, I managed a compressor and octaver in front. On bass its a lot of fun
This is really interesting. I got a Cuvave fuzz in December last year. I really liked it at first, then I moved to a new place and it gate TOO MUCH, I suspect something about the power. Curious to crack it open and see what resistor is there.
Thanks for this mod. Great little pedal. Mine picks up a local radio station if I have the gain on 10 and turn down the guitar volume knob. Bonus feature!
could you please share the specs for that variable resistor so I can pick up the correct one at the electronics store? also, how do you know which one of the three legs to break off and which two to use ? thanks!
It's a 1 MegaOhm Trim Pot. As of the legs, you "need" the middle leg. As of the two remaining legs, you can clip either one. You are just needing the center leg and one of the side legs to make a "variable resistor"
I'd like to do this mod, it seems simple enough. I have 0 experience with this stuff though. The part that confuses me is the Trim pot. It seems you got lucky and didn't need to adjust the values, but what if I do need to adjust them? Do I just keep turning it until I get the desired sound? How do I know the values of the pot at all?
In this case, it was a matter of turning it till it sounded correct. As potentiometers have a rather large swing for tolerances, and even the components themselves have tolerances that can be wide sometimes, no two pedals of the same make and model will be electronically identical. However, the values will get you in the ball park. But where trim pots are needed are when you are trying to target a specific sound. At least with this mod, turning it too far one way or the other won't break anything and you can just resume turning it till you get it where you want it.
I got some mini pots on Ali Express and mounted them to the case. Couldn't find 1M pots, so I used two 500k pots in series, one mounted on each side of the case. It's a tight fit, but it can be done. Now I can control the gating without opening the pedal.
Looks like the Cuvave fuzz is either our of stock, or no longer available (doesn't show up in Amazon or ebay). Do you know of any other cheap Chinese pedals with the same circuit inside that can be modded in this way?
I have heard the Shark Chili are pretty much an identical circuit, so modding it would be the same, too. Some of the Shark Chili Fuzzes even come gating, like the Cuvave once did.
Could adding an extra pot (500k or 1 Meg) If there Is enough room and doing some drilling do the job? Instead of the trim pot you could connect the extra pot with wires and have more control from the outside
do you happen to recall the values for the fuzz, tone, & output pots? wanted to play around with this on a breadboard but didn't see them marked on the schematic.
I don't know enough, have to ask a Q: You covered the power section of this pedal very well. Thank you. What happens if you feed this pedal 12v's? Will it be down regulated to 8.4v's or whatever it was? Thanks!
So, it's basically a knock off of a NCP730 linear regulator in a SOT SMD package. It's maximum input voltage is 38V, so on that, it can handle 12V. However, as it is a linear regulator, the next question is how much current is being used and how much voltage is being stepped down and turned into heat. Thankfully, we know that (including the 3.5mA LED), we draw around 4mA total, so 12V - 8.4V = 3.6V shunted off as heat. 3.6V times 0.004A = 0.0144W or 14.4mW of heat. So, yeah, the power supply will be fine. The only real issue may be the electrolytic capacitors. They are rated at 16V, which "should work", but I'd be happier if they were 20V or greater. Just in case any transients get in there.
@@erikvincent5846 Amazing that I can understand most of that, lol. What a journey. Okay. I accidentally plugged a 12v, correct polarity, into the Cuvave, so wondered if that had something to do with my Cuvave's performance. It was only for about 30 seconds before I realized what I'd done. So, it's all good. That's great news. Thanks again for all of the help!
If we leave the 0 ohm resistor on, any resistor to add in parallel with it will also be zero. As the goal of getting the velcro back is by increasing the feedback resistance path, we won't be able to do this by adding a resistor in parallel with a shunt resistor. If we remove the 0 ohm resistor, now we can use that as a path to increase resistance.
You will always keep the center leg, but the other leg, it doesn't matter. Which of the other two outer legs you remove will only determine if clockwise or counterclockwise adjustments raise or lower resistance.
I've removed R7 and added 1 mil ohm trim pot, sounds much better than the 500k trim pot I had replaced it with the first time but unfortunately the sustain is still short. Would removing R11 make matters better or worse? This is my first pedal mod ever. Thank you DIY guitar pedals and community
Removing R11 would break the negative feedback loop completely, so that would likely make it worse. R7's increased resistance will make the velcro effect, but reduce the gain and sustain in general. However, this can also be improved upon. After setting R7 to a higher resistance, you could add a parallel resistor to R4, like another 20K, which will make the resistance of R4 half, or 10K. This should bring the sustain back.
i was able to get a decent result with a B100k pot and 51k resistor in series. with the pot all the way down, it sounds more or less stock, with the pot all the way up it sounds gated
Does it sound like Ryan's? Perhaps his Squier and amps added up to a significant part of his sound? But I LOVE his OG Cuvave sound. Been chasing it, aka, buying $27 Cuvave, and being disappointed. Watching a few videos, until someone left a comment to my b!tching in a comment on one of Ryan's Cuvave fuzz videos that lead here to this vid, to this dude's brilliant channel, which I have watched previously, with much desire. I wish I had the resources to make my own pedals!
Hi Erik, what's the R10 value ? maybe the right resistor is already there and R9 needs to be bridged instead of R7. I posted something about it on DIYSB if you want to check. Thanks for the video ! Awesome job as always !
Hello , have cuvave fuzz pedal , but it seems i accidentally i broke Fuzz potentiometer (middle knob) so , what's the specs to find replacement , thanks for helping me
I thought it was a woolly mammoth clone, I have a first gen cuvave fuzz with the Velcro gate and also a mooer Fog bass fuzz(a straight 4 knob woolly mammoth clone) and noticed with some knob twerking I got get them to sound identical
See, this is why I was puzzled. A "Fuzz Face" clone, colloquially known as a YAFF (Yet another Fuzz Face), makes sense, and even adding a tone knob to it for bonus points. But the "gated" thing is more of a niche taste for a lot of people. It's like making an "octave fuzz" like a SuperFuzz or an FZ-2 as a "standard budget fuzz". I mean, I like them, but a lot of people don't.
Why is the trimpot in the switch holes, and why is did you put it on the opposite side of the R7 you removed? I’m totally confused as to why it went into different holes, much more so why they are on the separate side.
So, the Pinch on the Wooly Mammoth is as if you soldered wires to the pin points on the board @R7 and then connected the other end to a pot )instead of the trim pot you used) in order to be able to change the R7 value from the topside of the pedal? Is that correct? Thank you for these videos! I'm learning a great deal though I will probably never use most of it, it is still very enjoyable to see what can be done with little hard bits of plastic and wire. 😉 I understand clearly your explanations of what and why you do what you do, but I'm clueless as to how these bits are able to do what they do and also how anyone can figure what the result will be before hand. Example, you wanted more gating, so you knew where to go and what to change and by what value. I have know idea what magical powers you possess to have such knowledge!!! How do you know this stuff? Where does one learn this very stuff to do what you can do? 🤘💀🤘
Dude, you blew my mind re the Wolly Mammoth. I think my Little Bear... what's it called, Fuzzy Elephant? I can't recall... The Little Bear Woolly Mammoth clone, it does not gate properly. Pedal first in line, any combination of the knobs and the pinch knob does not gate... and it doesn't even sound right either. I haven't found use for it, on the bass side, or the guitar side. Any thoughts? God Bless you and your channel! You are a major hero for doing the actual work to figure out this Cuvave Fuzz gate issue. I bought the Cuvave after watching Ryan's vid, I LOVED the sound of his fuzz, it was exactly what I was looking for, but any pedal that would even approach that degree of gnarl was over $100, like well over, and talking used prices. Which doesn't make sense, as usually the gnarliest are the simplest/most affordable designs. Ryan's Cuvave was, therefore, a Godsend! Until I got my Cuvave, and it was just a square wave of slightly burnt toast. No Gating, in fact, I think it had the longest sustain of any fuzz I have! I've left it at the start of my pedal board, but rarely use it. I WILL have to do this tinsy winsy smd mod. You've led me into my first smd attempt! Thank you Thank you Thank you
No worries. The Wooly Mammoth schematic follows the one on this video pretty closely. However, if memory serves, ZVEX only lets the total resistance across that feedback network get to about 500K. Because of the already inline 100K and 220K resistors that the Cuvave put in there, I still need to add another 470K to get the gating to my taste (a total of 790K), so that 500K from ZVEX's isn't enough, in my opinion. But again, gating fuzz is an acquired taste, so most folks don't care for it.
@@erikvincent5846 Okay, I see. So maybe I can mod the Cuvave, AND the Woolly Mammoth with a variable resistor pot, and dial in that gate that I so badly crave!! I've learned so much from you from just a few vids and a few comments, thank you so much!
@@erikvincent5846 Well, it sounds great. You still have creative musical juices flowing through your brain anymore, or has the noodle dried out a bit? Just asking as an old timer who's decidedly drying.
@@alphanumeric1529 I still play a little, but with my day job demanding a lot more time over the years and having a family, my lack of practice hasn't been good on me. I really need to get on that.
I love this stuff!!! THanks a lot for sharing this information... It is greatly appreciated and I will check out the store and support... as long as you keep teaching me shit ;)
So so so good and helpful. Ive been learning how various circuits work, but this is the stuff that gets my imagination going. Lets hack it. Lets make it better. And I cant do that on my own! Thank you!
I've had 3 on my boards for the last while: Si Fuzz Face with 5088s or 3094s, a Son of Screamer (TS808 without buffers), and a Ruby Amp. All begging for mods, and often above my head what changes when you for example remove a resistor like in the Cuvave.
@@michaelpeterson5061 one way to look at mods is to see "patterns" in schematics between pedals you like. If you see the same sort of "idea" from two or three pedals, it's not a bad idea to look into what it is, and how you can apply it elsewhere. A good example of this are tonestacks. How to apply the tone controls from pedal 1 over to pedal 2.
Eric, thats a really good learning point and I totally agree. I ha e payed attention to clipping and input/ output portions of TS and OD style circuits recently. Fuzzes have escaped me in the way you explained it and Im super grateful for the vid. Since I posted I added the feedback pot in my Si FF, and its the best damn fuzz Ive played yet. So good. Thanks again.
Hey great vid, so is changing R7 by adding the trimpot adjusting the DC bias point towards a rail and thus causing the clipping? I've been watching your other vids and I'm trying to link what I've learnt! thanks :-)
So this one is a bit of a tricky piece. R7 portion of the circuit is what is called shunt-series feedback, aka "Current Controlled Current Source". Part of the output current is taken from Q2 emitter and introduced as current in Q1 base, so the feedback resistors (R7 being one of them in series) is shunt connected with the input and, in series, connected with the output.
@@erikvincent5846 thanks for the quick reply Erik, makes sense, what is it about the amount of current from Q2 that causes the gating, is it explainable or just a happy side effect of the feedback?
@@silvertongues2 There is a lot to explain for the whole effect of how negative feedback works, but the general idea is that when using two transistors, especially ones with low input impedance which pretty much all BJTs are (Germanium and Silicon ones), the negative feedback resistance controls the variances of the transistors. So, in Germanium Transistors, it makes the temperature swings make less of a difference. It also reduces non-linear distortion and improves the impedances between the two transistors. It's the impedances that are being effected that cause the gating. As the resistance increases, the impedance is going up, but at a cost of requiring more of the sound to have more current to do anything. As the current entering the amplifier is finite, increasing the resistance makes it harder and harder for it to get the amplifier to amplify it. That "difficulty to amplify" is what we hear as gating, and when it gets terribly difficult, we hear it as "sputtering" or "splat".
@@silvertongues2 No worries. These are the types of questions I had when starting out. If you don't ask, you don't know. That and it gives me some feedback of potential videos to make.
Very nice video! I'm looking for a Cheap pedal set, but o don't know if i choose mini or full size pedals. What do you think about the durability of pedals built with Smd boards compared to those built with Pcb boards? Thanks and succes to the channel!
As of mini pedals vs "nano" vs "full size" vs "large", aka 1590A vs 1590B vs 125B vs 1590BB, the mini size works for me as an "always on" device, but constant stomping, the balance of where the stomp switch is vs the body of the pedal of itself, it gets annoying. 1590B is the perfect size, but if you like your jacks all on the top, it's impossible to do that. 125B is the perfect balance in that regard. 1590BB enclosures do serve a purpose, though, where there are too many components to fit in anything smaller. As of through-hole vs SMD, through-hole is structurally stronger and more reliable from mechanical forces, but a well-soldered SMD PCB can be just about as strong. Through-hole designs handle "drop tests" better than SMD. Also, through-hole is easier for a lot of people to solder. Personally, I solder a lot of SMD stuff at my "day job", so it's not an issue for me. However, I've been doing it for years, so there is that.
Where did you find the schematics for the pedal? I'm looking for cuvave schematics since i want to change the noisy stomp switches on my digidelay and reverb, but I'm a beginner at electronics so want to be sure what I'm doing 😄
I made the schematics for that pedal that you see in the video. I tore apart the Cuvave Fuzz that I had and traced all the PCB traces and measured the resistors and capacitors individually, and looked up all the parts used (ICs and diodes). I recognized the topology after I got about 20% of the way through it, so that helped, as it did line up exactly with a ZVEX Wooly Mammoth, minus the "pinch" potentiometer.
Fan-fucking-tastic! Got lucky with my first cuvave being gated. Tried get another with no luck. Thought about trying to mod but was scared off by the micro surface mounted components. Think I will give it a shot now though. Thanks for the kickass video!
I’ve got one of the original fuzz that gates. Also have a newer one that does not. Both boards are laid out the same and have the 0 resister in r7. The boards do appear to be different runs but I can’t find any differences in values. I swapped power boards and had no affect so it is something on that effect board. What you did works but sure would like to know why the original gates. Have pics of both boards can share with you if interested.
@@shotgunrebels Same with my two Cuvaves. One gates slightly, the other one not. Both have the 0 ohm R7. I measured the R3 to be different on them. The gated version had the lower resistance(!?) I will measure again when removing R7 and adding a trimpot.
Hey, interesting experiment. I have a question for you. I built a Fuzzrocious Ram The Manparts. It's a gated fuzz/LM386 overdrive sorta hybrid. But it's a pretty simple little circuit. The gating occurs, I guess, from starving voltage to the LM386 itself. Only trouble is that the LM386 apparently doesn't like being starved of voltage. I am absolutely in love with this little circuit but occasionally it will just sorta seize up and stop making sound. I have tried the LM386N-3 and the N-1 and both do the same thing. Apparently running it at higher voltage does nothing to solve the issue. Maybe why they stopped making it. Can you think of a way to stabilize the circuit without fundamentally changing the sound of the effect? :/
Sorry to bug you @DIY Guitar Pedals, You have any idea how to find the schematics to the Caline Snakebite reverb pedal? I am trying to determine if I can mod it at all to get the wet mix up to 100%.
Thanks for the great vid! If I just have a standard 650 ohm resistor (not a micro resistor like the 0 ohm one you removed), will it still fit without shorting things out??
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Did this mod. Put in a switch between the unmodified circuit and a 500k trim pot. Drilled the case to mount the switch and trimpot, on the right side. Decided to add a 650 ohm resister across the unmodified side to take some of the noise out. Best of both worlds now.
Is there a video, or some pics that could inspire us? (or at least me to go for your mod) thanks!
I'm seconding Lazharus and saying I'd love to see that too..! (or just some pics)
@@chilazorecordings Weird no one answered. Watch Ryan's 60 Cycle Hum Video on Cuvave line .He covers the fuzz first. It is impressive.
Does your pot have a knob? The square green plastic PCB mount pots with shafts fit between the boards, no need for a switch just dial it down to 0 ohms. Amazon, 15 pots from 5k to 500k, comes with knobs
If you want the same effect without taking the pedal a part I found that just starving the power supply works. Using a 5-7volt, instead of 9,has the same effect. It also works on other fuzzes like the big muff.
Looking for an actual 7volt adapter to test this, but I'm not sure what's a safe bet to buy because we're talking about a nonstandard use-case here. Any advice?
Any center negative AC adapter with a 2.1 mm barrel plug that provides more than 4 mA
Please please please keep making these types of videos. So good. So informative. And just great entertainment
Learning soo much from you, Paul and this channel. Really accessible and clear. I can go straight from these vids to my bench and have success. Love it. Thanks & keep 'em coming!
Thanks! I tried this out yesterday and wound up with a great sounding gated fuzz.
Good to here! Happy new years!
had to dial it in a little (was getting a little too much sputter, not enough sound) but works great now. Much improved. Thanks!
I have an earlier gated Cuvave and glad I do...Love the broken speaker/velcro ripping sound it produces...I use a different fuzz for more of a traditional fuzz sound, but the Cuvave stays on my board for when I'm in need of a serious fuzz fix...Thanks for your very informative video!
Yes! So happy i happened to see this. After I saw this I went directly to the local electric store and got the 1 mega ohm trim and modded my fuzz. Now I'm finally happy with it. Thank you very much!
Glad it worked out!
Thanks you have answered several questions I have about feedback /oscillators.
I am thinking of a pot instead of a trim pot.
I was randomly looking up my Cuvave fuzz when I saw this. Yes, I have the newer one without the velcro, but I actually prefer it that way. It's a cheap and good sounding fuzz. Too bad they didn't just add another knob so we could manually change the sound to whatever we want to, but I paid 15 euros or something so I can't really complain at that price.
If they added that knob, it would pretty much be a straight ZVEX Wooly Mammoth clone. They might have avoided this to not get sued, or to confuse people on what the circuit was based on.
@@erikvincent5846 I doubt it's anything legal. There's plenty of straight Wooly Mammoth clones and nothing can be done since most guitar pedals are slight modifications of public domain circuits. It's really only artwork and branding they can sue over.
FANTASTIC vid! I’ve been looking for just this solution.
Yes Yes ! I did this Mod to my TC Electronics Rusty Fuzz and it works :)
Great job! Very informative. I was so dismayed when I got the new version. I tried the used market for another one and asking for the date purchased but no one had the old. Finally I tried finding a seller on a small platform that's not widely used for music gear and took a gamble on one on clearance (assuming he's had that inventory forever and bingo! Paid off. I got sent the old one. Now I have both and I can compare. I like the old one way better . Your mod looks super easy and does the job! Thats so great to know . Someone should show your video to Ryan on 60Hz so he can see it!
Would you mind comparing the PCB of the two versions and sharing your thoughts here? Knowing China's pedals I'd assume they've just changed the resistors but I'd like to know if there's something else in the new version.
@@inset09 My only problem is I cannot get anyone who has the old version to show me gut-shots.
I think I have the old one I can take pictures of the board see if its different. Where should I send the pictures?
@@ferenclucas2842 did you send them to him?
Hi Eric, your videos are getting better and better. This vid is a mic drop moment. We’ll done, sir. And er….more like this, please.
Very interesting. My copy is in the later non-gated style enclosure, but DOES have the gated sound. Maybe it was an evolutionary, ever changing scenario. I imagine an assembly line where the worker has a bucket of microscopic resistors and just bungs one in at random! lol
I've seen another who has the same situation. Though I know that feedback resistor creates gating, I am also wondering if there is a starve resistor on the carrier board that further reduces the voltage. That is a trick used on Fuzz Faces to add gating by changing the bias.
This was great in so many ways!
Please keep making this type of video!
Great video. More, more, more plz.
Great video brother. Clear and very informative. I like the idea of making this a 4 knob like the WM box.
Fascinating vid. Congrats on working it all out and sharing.
Very informative, thanks for covering this sort of topics.
Thanks for digging into this man. Saved me the work. Cheers. Subbed.
Glad to help!
Thank you for your service to human kind.
Great vid - very informative. Thanks.
I've built this, also added the 1M pot, when i've heard the first sound, it blew me away. Thanks so much for sharing this!!!
Thanks, I used my Cuvave once and put it back in the box. Will do this! Subscribed!!!!
have you done it yet? how'd it go?
@@Tone-Oz no, I forgot about it 🙄. Will let you know
@@50Something no worries. I just ordered one. It will likely be non-gated. I have a noise gate anyway so might just click that on. One extra press! I use that for my DS2 which is noisy when cranked. All the best.
@@Tone-Oz I took mine apart last night, I didn't realize just how tiny the surface mount parts are. This is going to be a challenge to solder for sure! The half watt resistor I have is way too big so I'll have you get a smaller one! Will keep you updated
Crazy... "Gating" is something i try to find ever since....thanks man.
Yeah, gated fuzz's are at a minimum over $100. And here Cuvave stumbled upon a gated fuzz design for $23...
@@alphanumeric1529 And then ruined it, not realizing what they had.
thanks, just watching it now, love the gate on your voice! : D
thanks for your great explanations
I would love this as a pcb kit!
Big thanks, worked like a charm. I made the pot accessible so I can dial in the amp on fire tone or a nice fuzz with low noise floor!
Can i ask where you sourced your resistor? Did you have long legs and run back around to the front?
Probably the best way is a add two resistors with different values and S1 switch to this pedal. And it can works as like a gated or no gated fuzz.
Also maybe good way is removing R7 zero-Ohm resistor and add 500k small pot instead S1 switch. It might balancing sound between gated velcro and no-gated classic fuzz. As I know cutted out part of this scheme can give a classic no-gated smooth tone. And you can turn this pot from outside.
I just removed R7 and added S1 switch. And now I have a dirty velcro mode like in a stock pedal and a classic Si Fuzz Face mode. Both mode is no-gated but velcro is shutted up a little after a good attack. Just happy! )
I replaced the 0 ohm with a mini 500k pot that I mounted through the side above the usb power socket, there's enough room for the square green plastic body for pcb mount type and the knob doesnt take much lateral space than the patch cable in.
Needs a bit of buffer sorcery to get anything to live well in front of it, I managed a compressor and octaver in front. On bass its a lot of fun
I’ve got the mooer bass fog which is an affordable woolly mammoth clone. I have yet to do a comprehensive a/b test
Gonna have to mod my modern cuvave
This is really interesting. I got a Cuvave fuzz in December last year. I really liked it at first, then I moved to a new place and it gate TOO MUCH, I suspect something about the power. Curious to crack it open and see what resistor is there.
Give it a crack. It is a feature that can be adjusted with a little work.
Thanks for this mod. Great little pedal. Mine picks up a local radio station if I have the gain on 10 and turn down the guitar volume knob. Bonus feature!
That's pretty awesome. lol
could you please share the specs for that variable resistor so I can pick up the correct one at the electronics store? also, how do you know which one of the three legs to break off and which two to use ? thanks!
It's a 1 MegaOhm Trim Pot. As of the legs, you "need" the middle leg. As of the two remaining legs, you can clip either one. You are just needing the center leg and one of the side legs to make a "variable resistor"
it gates better when using the micro usb for the power..it uses 5v instead of the 9v in the normal power input.
Wow, I've basically had a Wooly Mammoth for a year and a half and didn't know it!
Wooly Mamoth clones 70aus at the moment Ali express
Wow, great effort and info!
Great video with excellent information. Keep up the good work! I really enjoy all the videos you guys produce.
I'd like to do this mod, it seems simple enough. I have 0 experience with this stuff though. The part that confuses me is the Trim pot. It seems you got lucky and didn't need to adjust the values, but what if I do need to adjust them? Do I just keep turning it until I get the desired sound? How do I know the values of the pot at all?
In this case, it was a matter of turning it till it sounded correct. As potentiometers have a rather large swing for tolerances, and even the components themselves have tolerances that can be wide sometimes, no two pedals of the same make and model will be electronically identical. However, the values will get you in the ball park. But where trim pots are needed are when you are trying to target a specific sound.
At least with this mod, turning it too far one way or the other won't break anything and you can just resume turning it till you get it where you want it.
I got some mini pots on Ali Express and mounted them to the case. Couldn't find 1M pots, so I used two 500k pots in series, one mounted on each side of the case. It's a tight fit, but it can be done. Now I can control the gating without opening the pedal.
Looks like the Cuvave fuzz is either our of stock, or no longer available (doesn't show up in Amazon or ebay).
Do you know of any other cheap Chinese pedals with the same circuit inside that can be modded in this way?
I have heard the Shark Chili are pretty much an identical circuit, so modding it would be the same, too. Some of the Shark Chili Fuzzes even come gating, like the Cuvave once did.
ahh you said in the video 1 mega ohm trim pot! perfect, had to watch it again. going to try the mod now thanks!
Great info, bridges a few ideas.
Killer video. I loved it
Could adding an extra pot (500k or 1 Meg) If there Is enough room and doing some drilling do the job?
Instead of the trim pot you could connect the extra pot with wires and have more control from the outside
You are free my friend! You can do as you please! The world is yours! Please let me know if you do this, I'd like to see how it sounds and works! THX!
You can solder two lugs of a small pot in a switch points on the front of pcb, but you need to use really small 9mm pot
Wouldnt replacing the R11 with a 500k pot woulnt get you an exact mammoth clone?
Yep, pretty much.
Thanks!
This is another great video.
do you happen to recall the values for the fuzz, tone, & output pots? wanted to play around with this on a breadboard but didn't see them marked on the schematic.
All pots are linear with the Fuzz being a 2K pot, the Tone being a 10K pot, and the Volume being a 10K pot.
@@erikvincent5846 awesome! thanks :)
@@brainbonkk No prob.
I don't know enough, have to ask a Q: You covered the power section of this pedal very well. Thank you. What happens if you feed this pedal 12v's? Will it be down regulated to 8.4v's or whatever it was? Thanks!
So, it's basically a knock off of a NCP730 linear regulator in a SOT SMD package. It's maximum input voltage is 38V, so on that, it can handle 12V. However, as it is a linear regulator, the next question is how much current is being used and how much voltage is being stepped down and turned into heat. Thankfully, we know that (including the 3.5mA LED), we draw around 4mA total, so 12V - 8.4V = 3.6V shunted off as heat. 3.6V times 0.004A = 0.0144W or 14.4mW of heat. So, yeah, the power supply will be fine. The only real issue may be the electrolytic capacitors. They are rated at 16V, which "should work", but I'd be happier if they were 20V or greater. Just in case any transients get in there.
@@erikvincent5846 Amazing that I can understand most of that, lol. What a journey. Okay. I accidentally plugged a 12v, correct polarity, into the Cuvave, so wondered if that had something to do with my Cuvave's performance. It was only for about 30 seconds before I realized what I'd done. So, it's all good. That's great news.
Thanks again for all of the help!
Does the 0 ohm resistor actually need to come off? Seems like yr added resistor is in parallel, no? Wish there was room to add a pot with a knob...
If we leave the 0 ohm resistor on, any resistor to add in parallel with it will also be zero. As the goal of getting the velcro back is by increasing the feedback resistance path, we won't be able to do this by adding a resistor in parallel with a shunt resistor. If we remove the 0 ohm resistor, now we can use that as a path to increase resistance.
nice work man
Thanks for this. Does it matter which leg you remove from the trim pot? Many thanks.
You will always keep the center leg, but the other leg, it doesn't matter. Which of the other two outer legs you remove will only determine if clockwise or counterclockwise adjustments raise or lower resistance.
@@erikvincent5846 thanks!
Excellent! I have this thing sitting around collecting dust. Looks like a fun time for a mod.
I've removed R7 and added 1 mil ohm trim pot, sounds much better than the 500k trim pot I had replaced it with the first time but unfortunately the sustain is still short. Would removing R11 make matters better or worse? This is my first pedal mod ever. Thank you DIY guitar pedals and community
Removing R11 would break the negative feedback loop completely, so that would likely make it worse. R7's increased resistance will make the velcro effect, but reduce the gain and sustain in general. However, this can also be improved upon.
After setting R7 to a higher resistance, you could add a parallel resistor to R4, like another 20K, which will make the resistance of R4 half, or 10K. This should bring the sustain back.
i was able to get a decent result with a B100k pot and 51k resistor in series. with the pot all the way down, it sounds more or less stock, with the pot all the way up it sounds gated
Does it sound like Ryan's? Perhaps his Squier and amps added up to a significant part of his sound?
But I LOVE his OG Cuvave sound. Been chasing it, aka, buying $27 Cuvave, and being disappointed. Watching a few videos, until someone left a comment to my b!tching in a comment on one of Ryan's Cuvave fuzz videos that lead here to this vid, to this dude's brilliant channel, which I have watched previously, with much desire. I wish I had the resources to make my own pedals!
Hi Erik, what's the R10 value ? maybe the right resistor is already there and R9 needs to be bridged instead of R7. I posted something about it on DIYSB if you want to check.
Thanks for the video ! Awesome job as always !
The R10 values is 51K. Just posting an answer here as well, so that folks catch it, if they are here.
Hello , have cuvave fuzz pedal , but it seems i accidentally i broke Fuzz potentiometer (middle knob) so , what's the specs to find replacement , thanks for helping me
hi, with this modification the gate is activated but sustain is lost. Is there any way to get good sustain back? Thanks
I thought it was a woolly mammoth clone, I have a first gen cuvave fuzz with the Velcro gate and also a mooer Fog bass fuzz(a straight 4 knob woolly mammoth clone) and noticed with some knob twerking I got get them to sound identical
Excellent!
Great video, thanks!
Very nice!
So this is the industry standard budget fuzz? ( the expensive industry standard is the fuzz war i guess )
See, this is why I was puzzled. A "Fuzz Face" clone, colloquially known as a YAFF (Yet another Fuzz Face), makes sense, and even adding a tone knob to it for bonus points. But the "gated" thing is more of a niche taste for a lot of people. It's like making an "octave fuzz" like a SuperFuzz or an FZ-2 as a "standard budget fuzz". I mean, I like them, but a lot of people don't.
Thank You Buddy 👍
Great lesson, thanks a lot
Why is the trimpot in the switch holes, and why is did you put it on the opposite side of the R7 you removed? I’m totally confused as to why it went into different holes, much more so why they are on the separate side.
So, the Pinch on the Wooly Mammoth is as if you soldered wires to the pin points on the board @R7 and then connected the other end to a pot )instead of the trim pot you used) in order to be able to change the R7 value from the topside of the pedal?
Is that correct?
Thank you for these videos! I'm learning a great deal though I will probably never use most of it, it is still very enjoyable to see what can be done with little hard bits of plastic and wire. 😉
I understand clearly your explanations of what and why you do what you do, but I'm clueless as to how these bits are able to do what they do and also how anyone can figure what the result will be before hand.
Example, you wanted more gating, so you knew where to go and what to change and by what value.
I have know idea what magical powers you possess to have such knowledge!!!
How do you know this stuff?
Where does one learn this very stuff to do what you can do?
🤘💀🤘
Dude, you blew my mind re the Wolly Mammoth. I think my Little Bear... what's it called, Fuzzy Elephant? I can't recall... The Little Bear Woolly Mammoth clone, it does not gate properly. Pedal first in line, any combination of the knobs and the pinch knob does not gate... and it doesn't even sound right either. I haven't found use for it, on the bass side, or the guitar side. Any thoughts?
God Bless you and your channel!
You are a major hero for doing the actual work to figure out this Cuvave Fuzz gate issue.
I bought the Cuvave after watching Ryan's vid, I LOVED the sound of his fuzz, it was exactly what I was looking for, but any pedal that would even approach that degree of gnarl was over $100, like well over, and talking used prices. Which doesn't make sense, as usually the gnarliest are the simplest/most affordable designs.
Ryan's Cuvave was, therefore, a Godsend! Until I got my Cuvave, and it was just a square wave of slightly burnt toast. No Gating, in fact, I think it had the longest sustain of any fuzz I have! I've left it at the start of my pedal board, but rarely use it. I WILL have to do this tinsy winsy smd mod. You've led me into my first smd attempt!
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
No worries. The Wooly Mammoth schematic follows the one on this video pretty closely. However, if memory serves, ZVEX only lets the total resistance across that feedback network get to about 500K. Because of the already inline 100K and 220K resistors that the Cuvave put in there, I still need to add another 470K to get the gating to my taste (a total of 790K), so that 500K from ZVEX's isn't enough, in my opinion. But again, gating fuzz is an acquired taste, so most folks don't care for it.
@@erikvincent5846 Okay, I see. So maybe I can mod the Cuvave, AND the Woolly Mammoth with a variable resistor pot, and dial in that gate that I so badly crave!!
I've learned so much from you from just a few vids and a few comments, thank you so much!
Oh, and the playing at the end of the video, before the +drop+, nice stuff, sounds like me! The drop, you can have!
Thanks. That was a project band of mine from a long while ago.
@@erikvincent5846 Well, it sounds great. You still have creative musical juices flowing through your brain anymore, or has the noodle dried out a bit? Just asking as an old timer who's decidedly drying.
@@alphanumeric1529 I still play a little, but with my day job demanding a lot more time over the years and having a family, my lack of practice hasn't been good on me. I really need to get on that.
I love this stuff!!! THanks a lot for sharing this information... It is greatly appreciated and I will check out the store and support... as long as you keep teaching me shit ;)
So so so good and helpful. Ive been learning how various circuits work, but this is the stuff that gets my imagination going. Lets hack it. Lets make it better. And I cant do that on my own! Thank you!
No worries. Any other circuits you are curious about?
I've had 3 on my boards for the last while: Si Fuzz Face with 5088s or 3094s, a Son of Screamer (TS808 without buffers), and a Ruby Amp. All begging for mods, and often above my head what changes when you for example remove a resistor like in the Cuvave.
@@michaelpeterson5061 one way to look at mods is to see "patterns" in schematics between pedals you like. If you see the same sort of "idea" from two or three pedals, it's not a bad idea to look into what it is, and how you can apply it elsewhere. A good example of this are tonestacks. How to apply the tone controls from pedal 1 over to pedal 2.
Eric, thats a really good learning point and I totally agree. I ha e payed attention to clipping and input/ output portions of TS and OD style circuits recently. Fuzzes have escaped me in the way you explained it and Im super grateful for the vid. Since I posted I added the feedback pot in my Si FF, and its the best damn fuzz Ive played yet. So good. Thanks again.
Hey great vid, so is changing R7 by adding the trimpot adjusting the DC bias point towards a rail and thus causing the clipping? I've been watching your other vids and I'm trying to link what I've learnt! thanks :-)
So this one is a bit of a tricky piece. R7 portion of the circuit is what is called shunt-series feedback, aka "Current Controlled Current Source". Part of the output current is taken from Q2 emitter and introduced as current in Q1 base, so the feedback resistors (R7 being one of them in series) is shunt connected with the input and, in series, connected with the output.
@@erikvincent5846 thanks for the quick reply Erik, makes sense, what is it about the amount of current from Q2 that causes the gating, is it explainable or just a happy side effect of the feedback?
@@silvertongues2 There is a lot to explain for the whole effect of how negative feedback works, but the general idea is that when using two transistors, especially ones with low input impedance which pretty much all BJTs are (Germanium and Silicon ones), the negative feedback resistance controls the variances of the transistors. So, in Germanium Transistors, it makes the temperature swings make less of a difference. It also reduces non-linear distortion and improves the impedances between the two transistors. It's the impedances that are being effected that cause the gating. As the resistance increases, the impedance is going up, but at a cost of requiring more of the sound to have more current to do anything. As the current entering the amplifier is finite, increasing the resistance makes it harder and harder for it to get the amplifier to amplify it. That "difficulty to amplify" is what we hear as gating, and when it gets terribly difficult, we hear it as "sputtering" or "splat".
@@erikvincent5846 excellent explanation Erik, many thanks, it corrects a mis-understanding on my part.
@@silvertongues2 No worries. These are the types of questions I had when starting out. If you don't ask, you don't know. That and it gives me some feedback of potential videos to make.
Any idea if the Caline/Azor 3 knob fuzz is this also? Sounds so similar..
Not sure. I haven't seen a photo of the PCB inside it. It definitely sounds like a two-transistor fuzz.
Hi! What about 500k pot? The original resistance on the cuvave v1 was 470k.
I have the Mvave as the cuvave isn't available.
cool video, thanks for the info!
Thanks for that, very informative, cheers
Very nice video! I'm looking for a Cheap pedal set, but o don't know if i choose mini or full size pedals. What do you think about the durability of pedals built with Smd boards compared to those built with Pcb boards? Thanks and succes to the channel!
As of mini pedals vs "nano" vs "full size" vs "large", aka 1590A vs 1590B vs 125B vs 1590BB, the mini size works for me as an "always on" device, but constant stomping, the balance of where the stomp switch is vs the body of the pedal of itself, it gets annoying. 1590B is the perfect size, but if you like your jacks all on the top, it's impossible to do that. 125B is the perfect balance in that regard. 1590BB enclosures do serve a purpose, though, where there are too many components to fit in anything smaller.
As of through-hole vs SMD, through-hole is structurally stronger and more reliable from mechanical forces, but a well-soldered SMD PCB can be just about as strong. Through-hole designs handle "drop tests" better than SMD. Also, through-hole is easier for a lot of people to solder. Personally, I solder a lot of SMD stuff at my "day job", so it's not an issue for me. However, I've been doing it for years, so there is that.
@@erikvincent5846 Thanks for message reply and very good explanation!
Could I do this mod on a big muff style pedal?
Where did you find the schematics for the pedal? I'm looking for cuvave schematics since i want to change the noisy stomp switches on my digidelay and reverb, but I'm a beginner at electronics so want to be sure what I'm doing 😄
I made the schematics for that pedal that you see in the video. I tore apart the Cuvave Fuzz that I had and traced all the PCB traces and measured the resistors and capacitors individually, and looked up all the parts used (ICs and diodes). I recognized the topology after I got about 20% of the way through it, so that helped, as it did line up exactly with a ZVEX Wooly Mammoth, minus the "pinch" potentiometer.
@@erikvincent5846 Great video. What was the original value of the R in the first version w velcro that the 0 ohm R replaced ?
Fan-fucking-tastic! Got lucky with my first cuvave being gated. Tried get another with no luck. Thought about trying to mod but was scared off by the micro surface mounted components. Think I will give it a shot now though. Thanks for the kickass video!
Give it a shot! With the trim pot, you can now dial in the gate to taste.
I’ve got one of the original fuzz that gates. Also have a newer one that does not. Both boards are laid out the same and have the 0 resister in r7. The boards do appear to be different runs but I can’t find any differences in values. I swapped power boards and had no affect so it is something on that effect board. What you did works but sure would like to know why the original gates. Have pics of both boards can share with you if interested.
@@shotgunrebels Same with my two Cuvaves. One gates slightly, the other one not. Both have the 0 ohm R7. I measured the R3 to be different on them. The gated version had the lower resistance(!?) I will measure again when removing R7 and adding a trimpot.
Love. This. So. Much.
how do you get rid of the noise floor?
Don't got through two sets of regulators. My "Mojave Fuzz" doesn't use them as I was never intending to use a USB power option.
Hey, interesting experiment. I have a question for you. I built a Fuzzrocious Ram The Manparts. It's a gated fuzz/LM386 overdrive sorta hybrid. But it's a pretty simple little circuit. The gating occurs, I guess, from starving voltage to the LM386 itself. Only trouble is that the LM386 apparently doesn't like being starved of voltage. I am absolutely in love with this little circuit but occasionally it will just sorta seize up and stop making sound. I have tried the LM386N-3 and the N-1 and both do the same thing. Apparently running it at higher voltage does nothing to solve the issue. Maybe why they stopped making it. Can you think of a way to stabilize the circuit without fundamentally changing the sound of the effect? :/
Sorry to bug you @DIY Guitar Pedals, You have any idea how to find the schematics to the Caline Snakebite reverb pedal? I am trying to determine if I can mod it at all to get the wet mix up to 100%.
Thanks for the great vid! If I just have a standard 650 ohm resistor (not a micro resistor like the 0 ohm one you removed), will it still fit without shorting things out??
Why does just adding the trimpot doesn't do the trick? The O Ohm R7 doesn't harm the gating, doesn't it?
Have you guys ever made one of these into a octave fuzz?
Thank you!
Your welcome
If i try with a smaller potentiometer (9 mm) should i use linear or logarithmic?
I'd probably still use a linear (typical of trim pots) as the curve slope doesn't offer any real advantages in this case.
hi, can it be equipped with a parallel regulator for Direct and Fuzz signals?
Just soldered a 1M trimpot. Thank you!!!
Cool. More movies like that.
Informative and fun, but I’d never be able to desolder those tiny resistors… good stuff
It isn't too difficult. You can almost do it by accident because of how small they are. They are just a pain to put back on.
If you never try then you'll never know
do you think the rowin frenzy one works in the same way?
It is possible. This works with pretty much all Fuzz Face topology two transistor fuzzes.
This is great, It would be interesting to add a pot as R7, what value would you recommend? is there space or will it be necessary to rehouse? ,
No room in that cramped pedal, but a 1Meg pot would be advised
I’m trying the mod, sonfarvso good. Thank you very much. instagram.com/p/CRnN1k4sPxa/?
What happen if only remove the R7? The fuzz would work gated?
How did you get the schematic or did you create it?
I created it. I bought one and tore it apart and traced it.
Question,, could you get the rip effect if you used a noise gate pedal with the cuvave?