Harmonic Fuzz Shway (harmonic percolator based)

[jojokeo]

I designed this effects pedal after the fabled & famous Harmonic Percolator. The original pedals today are extremely rare commanding prices well over $500 IF you can even find them. Clones vary in degree of actual vintage parts used, values, & even the exact schematic used despite what or who says it because when three or four actual pedals were taken apart to be reverse engineered, there were variances in every one of them. But there are self-stated "exact clones" out there selling for $295 to $330 depending on the site you're looking at. Are they exact? Who knows? This is all part of the mystique of these pedals & why they are so hard to clone exactly and why all the variances in sound & performance between them if you search around to hear them all. Despite the circuit being fairly simplistic (yet obscure) it is highly dependent upon the parts utilized, the parts being difficult & sometimes impossible and/or very expensive to locate. It was created by a man named Ed Giese of Interfax Electronics in Milwaukee Wisconsin during the 1970's. He was also devilishly "Dumblish" before Alexander as he potted (concealed) his transistors & some parts so that nobody could read what they were. I use the same supposed vintage-correct transistors & components appropriate for performance (per general consensus) along with a few modern twists bringing the pedal up to date and expanding it's original abilities. I put a tremendous amount of R & D into this one and feel it really paid off. It has no battery operation due to cramming as much into the small enclosure as possible and since it's highly prone to oscillation certain safeguards & just plain room was needed. The controls: They are all very interactive with each other. If you turn one up then another will need to be turned down as they each affect the overall output. The Drive & Body work together to set the amount of gain & fullness of the signal helping with various types of pickups & guitars used. The Grind controls the amount of compression and the Output is just that helping to equalize the output volume if wanted between being on & off with other pedals on a pedal board (it is true bypass unlike the original (& clones?). The pedal cleans up extremely well with the guitar's volume knob(s) and the fuzzy-distortion type of signal can yield a very distinct clarity to chords (with great feel, character, & control in your fingertips & gut), so much so that you can play jazzy minor 9ths, 7b5's, etc. and you can hear the separation of notes in the chords very well for a fuzz pedal. It'll easily go into musical feedback if wanted sounding very close to the originals and/or even a hint of octave down effect when amp, guitar, & settings are all just right. It can be used as the only pedal you would need for your entire gig controlling your tone & grind simply with the guitar's controls. At this time I can make a limited quantity of them, PM me if interested. Here are a few photos.
 

[Ritchie200]

So this is what you have been talking about!  Sound clip?  Video?

Jim

[jojokeo]

Yeah. It took many hours auditioning every suspected component, value, & voltage along with almost every switch or control I could come up with that could possibly enhance things and settled on what I found to maximize the circuit best while still trying to stay as true to the circuit as possible & felt was warranted. It is always a labor of love or I wouldn't do it. The fun & excitement of exploration going through all of the trial & error that the process dictates & demands makes it worthwhile in the end when it's all said & done right.

[terminalgs]

I've been reading about the Interfax Harmonic Percolator for years. Its very cool that you have reverse engineered it..

[jojokeo]

I've been reading about the Interfax Harmonic Percolator for years. Its very cool that you have reverse engineered it..

I don't want to take credit as there were a number of people involved on this and it was pretty daunting. I just combed through all of the info I could possibly find and used it to my advantage. In the end it's just like the many things here, you just have to build it and see where it leads you. But I can't leave anything along so this kind of thing only becomes my starting point. It's where you end up that matters most. Thanks to all that have PM'd so far! 

[Ed_Chambley]

Man, I missed the original post.  I knew you were doing something with pedals.


So this looks real cool.  I am very familiar with the original.  It is crazy how things work out.  When the Harmonic Percolators were new I played with one for a little while.  I could get it to do that reverse pitch.  You never know what the next Klon is going to be.

[SILVERGUN]

I am very familiar with the original.  It is crazy how things work out.  When the Harmonic Percolators were new I played with one for a little while.  I could get it to do that reverse pitch.

I wasn't born yet so I'm completely out of the loop on this one....

 

[Ed_Chambley]

I am very familiar with the original.  It is crazy how things work out.  When the Harmonic Percolators were new I played with one for a little while.  I could get it to do that reverse pitch.

I wasn't born yet so I'm completely out of the loop on this one....

Not a lot to miss as these early pedals were quite simple.  The Percolator was made in St Louis I think and there are 3 or 4 different circuit versions of it.  It along with another pedal I remember both plugged in on the left and exited on the right.  Backwards!  No one cared.


Maybe JoJo can make something with it.  These old pedals were cool in their own way.  Effects had a profound affect on music.  It is funny, but you can listen to how music changed throughout the years and hear each new effect as it became available.


Also, not to worry if you don't have a loop.  There were no loops then so how could you have been out of it?  I don't know of any recording that the Harmonic Percolator was used on.  We are having a huge run on 'Vintage" tones with people interested in recapturing that vibe.  The only thing with most "Vintage" gear is that it was crap when it was originally made so now it is just old crap.


I have this little thing called a Icecube that was used to plug into the reverb of a Fender amp with reverb.  Made the Reverb a gain stage.  Also an awful sounding thing especially since you had to unplug the reverb.   


Lets take you Super Reverb and remove the reverb and add a clipping sound which would easily swamp the original tone.


I am waiting for the Icecube to become worth what a Klon is-$2000.   

[jojokeo]

I could get it to do that reverse pitch.

Under very specific "Albini" conditions if one could get things just right it was a slight octave down effect. And under what conditions? When listening closely it's a guitar with single coils running through a single ended amp using the neck pickup & playing around the 8th to 12th frets where it could be most noticeable. I think it's more the result of a frequency dependent modulation due to specific bias & signal interplay. I could get mine to do this to varying degrees but to me it isn't something to be a "must have' at the expense of what you have to give up. Maximizing for that limited overall function & sound the circuit could generate in my opinion so I stopped designing for and/or around it rather focusing on maximizing the best tonal range & quality of the fuzz-type of distortion producing 2nd order harmonics and giving it a very tube-ish quality w/ musical feedback even at moderately low volumes.

The Percolator was made in St Louis I think and there are 3 or 4 different circuit versions of it.

"It was created by a man named Ed Giese of Interfax Electronics in Milwaukee Wisconsin during the 1970's"

Maybe JoJo can make something with it.  These old pedals were cool in their own way.  Effects had a profound affect on music.

I think I already did?!? (at least I hope others agree?)

[SILVERGUN]

Jojo,,,I'm just posting this as a source of comparison..

How much does your effect sound like this, IYO?
When they first engage the effect @ 0:15 the first thought that popped into my head was..
"man, that sounds just like the tone of the guitar intro from 'Stay With Me - Faces!!"

And then as the demo continues, I was really enjoying the sustaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-ZNPMhOZYY#ws

Also, not to worry if you don't have a loop.  There were no loops then so how could you have been out of it?  I don't know of any recording that the Harmonic Percolator was used on.  We are having a huge run on 'Vintage" tones with people interested in recapturing that vibe.  The only thing with most "Vintage" gear is that it was crap when it was originally made so now it is just old crap.

Shhhh....don't tell anybody...
I've had my own run on building 'vintage' circuits......we don't want that market to dry up too 

[jojokeo]

Here's the deal, you hear where it gets real thin in spots and sort of splattery or sputtery? This is towards where it gets that frequency dependent weird unstable modulation thing going that can produce the octave down perception I was saying. It's not very musical to my ears and I don't like it or find it of any real tonal value. That's what I was trying to describe in earlier posts. One of the main reasons is the way the signal is clipped at a very low forward voltage (really screwing with the signal & it's output level) and the other is because of the way part of the circuit is biased. Another thing is the overly compressed part of the demo when everything was turned up. This was a bit off the charts for me even though mine does this too but not as badly to that extent and stays a bit more musical. When adjusted like this & playing you feel like you're getting some amplifier sag going along with it which is kind of cool. Then you can ease off the vol on the guitar and it cleans up very nicely.

So I addressed some of these issues, changed the clipping part of the circuit while also putting in a pot to vary the amount of compression spawning the Grind control. I think it's better this way as it's a very useful control.The Body control adjusts the signal's frequency range that reaches the circuit to give greater control rather than just the original HP's signal amount, and helps with various pickups/guitars that are used since this circuit is very input sensitive. This is responsible as to why it's so touch sensitive controlling things with the guitar's vol control and simply how hard you strum or pick.

Hope this helps? I'm not the best at explaining in detail like you, tubenit, and Ed - I just know what I hear and feel.

[Ed_Chambley]

I could get it to do that reverse pitch.

Under very specific "Albini" conditions if one could get things just right it was a slight octave down effect. And under what conditions? When listening closely it's a guitar with single coils running through a single ended amp using the neck pickup & playing around the 8th to 12th frets where it could be most noticeable. I think it's more the result of a frequency dependent modulation due to specific bias & signal interplay. I could get mine to do this to varying degrees but to me it isn't something to be a "must have' at the expense of what you have to give up. Maximizing for that limited overall function & sound the circuit could generate in my opinion so I stopped designing for and/or around it rather focusing on maximizing the best tonal range & quality of the fuzz-type of distortion producing 2nd order harmonics and giving it a very tube-ish quality w/ musical feedback even at moderately low volumes.

The Percolator was made in St Louis I think and there are 3 or 4 different circuit versions of it.

"It was created by a man named Ed Giese of Interfax Electronics in Milwaukee Wisconsin during the 1970's"

Maybe JoJo can make something with it.  These old pedals were cool in their own way.  Effects had a profound affect on music.

I think I already did?!? (at least I hope others agree?)

Jojo, what I meant when I wrote maybe you could do something with is was not that you had not.  What I was saying is if anyone could do it you can.  I know you have been learning about these.  Over the years I have played a few "updated" versions of the HP circuit, or at least one of the circuits.


I am not a big user of the fuzz tones, but still I would like to check yours out.  When you get around to it, get out some of your prized trannys and make me one and ship it to me.  That is when you get time.  I am not a big fuzz user, but I love pedals.


I don't understand why women want diamonds when you can get pedals out of the jewelry case.

[jojokeo]

Ed, I know what you meant my friend and it's a nice complement too, thank you buddy. At first I wanted to see what the big mystery was all about. In fact, that's really been my approach with everything now that I think about it, not just pedals but amp circuits, guitar wiring mods, etc.
 
I have a curiosity about finding things out on my own that I learned by watching my older brother when I was 4 or 5 years old. The toys he would get for birthdays & x-mas would be torn completely apart usually that same day.   "Most" got put back together again. At first I just didn't understand why he'd do that. But it didn't stop there and as we got older it continued with mini-bikes, motorcycles, cars, etc. I'd just watch him in amazement but also learned how things went together to do something. He'd explain or I'd ask questions and before long I wasn't afraid to take things of my own apart also! Now I'm NOT a gearhead by any means but it helped me re-build my first motorcycle, then my first car - a Boss 302 '69 Mustang fastback which all the new Mustangs were modeled after. Those were fun times. But I really hate having grease all over me, twisted like a pretzel under a car in closterphobic conditions, banging my hands, pinching my fingers, & skinning my knuckles open. Forget that!    But back at the same time while I was playing, I developed & applied this approach to my electronics & musical curiosities that just started to happen more and more until it evolved into where I am today 30+ years later.
 
I had no idea I was going to get into my background just now    but my point is that when I build something I'm not interested in ending up with an exact clone of anything. Otherwise I'd just buy whatever it is I want or like. What would be the point other than to say "I did that" (yes I did too build that O'bama!  ). But when cloning something enough times then the novelty wears off. So over all of those years a unique set of abilities were developed which combine up to be able to do things and hopefully improve upon things if at all possible? Everything we find out is made of and/or built with compromises whether it be materials, money, safety, knowledge level, etc. My end goal begins with researching everything I can, to build (or take something apart  ) and then find and change the things which I feel can make something better, that I like & want to use (and think maybe others might too?)!
 
There's many people on this forum which share & exhibit some of the same qualities with varying degrees of skill level, experience, execution, and competency and we're all here to learn and make ourselves better or we wouldn't be here I think? We all share this commonality and it makes for a lot fun being in the company of like-minded people.

[SILVERGUN]

There's many people on this forum which share & exhibit some of the same qualities with varying degrees of skill level, experience, execution, and competency and we're all here to learn and make ourselves better or we wouldn't be here I think? We all share this commonality and it makes for a lot fun being in the company of like-minded people.

My wife lovingly? refers to this as "The Cult"
 

[jojokeo]

My wife lovingly? refers to this as "The Cult"
 

Ha! You are an official member of the "cathode follower" religion! My wife just says "stop chatting & come to dinner (or go to bed)". When she starts feeling a bit neglected, I start showing & explaining a schematic or circuit to her and that's all it takes..."go away..." Reverse psychology works every time.

[jojokeo]

So this is what you have been talking about!  Sound clip?  Video?

I only have a Canon camera set to video mode so it's compression along with youtube's masks the fuzz/distortion as well as the volume changes but it's all I've got right now.

http://youtu.be/scqVePbc8o4

[SILVERGUN]

NICE jo!!
Great range of useable settings and I love both extremes.....of course I like it with everything dimed for that vicious lead tone,,,but I also enjoyed the clean boost setting at the end and felt like it added some nice character to your clean tone.

And, as far as a demo goes,,as usual, you do a fine job of demoing the entire range...

[jojokeo]

Thanks SG, but I'm not exactly thrilled with it. Had to get something up for requests and time is always tickin'. My mind was blank early in the morning & I had no game plan then weird stuff comes outta nowhere (thinking, i actually played part of Rock Bottom?! that's been like decades ) but was trying to show some kind of bass line riff.
 
The worst part is my camera did a horrible job trying to be a video camera. You can't hear any volume changes or anything 'cause it keeps compressing everything. I was working the guitar vol a lot throughout but was very hard to tell. As I'm typing this, I suddenly remembered your iPhone recordings I should give that a go & see what happens?
 
On another "note", could you hear the sustaining during several various settings? The overall amp volume was pretty low in low gain setting, using single coils too. Sort of the worst case scenario for high gain & sustain yet it still performed well in this setting even through the camera fail. Too bad nobody could really hear it's true sound & character.

[SILVERGUN]

Thanks SG, but I'm not exactly thrilled with it. Had to get something up for requests and time is always tickin'. My mind was blank early in the morning & I had no game plan then weird stuff comes outta nowhere (thinking, i actually played part of Rock Bottom?! that's been like decades ) but was trying to show some kind of bass line riff.
 
The worst part is my camera did a horrible job trying to be a video camera. You can't hear any volume changes or anything 'cause it keeps compressing everything. I was working the guitar vol a lot throughout but was very hard to tell. As I'm typing this, I suddenly remembered your iPhone recordings I should give that a go & see what happens?
 
On another "note", could you hear the sustaining during several various settings? The overall amp volume was pretty low in low gain setting, using single coils too. Sort of the worst case scenario for high gain & sustain yet it still performed well in this setting even through the camera fail. Too bad nobody could really hear it's true sound & character.

I feel the same way about all of my recordings to date.....

I could hear the sustain and the controllable feedback....very cool!

[Ed_Chambley]

Thanks SG, but I'm not exactly thrilled with it. Had to get something up for requests and time is always tickin'. My mind was blank early in the morning & I had no game plan then weird stuff comes outta nowhere (thinking, i actually played part of Rock Bottom?! that's been like decades ) but was trying to show some kind of bass line riff.
 
The worst part is my camera did a horrible job trying to be a video camera. You can't hear any volume changes or anything 'cause it keeps compressing everything. I was working the guitar vol a lot throughout but was very hard to tell. As I'm typing this, I suddenly remembered your iPhone recordings I should give that a go & see what happens?
 
On another "note", could you hear the sustaining during several various settings? The overall amp volume was pretty low in low gain setting, using single coils too. Sort of the worst case scenario for high gain & sustain yet it still performed well in this setting even through the camera fail. Too bad nobody could really hear it's true sound & character.

Jojo, the demo is great.  I can tell you I have been doing different things trying to get video and audio for demo and have the actual demo sound good.  I am using a High Def Digital Video and getting the audio with different mics and whatever recording software.  I use pro tools, but I did get some simpler stuff as well and also Doug uses Mixcraft so I got a copy.  I like Mixcraft. 


This is what I know going in the door and that is why it is difficult for me to put any stock in what we listen to on a computer.  I have a few demos I have compressed and have tried the recordings and none sound like what I am hearing when playing and I am not playing anything difficult.  Simply going through the chords and run a few riffs.  Last I am doing some recognizable tunes with tremolo.  The amp is great and very lively with great touch and wonderful range, but all the recording sound flat and dull.  Now when I listen to otherd demoing something I own I can hear they have the same problem.  Some are way better and I have asked those how they are doing the demo, but even the best ones are different.


I may build a couple of pedals as I was cleaning up some and found all mu old pedal parts and a gross of broken pedals that need repairs.  I watched a very professional demo on Klon style pedals and showing the differences.  At the end the guitar player said he liked the original because it was the most transparent.  I cannot tell it was more transparent, but that word is thrown around a lot.  I could tell by his reaction when he was pleased with one of the pedals.  My point being is the gold Klon is $1800-$2000 and I could not tell any difference between it and a modded EH soul food.  Sure, there were pitch differences but that can be changed.  Plus there are pitch changes from day to day.


My point is a enough of all those little things that make up what I really like in tone are lost in the recording process.  If you want to have some fun, find 2 demos of the same pedal and play them at the same time and see if they are close to sounding the same. 


It doesn't matter when we record our own music because we usually layer guitars and add effects, but getting a recording that is so specific is a challenge.

[jojokeo]

My point is a enough of all those little things that make up what I really like in tone are lost in the recording process.  If you want to have some fun, find 2 demos of the same pedal and play them at the same time and see if they are close to sounding the same. 

It doesn't matter when we record our own music because we usually layer guitars and add effects, but getting a recording that is so specific is a challenge.

Hi Ed - I messed around some more using the iPhone and it turned out pretty close to the Canon camera recording. I can use my microphones > interface > audacity for good true sound but then the recordings are only audio and youtube & demos for people prefer video. There is the dilemma at the moment. Hope all is going well?!

[Ed_Chambley]

My point is a enough of all those little things that make up what I really like in tone are lost in the recording process.  If you want to have some fun, find 2 demos of the same pedal and play them at the same time and see if they are close to sounding the same. 

It doesn't matter when we record our own music because we usually layer guitars and add effects, but getting a recording that is so specific is a challenge.

Hi Ed - I messed around some more using the iPhone and it turned out pretty close to the Canon camera recording. I can use my microphones > interface > audacity for good true sound but then the recordings are only audio and youtube & demos for people prefer video. There is the dilemma at the moment. Hope all is going well?!

I am testing a USB Yeti microphone in stereo mode at 3 meters along with a sure 57 close, 30 degrees off.  I didn't think much of it while setting it up.  I have to say I am impressed with the thing.  It captures a very ambient quality with very little work.  Gotta like that.

I have some audio, but it is just me jamming.  I am beginning to make some amp recordings tho.

[jojokeo]

I have some audio, but it is just me jamming.  I am beginning to make some amp recordings tho.

Excellent! I'm thinking that a video camera is necessary along with one or two software programs for editing. One for audio and the other to include those photo shots of the controls and/or player all at the same time? It's a lot of production for me though...why can't things just be simpler?

[jojokeo]

Big tranny purchase made and pedals are available once again if anyone is interested, just PM me please.