I came across this the other day. I’m the first to admit, I’m sort of a sucker when it comes to steampunk. I love brass and cogs and aged parts, etc. I mean, it just looks fun and cool. Steampunk is about making things look old, but it can also mean using antiquated technology – which can be entertainingly impractical. A good example of that is the Candela Vibro Phase by ZVex.
What I wanted to talk about today is the Steampunk Fuzz Boz by Cpl. Crapper. This steampunk box tucks the fuzz circuit in a glass power tube (valve) enclosure on top of a very cool wooden box with +/- power terminals and a light bulb for LED.
What I enjoyed is the set up story. Check out the video below – talking about the ‘discovery’ of his ‘granddad’s fuzz box’:
Steampunk Fuzz Box
As you can see, this project would be pretty fun. He’s using the DAM Meathead Fuzz circuit. I love the style of point to point on ‘rails’ to connect to the terminals of the tube socket. I was surprised that it sounded pretty clean. I would suspect that there should be plenty of RF interference. He must have added some shielding inside the wooden box. The fuzz circuit encased in the glass of the tube, so again, I’m surprised we’re not experiencing a ton of buzz since that is not shielded.
Cpl. Crapper wrote a blog post talking about the building the project here.
The old school power toggle switch makes sense. Probably a SPST switch, but the doorbell type switch for the footswitch has got me scratching my head too. Typically this would need to be 3PDT switch to activate the light, and route clean and effected signals. Curious how he would have managed that with that particular switch. Relay after that switch?
Reading the article more closely, he states – “I also included a true-bypass circuit mainly because I was using a momentary push switch and also needed to supply current to the light bulb with an FET.” Very cool way of managing that problem.
Build your own steampunk stomp box!
I’ve talked to a few of you pedal nerds out there about the how to get into some steampunk pedal projects. I personally would start in a few areas.
- Home Resource. In my town there is a place called Home Resource. I’m sure there is something very similar where you live. Basically, they go in and recover parts from old houses and offer them up for resale. So tons of doors, weird light fixtures, etc. Tons of crazy stuff. I would probably go to a place like this first for some pieces of brass, possible enclosure, etc.
- Pawn Shop / Antique Store. You’ll definitely pay more here, but might be able to find something re-purpose
- Amazon! So, I was curious about steampunk ‘parts’ and if Amazon had something to pick from. Oh my.. do they. Check it out here. Also, I was curious if there were “old boxes” there too. Sure enough, you can get those as well.
If you build something… keep me posted! Let me know what you think about this project or steampunk in general by commenting below!
