This pedal is a slightly modified clone of the legendary Tycobrahe Octavia octave-fuzz pedal immortalized by Jimi Hendrix on Purple Haze and other songs. It has a very unique--and rather eerie--sound that is instantly recognizable, once you've heard it. I built it on a PCB purchased from General Guitar Gadgets (GGG), having obtained the other necessary components from my usual sources (Mouser, Small Bear, etc.) using the bill of materials provided by GGG on their website. The build itself is quite easy with relatively few components. The design includes one component that is fairly unusual for an effects pedal--a small audio transformer visible in the lower left area of the PCB in the "gut shot" photo below. While very small as transformers go, it's quite large compared to most of the electrical components typcially found on effects PCB's.

In addition to being "true bypass", the GGG design adds a feature that the original Octavia didn't have, namely a "pregain" control. This is quite a useful addition, since at full gain the fuzz portion of the effect is very strong and tends to drown out the subtler octave-up effect. I find that running the pregain at about 60% of full range seems to give a good blend between the two effects. The octave effect is most pronounced when playing up in the area of the 12th fret, say between the 8th and 16th frets.

The build itself is quite straightforward, and the only modification I made from the "stock" configuration was to add a toggle switch to allow bypassing the octave part of the effect and run it just as a fuzz pedal. This capability is included in the GGG circuit board design, so it's a simple matter of wiring in a SPST toggle switch as shown in the build instructions. This pedal is a great and rather unusual addition to your personal DIY effects collection, particularly for all you "Hendrix wannabes"! 'Scuse me while I kiss the sky....

	Take a look at Duh Voodoo Man's Guitars & Amps
	Go to Duh Voodoo Man's Home Page
	Just close this browser window, please...