Build - Pedal Project: Burns Buzzaround (Eyelet Board)
The Burns Buzzaround is a classic fuzz pedal most notable for its use by Robert Fripp, guitarist of King Crimson. It is a 3-transistor germanium fuzz with a circuit topology that is similar (but not identical) to the Tonebender Mk3/4 with Q1 and Q2 set up as a darlington pair, though the Buzzaround came before the Mk3/4. The Buzzaround is thought to have been introduced in 1966 and discontinued in 1968.
The Buzzaround has Balance, Sustain, and Timbre controls. The controls are roughly analogous to Volume/Fuzz/Tone, but the "Balance" control on the Buzzaround is not a typical volume control. Volume does decrease down to silence as the Balance control is turned counter-clockwise, but the Balance control also has an effect on the bias of Q3. It can be quite a subtle difference, so the Balance control can be plenty effective as a volume control, but a somewhat common Buzzaround tweak is to add a "Master Volume" control at the output.
Original Buzzaround units fetch extremely high prices, but it is a fairly simple circuit. The original Buzzaround used a 2x12 turret board very similar to our P-HTBU-2X12-D, though the actual layout could have fit on a 2x9 board (three columns are unused). A 2x8 Buzzaround layout and a 2x10 Buzzaround layout can be found below. These are inspired by the original layouts, but with some minor tweaks to make the layout more condensed and neater. If you would prefer to use the original layout, we have a drawing for that on our P-HTBU-2X12-D listing.
This is a PNP germanium build. It should either be run on battery power only or considerations need to be made for how to provide -9V. For more information, see our PNP "Positive Ground" Pedal Considerations tech article.
Figure 1: 2x8 eyelet board layout of a PNP Buzzaround build
Figure 2: 2x10 eyelet board layout of a PNP Buzzaround build
See Figure 4 in our Guitar Pedal Footswitch and Jack Wiring article for the recommended footswitch and I/O wiring.
Figure 3: Buzzaround Schematic
Parts List
Potentiometers | |||
| Alpha 100K Linear | 2 | R-VAM100KL-SS | |
| Alpha 10K Linear | 1 | R-VAM10KL-SS | |
Capacitors | |||
| 1 nF | 1 | C-UD001-630 | Film capacitor |
| 100 nF | 2 | C-MKT-D1-400 | Film capacitor |
| 5 µF | 2 | C-SA5-50 | Electrolytic capacitor |
| 50 µF | 1 | C-SA50-50 | Electrolytic capacitor |
Resistors | |||
| 3.3 kΩ | 1 | R-I3D3K | Carbon composition resistor |
| 10 kΩ | 3 | R-I10K | Carbon composition resistor |
| 15 kΩ | 1 | R-I15K | Carbon composition resistor |
| 27 kΩ | 1 | R-I27K | Carbon composition resistor |
| 100 kΩ | 1 | R-I100K | Carbon composition resistor |
| 470 kΩ | 1 | R-I470K | Carbon composition resistor |
Semiconductors | |||
| PNP germanium | 3 | P-Q2N404 | The PNP germanium transistor of your choice can be used here. P-Q2N404 is a good option. |
| Germanium diode | 1 | P-Q1N60-KBK | The germanium diode of your choice can be used here. P-Q1N60-KBK is a good option. |
Other Items | |||
| Knob | 3 | P-K388S | |
| Pseudo Eyelet Board | 1 | P-HTBW-2X10 | |
| Stereo jack | 1 | W-SC-112BX | Input jack |
| Mono jack | 1 | W-SC-111X | Output jack |
| Battery clip | 1 | K-P155 | |
| Battery cushion | 1 | S-H165 | |
| Topcoat wire spool | 1 | S-W3024TC-BK-50 | |
| Black 1590BB | 1 | P-H1590BBBK | |
| DPDT footswitch | 1 | P-H497 | |
| Dress nut | 1 | P-H52-NUT-DRESS | |