PROJECT NAME

VULCAN
BASED ON BUILD DIFFICULTY
fOXX Tone Machine Easy
EFFECT TYPE DOCUMENT VERSION
Octave Fuzz 1.2.1 (2024-08-08)
PROJECT SUMMARY
A classic untamed fuzz from the 1970s that adds an octave-up overtone.

Actual size is 2.3” x 1.86” (main board) and 1.78” x 0.86” (bypass board).

IMPORTANT NOTE
This documentation is for the PCB-only version of the project. If you are building the full kit from
Aion FX, please use the kit build documentation instead. The instructions are more detailed and
may differ in some areas due to the specialized parts and assembly methods used in our kits.

VULCAN OCTAVE FUZZ 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Project Overview 7 Drill Template
2 Introduction & Usage 8 Enclosure Layout
3-4 Parts List 9 Wiring Diagram
5 Build Notes 10 Licensing
6 Schematic 10 Document Revisions

INTRODUCTION
The Vulcan Octave Fuzz is a recreation of the fOXX Tone Machine, first released in 1971 and
discontinued in 1978. The Tone Machine is a thick fuzz that uses a phase splitter and complementary
rectifier to create an octave overtone.

The Tone Machine has a lot in common with the Fender Blender, but with a more pronounced octave and
smoother tone, as well as the ability to disable the octave by turning off half of the phase splitter.

The Vulcan is faithful to the original, but with two added modifications. First, the octave switch
(normally just “on” or “off” in the original) now has a 3rd setting allowing you to bypass the series diode
in non-octave mode. See build notes for more details on this.

The second modification is to the tone control. The tone control of the original is somewhat similar to
the Big Muff, but many people find it’s difficult to get good sounds from the treble side of the rotation.
By increasing the value of the treble-side tone capacitor, it improves the usability. A switch has been
added to let you choose between two different capacitors in addition to the original.

The build notes for the Vulcan are pretty extensive, so make sure to read pages 5 and 6 before building.

USAGE
The Vulcan has the following controls:

• Sustain is the overall distortion or fuzz level of the effect.

• Tone pans between a low-pass and high-pass filter similar to a Big Muff tone control.

• Volume controls the overall output of the effect.

• Octave (toggle switch) selects between octave, no octave (original) and no octave (modified).

• Midrange (toggle switch) selects between two tone control capacitors that impact the midrange
frequencies, as well as allowing you to select just the stock capacitor.

VULCAN OCTAVE FUZZ 2

PARTS LIST
This parts list is also available in a spreadsheet format which can be imported directly into Mouser for
easy parts ordering. Mouser doesn’t carry all the parts (most notably potentiometers) so the second tab
lists all the non-Mouser parts as well as sources for each.

View parts list spreadsheet →

PART VALUE TYPE NOTES

R1 1M Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R2 47k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R3 1k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R4 47k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R5 100k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R6 100k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R7 4k7 Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R8 4k7 Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R9 12k Metal film resistor, 1/4W Jumper to increase maximum sustain setting.

R10 100k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R11 100k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R12 220R Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R13 150k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R14 15k Metal film resistor, 1/4W Some variants have a 1n capacitor in parallel with R14.

R15 1k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R16 10k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R17 22k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R18 4k7 Metal film resistor, 1/4W Jumper for more control over bass range.

R19 470k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R20 47k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R21 10k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R22 1k5 Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R23 100k Metal film resistor, 1/4W Modification to prevent popping when switching the octave mode.

R24 100k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R25 100R Metal film resistor, 1/4W Power supply filter resistor.

RX1 OMIT Metal film resistor, 1/4W Modification for more pronounced tone control. See build notes.

LEDR 10k Metal film resistor, 1/4W LED current-limiting resistor. Adjust value to change LED brightness.

C1 100n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C2 1n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C3 100n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

VULCAN OCTAVE FUZZ 3

PARTS LIST, CONT.
PART VALUE TYPE NOTES
C4 1uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

C5 1uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

C6 1uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

C7 1uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

C8 22uF Electrolytic capacitor, 5mm See build notes for capacitor value.

C9 1uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

C10 1n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C11 2n2 Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C12 15n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C13 47n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C14 1uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

C15 1uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

C16 100uF Electrolytic capacitor, 6.3mm Power supply filter capacitor.

C17 100n MLCC capacitor, X7R Power supply filter capacitor.

D1 1N5817 Schottky diode, DO-41

D2 BAT46 Schottky diode, DO-35 Substitute. Original uses 1N34A or other germanium.

D3 BAT46 Schottky diode, DO-35 Substitute. Original uses 1N34A or other germanium.

D4 1N34A Diode, germanium, NOS

D5 1N34A Diode, germanium, NOS

Q1 2N5089 BJT transistor, NPN, TO-92 Modern substitute. The original used 2N3565 or 2N5133. For best
results, sort for hFE (gain) of 400 or more.
Q2 2N5089 BJT transistor, NPN, TO-92

Q3 2N5089 BJT transistor, NPN, TO-92

Q4 2N5089 BJT transistor, NPN, TO-92

SUST. 50kB 16mm right-angle PCB mount pot

TONE 50kB 16mm right-angle PCB mount pot

VOL. 50kB 16mm right-angle PCB mount pot

MID SPDT Toggle switch, SPDT on-on Modification to improve usefulness of tone control. See build notes.

OCTAVE SPDT cntr off Toggle switch, SPDT on-off-on Slight modification to the original. See build notes.

LED 5mm LED, 5mm, red diffused

IN 1/4" stereo 1/4" phone jack, closed frame Switchcraft 112BX or equivalent.

OUT 1/4" mono 1/4" phone jack, closed frame Switchcraft 111X or equivalent.

DC 2.1mm DC jack, 2.1mm panel mount Mouser 163-4302-E or equivalent.

BATT Battery snap 9V battery snap Optional. Use the soft plastic type—the hard-shell type will not fit.

FSW 3PDT Stomp switch, 3PDT

ENC 125B Enclosure, die-cast aluminum Can also use a Hammond 1590N1.

VULCAN OCTAVE FUZZ 4

BUILD NOTES

R9 resistor (v1.1 only)

Version 1.1 of the PCB (April 2020 - June 2024) added two new resistors, R23 and a second R9. The
second R9 was labeled by mistake—it should have been labeled R24. If you have PCB version 1.1, then
note that the top R9 is 12k and the bottom R9 is 100k. In version 1.2 this resistor has been correctly
relabeled R24.

Tracing notes: early vs. late version

We had the opportunity to trace two original Tone Machines, an early blue one and a later red one. The
early version is identical to the commonly available schematics. The differences in the red version are
very minor:

1. 12k series resistor added to the Sustain control to drop the maximum amount of sustain slightly.
2. The treble-side tone capacitor, normally 3n3, has been reduced to 2n7.
3. The transistors (still 2N3565) are sorted for higher gain, 400+.

In addition, another thing we noticed in tracing is that the C8 capacitor measured right around 22uF
(nominally 10uF). This did have an impact on the bass content of the tone, so if you want it to sound like
a real vintage unit then use 22uF.

Tone capacitor
The red version of the Tone Machine used 2n7 for the tone capacitor instead of 3n3. Due to the
midrange switch in the Vulcan, the corresponding tone capacitor is a combination of C10 + C11 (1n +
2n2 = ~3n3). So, if you want to use the red value, we recommend using a 1n8 capacitor for C11 for a
combined value of 2n8.

Transistor selection
While the 2N3565 was the only transistor used throughout the run of the Tone Machine, the gain of
those transistors was very different. Early units had gains around 230-250 while later units were over
450. Here is a chart of the gain (hFE) of the transistors that we measured in two vintage units:

PART BLUE (EARLY) RED (LATE)

Q1 245 549
Q2 230 451
Q3 240 456
Q4 230 455

If you are building to “early specs” the 2N3904 is a good option, though it’s typically a little lower gain
than these (around 180 on average). For “late specs”, the 2N5089 or 2N5088 will get you there.

VULCAN OCTAVE FUZZ 5

BUILD NOTES, CONT.

Tone control modifications

Midrange switch
The Tone Machine’s tone control is reminiscent of the Big Muff in its topology, but missing a resistor to
ground on the treble side to complete the filter, and with a very low value for the treble capacitor, which
makes it a little harsh on higher settings. By changing the capacitor to a higher value, the frequency
range is increased and the treble side of the control becomes a lot more usable.

Big Muff resistor

As mentioned previously, the tone control is one resistor away from a Big Muff tone control. An optional
resistor, RX1, has been added in case you want to experiment to see how it sounds. Start with 22k as a
value. R17 and C13 can be adjusted as well to match a Big Muff variant.

Minimum bass value resistor

R18 sets the minimum value for the bass side of the knob rotation, setting it approximately 10% higher
than a standard Big Muff tone section. If you want more bass (especially if using modified filter values to
be more like a Big Muff) then you may want to jumper this resistor to give the control more range.

Octave switch
The octave in this effect is generated by splitting the signal into two, one in-phase and one out of phase,
and then rectifying the signals to cancel out half of the waveform of each. The signals are then combined
back together which emphasizes the octave overtone.

The octave switch lets you disable half of the phase splitter to cancel out the octave effect. However, the
non-octave signal still passes through a series diode (D2) which introduces something called “crossover
distortion”. While this crossover distortion is part of the sound of the Tone Machine, it sounds very good
without it as well and justifies having its own setting.

As a result, the octave switch has been modified to have Octave, No Octave (original) and No Octave
(modified) settings.

R23 resistor
In Version 1.1 of the Vulcan, a new resistor (R23) was added to one half of the octave generation path.
This is a counterpart to R10 that ensures that both sides of the octave signal are held at the same DC
voltage.

The vintage Tone Machine units were missing this resistor, so they had a pop when switching the octave
on and off. This can be considered a design flaw in the original units. There is no change to the tone by
adding this resistor since it only impacts the DC voltage, not AC (signal), but it can be omitted if you
want it to be 100% stock.

VULCAN OCTAVE FUZZ 6

 IN
+9V
R1

D1

1N5817

GND
1M
C1

100n

R25

100R
R5

GND
100k R3 R2

GND

R4
VA

47k
SCHEMATIC

GND
C17

100n

Q1
1k 47k

100n
C3

VULCAN OCTAVE FUZZ

2N3904

GND
C2
VA

GND
C16
1n

R6
100uF

100k
R7 R8

VA

GND
Q2
4k7 4k7

2N3904
C5 C4

R11 1uF R24 1uF

GND
GND
100k 100k

D3
BAT46
D2
BAT46
1
R10
2
VA

3
OCTAVE 100k

R23 C6

VA
100k 1uF
R9

12k

SUSTAIN
R12 50kB

GND
220R 1 3
2

C7

1uF
R14 R13
VA

GND

15k 150k

R15 R16
VA

GND
Q3

1k 10k
2N3904

C9
GND
C8

1uF
22uF

D4

1N34A
GND

1N34A

D5
2
MIDRANGE

1
3

C10 C12 C11

22k
R17

RX1 3n3 5n6 15n

GND

OMIT
TONE
47n
C13

R18 50kB
GND

4k7 1 3
2

C14

1uF
R20 R19
VA

GND

47k 470k

R22 R21
VA

GND
Q4

1k5 10k
2N3904

C15

VOLUME 1uF
50kB
GND

1 3
2
OUT

7
DRILL TEMPLATE
Cut out this drill template, fold the edges and tape it to the enclosure. Before drilling, it’s recommended
to first use a center punch for each of the holes to help guide the drill bit.

Ensure that this template is printed at 100% or “Actual Size”. You can double-check this by measuring
the scale on the printed page.

Top jack layout assumes the use of closed-frame jacks like the Switchcraft 111X. If you’d rather use
open-frame jacks, please refer to the Open-Frame Jack Drill Template for the top side.

LED hole drill size assumes the use of a 5mm LED bezel, available from several parts suppliers. Adjust
size accordingly if using something different, such as a 3mm bezel, a plastic bezel, or just a plain LED.

INCH 125B

0.385”

0 1 0.625” 0.625”

ø3/8” ø3/8”
ø1/2”
CM
OUT DC IN

0 1 2

VOLUME SUSTAIN

x: -0.65, y: +1.71 x: 0.65, y: +1.71

ø9/32” ø9/32”

MIDRANGE TONE OCTAVE

x: -0.85, y: +0.66 x: 0, y: +0.66 x: +0.85, y: +0.66

ø1/4” ø9/32” ø1/4”

CENTER (0,0)

LED FOOTSWITCH

x: -0.775, y: -1.20 x: 0, y: -1.20

ø5/16” ø15/32”

VULCAN OCTAVE FUZZ 8

ENCLOSURE LAYOUT
Enclosure is shown without jacks. See next page for jack layout and wiring.

125B

VULCAN OCTAVE FUZZ 9

WIRING DIAGRAM

IN GND +V N.C. N.C. OUT

PCB GND +V +V JACK GND JACK GND GND PCB

IN IN OUT OUT

125B

Shown with optional 9V battery. If battery is omitted, both jacks can be mono rather than one being stereo.
Leave the far-right lug of the DC jack unconnected.

VULCAN OCTAVE FUZZ 10

LICENSE & USAGE
No direct support is offered for these projects beyond the provided documentation. It’s assumed
that you have at least some experience building pedals before starting one of these. Replacements and
refunds cannot be offered unless it can be shown that the circuit or documentation are in error.

All of these circuits have been tested in good faith in their base configurations. However, not all the
modifications or variations have necessarily been tested. These are offered only as suggestions based
on the experience and opinions of others.

Projects may be used for commercial endeavors in any quantity unless specifically noted. No
attribution is necessary, though a link back is always greatly appreciated. The only usage restrictions
are that (1) you cannot resell the PCB as part of a kit without prior arrangement, and (2) you cannot
“goop” the circuit, scratch off the screenprint, or otherwise obfuscate the circuit to disguise its source.
(In other words: you don’t have to go out of your way to advertise the fact that you use these PCBs, but
please don’t go out of your way to hide it. The guitar effects industry needs more transparency, not less!)

DOCUMENT REVISIONS
1.2.1 (2024-08-08)
Changed LEDR to 10k to work with a wider variety of LEDs.

1.2.0 (2024-06-26)
• Second R9 relabeled R24 (see build notes)
• Removed “E” extra pads for Japanese transistor pinout
• Slight layout adjustments

1.1.0 (2020-06-06)
Updated PCB layout to add two resistors. Added additional tracing notes based on analysis of two
vintage units.

1.0.1 (2019-08-21)
Removed RPD from parts list, mistakenly copied from another project.

1.0.0 (2019-02-01)
Initial release.

VULCAN OCTAVE FUZZ 11