Axis tone

[spaceace76]

thanks for the info! definitely worth a try. while i like the axis fuzz, i've always felt it was different somehow, not in component values or other circuit voodoo, but more like mayer used something very different for jimi's setup.

if this is the real deal, i think i'll add the octave section and make it switchable. that would be a hell of a workhorse fuzz...

[Coony]

but more like mayer used something very different for jimi's setup.

Yep, that's what I thought as well, it comes close but no cigar!
Try this one; it's more powerful and fatter sounding than the axis.

[Good Guest]

Go find a schematic of a helios mic pre ..then look at the octavia ..then check out the axis fuzz...anything seem similar?

There is a secret to the axis fuzz and the bold as love tone. Roger mentioned it 25 years ago....I won't wreck the secret. I have to learn how to nix myself from Hendrix threads.

[Roe]

tested the voodoo-axe tonight. strat with srv/h specials into early 67 el34 amp, a/b with fulltone catalyst.
like many other pedals, the mayer appears to sound the best with the amp turned a little up, it works very well with the 67 plexi and easily gets hendrixy tones if you can play in that style. the buffered outputs messed a little with my clean sound, so I prefer the hw (true bypass) output. but the buffered outputs may be good in combination with other effects. the fatness eq works by removing the massive (and somewhat loose) bass, but it tends to affect the thick mids as well. the pedal has more fuzz than a germanium fuzz face and more than the catalyst. it also has decent boost capabilities, not really a clean boost, but it can do slightly fuzzy tones and boost the output so the amp breaks up more. it is much more a fuzz than the catalyst (which is more like a cross over between a fet overdrive and a fuzz), it sounds dirty in a good, hendrixy way. it has a really rich middle and a very distinct top that I really like. Some of the overtones are a little reminiscent of the RM octavia.

gonna test with other guitars later on. I guess the fatness control is more usable with LPs and 335s than with a strat. I'm not sure how its gonna react to a fender amp.

[spaceace76]

Go find a schematic of a helios mic pre ..then look at the octavia ..then check out the axis fuzz...anything seem similar?

There is a secret to the axis fuzz and the bold as love tone. Roger mentioned it 25 years ago....I won't wreck the secret. I have to learn how to nix myself from Hendrix threads.

it was pretty much confirmed that roger stole/used the helios mic preamp for the "driver" circuit in those DIYSB threads. the frequency doubling via a transformer and diodes is an old radio trick. so apparently, roger was one of the first bootweakers...

he did engineer the transformer out though, and that's the version many people like best. go figure.

it always struck me as odd that the original octavia needed an extra circuit that roger had to eventually house along with the octavia. when i first read that (long time ago), looked at the octavia schematic, and thought, well the transformer and diodes double the frequency, so the rest is the "driver" circuit? Why the hell didn't he put that in one box to begin with? and where did he magically produce the driver circuit from? those schematics explain why and how, as do those threads.

[Good Guest]

For one thing you don't need a built in driver circuit for the octavio to work ..a simple transformer and diode rectifier will work...but what is important is the transformer and low voltage drop diodes.

I would bet that one day he bypassed the effect that was being used to color the octavio (fuzzface perhaps) and lo and behold it was the mic pre ...so if the shoe fits wear it. Build it into the effect.

[Roe]

Roger Mayer claims that the axis fuzz was designed especially for that song. At the end it sounds like a flanger is used, did Jimi ever use a flanger???

axis fuzz into black flag and tape flanging done in the mix

[Roe]

tested the voodoo-axe tonight. strat with srv/h specials into early 67 el34 amp, a/b with fulltone catalyst.
like many other pedals, the mayer appears to sound the best with the amp turned a little up, it works very well with the 67 plexi and easily gets hendrixy tones if you can play in that style. the buffered outputs messed a little with my clean sound, so I prefer the hw (true bypass) output. but the buffered outputs may be good in combination with other effects. the fatness eq works by removing the massive (and somewhat loose) bass, but it tends to affect the thick mids as well. the pedal has more fuzz than a germanium fuzz face and more than the catalyst. it also has decent boost capabilities, not really a clean boost, but it can do slightly fuzzy tones and boost the output so the amp breaks up more. it is much more a fuzz than the catalyst (which is more like a cross over between a fet overdrive and a fuzz), it sounds dirty in a good, hendrixy way. it has a really rich middle and a very distinct top that I really like. Some of the overtones are a little reminiscent of the RM octavia.

gonna test with other guitars later on. I guess the fatness control is more usable with LPs and 335s than with a strat. I'm not sure how its gonna react to a fender amp.

replaced my voodoo-axe with a TC axis because of size and sound

[SLP69]

coony, did you basically make a tyco octavia, minus the section that produces the octave (transformer, diodes, etc)? what changes did you make, if any, to the driver circuit?

I basically build it like you said; the octavia minus the octave-components.

http://files.effectsdatabase.com/docs/s ... ia_002.gif" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I used a BC109 in the first position and 2 BC327's in the second and third (possibly connected invers from the schematic, since I have a negative ground version). After the 33µF I put a 100K pot to control the volume.

If you read Mayer's explanation in the link, the first version was a driver box which had to be connected to an octave-box... why would the driver-circuit on it's own produce a bad sound? If you look at it closely, you see that the axis fuzz is essentially a simplified version of the same circuit.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/pedals/axisfuzz.gif" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Try it and let me know what you think!

Sorry to resurrect this one, but did anyone ever try this modified octavia circuit for fuzz?? Thank you!!

[msmith40]

Roger Mayer claims that the axis fuzz was designed especially for that song. At the end it sounds like a flanger is used, did Jimi ever use a flanger???

I've read where the flanging on that track was the 1st time flanging was done in stereo.
It was (allegedly) done by engineer George Chkiantz.
The story goes that he labored a long time on it, and when he finally nailed it he came out of the control room and said "You guys gotta hear this!"

How come no one has ever interviewed that guy???
Supposedly he was there when Jimi 1st popped in to the studios in England......before Eddie Kramer.
I think he was the main engineer/producer for 'Are You Experienced'......