The Soundslice FX X-Ray Box is a fuzz handmade in Victoriaville, Canada and inspired by the Burns Buzzaround, a pedal from the ’60s not too dissimilar from the Tone Bender (but heavier-sounding), and that has become a collector’s item.
This variation of that classic is not an authentic clone but rather a modern reinterpretation with highly interactive controls, within a circuit replacing the rare original transistors with two AC125 and one ASY37S n.o.s. transistors.
The X-Ray Box adds a fourth knob (Volume out) to the three ones found in the original Buzzarouns, which allows for extra flexibility in the way the pedal interacts with other effects and your amp. The Sustain and Timbre controls are voltage dividers, meaning that while they kill the signal when turned all the way down, they will boost the fuzz sounds past 12.
Check out the video of the pedal, we added it to our article about the best pedals inspired by the Burns Buzzaround Fuzz.
Soundslice FX X-Ray Box, Builder’s Notes
The original Buzzaround is rare and can fetch crazy prices so here comes the X-Ray Box!
The X-Ray Box is not a perfect reproduction and is not intended to be one as the original transistors are almost impossible to find at a reasonable price. Replacing them is two carefully measured AC125 and one ASY37S n.o.s. transistors.
Thw X-Ray Box stands apart from the Fuzz Face and the Tonebender. It’s not nearly as bass heavy as the Fuzz Face and it is capable of getting even more fuzz saturation than the Tone Bender. At the same time, it can be tamed quite well into some classic (and controlled) fuzz tones. It also reacts to the guitar volume quite well.
The X-Ray Box also adds a voltage inverter. This means that you can treat this positive ground effect like any other common pedal.
The controls on this fuzz circuit are highly interactive. They are unusual in that the Sustain and Timbre are voltage dividers. This means when you turn them all the way down, it actually kills the signal but at the sam time past 12 on those knobs you greatly boost the fuzz sound.
The Balance and Volume pot are interactive in that they both can control the total output. However, the added Volume control allows you to dial in the max output from the last transistor at a lower lever, which you cannot do with the 3 knob version.
