Official Skreddy Hybrid Fuzz Driver Page HERE

Hybrid Fuzz Driver (released 2-23-13)(How many made?)(Highest known number – )

Marc Says (Via TGP):?
"The HFD is much more open and airy and amp-like, but still aggressive. It was designed, basically, to be my Page-in-a-box effect. I emphasize guitar volume-knob cleanup a great deal on this pedal, as that's exactly how Page plays."

"The HFD uses a hybrid of oldschool silicon (BC109) and germanium (AC127) in its fuzz section, which gives it a milder fuzz tone than the Lunar Module, which is all silicon. But it has a warmer, softer attack than the Screw Driver (which uses a MOSFET input stage and has a fairly sharp nature as a result). The HFD's input stage is like the Lunar's silicon (BC109) input stage, which cleans up super great with the volume knob, except that its pre-gain control is a MIDRANGE BOOST instead of a full range boost."

"In other news, today I decided to take the Screw Driver Mini Deluxe off the main menu. It can still be made on request; I just think that the Hybrid Fuzz Driver can do just about everything better. It's more open and dynamic and amp-like, and I like the mid boost feature better than the SD's full-range pre-gain."

Hybrid Driver:

Skreddy – 1. It’s tight, so it will do great things into dirty amps. You have your choice of full range, with the mid boost down, or as much super aggressive, hot mids as you want, almost approaching the sound of a cocked wah into an already mid-heavy amp. It can act as a clean bosot, a foundation overdrive pedal, a fuzzy overdrive booster, or a mild-ish fuzzbox, all depending on how you set the knobs. Even excels as a metal foundation pedal if you feed it with hot EMGs. My buddy Allen Dean uses it as his rhythm tone in the local band Skin of Saints, and he is using my BC239 Fuzz as his solo/lead booster (not stacking–I have him set up with a Dual Loop to select which pedal chain he wants; he just happens to use the BC239 Fuzz with its volume cranked as his lead tone. Also I think he’s putting his wah first and an Echo last in his “lead” chain, which is completely bypassed when in rhythm mode).

The Lunar’s input is better suited for humbuckers and cleans up better with the guitar volume. I don’t like how the Screw Driver’s mosfet input sounds congested with humbuckers or how it darkens slightly when you clean up with the guitar volume. I designed the Screw Driver to not need the guitar volume for clean-up, and it was built using my Strat to achieve all it’s target tones; in other words I make Pagey tones with my Strat -> Screw Driver, and I don’t bother playing much with the volume knob when I play my Strat.

When you play a Les Paul style guitar, it’s really part of the whole experience to adjust the volume controls to dial in the tone, and in my experience I generally have the pickup selector in the middle position and rarely have either volume knob full up.

The Lunar Module’s input has zero headroom when using humbuckers. Great for fuzz, but not for cleans or overdrive (like it is with singles).

I love how the Screw Driver’s hybrid fuzz (silicon -> germanium) section creates a proper vintage amp-like distortion with its soft edges and how it gets syrupy when you crank its gain, never harsh. And I love how the Lunar Module gets lots more fuzz and aggression and maintains a more neutral EQ rather than a jangly EQ signature like the Screw Driver (which certainly has its place, ’cause hey; variety is the spice of life).

So I started with the Lunar Module’s input into the Screw Driver’s output section and re-tuned it, both gain-wise and EQ-wise, to work with humbuckers (I’m using my Ibanez SZ520 with vintage Maxon PAF-style humbuckers, which is very close to a ’59 Les Paul sonically and electronically) just as well as both pedals do with my Strat (that has Bill Lawrence L-280S noiseless singles).

Here is a list of changes:
– using Screw Driver’s .047uf input capacitor instead of the Lunar’s 10uf input cap
– limited the overall gain of the input transistor to give it more headroom
– changed the gain control of the input transistor from full-range boost to mid boost
– removed the high-cut from the bass side of the “tightness” control to retain clarity even when in bassy mode
– increased the series resistor on the bass side of the “tightness” control by a great deal so it doesn’t overwhelm the fuzz section with boosted bass and excess volume when in bassy mode–instead just has a very natural sounding flubbiness at full counter-clock-wise and of course a tight, but not overly thin, response at full clockwise (much like the Lunar Module at this end of the range), and a neutral EQ at noon
– decreased the filter cap of the 2nd silicon transistor, by a bit, for better high-end clarity

– increased the output volume so that unity gain with loud pickups is still noon on the volume pot (with the Lunar it would have to be turned up to like 2:00 o’clock if I’m not mistaken)
– different output capacitor to match the openness of the humbucker’s EQ when in bypass

So I ended up with the same clarity and touch sensitivity as the Screw Driver when using single coils has, excellent volume-knob cleanup, neutral and open EQ, and hotter range of fuzz available than the Screw Driver. Such a pleasure to finally be able to play with ‘buckers and hear the same clear string attack and openness into a nice overdrive as it gets straight into the amp (better, even). And the fuzz sustains nice and liquid but not nasty sounding.

” The Lunar is really for aggressive, boosted-type fuzz tones, from Sabbathy riffing/soloing (when you turn the “Body” knob high to simulate a treble boosted front end) to Floydish fuzzy solos (with the Body knob low for fuzzier fatness).

The HFD is much more open and airy and amp-like, but still aggressive. It was designed, basically, to be my Page-in-a-box effect. But since everybody has their own style, it won’t be perceived in that way except to those folks who specifically *want* to sound Pagey (E.g., I can sound Gilmourish or SRV-ish through it with a Strat). I emphasize guitar volume-knob cleanup a great deal on this pedal, as that’s exactly how Page plays. He can leave the same dirt pedal on (or just plug direct to cranked amp) through a whole concert and get every different tone he needs with the guitar knobs and of course varying attack and technique.

You might assume that the HFD generally sounds bright and aggressive if all you ever do is play chords with hard attack and guitar volume all the way up. But if you like to explore different levels of clean and sparkly and dark with your volume, pickup selection, and pick attack, you’ll be greatly rewarded by a responsive partner in tone.”

” Yeah, I would have been happy with just Page in a box. But you gotta figure with 5 knobs it should be able to do quite a lot. Does an amazing SRV (Strat using 4th pickup-switch position) cooking Texas Blues tone, too, and volume-knob cleanup is like no other, retains high end, no treble bleed mod required. I was just playing with it the other day and thinking about the Klon and Soul Food and all the other clones, and basically it struck me that one of the things that that circuit does is it FORCES it to filter more highs and lows (via a dual-ganged pot) as you increase the gain. I could do that too, but then again why not let the user have all the control? So you can have your mid hump and darken/warm up the high end if you want. Turns out that is really a great idea if you’re looking for your pedal to sound more amp-like! Turning up the gain? Turn down the Presence at the same time. (And vice versa) But if you want it to sound more like a fuzz pedal and less like a cranked amp, then ignore this rule. The mid boost control has a ton of gain in it if you ever want to experiment with an almost cocked-wah tone. Don’t want a mid hump? Turn that knob down to zero.”