Fuzzbox Physics

Seven clipping algorithms with real-time oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and scrolling spectrograms. Feed in an oscillator, microphone, or audio file. Reverb chamber with five impulse responses. See harmonics appear as you increase drive.

Interactive spectrogram editor. A 2-second loop is analyzed with STFT and displayed as a full spectrogram. Click and drag to paint energy into the frequency domain. Audio resynthesizes via inverse FFT on release. Start from silence and build a sound from nothing.

Stage-by-stage simulation of the Roger Mayer Octavia octave fuzz (1967). Five visible signal chain stages: input buffer, fuzz, transformer, full-wave rectifier, output filter. Each stage has its own oscilloscope showing before and after.

Interactive Chamberlin state variable filter with four simultaneous outputs: lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and band reject. Sweep frequency and resonance with real-time spectrograms. Noise burst mode lets you hear the filter's impulse response ring out. Ported from a gen~ patch.

Draw your own waveshaper transfer function and hear the result in real time. See how the shape of the input→output curve determines which harmonics are created. Presets for hard clip, soft clip, foldback, rectify, staircase, and dead zone.

A mystery distortion is applied to the signal. Use your ears, the waveform shape, and the harmonic spectrum to identify which algorithm is active. Three difficulty levels. Can you get a perfect streak?

Record a clap in a real room, then try to match its reverb with a synthetic engine. Schroeder decay curves show how seven octave bands die out over time. A/B comparison with match scoring.

Encode an image into sound. Upload a photo or take a selfie, map pixel brightness to spectral magnitudes, and synthesize audio via inverse FFT. The output spectrogram reveals your image — just like the Aphex Twin face hidden in "Equation."

What does an entire piece of music sound like all at once? Inspired by Jim Campbell's Illuminated Averages, this tool computes the average spectrum of a recording — thousands of FFT frames collapsed into a single composite tone.

Generative phasing piece. Fourteen sine wave voices cycle at slightly different rates, drifting in and out of alignment. The harmony is always consonant but never repeats.

Build your own signal chain from scratch. Drag and reorder filter, gain, distortion, and utility modules to hear how topology changes the sound. Each module shows its analog circuit schematic — JFET amplifiers for gain, CMOS 4069UB inverters for clipping, passive RC networks for filters. One example preset (TS-style) plus guided experiments: move the HPF after the clipper, add a second clipping stage, inject 60 Hz noise and filter it out. A blank canvas to explore signal chain order.

Thirteen classic pedal topologies deconstructed into their building blocks. Tube Screamer, Klon Centaur, Blues Driver, Rangemaster, ProCo Rat, Boss DS-1, MXR Distortion+, Big Muff Pi, Fuzz Face, Tonebender Mk II, Octavia, plus clean boost and lo-fi radio. Each recipe shows the signal chain, component values, and source topology. Load any recipe, then rearrange the blocks to hear what each stage contributes.

Slide deck introducing schematic symbols for passive components (resistor, capacitor, inductor, potentiometer, ground, wire junctions), voltage dividers, and RC low-pass / high-pass filters. Covers the cutoff frequency formula and connects each concept to guitar circuits.

Build the same low-pass and high-pass circuits from the schematics lecture as real-time Max patches. [onepole~] is the digital twin of an RC filter. Tone knob simulation, cascaded stages, bandpass for wah, and a comparison table mapping analog concepts to Max objects.

Ten questions bridging the pedalboard "stage" metaphor into real schematics. Identify resistor, capacitor, and potentiometer symbols. Trace signal paths through true-bypass wiring. Distinguish low-pass from high-pass RC filters. Match schematic fragments to their functions (coupling, tone control, load). Calculate a cutoff frequency. Instant feedback with explanations.

How nonlinear transfer functions, bias points, and staged signal chains determine the harmonic character of distortion. The conceptual framework for designing your own circuits: curve shape + bias = harmonic recipe.

Six configurable gain/distortion stages in a $0.50 IC. Bias circuits, gain control, multi-stage cascading, inter-stage filtering, oscillator waveform generation, and a complete signal chain from Craig Anderton's "Tube Sound Fuzz" lineage.