Moo-Tron

Every 70’s funk riff you ever

heard in one little box

Contents of this document are ©2015 Pedal Parts Ltd.

No reproduction permitted without the express written
permission of Pedal Parts Ltd. All rights reserved.
Important notes
If you’re using any of our footswitch daughterboards,
DOWNLOAD THE DAUGHTERBOARD DOCUMENT
• Download and read the appropriate build document for the daughterboard
as well as this one BEFORE you start.

• DO NOT solder the supplied Current Limiting Resistor (CLR) to the main
circuit board even if there is a place for it. This should be soldered to the
footswitch daughterboard.

COMPONENT SPECS
Unless otherwise stated in this document:
• Resistors should be 0.25W. You can use those with higher ratings but
check the physical size of them.
• Electrolytics caps should be at least 25V for 9V circuits, 35V for 18V
circuits. Again, check physical size if using higher ratings.

LAYOUT CONVENTIONS
Unless otherwise stated in this document, the following are used:

• Electrolytic capacitors:
Long leg (anode) to square pad.
• Diodes:
Striped leg (cathode) to square pad.
• ICs:
Square pad indicates pin 1.

This is NOT an exact replica of a Mutron III. It is a combination of elements

of Madbean’s updated circuits, the Naughty Fish and the Nautilus, which
will give you similar results to the Mutron III.
 Schematic+ BOM

‡D4 and R26 are included for polarity protection and power smoothing. However,
they will reduce the voltage available to the circuit. We recommend jumpering
these two parts for better results. You can always add D4 to the DC socket,
anode to GND, for polarity protection.
R1 3K3 *Can also be a TC1044S or a LT1054. If using either the 7660 or 1044 you must
R2 120K place a jumper wire across the JUMP pads as shown on the image on the next
R3 120K page. Ensure you get an IC with the S suffix - these operate on a frequency
outside the audible range.
R4 4K7
R5 12K **We’ve tried, really we have. Every LDR/LED combo we could get our hands on,
and even a few different, easier to source vactols. Nothing works anywhere near
R6 390K
as well as the VTL5C3. Lots of combinations will give great results on some
R7 22K settings, but nothing across the whole range like the VTL does. You need them.
R8 22K Feel free to do your own experimenting if you can’t source them.
R9 220K ***Master volume control not found on the original.
R10 220K C1 1u Adjusting the Gain pot can have a big effect on
R11 560R C2 100n output level, so the Volume control is worth having.
R12 22K C3 10p There are spots on there for a pot or an internal
trimmer. Use only one or the other. External pot is
R13 12K C4 2u2 elec recommended.
R14 1M C5 2n2
R15 1M C6 1n8
R16 330R C7 2n2 D1,2 1N4148 GAIN 1MC
R17 47K C8 1n8 D4 1N4001‡ PEAK 250KB
R18 180K C9 1u D5 12V zener SWEEP 5KB
R19 120K C10 4u7 elec VOL*** 100KB
R20 120K C11 100n IC1-3 TL072
R21 120K C12 10u elec IC4 TC7660S* RANGE DPDT ON-ON
R22 330R C13 10u elec HI-LO DPDT ON-ON
R26 47R‡ C14 100u elec VAC1,2 VTL5C3** LPHPBP 3P4T Rotary
 PCB Layout ©2015 Pedal Parts Ltd. All rights reserved.
Red line above shows where the jumper wire goes if To get them all the same height its best to solder a
using a 7660 or a 1044 charge pump. Leave this out if single pin of each so you have all three pots in place.
using a 1054. See if they all line up ok. If not, simply melt the
connection of any that aren’t right and adjust. Much
The power and signal pads on the PCB conform to
easier than trying to do it if all three pins are
the FuzzDog Direct Connection format, so can be
soldered. Once they’re aligned, solder the other two
paired with the appropriate daughterboard for quick
pins of each pot.
and easy offboard wiring. Check the separate
daughterboard document for details. Favourite technique at FDHQ is to put the pots into
the holes on the top side of the enclosure to get
Be very careful when soldering the diodes, LED and
everything lined up nicely while soldering.
vactrols. They’re very sensitive to heat. You should use
some kind of heat sink (crocodile clip or reverse Use a similar technique for the toggle switches -
action tweezers) on each leg as you solder them. locate them in the enclosure holes and drop the
Keep exposure to heat to a minimum (under 2 board on top so they’re in the right place.
seconds). It’s best to use a socket for the ICs.
The striped leg (cathode) of the diodes go into the
square pads.
The long leg (anode) of the electrolytic capacitors go
into the square pads.
LED+ on the Vactrols go to the square pads.
Snap the small metal tag off the pots so they can be
mounted flush in the box. Same for the tag on the
rotary switch.
Pots mount on the back side of the board. You can
use vertical-mount pots or just wire up ‘normal’ ones.
Ensure you get them all at the same height, and if
there are no plastic covers on them make sure you
have plenty of clearance between the pot body and
the solder side of the PCB, otherwise you’ll short out
components. Best way to do this is get some thick
cardboard and put it between the pots and the board
when soldering. Remove it once they’re in place.
Before you mount your rotary switch you should set it so it
only has three click positions. Take off the nut. You’ll see a
washer with a locator tab which will be inserted into a hole
in the switch body, probably the third one. Move this so its
in the second hole. The switch should now only have three
positions/two clicks.
Now line up the round plastic indicator tab on the switch
body (or the space where it was if you’ve already snipped it
off) with the cross on the PCB screen print, shown in red
here. The switch pins should now line up with the holes on
the board.
Ensure you’ve soldered D4 and C14 in place before you
attach the switch as it’ll cover their solder pads

There are multiple pads for both V an GND connections.

Both V pads are connected directly together, and all the
GND pads are connected. Use only one of the V
connections to connect your DC socket. The pads at the top
of the board are positioned to make it more convenient if
you have a DC socket on the top edge of the enclosure. If
using a footswitch daughterboard you still have to link all
four connections (IN, V, G, OU) as normal, as the LED
requires power.
If you have your DC socket on the side edge near the
footswtich you may find it easier to use the V and G pads on
the bottom edge of the PCB. If using a daughterboard, use
the V and G pads on that to connect with the DC socket in
this case.
The extra GND pads on either side of the bottom edge are
to make it more convenient to connect your jack socket
GNDs.
You can use a 6-way connector between the daughterboard
and the main PCB if you wish to wire your IN and OUT
jacks from the main PCB.
Test the board!
Check the relevant daughterboard document for more
info before you undertake this stage.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will troubleshooting help
be offered if you have skipped this stage. No exceptions.
Once you’ve finished the circuit it makes sense to test is before starting on the switch and LED
wiring. It’ll cut down troubleshooting time in the long run. If the circuit works at this stage, but it
doesn’t once you wire up the switch - guess what? You’ve probably made a mistake with the switch.
Solder some nice, long lengths of wire to the board connections for 9V, GND, IN and OUT. Connect
IN and OUT to the jacks as shown. Connect all the GNDs together (twist them up and add a small
amount of solder to tack it). Connect the battery + lead to the 9V wire, same method. Plug in. Go!
If you’re using a ribbon cable you can tack the wires to the ends of that. It’s a lot easier to take them
off there than it is do desolder wires from the PCB pads.
If it works, carry on and do your switch wiring. If not... aw man. At least you know the problem is
with the circuit. Find out why, get it working, THEN worry about the switch etc.

Your completed circuit board

including pots
Wire it up - DC only version
(if using a daughterboard please refer to the relevant document)
BOARD
GND
BOARD
INPUT

BOARD
GND

OUT
BOARD
OUT
BOARD

IN
GND L
LE
+ BOARDBOARD
ED
D LED+ 9V
BOARD
9V

BOARD
GND

This circuit is standard, Negative GND. Your power supply should be

Tip Negative / Sleeve Positive. That’s the same as your standard pedals
(Boss etc), and you can safely daisy-chain your supply to this pedal.

The BOARD GND connections don’t all have to connect to one point.
They can be daisy-chained around the circuit, using larger connection
points (such as jack socket lugs) for multiple connections. As long as
they all connect together in some way.
Wire it up - with battery
(if using a daughterboard please refer to the relevant document)
BOARD
GND
BOARD
INPUT

BOARD
GND

OUT
BOARD
OUT
BOARD
GND

IN +
L
LE
ED
BOARD
9V

+
D

BOARD
9V

BOARD Just because the

GND BATTERY FuzzDog enclosure
won’t take a battery,
there’s nothing
stopping you using a
bigger box.

This circuit is standard, Negative GND. Your power supply should be

Tip Negative / Sleeve Positive. That’s the same as your standard pedals
(Boss etc), and you can safely daisy-chain your supply to this pedal.

The BOARD GND connections don’t all have to connect to one point.
They can be daisy-chained around the circuit, using larger connection
points (such as jack socket lugs) for multiple connections. As long as
they all connect together in some way.

PedalParts.co.uk
Both of these wiring configurations will
work ok. Wiring all six of the
daughterboard connection pads to the
corresponding main PCB pads mean
there are direct connections between the
V, GND, Jack IN and Jack OUT pads on
both boards, so any can be used.
If you connect using only the four main
pads, ignoring the JI and JO pads, then
the JACK IN and JACK OUT pads on the
main PCB are NOT connected, so you
must only use the pads on the
daughterboard for these offboard
connections.
Drilling template The Gimp
Recommended drill sizes:
Pots 7mm
Hammond 1590BB
Jacks 10mm
91 x 116 x x 31mm Footswitch 12mm
DC Socket 12mm
Toggle switches 6mm
Rotary switch 10mm
It’s a good idea to
drill the holes for
the pots 8mm to
give yourself some
wiggle room unless
you’re a drill ninja

20mm

32mm

30mm

This template is a rough guide only. You should ensure correct marking of your
enclosure before drilling. You use this template at your own risk.
Pedal Parts Ltd can accept no responsibility for incorrect drilling of enclosures.

FuzzDog.co.uk