The Circuit is shown in Figure 1, and has a few interesting characteristics that separate it from the "normal" - assuming that there is such a thing. This is simple but elegant design, that provides excellent tonal range. The gain structure is designed to provide a huge amount of gain, which is ideal for those guitarists who like to get that fully distorted "fat" sound.

However, with a couple of simple changes, the preamp can be tamed to suit just about any style of playing. Likewise, the tone controls as shown have sufficient range to cover almost anything from an electrified violin to a bass guitar - The response can be limited if you wish (by experimenting with the tone control capacitor values), but I suggest that you try it "as is" before making any changes.

the preamp is just as usable for bass or electric piano as for rhythm or lead guitar. A couple of changes that you may consider are ...

* Delete the clipping diodes (unless fuzz bass/piano is something you want, of course). If these are removed, then the output should be taken directly from the Master output pin (M-OUT in Figure 1), so leave out / change the following ...
o Delete R14, and D1-D4
o Delete Q1 and associated components (C14, C15, R15, R16, R17)
o Delete VR5
o Change R13 from 4.7k to 100 ohms

You may also want to experiment with the tone control caps - I shall leave it to the builder to decide what to change, based on listening tests. C3 and C8 may be increased to 4.7uF to provide an extended bass response. If the gain is too high, simply increase R11 (10k would be a good starting point and will halve the gain).