Fuzzway '67: Revisited

Well it has been a long time since I last revisited the Original 1966 Arbiter PNP Germanium based Fuzz Face. I posted here a while back about my experience with the Fulltone '69 using AC128 trannies which is an enhanced PNP version of the original:

http://fuzzquest.blogspot.com/2012/04/once-i-had-few-germanium-tranny-lying.html

It was a short post and I didn't really use this pedal a lot, mostly because it didn't sit well with my band and because our lead guitarist (although a Hendrix fanatic) could not cope with the over-the-top nature of the pedal. On top of that he plays humbuckers and that made things even worse.

Next I explored the Silicon path and got into building several versions before settling on a slightly revised version of the Fulltone '70. While with the Germanium PNP version I only had a bag of AC128 which I tested for hfe and leakage, tweaking the Silicon NPN with many trannies was a lot of fun and easier due to the vast amount of options at hand. 

http://fuzzquest.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-pink-face.html

If you wanna understand the differences in sound between the Silicon and the Germanium versions try to think about the differences in sound between the early Hendrix Experience era (Ge) and the Gilmour '70s sound (Si), although using different amps and different playing style. Other comparisons are the Hendrix sound of the Experience vs. Band of Gypsys, or Gilmour's sound of '68 vs. '73. It's the rough, bloomy, creamy and deep fuzz of the Germanium trannys vs. the sharper, smoother and edgier sound of the Silicon. Both classic, fantastic and work well with single coil pups, wah pedals and British style cabinets.

Lately I felt that I have neglected the PNP version Fuzz Face and after tinkering with it a bit I decided that it was time to revisit the circuit and see what else could be done to really get that elusive sound and to achieve this critical milestone on my fuzz quest.

So as you know or heard before, the fuzz effect was first accidentally obtained during recording a country song in 1960 by Marty Robbins. Check out this outstanding page for some cool country fuzz recordings including the legendary 1960 bass fuzz using a fried pre-amp channel:

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/11/country-fuzz-sp.html . In 1962 the first Maestro Fuzz Tone was sold to achieve all kinds of voicing effects for the guitar, but nobody really got the idea. Once the Rolling Stones released "Satisfaction", fuzz-mania hit the streets and everybody were buying fuzz pedals. Maestro Fuzz Tone (FZ-1, FZ-1A and FZ-1B), Mosrite Fuzzrite and Sam Ash Fuzz Box were the first commercial units on the west side of the atlantic while the Sola Sound (Gary Hurst) and Vox Tone Benders, The JHS Zonk Machine and the Baldwin Burns Buzzaround were the first to emerge on the British island. A year later, in 1966, Arbiter released the first Fuzz Face which was really a clone of the early 1966 Vox Tone Bender (MK1.5) and from all the units around, this was the simplest one. I think this was the first fuzz unit to use a double transistor feedback loop rather than multiple gain stages to achieve the saturated fuzz tone. The Fuzz Face's round shape was conceived by Arbiter while looking on the base of a microphone stand....ok....

Now, it's a simple circuit and because of that each element is critical. Every value makes a difference. 2 coupled transistors working in a voltage feedback biasing mode. Only 3 caps: in, out and the third on the feedback loop. 4 resistors: 2 for biasing the trannies, 1 for the feedback and 1 for the output and biasing together. The basic 2 pots controlling FUZZ and VOLUME are further enhanced by 2 more giving some extra functionality like BIAS which is a pre-gain control and a CONTOUR which controls the body of the output signal.

  

If you wanna read about the various Fuzz Face designs:

http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/fuzzface.php

If you wanna read about the cicuitry of the Fuzz Face you should really check this link: 

http://geofex.com/Article_Folders/fuzzface/fffram.htm

More about the history of Fuzz pedals:

http://www.kitrae.net/music/Fuzz_Big_Muff_Timeline.html

For the circuit I used and tweaked here's the best schematic out there:

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/ggg_ff5_sc_b69.pdf?phpMyAdmin=78482479fd7e7fc3768044a841b3e85a

A great verified and compact layout is given by mark and mirosol at:

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.il/2013/01/fulltone-69.html

My Psych '67 Fuzz Face clone

I played around with a lot of the values on this one and ended up using the basic Fulltone design as shown on the GGG website. I really enjoy the overwhelming possibilities given by the addition of the BIAS and CONTOUR controls. While the FUZZ pot sounds best at it's max, the true versatility of the sound comes from these extra controls. The BIAS is similar to rolling down your guitar volume which is the most elusive and sweetest spot of the Fuzz Face. It is what Hendrix sounds like when you think he's playing clean but it's so sparkly and biting that you know it ain't clean. The CONTOUR is like a tone or a body control which gives you more control over the spectral envelope of the sound. I like to keep it low so that the fuzz doesn't get too boomy.

What really got me going again with this pedal was changing trannies and re-biasing the 10k pot which had a huge impact on the sound. Low leakage trannies with Q1-70 hfe and Q2-110 hfe gave me the best results which in my opinion is a milder and smoother tone (far away as possible from a muff sound). The 10k pot was tweaked to get about 5.5V at Q2's collector-to-drain with the CONTOUR knob at halfway. 

Other options for tweaking were using a PNP 2N3906 Silicon tranny at Q1 which really gave me surprisingly good sound, lowering the VOLUME pot to 250k which sounded brighter, adding 33pF caps from collector to base on Q2 as suggested by R.G. Keen, and lowering the 100k feedback resistor to get milder effect. None of these options lasted on my build but they are good and are working. I would, however, add a STARVE pot for a dying battery emulation effect and a BRIGHT switch to change the input cap. Maybe later this year....  

Among the many myths around the Fuzz Face some are true, namely, single coil pickups do seem to work best with this circuit. Also, Marshalls, Vox and HiWatt amps sound better than Fenders as far as I can judge. I also found that the Fuzz Face stacks rather well with overdrive pedals behind it and, surprisingly, sounds even better and tighter when I used a treble booster in front of it, although driving it too hard will change the fuzz character. I always thought it was a no no thing, but, it really adds focus and crunch that the original pedal lacks. It made me think of the Keeley Fuzz Head which looks like a Fuzz Face with an added treble booster stage pumping it.

So that's that. Listen to it and build it if you still haven't. It's the real deal. The classic combination 

of Single coils-Fuzz Face-Marshall sounds even better when using a Marshall overdrive pedal like the Runoffgroove Thor. The cabinet emulation is a HiWatt 100W which is really the most transparent classic rock cabinet out there. I tried to cover all bases with the knobs at various positions and playing around with neck and bridge pickups and various volume levels on the guitar. You'll get the idea.

If you wanna turn your Fuzz Face '67 to an AnalogMan Sun Face just use the GGG Boutique '60s Fuzz Face schematic with the following 7 changes:
1. Replace 2u2 input cap with a 1uF one.
2. Replace the 100nF output cap with a 10nF one.
3. Replace 500kA VOLUME pot with a 250kA pot.
4. take the Q2 bias trimmer outside to an external knob for the Sun Dial. Use a 5k pot in series with a fixed 2k2 instead of the 1k fixed with the 10k trimmer.
5. You can leave the 50k input pot or use a trimmer internally like the one in the Sun Face.
6. You can leave the Contour pot or replace it with a fixed 470R instead of the 220R in series with the 1k pot.
7. Try to find the NKT275 germs instead of the AC128 which I normally use.

Tele-(Treble Booster)-Fuzz Face '67-Thor-HiWatt 1 by Doron Barness on Mixcloud

Silicon Tone Bender mkII: Revisited

The Led Bender

This is the first time I am revisiting a pedal and rebuilding it all over again. As you probably already know, the Tone Bender is one of the most elusive and tricky fuzz pedals around. The Germanium versions are hard to bias and you have to order specially selected transistors. This is not all that difficult once you understand how to measure hfe (gain) and leakage. Nevertheless, I have never built a true vintage Germanium Tone Bender and when I do, it will probably be a Prescription Electronics Yard Box or a true MK I version.

Anyway, I let the first Led Bender go and now it is happily crushing stages around the Zurich area with a really great band called Rivercash. I couldn't live without it so I had to build another one, and again, I tried starting out with the regular silicon versions which are running around the web. What can I say? another flop. No version sounded good and I couldn't understand why. The next thing I did was go back to the Hot Silicon version which sounded so well with my first Led Bender build. Voila...like magic. Wonderful buzz fuzz duzz muzz nuzz.

http://fuzzquest.blogspot.co.il/2012/11/bending-your-tone-for-page.html

I re-checked some of the biasing issues and ended up going closer to the Yard Box version with the 3.3k resistor attached to the Fuzz pot. All other biasing resistors seemed OK. Next, I changed the input capacitor on the FAT switch from 10uF to 100nF to get the Yard Box input cap. Transistors, as before Q1 and Q4 low gain 2N2369. Q2 2N3904 or some other medium gain tranny. Q3 BC108 or other medium gain tranny. I also tried 2N222A at Q3 and it was equally great. The tone knob was reversed so that cranking it would enable a fuller tone and CCW would make it thin and nasty.

The real magic with this pedal is on the lower settings of the Fuzz/Attack pot. Between 0 and 4 (on a 1 to 10 scale), the fuzz has some really great sounding crunch with the TONE knob crancked for full body. Lowering the guitar volume knob a little gives you some great unheard overdrives.

Here are some gut shots:

And about the artwork: I started with the Gold Glitter BB1590 from Mammoth and started painting using the same concept of the Zoso sign from Jimmy Page and added the other Zeppelin symbols around the sides, and of course, my ZUS logo which really complements the Page Zoso.

So, don't let this one go unbuilt. It's silicon, so it's guaranteed to deliver. And you know the best thing? When I hooked it up in front of a silicon Fuzz Face? AAAAmmmmaaazzziiing tone. You can really dial those Stoner Rock, Doom, Garage, Noise Grunge, Psychedelic Heavy Rock sound.

Probably one of my top 5 fuzz combinations!

Fuzz On.

The Pink Face

The Pink Face

Throughout the history of fuzz pedals, fuzz guitarists and psychedelic fuzzy solos, there is no fuzz which has received greater attention than the legendary Fuzz Face. Originally produced by Arbiter Electronics in England and appeared during 1966 the unit was an immediate success. Many of the greatest guitarists in rock history played their best solos and riffs through a Fuzz Face including Hendrix, Gilmour, Blackmore, Harrison, Townsend and many more. Nevertheless, the dependency of the Germanium transistors on temperature resulted in a lack of tone consistency and many players suffered on stage from this effect. To circumvent this issue Dallas Arbiter started issuing Silicon versions of the FF somewhere around 1969 replacing the NKT275 trannies with BC108. Silicon was the new hype at the time and it seemed that by 1970-71 everybody was switching to Silicon faces. Hendrix's Band of Gypsys, Gilmour on all PF albums and tours since 1971 including all of the solos on Meddle and Dark side of the Moon are probably the most documented examples. One of my favorite guitarists Michael Karoli (Can) also used Silicon Fuzz Faces to create his raw and untamed distortion throughout the history of Can, so this was enough to get me going. 

Both designs are pretty close with the Germs being mostly PNP and the Silis being NPN. Comparing the sound of the Germanium units with the Silicon ones it is often said that while the Germs sound raspy, warm and sweet, the Silicons are brighter, edgy and have more gain. Well....from my builds....this statement is....TRUE!

The original 1966 Arbiter Face - Germanium

On my Fuzz quest I really couldn't imagine the journey without understanding the differences between the two FF versions and there was no other way than building the two. After I finished the Germanium Fulltone version I started to drown with info on the Silicon versions: Fulltone, Analog Man, Dunlop, Runoffgroove, GGG you name it. I looked through dozens of schematics and breadboarded some of them. I even looked at the German Schaller Fuzz (FF variant) after reading that Michael Karoli (CAN) used one. Actually, the first fuzz I ever built was the Runoffgroove SiliFace II and I loved it for some months. That was what got me interested in fuzz pedals in the first place, My Fuzz quest started because one fuzz was not enough to get the range of buzz tones I was after.

The 1970 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face - Silicon

Due to the fact that the Fuzz Face design is tolerant to part values many versions have been issued over the years and the amount of Fuzz Face versions became quite vast (just like it happened with the Big Muffs or the Tube Screamers). The design is so simple that small part changes resulted in some sonical change. After all the entire unit incorporates 4 resistors, 3 caps, 2 transistors, 2 pots and 1 switch. That's it!

4 resistors, 3 capacitors, 2 transistors, 2 potentiometers

The sound I was aiming for was that of Gilmour playing the Time solo on the album version of the Dark Side. I started out with the GGG early 70's Boutique NPN Fuzz Face after my success with the GGG 60's version. I liked the PRE GAIN knob and the circuit seemed pretty good, but something was missing. I didn't box the circuit and it stayed on the shelf for some time. I built a few other Fuzz pedals and when I thought I understood more about what I wanted I revisited the circuit. This time I modified the circuit based on the Axis Face version by Phillip Bryant modified by Brett Robinson. 

Gilmour's early 70's rig

I did a lot of testing using Hi-Watt amp emulations, tweaked many of the parts in this little circuit, changed trannies and used several guitars. Surprisingly, I ended up using 2N2369 (hfe=70-90) for Q1 and BC109 for Q2 (hfe=200). The BC108C I had (hfe around 400-550) seemed to be too pumped up for my taste. I settled on a 50kA pot for the PRE GAIN and a 100kA for the VOLUME. 220n cap for the input and 30p cap on the bridge for lo-pass filtering. I replaced the CONTOUR pot with a 470R resistor and kept the 22uF Fuzz cap. I kept the reverse polarity protection and cut off the strange feedback diode bridge which didn't seem to affect the sound. Biasing Q2 I got 4.5V with resistance being about 3k3 so that's about 4k3 total Q2 bias. It's funny that this fuzz is currently my most tweaked fuzz circuit to date. Only a few parts but so much experimentation. Other fuzz circuits you get the schematic, the parts, breadboard and maybe test a few transistors, bias them and that's it. Along with the early Tone Benders and the Maestro Fuzz Tone which are more complex it's one of the toughest, considering its architecture.

Luckily, somebody at work who knows I am always on the lookout for metallic enclosures, gave me this great candy box. I couldn't have asked for a better design with those pink pigs on a round enclosure making it suitable for a Fuzz Face and for a Pink Floyd related sound, so I jigsawed it to the right height, called it Pink Face, mixed my glass paint bottles and came up with a magical pinkish tone... Perfect!

The sound is well worth the effort. It's not as warm or sweet as the Germanium version but it does give you the Time solo style. Bright when the FUZZ pot reaches max. The PRE-GAIN gets you that rolled off effect for cool rhythm chords and sparkly clean chops. Using a treble booster in front enables you to get great tones with the FUZZ knob below max. I also tested it with a Wah in front and no buffer was needed. Definitely a must build on my fuzz journey towards a better future.

If you want to learn more about the the topology of the fuzz face there is no better place than R.G. Keen's article: The Technology of the Fuzz Face. It helped me a lot in choosing the right part values and testing transistors both in my Germanium unit and this recent Silicon unit. It is really the Fuzz Face Bible, highly recommended and insightful. 

The schematic I drew up in Chrome Circuit Lab is shown here for reference but feel free to use it, tweak it or twist it. I will update it if I decide to change it. The feedback diode did not really do anything so I left it as in the Fulltone version.

Hope you get to enjoy it! You can also have a blast using Mark's vero layout on Tagboardeffects.blogspot,com

There is a lot of Fuzz Face info all over the web, here are some more recommended pages for extended reading on this matter:

• http://effectslounge.com/blog/more-history-fuzz-dallas-arbiter-fuzz-face
• http://www.custom-sounds.com/Articles/FUZZ-FACE-by-David-Morin, 
• http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/fuzzface.php.
• http://www.analogman.com/fuzzface.htm
• http://www.gilmourish.com/?page_id=73

A Factory of Fuzz

When I first sett of to the journey for the soundscapes of Fuzz territory I didn't really know what I was about to find. I thought that I would build two or three circuits and then box them and go on with my life. As soon as I build the first one I realized that the journey has just begun. From the song list of the previous post you can collect maybe 20 or so fuzz variations which really sound different and probably hundreds of sounds if you go into the details. When I stumbled on the Z. Vex Fuzz Factory video I thought "Man, this is a cool little bastard". It was a Germanium fuzz face (YAFF - Yet Another Fuzz Face) with a buffer input stage and a negative voltage which is an unusual design for PNP trannys. More appealing were the pots located on areas of the schematics which gave the fuzz some really deep control over GATING, COMPRESSION, oscillation STABILITY and, of course, DRIVE.

As I had a few AC128 lying around which I tested for gain and leakage, I thought it could be a simple build and I may find my ultimate sound bank of fuzz versatility. As soon as I finished it I took it to a rehearsal. It was a dense jungle of wires and pots on the studio carpet and... it tore the place down. 

It's a very fun piece of gear with some neat tricks. It will get you close to a straight over the top Fuzz Face, it  reacts well to guitar roll-off and the interaction between the DRIVE and STAB can get you deep into heavy psych-land. The most cool sound I got from this circuit is what Z. Vex call the Velcro effect which is a heavily gated nasal tone that sounds a little like the Mike Ratledge organ fuzz sound on Soft Machine. Like a vintage analog synth or something.

My settings didn't sound exactly like the sounds described on the preset list with hte knobs at the specified locations but a little tweaking here and there and I got the sounds it's supposed to produce.

It's a really versatile unit but I couldn't make it my go-to box because each sound was good but not perfect, except for that sweet sticky Velcro sound and the weird oscillations which are always good when you just wanna go plain crazy. Not a complete winner but definitely worth a shot if you want to scorch some guitar asphalt. Again, I owe you some sound samples and if you comment, I will post them. If you want to build this one, use the verified schematic shown here.

The Germanium Fuzz Face

Once I had a few Germanium Tranny lying around and I knew how to measure them properly for leakage and gain I continued my quest for the perfect fuzz with the most famous fuzz in the world of Rock and Blues. My first fuzz ever was the Runoffgroove Silicon Fuzz Face which I built a few years ago. This time I'm going all the way back to 1968

This was, of course, Fuzz Face, issued around 1966 by Dallas Arbiter in the UK. The original Face was built with 2 Germanium trannys which were replaced in the early 70's with Silicon ones.

Hendrix, Muddy Waters and Gilmour used the Ge version and I thought I'd give it a go as it is such a simple design. I got a round candy box from a friend at work and finally decided to go with the FullTone '69 schematic which appears on GeneralGuitarGadgets. It's not the finest enclosure but....its round just like the Face and I kept the name - '69. 

This version implements BIAS and BODY controls for more tone control, very similar to the FullTone version and you can really play a lot with the sound. The AC128 Ge Trannys are supposed to be less stable and temperature dependent but I don't  feel any weird behavior from the unit on stage or at home. All I heard was great singing quality which really makes your guitar sound like a square wave synth. Using the BIAS knob or the guitar volume knob gives you that clean edgy sparkling Hendrix sound which is heard so often when he plays chords. I always thought this was an amp thing. Compared to a Silicon Fuzz Face it is deeper and bassier. anyway its singing quality and voicing is great. quite an amazing sound for such a simple design. Most of the time I find myself having the FUZZ knob cranked all the way up.  You can look up the schematic on the GeneralGuitarGadgets website or get it here.