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"Fuzzie" pedal

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11/23/1996 3:04 PM

"Fuzzie" pedal

A fuzzface copy of unknown origin...currently has a couple of 50k pots ("vol." is on/off, "fuzz" has a 10k across two of it's terminals, going to ground), a dpdt, and a very small board containing: a pair of Toshiba 2SB54 "metal can" transistors, 22mfd and 3.3mfd caps, one of each (the ones that look like small "milkcans"...radial electrolytic ?...), a .01 disc cap., a 500, 30K, 100k(these and the 10k across the "fuzz" are shaped like a "barbell", and have their values printed on them,metal/film/wire?), and a 8k (possibly 6k,can't tell for sure if the first ring is blue or gray) resistor."Fuzzie" is actually on the face of the pedal. I can't coax a lot out of it, but when I do, it seems like it has potential. I can't get much vol/output, if any at times, and when I do, it drops/fades in and out. How closely is this based on the actual Fuzzface? What type are the transistors (germanium/silicon?)?

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated...

Thanks.

11/24/1996 2:43 PM
T. Neary	Re: ...I need to get more sleep...I know germanium/silicon refers to diodes...not transistors... Again, any comments would be appreciated. Thanks. T.

11/25/1996 12:32 PM

Re:Fuzzie pedal

>>...I need to get more sleep...I know germanium/silicon refers to diodes...not >>transistors...

You DO need to get more sleep... silicon/germanium can apply to any semiconductor, and yes, there are both types of transistors. The 2SB54's are germanium devices, Japanese made. The values of the parts sound like they are within the range of parts used in Arbiter fuzzfaces. It also sounds from your description that the thing has been broken and/or modified. The fuzz control is 1K in the Arbiter version, and the volume control is 500K. The volume should NOT be on/off, should be a normal control variation.

You can find schematics on the DMZ, although be aware that the schematics on the first schematic page are drawn without any bypass switching for some reason. The ones on the second page (provided by Leper's musical archive) are complete.

11/25/1996 4:12 PM
T. Neary	Thanks R.G. ... ...Thanks for the info., I appreciate it. I was just wondering if anyone was familiar with this particular pedal. I haven't checked out the Arbiter/Fuzzface schematic yet, but doesn't it (or some variations) use germanium diodes?...I don't know...got my wires crossed up somewhere along the way... T.

11/26/1996 6:43 AM

Re: Fuzz Face

Yeah, germanium diodes are also a big part of some other distortion devices. There are a couple of fundamentally different kinds of distortion devices. One whole class of them use an amplifier circuit with very high gain that can go into clipping from just the guitar's signal. The Fuzz Face is a good example of this kind. In this type, germanium devices are often used for their low saturation voltage and generally softer saturation characteristics.

The second kind uses some kind of clipping element that is not part of an amplifier per se, but clips the output of a separate amplifier which would otherwise be operating linearly. The MXR Distortion Plus and Ibanez Tube Screamers are examples of this class of distortion device. In this kind of distorter, germanium diodes are used because they turn on much more softly than silicon diodes, so have a less harsh sound.

11/26/1996 10:39 PM
x Keenan	Have you ever set up a 12AX7 or other preamp tube as a pair of diodes and used that for clipping?

11/27/1996 2:25 PM
T. Neary	Re:clipping 12ax7... ... No I haven't...I'd like to find out how though. I'm assuming it would be relatively straight forward, and result in something like the brand-name 12AX7 pedals that are available. Any info. you have on this, or where to go/look for it would be appreciated. Thanks... T.

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