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Vintage threads from the first ten years

fuzz face reissue

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6/28/2000 1:41 AM
john	fuzz face reissue i have a new dunlop fuzz face reissue, and it just dosen't sound very good. it sounds very weak and the fuzz is horrible. the thing just sounds so weak and thin. does anyone have any suggestions for mods to make it sound like a good original? please help. thank you

6/28/2000 2:05 AM
Steve Daniels (Small Bear Electronics)	Many people have come here with similar complaints. You probably want to replace the transistors and tweak the bias resistances. References and sources for the devices (if you want germanium): The "5F" FAQ at my site http://home.netcom.com/~smallbearelec "The Technology of the Fuzz Face" at www.geofex.com

6/28/2000 2:13 AM

Other people will probably be better at advising you which mods will be worthwile carrying out. I have no experience with the fuzz face, but I'm think It'll be my next project :-)

:-)

If you havent been there already you should check out these pages first:

RG's article on the fuzz face and different modified versions:
http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/fuzzface/fffram.htm

Steve Daniels article on transistor gains for the fuzz face:
http://home.netcom.com/~smallbearelec/ProjAndProd/FuzzFaceFAQ/FFFAQ.htm

Read them while you wait for the others to jump in with their experiences :-)

:-)

6/28/2000 4:08 AM

John,

What I'd do first up, is get a hold of the schematic for the original (see RG's FF FAQ sheet for mods) and there's a link to the full schematic as well.
Trace through and at least make sure that the values of the resistors/capacitors are the same as the original. Next, you'll need to get hold of some germanium transistors with gains of about 100. Several places are selling them (RG and Steve Daniels) in matches pairs. It really does make a difference that the gains of the transistors need to be around 100. And higher and the fuzz face sounds like a fart face.

At least then, it would be fairly comparable with the originals. If you still want more, check out RG's list of mods (again in the FF FAQ)

Pete

6/28/2000 1:27 PM
john	thank you everyone for your help. i will get started on the mods suggested now. thank you very much. John

6/28/2000 1:51 PM
john	i took apart my fuzz face and compared the circuit to all of the schematics on Geo's page about the fuzz face, and none of them were even close to the curcuit of my fuzz. it does not even look like the Jh1 and Jh2 fuzzes. I think i will have to build a vintage fuzz face curcuit and replace the reissue one. thank you once again for your help

6/29/2000 12:28 AM
Pete	John, If you trace out the circuit in your pedal, you'll probably notice that they're very similar to the schematics except for a couple of parts. You might even discover that you can retro-fit your board with different components to get the classic fuzz face sound. Pete

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