And my Fuzz Factory doesnt work either.

[GrooveChampion]

Used this schematic: https://www.google.co.il/search?q=fuzz+factory+schematic&client=firefox-b&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwizrdu1lKTRAhWTe1AKHR8yD18Q_AUICCgB&biw=1536&bih=755#imgrc=JqOChYS2-2ja-M%3A

But with a fresh set of 2n3096's and a 2n3094.







And because I didnt have 220K resistors I used 2 100K ones in series for each 220K resistor.

I am getting a faint guitar sound, not fuzzed, both when the power is supplied and isnt.

And since I cut the whole thing 14x9 and not 13x9 the third row from the right is now a whole row to the right.

[Frank_NH]

What if the value of the ceramic disk capacitor on the left?  That should be 100 nF and yours looks a bit small for a 100 nF cap (maybe it's 100 pF).  Check that first.  Then check the voltages for all transistors and post them here.  BTW, I would think that the germanium transistors are a key element to the sound, but the 2n3096s should likely work as a substitute.

[GrooveChampion]

I converted 100nf to mf/uf and put a 0.1 mf cap.

[GrooveChampion]

OK so I dont know how....but it works! I dont know if it works PROPARLY but all 5 knobs do SOMETHING, which as far as I remember is the point of the Fuzz Factory. Not to mention I dont have a proper tube amp but a crappy Dean headphone amp.

Here's what I did:

1) Checked the DC Jack, turns out the 9V was either wired to the wrong terminal, which is weird, since there are 2, one didnt show signs of life.

2) Desoldered the socket of the 2N3094 and soldered it straight to the board.

3) Reflowed ALL the connections.

Some of the pots crackled when I moved them about, but I guess that is....sorta normal?

OK, do I simply have crappy solder? What solder do you recommend?

[GrooveChampion]

The only issue now is that it doesnt oscillate and its kinda noisy.

[Travis]

The DC jacks usually have 3 lugs. With a typical pedal power supply, you will have one lug for ground, one for the supply voltage, and one switching lug for the battery.

The switching lug is meant to disconnect the battery when a plug is inserted into the DC jack, so if you connect your supply voltage wire to that lug, it will be disconnected when a plug is inserted (no power with or without a plug inserted)

Regarding the sound and noise performance, that could be a number of things. The most likely cause would be your transistor substitutions. This pedal is also sensitive to the signal chain. It wants to be the first pedal in line after your pickups. If you put a buffer before this circuit, it will not oscillate or sound right

[GrooveChampion]

Oh so that's how these things work.....

As for the substitutes, they are temporary. I think I have an actual AC128 lying around so I will drop it in. I have like 4 of them ordered.

The pedal was hooked up with no bypass what so ever between and the guitar and the headphone amp. Thing is the amp is quite noisy too.


Thanks for the help man!

[Travis]

Cool, let us know how it turns out when it's all finished!

It's always worth experimenting with different transistor types with these things. Zvex originally built this with some of the "spam can" shaped transistors and later moved to 2N404 and AC128. The transistors can have a pretty noticeable effect in this circuit. My buddy has one of the old ones with spam cans, and the high end is a little smoother and midrange a little "juicier" compared to my later unit with 2N404 (which I do also love). I bet some Russian ge would actually sound really nice because a lot of those are low leakage and darker sounding

[GrooveChampion]

Well, I wired it up again and I put the AC128...I guess, in the Q3 socket. It still wont oscillate, And it's still kinda noisy.

I am running it from the guitar straight into my crappy dean headphone amp.

Just so that you'd know, I didnt have 220K resistors so I put two 100K resistors in series and called it a day.