PNP Negative Ground Fuzz Face

[M. Spencer]

I just built the tagboardeffects negative ground fuzz face and it sounds ripping raw like how a fuzz face should sound. However, I found this layout for a negative ground pnp Fuzz Face that doesn't use a 1044 chip or the like. What is this sorcery? Any downsides to this layout?

http://www.joedocmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Negative-Ground-Germanium-Fuzzface-Layout-1024x1024.png

[induction]

Short answer:
Most non-charge pump Fuzz Faces connect the positive rail to both signal ground (input and output jacks) and circuit ground (everything between the input and output caps, while using the negative rail as the circuit supply.

The layout you refer to connects the positive rail to circuit ground, but connects the negative rail to signal ground. This is possible because the input and output caps block DC.

The downside is that sometimes this method oscillates uncontrollably and no amount of tinkering can make it work.

This all makes more sense if you look at the schematics instead of the layouts. Which leads us to...

Long answer:
Read this page.
Then read this page.

[M. Spencer]

Thank you for the explanation. Hopefully I've learned enough about electronics theory to understand Jack Orman's in depth coverage. Last time I tried one of his articles I felt like I may as well have been reading hieroglyphs.

If he and RG and Mark Hammer are the wizards of this realm, I am basically like the guy gathering toads for the new apprentences...

[Travis]

lol

If you have any questions about it ask here and you'll find all the help you need

The part that I see confusing people are the terms "positive ground" and "negative ground". Ground is 0 volts, and as such is neither positive nor negative.

It would be better to think of this in terms of positive supply, negative supply, or bipolar supply