Your fuzz, fuzz and tell

[clockman]

Just built a MKII tone bender,
 http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/03/tone-bender-mkii-pnp-with-negative.html
I'm loving it. Used 2 2n404a and 1 NTE 158. (none of which I've properly tested or checked for HFE and leakage. impulsive and lucky I guess) IS THIS HOW THE SPIRALING DESCENT INTO GERMANIUM MADNESS BEGINS?!?!
 It sounds great going into a clean pre-amp but really comes alive with a little bit of tube gain!. Fat and howling fuzzy goodness!  they truly are different beasts depending how one uses/abuses... which brings me to the point of this post.
what I would ask of anyone interested is to share your fuzz favorites.

 did you build it?
 what fuzz? SI or GE? ICs anyone?
 smooth or filthy? tame or glitchy?
 do you stack fuzzes or boosts or ODs after?
 do you run it into clean or dirty channels? had better luck with either or both?
 single coils, humbuckers? bridge, neck, split?
 
Thanx, sincerely yours in fuzz. Tom

[Beaker]

Big fan of all things Shin Ei here - I've built the FY6 Superfuzz, the FY2 Companion Fuzz,  and a modified SQ-150 Square Wave Fuzz, with Si/Ge diode switch, which is one of my favourites.

I also love the Ace Tone FM-2 Fuzzmaster, which is a Superfuzz variant, and sounds even gnarlier; a Conrad Buzz Tone that is utter filth, and a couple of Mosrite Fuzzrites - both Si and Ge versions.

Oh, and several Big Muffs and Fuzz Faces.

I really love the nasty 60's fuzz sound - the nastier the better, but don't really have any love for the Devi Ever type school of fuzz.

I don't run them any particular way - just whatever takes my fancy at the time.

[clockman]

Shin Ei companion and super fuzz are on the "to do" list, which seems to be getting longer by the minute.
 
 I've read the post on the Ace Tone FM-2 and looks interesting. How would you rank it's octave up/ overtone ability?chord mangling?
 The Piercing moose,http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/03/way-huge-piercing-moose-octifuzz.html , has been built and works really well. unique fuzz on its own and the octave just sings on a neck pick-up single coil with the tone rolled all the way back. I'm also lucky enough to have a Kay fuzz tone and it's an ugly little bastard that excels at octave up(not just that one U2 riff lots of people seem to demo on the youtube... still love you Edge) Tried the layouts listed on this site and couldn't get them to sound close to the original, sure it's my own errors.. but tis how we learn and grow.

 Ah yes, The Muffs. wasn't sure which, so I skipped them all and went right for the Musket. HA! http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/02/blackout-effectors-musket-fuzz.html
 gotta love having a mids knob.

thanx for the input and suggestions.

[alltrax74]

I built my own Floydish fuzz which I based on the SunFace NKT
It sounds really good and actually pretty close to what i was expecting, Gilmour's sound on Time
I used big russian Ge trannies (can't remember the reference)

You can hear it here and here with a strat, or herewith a Les Paul

[Muadzin]

I'm generally not a big fan of germanium fuzzes. Too finicky for my taste and too much hassle with the leakage thing. And that's excluding the negative voltage for many of them. I'm sure they all sound great though, but overall I prefer silicone fuzzes. More consistent, less hassle. Also less unobtainium parts. Plus, if I want a good rhythm or lead tone I prefer OD's and distortion. Or a Muff. Fuzz I prefer to use for something that sounds wild, gnarly and out of this world.

clockman wrote

 Ah yes, The Muffs. wasn't sure which, so I skipped them all and went right for the Musket. HA! http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/02/blackout-effectors-musket-fuzz.html
 gotta love having a mids knob.

I prefer the mids switch myself. Easiest mod to do, works like a charm, doesn't change the tone stack of the gazillion of different Muff versions that are out there and which makes them all unique.

[Beaker]

The Ace Tone is has a awesome octave up, with a slight octave down too. It does not seem to be a perfect octave though, which makes it sound like nothing else, but does mean it mangles chords something rotten. I describe it as the Superfuzzes evil robot twin. Combined with a Blue Box you can get incredibly close to Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My" sound with ease.

It sounds awesome on bass too.

[clockman]

Nice looking build. Big fan of the Floyd as well, "wish you were here" is one of my default albums to listen to while soldering and Building.
 Tried the links posted but no go. page unfound or similar message. was looking forward to hearing your pieces. Any video work on the Youtube?
 
Also while on the subject... do you use this particular fuzz often? do you use it on a clean or dirty channel?
I'm very interested in HOW people use their fuzzes as well as what they're using. Thanx

[clockman]

Hey there Muazdin,
 I've seen the mid-mod switch attatched to a few of the muff layouts here on this site. I may try the Ram's head or triangle Muff. still not sure which to go for. are there too many Muffs out there? Have you built them all? that would be bonkers-crazy... one for every day of the week.
 As for Germaniums, I would like to do more with them. I'm not put off by negative voltages. IvIark has solved that problem for us with tiny and effective inverter boards. THANK YOU mark!

And Beaker, I'm going to give the Companion fuzz a shot. I don't have the original transistors but do have some low gainers floating around (ECG123 and 2n2222 metal cans may do the trick)
 Maybe this should be another conversation, you mentioned the MXR blue box. classic sub octave pedal. have you tried http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2013/03/dwarfcraft-devices-robot-devil.html
 built 3 already, 2 went to friends, 1 staying with me and will not part with it. TIP- it likes a buffer before it and go neck single coil with tone rolled off. set octave vol higher than fuzz vol and holy smokes you got yourself a decent mono-synth sound. shockingly stable around the 12th and up.
 
thanx to all for the input.

[Beaker]

For what it's worth, I used metal can 2N2222 in my Companion Fuzz builds - I tried loads of different transistors in this (I always experiment with transistors and diodes in every build before deciding on what works best). To my ears 2N2222 sounded best. In fact they are my favourite silicon transistor.


There is no need to use a voltage convertr if you use NPN germanium transistors - you are good to go with a standard tip negative supply or battery. Keep an eye out for MP38 transistors, you can use these for loads of NPN Germanium builds.

BTW no, I have not tried the Robot Devil.

[clockman]

just checked my little stash of cans. ECG123 reads 113hfe, 101hfe,103hfe. 2n2222  @171hfe . thought i had more...hmmm.  just enough to work with. let me get crackin'

[clockman]

hi again Beaker, I'm going with this one, http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/02/shin-ei-fy2-companion-fuzz.html
 board cut and drilled, jumpers and transistor sockets soldered in. any suggestions of other caps or resistors I should put sockets in place of?

[Travis]

Hey clockman. Always nice to hear from a fellow fuzz fanatic. The MKII is great, glad you're enjoying your builds.

I would socket the 100n with the one leg to ground near the output. This is the midscoop cap

[Travis]

I have a ton of different fuzzes so it's hard for me to claim a favorite, but the one that I'd have to pick is definitely my Fuzzrite. It's a germanium version, and I guess I pretty much love everything about this pedal except the bypass switching. Really, if I could only have one pedal I think this would be it

[clockman]

 Hey Travis, thanx for chiming in. I'm kinda new here, nice to "meet" everyone. That is a beauty of a pedal. BTW I've seen a bunch of pix you've posted in the gut shots section. your work is amazingly good (so damn neat) and you seem to to be quite the photographer as well.
 
100n cap socket idea is noted. probably end up with a DPDT switch in that spot with a ???n cap on the other side. Did that  mod switch with a Meathead, glad i did.

 As I've mentioned, I'm new to the game and late to the party, I come in on the heels of all the the good people here who have done all the hard work to make this all possible. I am truly grateful.
 

[Travis]

Thanks man! Welcome. Many people use a pot wired as a variable resistor between the 100n and ground. This will let you control how much of the mids are dumped to ground

If you need more explanation on that it's no problem. It's a good mod because it makes the pedal a bit louder too (it isn't a very loud circuit)

[tabbycat]

clockman wrote

hi again Beaker, I'm going with this one, http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/02/shin-ei-fy2-companion-fuzz.html
 board cut and drilled, jumpers and transistor sockets soldered in. any suggestions of other caps or resistors I should put sockets in place of?

hey clockman, this is a nice extension of the fy2 by miro that i think is worth the few extra components:
http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/shin-ei-fy-2-companion-fuzz-with-mods.html

it's basically the fy2 with an lpb1 and a midcut option. you lose nothing of the original but gain a whole lot of potential, plus solve the volume drop issue that is standard to the fy2.

re the thread, i can basically do a 'what he said' for most of beaker's earlier posts ('village of the damned' style, collective consciousness). but the question 'what is the best fuzz?' will always circle back on you and become 'what do you want or need it to do for you?' they are the only real criteria that matter.

i think in the fuzz universe there are a few planets you can feel most at home at. some like the tuneful 'rolls-back-nicely' muff variety, some like that synthy-splatty-glitchy zvex business, some are inbetween with devi (bi-polar or call it 'elements of the past and elements of the future combing to make something not quite as good as either' according to taste), and some just thrill to the sound of chainsaws screeching on patio windows at 3am. we are the shinei mafia under don fumio mieda. it all comes down to which side of the glass you want to be on...

there are many more planets and journeys may include stops, changeovers and mid-air refuelling.

[alltrax74]

Here are the links you can copy-paste:
strat1: https://soundcloud.com/guitar-diy/pink-face-dr-103-strat-75
strat2: https://soundcloud.com/guitar-diy/pink-face-strat-take-1
LP1: https://soundcloud.com/guitar-diy/pink-face-dr-103-lp-trad
LP2: https://soundcloud.com/guitar-diy/pink-face-lp-take-1
PRS Custom 24: https://soundcloud.com/guitar-diy/pink-face-dr-103-prs-custom-24
Always used on clean/early breakup settings.
Second part on strat2 is with guitar vol pot backed to 6 (it reacts very well I always use it with the gain pot fully opened and play with the guitar pot)

[Beaker]

Try one of these as well, the Os Mutantes Fuzz - it's awesome!

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/rviii-distortion.html

I used a second stomp switch in place of the toggle switch, so I could access both modes without bending down.


And this is the Ge Fuzzrite layout I used, with MP38 transistors.

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/mosrite-ge-fuzzrite.html


And this is the Si tagboard version I use, (the second "mod" version). I also did this mod to the Ge version too - it's easy as it's offboard.

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/mosrite-fuzzrite.html



BTW Tabbycat, have you ben listening to Hawkwind again?

[Silver Blues]

My favorite fuzz by far is the Muff. I tend to like smooth sustaining fuzzes over the dirty, tone-mangling variety and of course the Muff is the epitome of this archetype. I'm going to build myself a slightly modified and Ge-ified Black Russian soon (I haven't been building much lately unfortunately). My Purple Dragon Muff is kind of a Sovtek/Ram's Head hybrid that's enormous sounding if anyone wants to try it. I'm mainly a bassist though, so such considerations are what drive my choices. I've messed with FFs on bass and some sound quite nice, the FF is one of the circuits that sounds better driving a dirty amp.

Also welcome, you'll like it here and may never leave again

[clockman]

Hi tabbycat,
 Saw the modded layout you posted and was thinking about it but decided to go "original" late last night. I would not add salt to a chef's dish without tasting what was presented first. Can always mod after,can always build the other and have a good old shootout. Not entirely crazy about the LPB-1 in line with that circuit as LPB's tend to get a bit dirty. I've built  a Lotus snow job and Cochrane's Timmy. both have tons of clean boost power.

Totally agree with you, There shall not be one fuzz to rule them all. I have some preferences on the subject.
 I enjoy a fat singing fuzz to do some lead work but that same sound doesn't cut through for me for all rhythm work.
The Fuzz factory has me of two minds, I love what it can do but sometimes hates what it does... Maybe a mod for a momentary foot switch to kill oscillation... hmmm.
 Then there is the whole Noise /Glitch/gate/talk to the mothership thing (I need to do more of that)

 I really am interested In what other people here are doing with their fuzzes and how they use them in their chain. specifically what they feed a fuzz into, What fuzzes stand alone on a clean channel but turn into monsters on a gain channel.  it's great to hear other people's passions. It puts out an energy that can inspire me and others who may be reading to try something they haven't, or may thought might not work for them.
Keep the stories coming!