Interesting quote... let's argue...

[Ge_Whiz]

I found this in the latest 'Guitar' magazine, in a review of the Tube Amp Doctor's "Rangeking":

"TAD's designers had no qualms about informing me that they have foregone the much-vaunted germanium transistor for a silicon-based circuit, simply because it was more reliable and less noisy, and could easily be made to sound as creamy and rich as the original anyway."

I must admit, as far as the Rangemaster / Muffmaster and Fuzz Faces go, this statement matches my experience in effects building.

Comments? Boutique flaming?

[RDV]

No arguements here!
You're the man, Cheez Whiz!

RDV

[Mike Burgundy]

It all depends on the circuit. In some circuits, germanium ONLY have drawbacks, in some circuits, they have a certain advantage and uniqueness.
I actually applaud these guys for having heard all the hipe and not having any truck with it. Saying that - I do not know which circuit they're using, nor what they are using to sweeten it up, but I can name zillions of circuits that would be rather crappy with germanium.

[petemoore]

I like a small 'sprinkling' of GE...one at a time.
 I don't have any 2 Ge circuits in a stompbox right now...I use a Rangemaster and a EZ face [hybrid].
 Not to say I haven't had 2 Ge Fuzzez that sound great...just that sometimes they don't act so good, I've had some funny stuff coming out of them on stage...tweeked just right etc. they can be a pure joy...mixed in with everything else at a gig tho and they can be a pain to work with, heat, cold, other circuits...different guitar etc. they get to actin' 'funny...RADIO...etc.

[RDV]

On a more serious note(than my previous post), I've never been able to make any Ge based effect work with my rig & style of music that I have to perform. I like the sound of my RM clone with small tube amps, but that's not what I'm able to use on my moneymaking gig. I also used an Si FF with pretty good results for a while, but not the Ge(I've got a couple).

EDIT: I do like the radio bit when you turn the volume all the way down. Here it's both of the spanish language AM stations @ the same time!! ARRIVA!!

RDV

[Ge_Whiz]

Incidentally, the same article also reviews a 'rival' pedal, opening with the memorable quote:

"Ah, Zachary Vex, evil genius of the nouveau pedal world."  :twisted:

[Steben]

Well, yeah, think it is true for some parts. Actualy, my first projects where FF's where I switched to Si, because as a beginner I couldn't get the Ge's to sound at all. Si is reliable, but maybe harder to manipulate.
Maybe I will construct a "Fat Sillies" pedal (as reply to Fat germs...) and see how it works out.

[STOMPmole]

So is there a FuzzFace circuit that uses a Silicon Transistor that sounds EXACTLY like its Germanium counterpart?  If so, I'd like to check it out.

I've owned (own) both and find them to sound VERY different.

There's also the issue of 'accuracy' in cloning a vintage effect.  Certainly radio stations and weird noises add to the charm of a fuzz face.  

Something tells me that TAD wasn't going for an accurate reproduction of a Rangemaster when they added the "Balls" control although I'm sure it sounds "just like a Germanium booster" with the balls turned up to 10.

Of course, we all know that a solid state amp can be made to sound just as good as a tube amp too  :wink:

[cd]

I would it read it as:

It's cheaper and easier to use Si, so even though it doesn't sound EXACTLY the same, it's close enough so that we can use marketing obfuscation to make up any lost sales and probably sell MORE, and since our profit margins are higher, that's more $$$$ to us (emphasis on the more $$$).

[Ge_Whiz]

So is there a FuzzFace circuit that uses a Silicon Transistor that sounds EXACTLY like its Germanium counterpart?  If so, I'd like to check it out.

Well, how many decimal places do you want in that "EXACTLY"? As far as I know, there are unlikely to be two Ge fuzz faces that sound exactly alike, let alone with your guitar or my guitar, last Saturday or next Monday. But my silicon FF with a piggybacked transistor in the Q2 position and carefully chosen caps sounds close enough to my germanium one as makes no difference to me or the audience. And they both sound good, not just rich and creamy but with that chocolate dust stuff on top too.

[Paul Marossy]

Sounding "exactly like its Ge counterpart" is a shifty thing. Those Ge transistors are so touchy to temperature that one day they sound fantastic, another day it doesn't sound so good... (I have noticed this with my Boutique Fuzz Face). I assume that we would be talking about the tone on a good day?   :wink:

Actually, I have read that some Si Fuzz Faces sound really good. Tone is so subjective...

[brian wenz]

Hello Hello--
  GE _Whiz--  You piggybacked Q2 and not Q1??  What trannys are you using?  I  was going to piggyback Q1 for lower gain in that position.
Brian.

[Ge_Whiz]

I used a cheap generic Motorola with hFE ~ 200 as Q1, and a real high-gain Zetex BC108 equivalent (hFE ~ 600) as Q2. Piggybacking various gain transistors on Q1 didn't seem to do much to the tone, but piggybacking another Motorola on Q2 immediately lowered the gain and changed the tone to one very similar to my Ge FF. After that, it was just a bit of tweaking to the capacitors and building in a hot/vintage switch to get two very different gain/tone ranges.

[zachary vex]

Incidentally, the same article also reviews a 'rival' pedal, opening with the memorable quote:

"Ah, Zachary Vex, evil genius of the nouveau pedal world."  :twisted:

which evil pedal that i make rivals a rangemaster?  or did i miss something?

[puretube]

it`s about time for a "Range-Factory"....  

[Ge_Whiz]

which evil pedal that i make rivals a rangemaster?  or did i miss something?

Nah, the review compares and contrasts the Super Duper with the TAD Rangeking. The fact that you are an evil genius is purely incidental.

[Peter Snowberg]

I was talking with the manager of a local music store about pedals and he said, "Zachary is delightfully insane."  :twisted:

[lightningfingers]

Those Ge transistors are so touchy to temperature that one day they sound fantastic, another day it doesn't sound so good...

There was a time last summer (and this is completely true) when I left my (stock) ff clone in the sun all day, and I had to put it in the refrigerator before it would sound "normal" again :roll:  :shock:  :roll:

[petemoore]

Last winter I pulled the Tonebender Ge from a car in a frozen 'wasteland' [it was well below 0 and quite windy] and it couuld barely muster a scrich' with a hard pounding A major [test] chord.
 It's bypass is a toggle instead of stompswitch now.

[DDD]

Ge BJTs are so unstable, sensitive and unpredictable, that sometimes they really sound like the Si ones ;-)
But in general "Ge and Si sounds" are quite different since our ears are very sensitive to subtle differences in form and dinamics of a sound.