Interesting Fuzz Face observation...

[zachomega]

I found a copy of the RCA SC-10 transistor manual from 1962 the other night while going through a box I didn't even know I had. 

Anyway, there is a short (and I do mean short) section on page 22 about direct coupling with a general schematic associated with it *fig 38* which looks suspiciously similar to a fuzz face. 

Anybody have a scanner and a copy of this to show what I am talking about? 

-Zach Omega

[Jaicen_solo]

Apparently the original FF is based on a schematic printed in a transistor handbook. Some sort of high gain amp with feedback iirc.

[darron]

i'd be interested to see it now (:

[Steben]

The fuzz face is indeed a normal high gain feedback preamplifier stage, as often refered to in the old days. It must have been Dunlop or Mayer who used the thing to push it to overdrive. The typical soft to hard dynamics of the fuzz face actually was a useful coincidence, not a prethought design.
It must be noted, however, that the typical design produces a lot of harmonic distortion (especially even harmonics), even in the normal working range. This makes it so more useful for guitar.

Think of the mini-booster, which was an already developed high-gain amplifier stage (the "mu"-amp).