Not so Hyper fuzz !

[goosonique]

Whats up with this reissue Hyper Fuzz ... the FZ3 which to my ears lost its "hyper" literally. 
Has anyone messed with this fella ... can't find a schemo anywhere. Is it that unpopular ... is it  

[TheBigMan]

The FZ-3 isn't a Hyper Fuzz, it's just a Fuzz.  It's one of the rare occasions Boss removed features when updating a pedal.  It's also the only Boss pedal that doesn't contain a single IC apparently.

There is a schem about for the FZ-2, I'll see if I can dig it out, though I have no idea if it's accurate or not.

[Fret Wire]

http://www.bossarea.com/loadpage.asp?file=boxes/fz3.xml

[SeanCostello]

The FZ-2 seems like it was based on the Univox Super Fuzz, or (more likely) one of the Ace Tone fuzzes that were Super Fuzz like. It has octave-up qualities, as well as the selectable notch filter from the Super Fuzz that results in the hugest fuzz sound known to mankind.

The FZ-3 is apparently based on the Big Muff. Never tried it, as I have a few Big Muffs already.

Most of the Boss distortion/fuzz pedals I have heard sound kinda generic and subtle - nice, and usually very useable, but not super distinctive, and not over the top. The FZ-2 does not fit this trend. It is not nice, it is very distinctive, and it is definitely over the top.

Sean Costello

[Yun]

i wasn't aware that Boss re-issued the hyper fuzz, man.  i can't find it on their web-site.... 

[nelson]

The FZ-2 seems like it was based on the Univox Super Fuzz, or (more likely) one of the Ace Tone fuzzes that were Super Fuzz like. It has octave-up qualities, as well as the selectable notch filter from the Super Fuzz that results in the hugest fuzz sound known to mankind.

The FZ-3 is apparently based on the Big Muff. Never tried it, as I have a few Big Muffs already.

Most of the Boss distortion/fuzz pedals I have heard sound kinda generic and subtle - nice, and usually very useable, but not super distinctive, and not over the top. The FZ-2 does not fit this trend. It is not nice, it is very distinctive, and it is definitely over the top.

Sean Costello

Makes me want a schematic. You should write sales pitches.

[SeanCostello]

Just construct a Super Fuzz. The FZ-2 offers a good sonic approximation of the Super Fuzz, but is not nearly as evil sounding as my old grey Super Fuzz. The FZ-2 was cheap back when I bought it, and has the nice Boss casing, but for DIY work I would just work off of one of the Super Fuzz schematics out there.

Sean Costello

[Fret Wire]

i wasn't aware that Boss re-issued the hyper fuzz, man.  i can't find it on their web-site.... 

They didn't as far as I know. That ad copy was from BossArea, not an official site.
http://www.bossarea.com/

The FZ-3 can usually be found very cheap on Ebay, in good condition. I almost thought about getting one to satisfy my curiousity. But it only takes about 10 mins to whip up a silicon fuzz, so I thought why bother. I'd just rather check out the schematic. Besides, with the buffers, it probably won't clean up too well with the guitar volume.

[TheBigMan]

The FZ-2 seems like it was based on the Univox Super Fuzz, or (more likely) one of the Ace Tone fuzzes that were Super Fuzz like. It has octave-up qualities, as well as the selectable notch filter from the Super Fuzz that results in the hugest fuzz sound known to mankind.

The FZ-3 is apparently based on the Big Muff. Never tried it, as I have a few Big Muffs already.

Most of the Boss distortion/fuzz pedals I have heard sound kinda generic and subtle - nice, and usually very useable, but not super distinctive, and not over the top. The FZ-2 does not fit this trend. It is not nice, it is very distinctive, and it is definitely over the top.

Sean Costello

Makes me want a schematic. You should write sales pitches.

Your wish is my command Sir. 

It's on Angelfire, so here's the link.

http://www.angelfire.com/ego/sitruuna/images/hyper.jpg

BTW Nelson, have you built anything with those trannies yet?  I've just down a layout for Joe Gagan's Tone Dog and it looks a good candidate for converting to NPN.