List all of your favorite Fuzz Face tweaks!

[Karmasound]

Input cap switching

Pregain pot

100-500k volume

1-2k fuzz

here are some I haven't tried yet

Fuzz Central adds a 1n34a


biasing the emitter?

output cap switching

adding rf protection

adding pf caps for ultra highs?



that's all I can think of right know

I think it would be nice to consolidate all these tweaks.  

[Peter Snowberg]

No Fuzz Face thread is complete without the ultimate FF Ref: http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/fuzzface/fffram.htm

Good Idea for a thread.

[phillip]

Here are all of my Silicon Fuzz Face tweaks put together in one excellent sounding circuit!  Sounds almost identical to the Germanium counterpart without having to buy expensive matched sets

http://fuzzcentral.tripod.com/axisfacesi.html

Phillip

[MartyMart]

Good ideas, I quite like adding a small ( 1nf ) cap to ground on the input for some "hi-end" fizz roll off too.
I also like the Roger Mayer mods.

Marty.

[Karmasound]

Here are all of my Silicon Fuzz Face tweaks put together in one excellent sounding circuit!  Sounds almost identical to the Germanium counterpart without having to buy expensive matched sets

http://fuzzcentral.tripod.com/axisfacesi.html

Phillip

I actually used that pcb to try and make a pnp face but I had no luck with getting it working.

I flipped the power and the caps and tried flipping the diodes back and a forth.

It looks really awesome is there something i'm missing ?

I would like to use pnp since I have a bunch of those.

[dosmun]

Variable input cap tone control.  I can't seem to build a Fuzz without it.

[petemoore]

Modded Sundial
 [Two tweeked, seriesed 2Q F.B. Amps]

[Dragonfly]

Good ideas, I quite like adding a small ( 1nf ) cap to ground on the input for some "hi-end" fizz roll off too.

Marty.

thats one of the tweaks i do on the "smooth silicon" circuit...really helps the sound quite a bit, IMO...

andy

[Ge_Whiz]

Anybody remember the 'Miss Piggy' mod? That's my favourite with silicon transistors.

[petemoore]

I socketted the 100k and put in a 147k with 1n cap across that...seemed pretty smoothed out, nice fuzz, try that out and see what you think.

[robbiemcm]

What's the best silicon fuzz you people know about? I have no idea where to get germanium transistors, and I'm not having any shipped in... so... yeah... any help would be much apreciated.

[Karmasound]

I don't know much about silicon ones.

Honestly i've never met a silicon fuzz I liked. It just donesn't seem right to me.

I wish germs weren't such a pain in the ass cause they got it.

[Alpha579]

I love silicon FF's, but not in stock form, i change the 100K feedback res. to 47K, and change 33K to 22K, put a 220pf cap from Q2's collector to base, and leave the fuzz pot as 1K, i find it gets a bit much wiv silicon trannys if i change it to 2K. Oh yeh, use BD139's for both trannys, great transistors...i choose Q2's collector resistors to get 5v at the collector, it cleans up nicer than 4.5v i find, and make sure it has lotsa output, i think i used 3K3 and 2K2 for the 8K2 and 330 resitors respectively...

all in all you get one smooth sounding fuzz hehe

[brian wenz]

Hello Hello--
    Yeah, the Miss Piggy mods [piggyback tranny circuit] is a good silicon FF.   Nobody's paying any attention to it!
Brian.

[Karmasound]

Hello Hello--
    Yeah, the Miss Piggy mods [piggyback tranny circuit] is a good silicon FF.   Nobody's paying any attention to it!
Brian.

how do you do it? or where can i read about it?



what trannies are good?

[petemoore]

2n2369...get some and try em for FF's, IMO they can't be topped, some 2n4401's or other low gain Si's may work as well, piggybacking is another option to obtain a 'proper' gain Q for Q1>FF.
 Basically this sounds great in an AXIS Face, Q2 can be BCxxx or other NPN transistor, trimpotting Q2CR is highly recommended as is socketting Q's and voicing cap options like input cap etc. I think it's worth it to make your face flexible enough to try different voicings, I always want to at least mess with it anyway...just to see...
 I think Homewrecker ROG, have FF articles, all kinda tweekz, Tim Escebedo's 'Many Faces of Fuzz' is a good one for FF tweekers.
 There are only 12~ parts on a 'standard' FF board, I've got a FF board that has probably 1/2 of them socketted or trimpotted...on a board like this you can build about any kind of FF.
 Another FF tweekboard trick I do is make the resistor I wanna try different values as 'large'...then try smaller values by paralleling another resistor to sum whatever smaller values I want to try there [atop the board...can be easy if enough lead is left on the 'perma-mounted' 'large' value resistor, or run a parallel socket beside it....kind of like a permanent FF breadboard, whenever I wanna different FF, I just connect this in the testjig and start swapping and tweaking.
 Adding a buffer or booster to the front end of the FF makes fora different circuit of course, this may/maynot be a sound you like, more intense Fuzz and less wool.

[brian wenz]

Hello Hello--
     Karmasound-- Go to "Search" and  enter "piggybacked transistors" or "Miss Piggy".
Brian.

[H.Manback]

Well one thing I have learned is steer clear from AC128s... I just cannot believe how many you have to buy before you even find 1 that is in good shape.

The prematched pairs, I am sure it works, but IMHO why go through that trouble at all, when there actually ARE decent germanium transistors.

The Japanese transistors are of such a constant quality, it is unbelievable! I have a 2SB175 as Q1 and a 2SB178 as Q2 in mine, and it worked instantly! I have about 6 of the 175s and 3 178s, and none of them were bad. Of course, these are hardly decent statistics but the electronic store I bought them from have a long history in electronics, and they say they always found that the Japanese germanium transistors were a LOT more consistent.

As for mods, I only have a switched input cap right now, and I don't think I will be modding any more now, since I have a crappy amp. In my experience a fuzz has to find a amp it 'likes', and right now, it doesn't like anything over here

Edit: It has come to my attention that the 2SB transistors are not easy to find. I seem to have been lucky with my local electronics store, so if I find out any more on where to find them, I will surely let you know.

[joegagan]

I agree about the 2SB*** or 2SB** Japanese trannies being very good.
I think they are still commonly available NOS from Summit Electronics in FLa. They have a great search engine for available parts. I think they have a  $100 minimum order, but the consistency of the trannies makes it a pretty good bet to get 100 of them at around a $1 a piece ( last time I bought them that's what they cost).

Another favorite part number for Ge trannies that I get from them is 2n2614. I think they are NOS american made to very high standards. I was able to use over 93% of them, buying in 200+ quantities.
They generally have higher gain and sound more rich to me than the Japanese types mentioned above.

[Karmasound]

I tried flipping Q1 around backwards and it makes a very loud boost.


What is going on here?   Is that like using it as a diode?



Is it still able to amplifiy like that?



It really doesn't sound too bad. :shock:  :?