yet another FF clone :)

[brian wenz]

Hello Joe--
      What about tranny substitutes?  Would any BC 184c or the like be as good sounding and low noise as your 2N's ?
Thanks-
Brian.

[brett]

Wonder what sounds could be had with a lower-gain Q1?

This is a good question (and the only thing better than a good answer is a good question.

One of the advantages (and it's a BIG one) of low hFE trannies for Q1 is that the base of Q1 is biased closer to ground.  If a high hFE transistor is used, a resistor is placed on the emitter to reduce gain (Gain = Rcollector/Remitter).  For low hFE transistors, there's no emitter resistor, and the base is at 0.7V.  With an emitter resistor, the base sits at a higher voltage.  The low base voltage of the low hFE transistor gives more assymetric clipping (it hits the ground more easily), which is one of the key features of the fuzzface (see RG's article Tech of the FuzzFace for details).  A significant part of the magic of Ge transistors is that the base is at only 0.3 volts, which means the fuzz they produce is very  assymetric.

So for that classic tubey sound, low hFE Si transistors (such as the 2N/PN2369A) will be the next best thing after a Ge transistor.  

That's not to say that symetric, high-gain fuzz doesn't have a place.  It's just not going to be a tubey, soft fuzzface kind of sound.

PS I only *think* these idea are right.  Any experts out there? RG?

[squidsquad]

Golly guys...some of that tech-talk is tryin to lean me sumthin!

Alls I knows is:  I just built the sucker...found a sweet spot by ear trimming Q1...and damn does this clean up nice & smooth & keeps all of my strat (into a twin) harmonics nicely in my face.  Maybe I got lucky...but I'm hearin magic and thankin you for the circuit!  Tis a yummy controllable fuzz!!

[jmusser]

What's the Squidster been up to lately besides building fuzz pedals? Oh, by the way, if you haven't built the Tripple Fuzz yet, I believe you're going to like it. It's not a vintage JBT mind you, but really handy in it's own way.

[squidsquad]

Yo Jeff,

Just played in Vegas...was worshipped by thousands...haha!  Then was a poker player in a pretend casino for a movie...surrounded by babes...then a guy walkin out of a grocery store for a TV show...and lots of time off to discover that...this Antique FF into a Sparkle Boost (w/the gain down) sounds REAL nice...lots of gain variation w/my v-knob.
Still must pass the acid test...next weekend's rehearsal...which will be recorded.....hoping the magic comes thru.
There's a tiny spot in the bias where my sound becomes super hi-fi.
I be lovin it.

[squidsquad]

Oh...and I'll get to the *Triple* one day when I order the proper trannys.

[petemoore]

Powerful and Smooth !!!
 I did the Axis trick, a .1uf across the 470...
 Squid, I put a Sparkle Boost in front...
 The circuit performs very well, passing the initial tryouts and a/b tests [against other FF's] easily, showing great potential with the powerful sound and smoothness, pick attack juice'...I think we'll be hearing more about this one...I'll let you know in a about a week...[seems to be enough time for thoroughly field testing a Fuzz, in my camp]...
 It saturates really well and cleans up cool......it's like higher gain for the guitar volume control settingS [source input level] comparitively.

[MartyMart]

I just put this one together, I had a few free hours today, sounds real nice
I changed the output cap to a .047 as it seemed a bit "thin" with the .01
in there. ( .1uf was too "thick" )
Thanks Joe, much appreciated

Marty.

EDIT: I just tried this at 18 volts, using a recent build with a MAX1044
chip...... AHEM ! SOUNDS FANTASTIC !!!
Louder/cleaner and "fuller" sounding distortion......
Should we be running more "FX" at 18volts perhaps..??

PS: My "Fuzz" collection has now just passed the 20 mark... !! :oops:

[jmusser]

I remember way back when I used to just have a fuzz collection of 20, but it'll get better and bigger with time. Try not to let it get you down. :lol: I think thats a good question you posed there Marty. There are only specific circuits that use something higher than 9 volts. Is there a whole lot more to get out of certain pedals by upping the +V? I take it that your girl friend was taking a nap or at the grocerie store at the time of this fuzz building?

[WGTP]

Does the diode change the input impedance i.e. increase it so the circuit is less woofy?  Would increasing the 100K drop down resistor increase the impedance?

Also, does this work when using MOSFET's for Q1 or Q2?  

[brett]

Hi.
I'm planning on building this tonight and will measure the input impedance.  (You can do this yourself - increase the output impedance from a signal generator until it reduces the signal by half and you've matched the input impedance of the device under test).  I use a 100k linear pot as a variable resistor in-line with a 1kHz 100mV peak-peak sine wave.  

Fuzzfaces usually have 10 kohms or so of input impedance (which also matches the theoretical values calculated from the emitter current and Q1's hFE).

[brian wenz]

Hello Brett--
 Are you going to try a lower gain tranny for Q1 or stick with the high gain one??
B.

[Joe Davisson]

Does the diode change the input impedance i.e. increase it so the circuit is less woofy? Would increasing the 100K drop down resistor increase the impedance? Also, does this work when using MOSFET's for Q1 or Q2? Cool

The diode increases input resistance in proportion to the signal strength. The 100k can be changed, but I don't think it will have as much effect as in a typical transistor stage. It's only there to keep the diode slightly biased. Q2 can be anything, I would think.

It's important to note that the gain of Q1 is effectively lowered during a signal peak. So although the 2N5089 is a high-gain transistor, the effect is not the same as in a regular silicon Fuzz-Face circuit.

[WGTP]

Interesting.  As the signal level increases so does the impedance.  I assume that results in a "brighter" tone at high levels than at lower levels.  As the attack decays, it becomes "darker" :shock:

[Joe Davisson]

It's like a series resistor that sizes itself based on the input power. Seems to have more of an effect on distortion than tone, though. Kinda wierd...

[squidsquad]

Seems to be the same idea used in the Vulcan...right?

Would this work in other circuits...tonebender....tube reamer....mosfet boost?

[Joe Davisson]

It's the same trick. The diode needs to be within the opamp circuit itself (between the differential stage and output stage). Where the diode fits in otherwise depends on the circuit.

[Joe Davisson]

It's the same trick. The diode needs to be within the opamp circuit itself (between the differential stage and output stage). Where the diode fits in otherwise depends on the circuit.

[z-zero]

WoW, great stuff Joe, I can't wait to try this thing.

z-zero

[jmusser]

Hey Squid, I too am being worshiped as a God. I'm building framed lattice panels to put under our wrap around porch. Of course the "crowd" is a little smaller than yours. :wink:  I got out the Simple Square Wave Shaper last night. It's just about as versitile as the Tripple Fuzz, but different one all together. Out of the pedals I've built recently, I'll usually ene up going back to that one. I love the sustain, and the different types and tembres of tone you can get out of it. It can go from very sweet, to very nasty, and not too many pedals can do that. I love Tim's stuff. They're usually always amazing, highly variable, and and noisless. What more could you ask for? Now, I going to go put the SSWS back on the alter with the rest of his effects :shock: