FY-2 Germanium build...

[glops]

It just didn't seem right that the vol pot was that far off, so I double-checked all hookups...good. then, i measured all the components. the
.002uf (a pulled one from the 60's) was closer to .02uf than .002uf

That would probably explain the 10-fold downsizing of the vol pot from 50K to 5K . At least I know my ears are right on the money.
Here's the correction:

I'm glad you're digging this one and playing with it!  I still have mine as reported before.  I have a 50k for the volume.  when maxxed out it's a little noisy  and bassy but when you roll it back it cleans up and is perfect for a certain range.  It's weird because the volume pot feels more like the guitar's volume pot in that it cleans up when you turn it down but doesn't necessarily lose much volume to a point.  I'll have to make sure that this part is correct.  It sounds awesome, though. Really really good. I've had these russian germs that I bought off of here that range in the 15-50 hfe  range.  Have had them for a year at least and haven't made use of them.  Put one in Q2 with a RCA germ and it's perfect.  Seems like this one is pretty versatile. I have never but a fuzzface but should do a comparison. If this ends up sounding like a fuzzface than I am going to curse myself for not playing with that circuit a long time ago...

[LucifersTrip]

I'm glad you're digging this one and playing with it!  I still have mine as reported before.  I have a 50k for the volume.  when maxxed out it's a little noisy  and bassy but when you roll it back it cleans up and is perfect for a certain range.  It's weird because the volume pot feels more like the guitar's volume pot in that it cleans up when you turn it down but doesn't necessarily lose much volume to a point.  I'll have to make sure that this part is correct.

it is weird...I checked numerous times to make sure it wasn't wired wrong.  Though, it did help  a bit when I lowered the vol pot to 45K. Now full vol is not too bassy.  It works like a "normal" vol pot, but with a slow increase in bass thru the whole sweep

 It sounds awesome, though. Really really good. I've had these russian germs that I bought off of here that range in the 15-50 hfe  range.  Have had them for a year at least and haven't made use of them.  Put one in Q2 with a RCA germ and it's perfect.  Seems like this one is pretty versatile.

right...as I wrote before, this has to be the best ge fuzz for a beginner...you pretty much can't not get a loud fuzz

I have never but a fuzzface but should do a comparison. If this ends up sounding like a fuzzface than I am going to curse myself for not playing with that circuit a long time ago...

don't worry...it's absolutely nothing like a Fuzz Face...it's much closer to an Orpheum or Fuzz Rite

[jrod]

Glad you got it working well!

I am still get a very high pitched whine that sounds like a dentists drill.

The fuzz sounds really cool, but that whine is deafening.

Maybe it's the breadboard? 

[tubelectron]

jrod,

I would suspect some ultrasonic or RF oscillation...

Good job here - I hope I will find some time in the days to come to test a Ge FY-2 myself too !

A+!

[LucifersTrip]

Glad you got it working well!

I am still get a very high pitched whine that sounds like a dentists drill.

at what fuzz & vol settings? all?

The fuzz sounds really cool, but that whine is deafening.

Maybe it's the breadboard? 

did you try the 50-100pf cap across either BC?

[LucifersTrip]

voltage readings at my optimum sound:

Q1 ebc = -.18, -.34, -.58
Q2 ebc = -.42, -.59, -6.77

[jrod]

Glad you got it working well!

I am still get a very high pitched whine that sounds like a dentists drill.

at what fuzz & vol settings? all?

The fuzz sounds really cool, but that whine is deafening.

Maybe it's the breadboard? 

did you try the 50-100pf cap across either BC?

Hey LT,

I am getting the whining at every level. Adjusting the fuzz knob doesn't seem to make any difference.
I did try lower gain transistors but have not tried the small cap between b-c.

I am going to give it another go this weekend when I have more time to try more of
your suggestions.

I have some 2SB77 I want to try out that are in the 60-80 hfe range.

[LucifersTrip]

Glad you got it working well!

I am still get a very high pitched whine that sounds like a dentists drill.

at what fuzz & vol settings? all?

The fuzz sounds really cool, but that whine is deafening.

Maybe it's the breadboard? 

did you try the 50-100pf cap across either BC?

Hey LT,

I am getting the whining at every level. Adjusting the fuzz knob doesn't seem to make any difference.
I did try lower gain transistors but have not tried the small cap between b-c.

I am going to give it another go this weekend when I have more time to try more of
your suggestions.

I have some 2SB77 I want to try out that are in the 60-80 hfe range.

we'll see what happens with the cap. tho, it could be interference. while breadboarding this one, when my kitchen light was on, it caused a massive buzz.

the most common time i get a whine is when the volume is up, but that's prob oscillation or feedback. Though, for yurr case, I guess it could just be a poor connection somewhere.

does the vol of the whine increase when you turn up the vol or is it the same regardless?

[rnfr]

try a power filtering cap, and if that doesn't work, a small cap at the input to ground.

[superferrite]

I'm bumping this bad boy.   No time to build this right now, but I'm lurking this thread like a mofo.

[jrod]

I haven't had a chance to work with this again. Hopefully tonight!

I want to try RnFR's suggestions, too.

I may have found the source of all the interference: a florescent desk lamp on my "work bench"! DUH!

[glops]

I've recently had to switch to the earphones method while listening to my experiments due to a complaint from a neighbor.  On the earphone's this fuzz is perfect, when played through the same amp without the earphones it's not as good. I hate not bering able to crank my stuff before boxing.  Really makes things harder...

[tubelectron]

Hi All - last but not least...

I found ultimately the time today to experiment on the Ge FY-2 that I sparkled on the forum some times ago, and which has been "fully fired and fueled" by Lucifer Trips and you all !

Here's what I have finally done :




I came to similar conclusions as yours. The sound is nasty, a kind of "Maestro FZ-1 eaten by a FuzzRite" or conversely...

As you can see, I added an HI / LO tone filter, allowing to switch instantly to another sound which has more fatness or thickness.

Interesting circuit - I should have look at that way way earlier...

A+!

[LucifersTrip]

I came to similar conclusions as yours. The sound is nasty, a kind of "Maestro FZ-1 eaten by a FuzzRite" or conversely...

As you can see, I added an HI / LO tone filter, allowing to switch instantly to another sound which has more fatness or thickness.

Interesting circuit - I should have look at that way way earlier...

A+!

That's great ! Weren't you surprised at that sound since it's a Fuzz Face variant with one "big" change....and it's killer that you can get such a loud & nasty sound with lowish hfe ge's.

I would be curious to know what your voltage readings are for Q2.

...and I don't know if you saw that I used this FY-2 structure to alter an actual Fuzz Face in the same manner:
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=92714.0

thanx for reporting the results!

[glops]

I ended up boxing mine up last week.  I really love it.  I could have done it with only the volume control but had a fuzzrite circuit in an enclosure that was needing to
be put to sleep. Since I liked the enclosure so much I had to come up with 2 extra controls and ended up adding a 100k fuzz pot (maybe its a 50K?) and a 10k "gain" control on
Q2's emitter.  The gain control doesn't do much, as I was scrappin' to finalize it and perf it up.  Maybe I'll switch it out for a control on the collector of Q2.  It does sound really good.  I did a negative ground circuit with a NOS Rca in Q1 and a Valvo AC127, that I ripped out of a radio, in Q2.  I have never been able to get a good fuzzrite going but have came close.  This thing seems to capture my favorite sounds from my Fuzzrite experiences, though.  Thanks again T and L...

[LucifersTrip]

I ended up boxing mine up last week.  I really love it.  I could have done it with only the volume control but had a fuzzrite circuit in an enclosure that was needing to
be put to sleep. Since I liked the enclosure so much I had to come up with 2 extra controls and ended up adding a 100k fuzz pot (maybe its a 50K?) and a 10k "gain" control on
Q2's emitter.  The gain control doesn't do much, as I was scrappin' to finalize it and perf it up.  Maybe I'll switch it out for a control on the collector of Q2.

a very good idea...as I noted earlier, I wanted to make a 2-knobber and for knob 2 I had a choice between the stock fuzz pot & a pot on Q2's collector. There was more variety with Q2 collector so that won out....and I hate turning down the fuzz, anyway....

and It does sound really good.  I did a negative ground circuit with a NOS Rca in Q1 and a Valvo AC127, that I ripped out of a radio, in Q2.  I have never been able to get a good fuzzrite going but have came close.  This thing seems to capture my favorite sounds from my Fuzzrite experiences, though.  Thanks again T and L...

cool!

and what was your Q2 collector voltage?

[glops]

and what was your Q2 collector voltage?

Yikes, 3 miserable volts!  Definitely going to add an q2 bias pot, guess a 25k will do...

[EATyourGuitar]

I tried this 100pf on BC of the only transistor in the rangemaster with 100nf input cap. the 100nf input makes fuzz and the 100pf BC makes more fuzz. I have a theory that the 100pf BC wont do anything if you dont have any high frequency harmonics or fuzz in the signal to begin with. I'm using a germanium pnp Hfe 92. its a bitchin 1 transistor fuzz pedal. just wanted to say thanks for the tip and maybe try this 100pf trick on some other fuzz circuits.

[LucifersTrip]

and what was your Q2 collector voltage?

Yikes, 3 miserable volts!  Definitely going to add an q2 bias pot, guess a 25k will do...

It doesn't matter as long as you like it!   ...but it might be cool for you to hear the full range from 3v to 7v before you decide

If you remember my earlier posts, I initially thought it sounded best at 2.2 - 2.4v, but that's because I didn't try the full range yet. After that, I just thought because of the 4.5v "standard" that it'd be the best there...so I hit 4.5v and it was terrible. Then, I increased further and it was the best at 6.7v

Through the full range from 3 - 7v playing chords are good, but the middle  range (4 -5.5 ) is a little harsher. The single notes are much better for me at 6v+, the middle is still harsh and it softens a little where you are 3v...but if you go further down to 2v, it will gate just like a FF.

[LucifersTrip]

I tried this 100pf on BC of the only transistor in the rangemaster with 100nf input cap. the 100nf input makes fuzz and the 100pf BC makes more fuzz. I have a theory that the 100pf BC wont do anything if you dont have any high frequency harmonics or fuzz in the signal to begin with. I'm using a germanium pnp Hfe 92. its a bitchin 1 transistor fuzz pedal. just wanted to say thanks for the tip and maybe try this 100pf trick on some other fuzz circuits.

That's great...you actually turned a Rangemaster into a fuzz with a BC cap and a larger input cap?

The 100pf on BC is usually used for the opposite. It tames the circuit, gets rid of oscillations, sizzle, fizzle, hiss, unwanted high end, etc...

I'll remember that for my next Rangemaster