Gone Fission wrote:I'd gathered that the NTK275's in the reissue had the right designation but didn't sound the same as old components. Don't know if they'll do better with a bias adjustment, though. The word in DIY circles is that most germs with the right leakage-adjusted gain will work well when biased appropriately. Whether they sound just like a specific NOS germanium transistor is another matter, but a bias trimmer is your friend.
they did make re-issues with the NTK275 but its still debatable whether or not dunlop biased the transistors in each pedal or if they just slapped it together mass production style. there are no trimmers in the reissue. I have heard stories about people re-biasing the stock NTK275 that comes in the re-issue. the input cap is another thing people do or dont think is correct. and even if it is correct for a vintage pedal, people say that roger mayer swapped it out for jimi hendrix to a different value. you can use any germanium PNP transistor with the gain in the 80 to 120 range and get a good sounding fuzz face. part numbers do matter but that doesnt mean it must be AC128 or NTK275. I built one with OC75 & OC76 and it sounded great. I tried some russian pnp's with gain in the 70 to 90 range and it didnt sound that great. my rangemaster has a OC44 in it and it sounds great. so chasing some part number is a sure way to get you the sound but its not the only way. you might try 10 or 20 different batches with different part numbers, most of which you never heard of, before you get something that you like or that sounds like the vintage unit. I mostly try ebay for bulk germanium PNP and I test them all. a fuzz face pair thats tested is about $16 to $18 but you can get batches of PNP germanium for like $1 or less per transistor. even if only half of them are usable, thats pretty good. its a vicious cycle of buying and building that always leaves you wanting more.
I just want one that sounds like the bottom Dallas-Arbiter one. I see them on eBay every once in a while, and like yeah some are marked "Dunlop Manufacturing" in the smile, and some are marked "Dallas-Arbiter England" in the smile.
SOOOOO I was just wondering if all of the D-A reissues from the mid-90s were germanium. Like the one in the video has the NKT-275... I'd like to at least have one that is built the same way as the one in the demo... then I can go from there with all the extra bullshit.
all the red Dunlop pedals are germanium but they're really hit/miss. maybe more so than original Arbiters? the NKT-275's in 'em are repro ones and until Jeorge Tripps got in on the Fuzz Face game they weren't tested/matched at all. apparently they are now so i'd advise if you want the cool mojo enclosure go buy a new one.
I have been cruisin' for a fuzz face for a while now, and apparently the bass player in my bass players other band makes pedals, so I shot him an email asking if he'd make me a clone - he said no problem, I couold pick the germanium transistors out of his stash, etc and it would be about 60 bucks. Not a bad deal considering even the reissues from Dunlop are 150 here!!!
So anyway, he emailed me the other day and I'm off to pick it up tonight after work. Stoked!!! I'll post a gut shot later......
Big ass round pedals are for people who collect things imo. You can get that exact sound the first time with the transistors biased correctly from any small builder. Dont get too hung up on ntk, the ac128 is just as good. Its not gonna sound like GMD unless you have the same guitar and amp anyway.
I have been cruisin' for a fuzz face for a while now, and apparently the bass player in my bass players other band makes pedals, so I shot him an email asking if he'd make me a clone - he said no problem, I couold pick the germanium transistors out of his stash, etc and it would be about 60 bucks. Not a bad deal considering even the reissues from Dunlop are 150 here!!!
So anyway, he emailed me the other day and I'm off to pick it up tonight after work. Stoked!!! I'll post a gut shot later......
this is great. and you made a new pedal building friend in the process. see if he will let you try different input caps and let you bring your amp and your guitar. at least the guitar anyway.
nightraven wrote:all the red Dunlop pedals are germanium but they're really hit/miss. maybe more so than original Arbiters? the NKT-275's in 'em are repro ones and until Jeorge Tripps got in on the Fuzz Face game they weren't tested/matched at all. apparently they are now so i'd advise if you want the cool mojo enclosure go buy a new one.
Who is Jeorge Tripps? Does he work for Dunlop or what? Regarding the "apparently they are now..." comment... where did you hear that?
I had put in a Best Offer for a 10-15 year old Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face on eBay and just won that. I guess I'll just wait to see how it sounds. Not afraid of trying that shit out.
Big dick picture of it:
eatyourguitar: As far as big goofy looking pedals... I'm trying out different one-shot battery operated pedals for my fuzz pop band. I enjoy just having one fuzz sound through one pedal, and then switching it up for whatever mood I'm in... thus sometimes I use my '85 small box Rat, sometimes I use my '78 IC Big Muff, sometimes I use my Algal Bloom, and now I'll try the Fuzz Face. I use a Les Paul with P-90s through a Fender Blues Deluxe, so we'll see!
yeah I guess if its your only pedal, I can see how size would not be a problem. do me and you a favor, open it up and check the voltage at the collector of Q2 and the voltage at the battery with the red lead of the meter always on the + of the battery. post your results. I can help you find the collector if you dont know how. the meter is $10 at radioshack if you dont have/borrow one.
I love Fuzz Faces, but, like Big Muffs, its really really easy to get lost in the SERCH 4 TOANZS rather than spending the time working with what you've got.
D.o.S. wrote:I love Fuzz Faces, but, like Big Muffs, its really really easy to get lost in the SERCH 4 TOANZS rather than spending the time working with what you've got.
Agreed. I've found exactly what I need in my IC Big Muff, though, and that ended everything for me (as far as searchin'). This is just a kind of thing where I've always wanted to try a Fuzz Face, but still haven't... I heard this GMD demo a while back and figured I'd try one out. I unwillingly got stuck in the limbo of Sun Face and '69 maya, what with all the NKT-275s and temperature biasing and all that shit... not interested. So I just wanna stomp on this goofy looking thing and see how it sounds.
Whaddya say I get a recent Dunlop reissue and try them side-by-side? I could probably pick one up around here somewheres.
CBA713 wrote:Who is Jeorge Tripps? Does he work for Dunlop or what? Regarding the "apparently they are now..." comment... where did you hear that?
I had put in a Best Offer for a 10-15 year old Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face on eBay and just won that. I guess I'll just wait to see how it sounds. Not afraid of trying that shit out.
Big dick picture of it:
Tripps is the guy that built the collectible Way Huge line and designs the newer WH pedals that Dunlop makes. he designed the blue Dunlop FF as well and he's built some one-offs in Dunlop shells for a bunch of celebrities. i can't remember where i heard this rumour - you'd be best to email Dunlop themselves about it (they have great customer service).
i haven't posted my beloved Fuzz Face here yet so here she is. best pedal ever
thanks, it was born in 1968, i love everything about it from the sound to the imperfections in the hammertone paint and the parts where it seems like an actual hammer has been brought to the pedal those mouthless pedals are the worst - pretty sure they have abandoned that idea now and the smile reads "dunlop blabla"
Gone Fission wrote:I'd gathered that the NTK275's in the reissue had the right designation but didn't sound the same as old components. Don't know if they'll do better with a bias adjustment, though. The word in DIY circles is that most germs with the right leakage-adjusted gain will work well when biased appropriately. Whether they sound just like a specific NOS germanium transistor is another matter, but a bias trimmer is your friend.
they did make re-issues with the NTK275 but its still debatable whether or not dunlop biased the transistors in each pedal or if they just slapped it together mass production style. there are no trimmers in the reissue. I have heard stories about people re-biasing the stock NTK275 that comes in the re-issue. the input cap is another thing people do or dont think is correct. and even if it is correct for a vintage pedal, people say that roger mayer swapped it out for jimi hendrix to a different value. you can use any germanium PNP transistor with the gain in the 80 to 120 range and get a good sounding fuzz face. part numbers do matter but that doesnt mean it must be AC128 or NTK275. I built one with OC75 & OC76 and it sounded great. I tried some russian pnp's with gain in the 70 to 90 range and it didnt sound that great. my rangemaster has a OC44 in it and it sounds great. so chasing some part number is a sure way to get you the sound but its not the only way. you might try 10 or 20 different batches with different part numbers, most of which you never heard of, before you get something that you like or that sounds like the vintage unit. I mostly try ebay for bulk germanium PNP and I test them all. a fuzz face pair thats tested is about $16 to $18 but you can get batches of PNP germanium for like $1 or less per transistor. even if only half of them are usable, thats pretty good. its a vicious cycle of buying and building that always leaves you wanting more.
AC128 and NKT275 are overrated imho. The ones on Ebay and basically anywhere else are way too expensive. It's hard to find old but good ones anymore. Most of the assortments online are already scrapped for the good ones and all you got left is shit. Read "the technology of the fuzz face", ac128 were never really good transistors to begin with, but they were cheap. I would go russian if I'd build a ge FF now. They are cheap in bulk (some are 20 bucks shipped for 50), have low leakage and you can still find many with the right Hfe, which is much more important than the part numbers. Joe Bonamassa has russian GE in his Dunlop signature Fuzz Face. go figure. I'd possibly try NPN though and include a power jack (and a beavis Dying Battery Simulator).
But I recommend checking out the axis face. IMHO it sounds better than the germanium FFs that i built (which might not mean anything ), has carefree performance and cleans up really well with the volume. I don't really feel the need to build a ge fuzz anymore.
npn germanium 2n5133 with power jack and starve knob, tried it. it was ok. i put a 3 pos switch for diodes and filtered feedback in case you get bored with the FF. I have some russian germanium pnp MN16B that i dont really like all that much. probably cause they are cold war era. they just dont sound as nice in a rangemaster with the same gain as my oc44. after all my experiments so far, im still using germanium and silicon, pnp and npn, darlington etc..whatever works, whatever I have.
