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I've got a Shin-ei Companion 8tr fuzz wah. I also have the Mica version of the same circuit in a slightly cheaper looking chassis.

The Shin-ei sounds great - like a Superfuzz should.

The Mica sounds shit. No octave, harsh and buzzy.

I know the footswitch is knackered - it doesn't bypass signal. But all the components are original in the Mica. What should I do to figure out what's wrong with it?

Replace the footswitch

Can you explain how that could be causing the poor fuzz sound?

Does it have a trimpot inside?

No trimpot, and all the trannies and other components match up with the Companion.

Problem solved. Could be the switch as it's mysteriously started working again and the fuzz sounds fine now. Sounds great in fact.

Ok, I fucked up. The problem must have been present with the tone switch on scooped as this is knocking off all the high end for some reason. Position 1 sounds like a Super Fuzz should. Can anyone steer me to what I should be looking at to fix these disappearing high frequencies in position 2?

Open it up and try to take some clear pictures. Might be easier to help that way.

Ben79 wrote:Ok, I fucked up. The problem must have been present with the tone switch on scooped as this is knocking off all the high end for some reason. Position 1 sounds like a Super Fuzz should. Can anyone steer me to what I should be looking at to fix these disappearing high frequencies in position 2?

Clean out or replace that switch -- I've seen this with muffs and super-fuzzes. Those little slider switch things get grunged up and they don't make contact properly. You have a couple of options.

1. Replace the switch -- will cost you about $1.50
2. Pry apart the old one and carefully clean it with contact cleaner and retension the little metal clips in there (once you find them, cos guaranteed first time you open one of those switches those things will fly out and you'll spend an hour on your hands and knees looking for them).

Poor contact in a crapping out switch will cause the problems you've noticed.

Thanks, will get in there tonight and sort out that switch.

Hope it works out and turns out to be a nice easy fix.