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GERMANIUM

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 3:48 pm
by zRobertez
My dirt on my board right now is Sparkle Motion > Crimson Drive. Can get like any amount of gain I need from those two + amp. But we're not here to talk about that. Comparing them to anything else I've played or have or flipped or whatever, they just like... sound way better. I don't know if it's all the germaniums but anything into the crimson drive sounds awesome and the sparkle motion adds this weird lofi-ish but clean haze over everything but sounds a lot better than how I can describe it. And they both have a ton of range and boost on them. The sparkle motion has been one of my favorite pedals ever since I got it and it goes hand in hand with the crimson.

The purpose of this thread? uhhh I just want to say that I am digging everything germanium right now and its like exactly perfectamundo

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 6:27 pm
by Ro_S
The EQD Crimson Drive is a lovely dirt pedal. Gritty, versatile, dynamic and musical.

I have the 2-knob version of the Crimson Drive ; I dunno how the 2-knob and the 3-knob versions compare?

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 7:07 pm
by rustywire
Germanium fuzz rules so much...and its learning curve and *flaws* can either be a boon or bane.
Silicon FuzzFaces dont do much for me...but I cant get enough of the Ge counterparts.

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 7:11 pm
by skullservant
RANGEMASTERS = LOVE

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 7:18 pm
by LaoWiz
I had such a sweet buzzaround with GEs I pulled out of an old radio. I should have sold it. Sounded so rich and sweet. Every now and then I go to estate sales in LA and find nice NOS GE's. some are duds but I've gotten more than a few good ones. Should get those in some buzzaround/dizzytone boards!

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:02 pm
by skullservant
LaoWiz wrote:I had such a sweet buzzaround with GEs I pulled out of an old radio. I should have sold it. Sounded so rich and sweet. Every now and then I go to estate sales in LA and find nice NOS GE's. some are duds but I've gotten more than a few good ones. Should get those in some buzzaround/dizzytone boards!
I'd buy one of those Buzzarounds :hug:

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:06 pm
by FlyingVFanatic
Ro_S wrote:The EQD Crimson Drive is a lovely dirt pedal. Gritty, versatile, dynamic and musical.

I have the 2-knob version of the Crimson Drive ; I dunno how the 2-knob and the 3-knob versions compare?
I have a 3 knob Crimson drive, And ive never tried the 2 knob, but it can go from an amazingly biting treble crunch to a fairly warm drive.... So, as with all "extra knob" versions of EQD pedals, the middle setting is the 2 knob version... Theres not a whole lot in the tone knob, but its not supposed to be, its just a really great wee extra :3

But yeah, i dont really like overdrives, if i take from all the usual ones... like the SD-1 and tubescreamers.... But dat germanium fuzzy drive :love:

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:23 pm
by spacelordmother
Is there a good list somewhere of germ dirt pedals? Because I just did a google search and I didn't see a single pedal I've ever played (though some I have used in various modelers) and that kind of blows my mind. :erm:

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 9:54 pm
by HorseyBoy
^ If the bias goes a little wonky in warm and/or cold weather, it's probably germanium :thumb:
Most but certainly not all old-school fuzz use germanium trannies. Some started out using germanium then switched to silicon pretty quickly because it's more stable (the Fuzzrite, for example). But the Maestro FZ-1, all the Tonebenders, the Rangemaster and Fuzzface all use germanium trannies (although there are silicon Fuzzfaces, too).

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2014 12:23 am
by zRobertez
Yes I have a v1 crimson drive as well. I'd wanted to try one for a long time and I got it in a trade. The tone knob isn't a huge deal so I went for it. after listening to demos of both version and playing with one, it seems like the v1 has more gain and can get a little fuzzier. Mine is also a little hissy but not a big deal atm

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 11:32 am
by KaosCill8r
Last week I scored a roger mayer classic fuzz clone really cheap. Hadn't had much experience with ge fuzzes till then. Awesome sounds! Still love si tranny fuzzes. So awesomely nasty. :thumb:

[Mine is also a little hissy but not a big deal atm[/quote]

The roger mayer classic fuzz clone is also a bit hissy as well, but I think thats part of the vintage charm of ge trannies. If we didn't like lofi noisy sounds, we would probably steer clear of fuzz pedals all together. Perish the thought. Almost sacrilegious just to think about around here.

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2014 8:16 pm
by sonidero
ALL HAIL DAS GERMANIUMS...

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:08 am
by cedarskies
I've been thinking about the Philosopher's Tone Germanium Gold. Get my compressor squish on with some grrr on top.

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:42 pm
by spacelordmother
spacelordmother wrote:Is there a good list somewhere of germ dirt pedals? Because I just did a google search and I didn't see a single pedal I've ever played (though some I have used in various modelers) and that kind of blows my mind. :erm:
:poke:

Re: GERMANIUM

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:43 am
by skullservant
Try Effects Database? Probably not a category for them, but they'd definitely all be there