Sandspur

SYLV9ST9R

SYLV9ST9R

Well-known member
Here's my take on the Sandspur.
Reading some of the threads around here, I was not too sure about what transistors to put in, but I put my new micro protoboard to use and measured me some hFE.
I settled with a 160 hFE 2N2222a in Q1 and a 300 hFE BC108B in Q2.
I'm still dialing in the Bias, but I do like the sound of it (albeit I don't have much experience Fuzz Face wise).

Went with the Egyptian Sun god Ra, who I think is worthy of being a Sun Face!

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I built two of these - one with BC108 and one with BC109. I can hardly tell a difference. Haven't thought of mixing and matching transistors in the same circuit though. But if I put either in front of a little bit of clean boost, I'm playing straight out of Dark Side of the Moon.
 
quality_jones said:
I built two of these - one with BC108 and one with BC109. I can hardly tell a difference. Haven't thought of mixing and matching transistors in the same circuit though. But if I put either in front of a little bit of clean boost, I'm playing straight out of Dark Side of the Moon.
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I tried it with 2 BC108 (pretty much same hFE) and I thought it sounded good, but like it a tad better with that pairing. I'll try what you're suggesting with the clean boost.
 
I quite like my FuzzFace with BFY52 transistors, much lower gain than a BC108.
92 hFE Q1
106 hFE Q2
But I plan to put one together with BC182 transistors over the weekend, which I may prefer ;)
 
thewintersoldier said:
My favorite transistors for a Si fuzz face are BC183. They tend to have a more whooly germanium quality than the brighter BC108/109. Great looking Build!
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Think I’ll try some BC183’s tonight. Any particular hfe for them? I wonder if a 2n3903 for Q1 and a 2n2369 for Q2 would sound nice. So far I’ve only used the 108’s & 109’s.
 
I think I've said it some other thread, but I'll post it again: After testing a few different combinations for my twin face, I landed on the lower gain combination of 2n2369 in Q1 and 2n2222 in Q2. Less flubby than other combos I tried.
 
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Is that one of the Tayda footswitches that says 1kg light pressure? I was contemplating ordering a few gold ones. Looks cool.
 
Preverb said:
Which Fuzz is recommended for people that have never gelled with fuzz?
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Since fuzz can be such a broad category, may I ask which fuzzes you’ve tried and not gelled with, and was there something you specifically disliked about them (lack of attack, too smooth/coarse, feel, etc?) or was it just that there wasn’t anything that’s ever wowed you about the fuzzes you’ve tried?
 
Bricksnbeatles said:
Since fuzz can be such a broad category, may I ask which fuzzes you’ve tried and not gelled with, and was there something you specifically disliked about them (lack of attack, too smooth/coarse, feel, etc?) or was it just that there wasn’t anything that’s ever wowed you about the fuzzes you’ve tried?
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I had one of those old Green muffs back in the early 2000s but it just seemed too muddy. I've tried a few silicon cheapo fuzzes and didn't like any of them. When I had a Helix, I didn't like any of the models in there. (But I think modellers don't do fuzz well). I like the tones that Scott Mckeon gets out of his signature pedal. The Benson fuzz and other germanium fuzzes seem to sound pretty good in demos but half the time I don't know if that is because some of those professional demo guys can make anything sound good. So I think I am leaning towards a germanium style fuzz that can clean up and get nasty too. I think the servo based fuzz that was described here a few weeks back sounds like it would be good. I will probably wait for it to come out as a PCB since I have so many projects that I will likely not have time for them.
 
Big Monk said:
I've always compare "Fuzz" to "Belgian" beer.

I homebrewed for a few years and in particular was (and am) a fan of brewing Belgian style beers. People in the brewing communities use "Belgian" as a blanket term but there is a lot of variation. The Trappists, Macro Lager, Abbey, Pale Ales, Flemish Sours, etc.

Fuzz is the same way. You have your Octave fuzzes, Fuzz "freakout" fuzzes (thinking early garage-y types), More Refined fuzzes (MK II, Fuzz Face), etc.

What guitars do you play? That's always affected my choice in how i tune them as well.
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I have a few LP style guitars, 1 strat and 1 335. Maybe I should try a sandspur while waiting for the servo pcb. Octave would be cool if you could have zero and then dial it in with a potentiometer.
 
Big Monk said:
It seems like you mostly have Humbucker equipped guitars. I'm thinking a Sandspur with some lower(ish) gain transistors and tweaked Input and Emitter caps would probably suit you well. Also, a Silicon or Germanium MK II would work well for you as well if you tune it for Humbuckers.
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Yeah, mostly HBs. One LP has P90s but it is in a closet in my mother's house in Canada. I actually only have an LP and a strat here. The 335 is still in a warehouse in Japan and the other 2 guitars are in Canada. There is an Aussie pickup winder that makes a "Big Bird" HB firebird pickup that I plan to try in the LP neck. I haven't been playing much at all though. I sold my Helix and have been waiting for a Quilter Super Block to arrive for over 3 months now.

How would you tweak the input and emitter caps? Which low gain transistors are recommended? (I noticed a few suggestions earlier in this thread...)
 
thewintersoldier said:
With silicon I find that the gain range isn't as critical as it is with germanium. It's more about the relationship in gain between the two. All my bc183s were between 200-400hfe and as long as you have the lower gain in Q1 you should be pretty good. Experimenting is highly encouraged.
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I’ve heard that before but wasn’t sure how true it was. Thanks for clarifying!!
 
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