mdc
Well-known member
Hi folks,
I built up a scythe fuzz over the weekend and in case anyone is interested it seems to work a-ok with NPN Ge transistors with hfe from 40-225. I'm sure you could push the range in either direction, but those were the limits of the eight or so that I tried out.
I tried TR08s with gain ranging from 60 to 225 and OC140s with gain ranging from around 40-140. I had originally thought that the single AC176 I had on hand was blowing out the circuit (sputtery/gated output), but it turns out that it was a dud transistor altogether.
I settled on the highest hfe (which also had one of the highest leakages - over 600) as sounding the best—it was the most aggressive of the lot, but the circuit seems pretty forgiving. I have no idea how the leakage is affecting the rest of the circuit, but it doesn't seem to be causing any particular issue that I can notice—all the knobs do what they should do, the EQ sweep is usable, the fuzz gets fuzzier, the volume goes to LOUD.
I'm not sure why EQD discontinued the model, but I'm glad that the clone PCB is available—it's a really nice, aggressive take on a tone bender.
I built up a scythe fuzz over the weekend and in case anyone is interested it seems to work a-ok with NPN Ge transistors with hfe from 40-225. I'm sure you could push the range in either direction, but those were the limits of the eight or so that I tried out.
I tried TR08s with gain ranging from 60 to 225 and OC140s with gain ranging from around 40-140. I had originally thought that the single AC176 I had on hand was blowing out the circuit (sputtery/gated output), but it turns out that it was a dud transistor altogether.
I settled on the highest hfe (which also had one of the highest leakages - over 600) as sounding the best—it was the most aggressive of the lot, but the circuit seems pretty forgiving. I have no idea how the leakage is affecting the rest of the circuit, but it doesn't seem to be causing any particular issue that I can notice—all the knobs do what they should do, the EQ sweep is usable, the fuzz gets fuzzier, the volume goes to LOUD.
I'm not sure why EQD discontinued the model, but I'm glad that the clone PCB is available—it's a really nice, aggressive take on a tone bender.
