Which Fuzz Face circuit?

[Ctrl4Smilerz]

Hey everyone, I'm looking to build my first fuzz face circuit. I already have a BYOC Lil' Beaver (triangle) which I love, but I know the Fuzz Face circuits are there own thing. Everyone seems to love the Sunface, but I can't decide between silicone or germanium which make the Twin Face very appealing. I mainly play Humbuckers (PRS SE Hollowbody II), classic rock and jam bands. Is the Twin Face a good choice, or is there something else to consider? Also what are your favorite diodes for a fuzz face?

 

[Guardians of the analog]

Paging Dr. Phuzz @Big Monk

 

[szukalski]

Twin Face if you don't know whether you want Si or Ge. Each to their own. Sunface if you just want a straight up FF.

 

[Diynot]

If you don’t want to go on the hunt for germ trannies, the sandspur is the way to go. Socket the transistors and go wild with the silicon. I have played it against my sunface and yes there are differences, but I really like the si. I have some NPN germs headed my way so I’m going to build another sandspur to see how it stacks up to my other FFs

 

[HamishR]

Are you allowed to build more than one? If so, I would suggest building a Sandspur and a Ge version. They're different enough that it's worth having one of each.

 

[Ctrl4Smilerz]

Definitely the Sandspur.

You don’t need special transistors. 2N3904 will work just fine. BC337 is another good cheap, medium gain NPN as well.

I like to reduce the gain slightly by dropping the feedback resistor, changing the frequency a bit by dropping the input cap to 1u and put the Clean trimmer as an external pot.

Thank you,, Sandspur with Big Monk mods sounds awesome. I will have to look at the schematics, and I'm sure I'll have some questions for you.

 

[Ctrl4Smilerz]

Definitely the Sandspur.

You don’t need special transistors. 2N3904 will work just fine. BC337 is another good cheap, medium gain NPN as well.

If I am willing to spend a little more, would a new stock BC108B be a good choice?

I like to reduce the gain slightly by dropping the feedback resistor, changing the frequency a bit by dropping the input cap to 1u and put the Clean trimmer as an external pot.

Is the feedback resistor R1 and is the Input cap C1? As for the clean trimmer should I go with a linear of logarithmic pot?

 

[Ctrl4Smilerz]

Honestly, it's about gain, not part number.

I've found pretty much any widely available medium gain silicon transistor to be sufficient. 2N3904 is a great choice and cheap. In my opinion, I hear no difference from my Amperex, Siemens, Telefunken, etc. NOS stash and $0.25 2Nxxxx transistors.



Yes and Yes. The trimmers are linear by their nature. Audio for Volume, Reverse Audio for Fuzz and Linear for Sundial/Clean control.

Thanks for your help, I'm very excited for this build.

 

[Feral Feline]

Is the feedback resistor R1 and is the Input cap C1? As for the clean trimmer should I go with a linear of logarithmic pot?

Try both, decide which YOU like better.

Mind, I do this all the time — wonder what's better and ask someone instead of just trying it myself.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

If you want to color outside the lines a bit, try the BJFe Arctic White Fuzz. Not your run-of-the-mill FF, but still a FF IMHO.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

Honestly, it's about gain, not part number.

Agreed. In the FF, Q1's HFE affects the bias, Q2's HFE affects the tone. The higher the HFE in Q2, the more aggressive the tone. I prefer low HFE for Q2. I think the lower HFE of most Ge transistors is part of the reason they sound so good in the FF. If you're going to put Ge in a FF, make it Q2.