Thursday 13 June 2019

Shin Ei FY-2 Germanium Fuzz


4 comments:

  1. I made this with a pair of ACY11 transistors measuring about 68 hfe each and boy howdy is this thing LOUD. The "fuzz" control actually has quite a usable range, much more than other fuzz faces. It's also quite bright - might benefit from an output cap blend control.

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    1. Nice! The output cap blend is a good idea, but even simpler would be to add another small value MLCC on the base and collector of Q2 as well. Did you put that on Q1? If not, I'd start with 220pF for both and see if that tames any of the highs to your liking. You can put the one for Q2 on D12 & E12

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    2. Yes I put a 100pF cap on Q1. It's not so much that it's too shrill but that it lacks bottom end while also being bright. It still sounds rad, but maybe not as thick as a modern fuzz. I'm sure it's going to be brutal smashing a tube preamp as-is. It's crazy loud.

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    3. Looking at that 2n2 capacitor on the end right before the volume, that's gotta be limiting the lows that come out of this pretty severely - especially since the fuzz face has a ton of bass potential if you let it. If this were my build, I'd definitely have to add, say, a 68nF and a 220nF on an on/off/on toggle along with that 2n2 before the volume.

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