I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

I know the values of the components on something as simple as a 9 component FF can't be a big deal to reverse engineer, so I hope Dunlop isn't bothered by me posting closeups of their circuit boards.

As for pot values, do you have to disconnect them to test them?

They are OMEG Brand pots...the values are on the back side of the pot... should be able to read them if you just take the back off.

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

One thing interesting to note is that one thing they all have in common is the modern barrel jacks. I'm thinking that Jorge Tripps had to explain that Dunlop has a few manufacturing aspects they're adamant on, such as using the most highly developed jacks available, so as to avoid warranty issues. To suggest something like 60's spec jacks may have been voted out, due to the advancements in jacks that last a lifetime at the lowest possible price point nowadays.

Those jacks are the same brand and style jacks Arbiter used in the 60's...those are used to be correct! Same with the pots...they are English parts!

[Gearjoneser]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

Those jacks are the same brand and style jacks Arbiter used in the 60's...those are used to be correct! Same with the pots...they are English parts!

Interesting....I didn't realize they had that style back then. I would have thought they'd be the standard metal type.

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

Interesting....I didn't realize they had that style back then. I would have thought they'd be the standard metal type.

Arbiter used Cliff jacks just like Marshall or Vox and many others did at that time that were based in the UK.

[Chickenwings]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

gearjoineser! clips man! clips!

[Gearjoneser]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

I want to get clips up soon, but will have to go to my rehearsal studio and get my buddy to record it on his board, since my recording rig is at a storage unit at the moment. I needed to turn my recording room into another bedroom for awhile.

But I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised that there wasn't a clear winner, and I love them all for what they sound like. I won't know what will stay on my board till I hear it in a band mix honestly.

I cranked them all up with my Stratelly Gib tonight.....a tele that looks like the SD 35th Ann. tele, only it's a splittable C5/strat/tele config. It went into my Bogner XTC's blue channel on a slightly gainy plexi tone.

It goes JB, JH, EJ in order of gain, but they all sound great. And another cool thing is that my T Rex Mudhoney has the gain of the EJ, but is denser in mids, so all 4 fuzz's sound different. The Mudhoney is a killer pedal, and probably the most overlooked modern classic out there. Stoner/doom guys should be clamoring for that pedal. It's not as scoopy as FF's, but more like a wall of sludge when maxed out.

JB - fat, smooth, more OD-like. You can max the gain.
JH - Snarly, cutting, controllable, and pretty much the definitive FF sound. Sounds best with the gain pulled back to 8-9.
EJ - Amazing sustain, buzzier, and has the blatty 'amp ready to explode' sound when maxed, but probably sings best backed off from 7-9. It's got no lack of gain, so you can cop most of the Hendrix FF, and then go over the top with gain. Really sings for soloing, just like you'd expect Eric Johnson to want.

Overall, if you could own 2, you'd probably choose the JB and EJ, but the JH splits the difference good enough that if you had to buy one, it'd be the JH.....and that's cool because it's the most available and cheapest of the 3. The JH is no less a FF because it's $150 rather than $200. It's voiced nice and has a nice gain range. The JB is fatter and smoother. The EJ is fuzzier, sustaining, and blats out in a good way.....like when Hendrix's tone sounded like complete meltdown.

Really a fun experience to play all three, unplugging and plugging, going back and forth.

[everdrone]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

cool stuff! thats some crazy shizzle! did not realize the devotion to fuzzes on this forum, I saw the ilovefuzz.com forum...

I jumped on the fuzz pedal wagon 2 weeks ago, I got the gold black arts pharaoh:

[KBliss]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

Peach Fuzz Face...

[ArtieToo]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

Hey Joe, as your pics confirm, the FF is about as simple as a circuit gets. Its also what's inside a Tweak Fuzz. I can't help but wonder if the different "flavors" are just what the TF "tweak" knob does.

Have you had a chance to compare the TF to any of your FF's?

[Gearjoneser]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

Hey Joe, as your pics confirm, the FF is about as simple as a circuit gets. Its also what's inside a Tweak Fuzz. I can't help but wonder if the different "flavors" are just what the TF "tweak" knob does.

Have you had a chance to compare the TF to any of your FF's?

I'd have to know exactly what the 'Tweak' knob is doing on that pedal. I only plugged into one of those for a minute, years ago. I probably should have bought one when Musicians Friend was blowing them out cheap.

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

Hey Joe, as your pics confirm, the FF is about as simple as a circuit gets. Its also what's inside a Tweak Fuzz. I can't help but wonder if the different "flavors" are just what the TF "tweak" knob does.

Have you had a chance to compare the TF to any of your FF's?

I'd have to know exactly what the 'Tweak' knob is doing on that pedal. I only plugged into one of those for a minute, years ago. I probably should have bought one when Musicians Friend was blowing them out cheap.

A few things need to be said here...

First the Tweak Fuzz is not a straight Fuzz Face replica even if you omit the TWEAK control...the Tweak Fuzz is based on a boutique Fuzz Box made by Dirty Boy Pedals called the Afro Fuzz...the Afro Fuzz is loosely based on a Fuzz Face.

Now, with that out of the way, the tweak control on a Tweak Fuzz changes the value of the tone cap in a Fuzz Face to trim off low end and change the overall tone.

The biggest differences in the various Fuzz Faces in this thread are actually in transistor choice and gain structure, not in the cap so in that regard the Tweak Fuzz and having several different Fuzz Faces like this is not at all the same.

As for the comparison of a Fuzz Face to a Tweak Fuzz I have done it a few times...the Tweak Fuzz is a cool enough unit but for some players after plugging into a full on Fuzz Face you will see why guys will pay 2, 3, 5 hundred dollars for good replicas and over $1000 for good original units...

[Gearjoneser]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

The more I'm using these cranked up, the more I'm learning about fuzz pedals. The way they each react to volume, gain, and different amps, the more I realize it's cool to have all three.

I'm finding that Joe Bonamassa may be closer to my way of thinking. Lower gain and fatness may be where it's at. The Hendrix sits right in the middle, which is cool.
But, the Eric Johnson one may be best for singles, as it blats out too much with humbuckers. It's the thinnest and buzziest out of the three. It really prefers being used with a clean amp too. It's really spitty and farty and does the meltdown thing really good. To dial it in for violin tone is something that takes work. I'll spend a lot of time with this pedal to get it sounding right, which I know it's capable of. It's a good pedal.

But the Bonamassa acts more like a slightly fuzzy OD pedal, which is easiest to harness.
The Hendrix FF is right up the middle. If you had to choose one that appeals to the most players, the Hendrix probably fits the bill.

These are interesting pedals to mess with, and I've only used them on the clean and plexi modes of the Bogner, which are like a Twin and Plexi. Fuzz's don't work on highgain channels. Next, I'll try them on my Matchless Chieftain combo, where I think they'll really shine.

Once I get all these pedals figured out in relation to my guitars and amps, I'll record some clips. Fuzz Faces are very finicky, but once they're dialed in, they're beautiful.
I've dialed in good tones on all 3, but I need more time with them..

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

It's a lot of work to get these things to sound their best but it's worth it.

I almost never take the FUZZ off full on my Fuzz Faces...they are so dynamic it's just easier to get a wide range of tones that way. I do tweak the fuzz control on Si units a tad but less than a full number value for sure.

As for the EJ it was sort of designed around a crunchy Marshall and a Strat and EJ runs his gear in a very specific way so that has to be kept in mind.

Welcome to the wild world of fuzz Joe... get ready for a fun ride!

[xxxplorer]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

The EJ is a really dynamic si based fuzz. Last saturday I had the volume cranked on my jcm 800 2204, the volume cranked on the fuzz and the fuzz backed down to maybe 7 or 8. Had it on the whole practice and just kept on my volume control on the guitar. Anything from sabbathy crunch to meltdown at a slight twist of the volume. I was literally doing early thrash gallops with it too... Totally not 'meant to do it' but it sounded GREAT. I could seriously get by at a gig with my amp and this fuzz... It is a lot more work though to dial in, even with just two knobbies!

[d1dsj]

Re: I know I've gotten Fuzz Face Crazy!

Great to hear that they are all slightly different flavours. I haven't had much play time with my JB FF but so far what I have found out is that when I tried it with my Legacy, the treble and bass pots had a massive effect on the sound... working almost like volume controls! Hoping to try it some more this weekend although it's looking doubtful with the work load