In the 2nd and concluding part of our ‘Build Your Own Fuzz Face’ series we demonstrate how to test and select suitable transistors for this classic pedal. We also demonstrate how to bias the transistors by ear to make them sound as good as possible. And at the end, we finally get to hear how it sounds with a variety of guitars.
The transistor tester - and indeed much of the inspiration for this project - came from RG Keen’s classic web page ‘The Technology Of The Fuzz Face’. This page may look like something out of the internet’s dark ages, but you won’t find anything better online.
http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/fuzzface/fffram.htm
And don’t forget you can find more information plus all the diagrams you need in Huw’s original article on Guitar.com
https://guitar.com/guides/diy-workshop/diy-workshop-build-your-own-fuzz-pedal/
Key Timings
0:00 Intro
0:55 Transistor Testing
5:47 Transistor Installation
13:12 Biasing Transistors
18:00 Explaining The Controls
21:09 Demo Jam
23:03 Conclusions
Hope you enjoyed this mini series, please let us know if you build your own fuzz face, we'd love to see and hear them!
See you soon for further adventures in the Tone Twins universe.
Hwyl!
Huw and Ed