Is this Roger Mayer Fuzz face Original? PNP T0-92 tranistors?

[Guitarman555]

Hey, so seller says it is so it should be silicion KN3906 transistor with 1984 date code. I haven´t seen such a name of trannie... Do you know that?

I think he means 2N3906. A common PNP Silicon transistor. Mayer used them in some of his Fuzz Face type pedals. Should be original. No worries there. Won't clean up as well as the NKT275 type though.

Many thanks, mate!

[Guitarman555]

I have heard that Morgan lies about nkt in his fuzz! But anyway it sounds cool. What youthink, mate?

[fuzzjunkie]

He has a very reputable amp business. I don't think he'd risk that by lying about the transistors in a pedal that costs less than 10% what he charges for his amplifiers, but I don't know for sure. Since I know there is no "magic mojo transistor" that is better than another, I don't waste my time chasing them. The whole thing around NKT275s was started by Analogman as a marketing tool to sell his pedals. One of several reasons that I am not a fan of his.

[Guitarman555]

He has a very reputable amp business. I don't think he'd risk that by lying about the transistors in a pedal that costs less than 10% what he charges for his amplifiers, but I don't know for sure. Since I know there is no "magic mojo transistor" that is better than another, I don't waste my time chasing them. The whole thing around NKT275s was started by Analogman as a marketing tool to sell his pedals. One of several reasons that I am not a fan of his.

Yeah, that´s right, but supspicious thing is, that have not seen any single nkt of Morgan... But still sounds great. Analogman also sounds great, I think NKT is a great trannie. I compared it with another RM fuzz equipped with Obel AC 128, both are great, maybe Analogman little bit more useful for 2 reasons: more stable on temperature, more high frequences. But both are great.

[Guitarman555]

He has a very reputable amp business. I don't think he'd risk that by lying about the transistors in a pedal that costs less than 10% what he charges for his amplifiers, but I don't know for sure. Since I know there is no "magic mojo transistor" that is better than another, I don't waste my time chasing them. The whole thing around NKT275s was started by Analogman as a marketing tool to sell his pedals. One of several reasons that I am not a fan of his.

Do you like Morgan fuzz pedals?

[fuzzjunkie]

I don't own any, and I haven't tried any, but people and reviewers said that pedal and others he makes sound great,wether they have the mojo transistors or not.

I have a bunch of 60s and 70s vintage fuzz pedals. I'm not that crazy about the Fuzz Face. I like Tone Benders and some obscure British and Japanese Silicon fuzz pedals. My favorite is the Roland AF-100 Bee-Baa.

I used to have a rehearsal space next to Eric Johnson. I have heard all the Fuzz Face. Dozens and dozens of them.

Of the newer pedals, I have a D*A*M Tone Bender MK4. It's a first edition, and later editions have different transistors than mine. I couldn't tell you which ones are inside mine without looking. I don't think it makes a difference.

I know Jim Roth and have played some of his Jerms brand pedals. Those are nice, but I don't own one. I do have a few Basic Audio fuzz pedals. All are nice, and most use common, "basic" silicon transistors. Nothing fancy. They all sound great. Pig Dog makes some very nice pedals, like D*A*M, he has made fuzz pedals with real NKT275s, but I don't need a period correct vintage fuzz clone. I would buy a real one if I really, really needed it, but I don't.

I would say I know good tone. More than a few people have told me that. I don't think you need mojo transistors to get it. I find pedals that sound good and suit my needs and I don't worry about the rest. I pay to have the pedal builder do that or I hunt for a vintage original.

Cheers

[Guitarman555]

I don't own any, and I haven't tried any, but people and reviewers said that pedal and others he makes sound great,wether they have the mojo transistors or not.

I have a bunch of 60s and 70s vintage fuzz pedals. I'm not that crazy about the Fuzz Face. I like Tone Benders and some obscure British and Japanese Silicon fuzz pedals. My favorite is the Roland AF-100 Bee-Baa.

I used to have a rehearsal space next to Eric Johnson. I have heard all the Fuzz Face. Dozens and dozens of them.

Of the newer pedals, I have a D*A*M Tone Bender MK4. It's a first edition, and later editions have different transistors than mine. I couldn't tell you which ones are inside mine without looking. I don't think it makes a difference.

I know Jim Roth and have played some of his Jerms brand pedals. Those are nice, but I don't own one. I do have a few Basic Audio fuzz pedals. All are nice, and most use common, "basic" silicon transistors. Nothing fancy. They all sound great. Pig Dog makes some very nice pedals, like D*A*M, he has made fuzz pedals with real NKT275s, but I don't need a period correct vintage fuzz clone. I would buy a real one if I really, really needed it, but I don't.

I would say I know good tone. More than a few people have told me that. I don't think you need mojo transistors to get it. I find pedals that sound good and suit my needs and I don't worry about the rest. I pay to have the pedal builder do that or I hunt for a vintage original.

Cheers

And one stupid question: here everybody sets fuzz face for maximum fuzz and than cleans up with volume on guitar. I am wondering, do you thimk that on high gain germ fuzzes is it better to put down fuzz level on pedal to cca half or anything? I mean blues tone. I know well that it depends only on everybody s ear and taste. But anyway, what is your personal opinion?
Btw how did EJ fuzzes sound? I have feeling he has too much low frequencies..

[fuzzjunkie]

And one stupid question: here everybody sets fuzz face for maximum fuzz and than cleans up with volume on guitar.

•That is common practice on a Fuzz Face. It's one of the reasons (maybe the main one) that people pick a Fuzz Face over another type of fuzz. Not all fuzz clean up, some not at all, others just a bit, but a good Germanium Fuzz Face will go almost all the way clean and add some sparkle or chime to boot. The Germanium transistors are typically lower gain than the Silicon and the NKT275s are prized because of their low gain quality.

I am wondering, do you thimk that on high gain germ fuzzes is it better to put down fuzz level on pedal to cca half or anything? I mean blues tone. I know well that it depends only on everybody s ear and taste. But anyway, what is your personal opinion?

•Maybe not to half way, but just dropping it from 10 to 9 can make a big difference. If there is a bit of sizzle or it sounds compressed, or picks up radio stations, dialing it back a hair will clear that up in most cases. As for blues tone, I think that a good clean or edge of breakup tone from the amp is most important before adding anything to it. In the old days, you cranked your amp up and used your guitar volume knobs and pick attack. With bigger amps and higher headroom, people started using Rangemasters and Fuzz Faces to drive a cleaner amp to get the same dirt, but they still wanted to hear the guitar and amp, not the pedal, so they would use them as boosters or overdrive to push the amp. As you said, fuzz control turned down and the pedal volume turned up. Hendrix and Page did this a lot. SRV did the same with a Tube Screamer. Many players think they need to turn the fuzz all the way up and are then disappointed when it doesn't sound "right" or they "disappear in the mix." Especially Big Muff users are often the worst offenders. A lot of classic tones have much less fuzz than people think.

Btw how did EJ fuzzes sound? I have feeling he has too much low frequencies..

•I never thought that. He is very picky about his clean tone, maybe more than his dirt. He goes through a lot of gear. He is constantly flipping amps and pedals. Or did back in the 90s. I don't think of Blackface Fenders as being overly bassy. Marshalls are darker, but he plays Strats. His clean tone is classic Blackface and his dirty/fuzz tones go through the Marshalls. That tone is thicker and darker than the clean, but it's not muddy. Wanting a tighter low end is probably why he prefers Silicon to Germanium as it tends to be brighter and less woolly in the low end. I tried to get him to try Tone Benders, but he thought they messed with his tone too much. Mk2s were too nasal and too much gain and Vox were too trebly and thin. I use tweed amps and a vintage Jazzmaster or Telecaster, so brighter was better for me. Also playing in a trio, having a little extra bass fills up the sound without stepping on anyone. Add another guitar or keyboard and the sonic space gets smaller and a mid focus fuzz like a Tone Bender is just the thing you want.

[fuzzjunkie]

If you want a nice Fuzz Face for a reasonable price, look for a Creepy Fingers Creepy Face. He makes a Germanium version that uses something like NTE103 transistors that aren't high gain and clean up nicely. I think he makes a Silicon Fuzz Face as well. Not the mojo parts that Analogman, Jerms or Pig Dog use, but still custom, handmade pedals.

Basic Audio occasionally makes a GE Fuzz Face, but more common is his SI Solar Myth. If you are worried about bass end flab, it can be dialed out with either of these. They aren't exact vintage replicas because he adds extra knobs for tweaking new tones from old sounds.

Maybe a Fuzz Face isn't what you need after all? For fuzzy, bluesy overdrive, Basic Audio has the Lucky Number and the Futureman. The Futureman is a clone of the Colorsound Overdriver. I use the Throbak Overdrive/ Boost, which is similar but more expensive. It has a GE switch to get low-gain Fuzz Face tones when I want them, and a whole lot more. All have controls to tighten the low end and stellar clean up.