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What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 7:06 pm
by marqueemoon
I dusted off the S/T Stone Roses album and b-sides and now I have a raging case of Fuzz Face GAS.

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Most folks believe this is a silicon model (possibly a Crest Audio built one with BC109C transistors). I've checked out some demos and it definitely sounds like it. Loud and proud and it seems like it's even a bit brighter with the guitar volume rolled down. Anything in that general tonal ballpark would be fine though.

What have you all used and liked? Did you go old school or get a modern pedalboard-friendly thing? Did you buy or build?

I'm primarily a single coil player, use 1x12 Fenderesque amps, and play indie rock and Americana-type stuff. Not looking for a doomy variant in other words.

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 3:37 am
by MechaBulletBill
you should try the axis circuit. kind of splits the difference between si/ge fuzz faces

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:25 am
by HH1978
I had a BC183 Sunface that I liked a lot.

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 5:31 am
by del
The currently in-production JH-F1 Fuzz Face is a BC108 silicon model that sounds fantastic! I like it enough that a guts shot of mine is my id-photo here on OSG at the moment.

I have three Fuzz Faces, two 1990s (I think) germanium models and this silicon one which I strongly prefer. It's a bit spittier and sharper at it's top setting, but rolls back aok on the occasion where that is needed.

I also have a small-box Fulltone 70s Fuzz, which is a silicon fuzz face circuit with an added "mids" tone control on the outside and a "bias" trim pot on the inside. It's ok, but even at the lowest setting, the added "mids" smooth things out more than in my Fuzz Face. It's still a good pedal - that would be better with the "bias" knob on the outside which would make shaping the sound much easier - but I find myself using the JH-F1 Fuzz Face almost all the time. And I very much like the aesthetics of the big round pedal!

I hope this is helpful.
~del

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 7:05 am
by marqueemoon
del wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 5:31 am
The currently in-production JH-F1 Fuzz Face is a BC108 silicon model that sounds fantastic! I like it enough that a guts shot of mine is my id-photo here on OSG at the moment.

I have three Fuzz Faces, two 1990s (I think) germanium models and this silicon one which I strongly prefer. It's a bit spittier and sharper at it's top setting, but rolls back aok on the occasion where that is needed.

I also have a small-box Fulltone 70s Fuzz, which is a silicon fuzz face circuit with an added "mids" tone control on the outside and a "bias" trim pot on the inside. It's ok, but even at the lowest setting, the added "mids" smooth things out more than in my Fuzz Face. It's still a good pedal - that would be better with the "bias" knob on the outside which would make shaping the sound much easier - but I find myself using the JH-F1 Fuzz Face almost all the time. And I very much like the aesthetics of the big round pedal!

I hope this is helpful.
~del
Yeah, I like the look and sound of that the best of all the current reissues. Spittier and sharper is definitely what I have in mind, and I like the old school look.

I'll have some pedals later in the chain that can bump mids if needed. Do you find yourself tweaking the bias on the JH-F1 often?

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 7:11 am
by marqueemoon
HH1978 wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:25 am
I had a BC183 Sunface that I liked a lot.
If I decide to spend real money on this a Sun Face is a top contender for sure. I like that they have the option to trim the level hitting the pedal. I have never been a guitar volume rider, so that would be nice in the event I can't get the hang of it.

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 7:26 am
by del
marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 7:05 am

Yeah, I like the look and sound of that the best of all the current reissues. Spittier and sharper is definitely what I have in mind, and I like the old school look.

I'll have some pedals later in the chain that can bump mids if needed. Do you find yourself tweaking the bias on the JH-F1 often?
I run my Fuzz Face into another distortion/fuzz pedal (currently a Red Llama) so that I can switch on/off a mid-boost just as you describe. And I've found that the JH-F1 combines well with all sorts of other pedals.

The JH-F1 doesn't have an internal bias trim pot (or at least mine doesn't, perhaps newer editions do). I've never felt the need for one, though, as it's quite spitty out of the box and if I want to smooth out my fuzz, I just engage that second distortion pedal on its own.

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 7:57 am
by marqueemoon
del wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 7:26 am
marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 7:05 am

Yeah, I like the look and sound of that the best of all the current reissues. Spittier and sharper is definitely what I have in mind, and I like the old school look.

I'll have some pedals later in the chain that can bump mids if needed. Do you find yourself tweaking the bias on the JH-F1 often?
I run my Fuzz Face into another distortion/fuzz pedal (currently a Red Llama) so that I can switch on/off a mid-boost just as you describe. And I've found that the JH-F1 combines well with all sorts of other pedals.

The JH-F1 doesn't have an internal bias trim pot (or at least mine doesn't, perhaps newer editions do). I've never felt the need for one, though, as it's quite spitty out of the box and if I want to smooth out my fuzz, I just engage that second distortion pedal on its own.
Cool. I've been leaning more old school in my search, just because I feel like once you start adding too many tweaks it stops being what it is.

Another option I'm considering is having Seeker build me one to the Crest Audio specs. That would mean no saucer enclosure, but I have a enclosure artwork concept in mind. 8)

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 8:14 am
by del
marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 7:57 am

Cool. I've been leaning more old school in my search, just because I feel like once you start adding too many tweaks it stops being what it is.

Another option I'm considering is having Seeker build me one to the Crest Audio specs. That would mean no saucer enclosure, but I have a enclosure artwork concept in mind. 8)
The Crest Audio option would be cool!

Saucer enclosures come up for sale often enough that I'd bet you could find one. Or buy an inexpensive/non-working FF and then see if Seeker would repair and mod it to Crest Audio specs.

I really like the look and feel of a Fuzz Face saucer underfoot. It's not practical as something that sits on most pedal boards, but it can work just fine with a simple layout on the floor. And even with a pedal board, it's sensible to imagine it being the first pedal in a layout, sitting off to the side on the floor and feeding into the rest of a setup.

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:27 pm
by OffYourFace
Yes John used a Crest Audio version. I had one and I regret selling it years ago. I bought another one later on and it didn't sound as good. I then built my own with a Pigeon FX board and put it inside a Dunlop FF I got for $40 a few years ago. It came out amazing. BC109s are my favorite.
It's a very simple ckt to build. No need to spend big $$ on a FF.

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:33 pm
by fuzzjunkie
The real deal was for sale not long ago:

https://reverb.com/item/22089590-stone ... pedal-2000

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:44 pm
by OffYourFace
fuzzjunkie wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:33 pm
The real deal was for sale not long ago:

https://reverb.com/item/22089590-stone ... pedal-2000
That's just the Hendrix BC108 model. You can get one of those dirt cheap.

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 5:50 pm
by MechaBulletBill
fuzzjunkie wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:33 pm
The real deal was for sale not long ago:

https://reverb.com/item/22089590-stone ... pedal-2000
are you kidding me with that price? :fp: pretty sure that shop is not a good place, if the people behind it are who i think they are.

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 6:13 pm
by marqueemoon
DIY isn’t off the table, but it isn’t my first choice just because of lack of available time and probability of screwing it up.

I don’t want to spend silly money though. Ideally well under $200.

Re: What's yer favorite silicon Fuzz Face?

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 6:15 pm
by JVG
For a “spittier and sharper” fuzz face style pedal i’d definitely go with bc108 or 109 rather than 183.

My favourites in this area are the Fulltone 70 (perhaps not a popular choice at the moment) and the Solidgoldfx If 6 was 9. I can easily get authentic silicon FF sounds From both of these, and they offer some tonal sculpting without getting crowded with knobs.

I’d also recommend checking out the Catalinbread Karma Suture. It’s not strictly a FF clone, but will do those sounds plus a fair bit more. It’s a very diverse pedal, but perhaps not as intuitive to use as the other two i mentioned.

Cheers!
J.