Arbiter was famous for selling ringo starr a black oyster pearl ludwig kit in 62, which he hastily inscribed with the beatles across the front to make the sale, complete with the dropped t logo that became part of rock history. The legendary dallas arbiter fuzz box in sturdy case when you talk about classic fuzz, you probably mean the sound of the legendary fuzzface in most cases. Germanium transistors are what were used in the very first dallas arbiter fuzz faces. Original pots are removed becouse they were in very bad condition and now are replaced with original parts made by omeg in uk. The only photos showing its use are from august 1968. The fuzz face is a fuzz pedal used primarily for electric guitars, and sometimes bass. In one q1 and q2 had been pnp germanium ac128 or nkt275 types, in the other they had been npn sillicon bc108c types. The effector book 10th anniversary fuzz face custom made by jeorge tripps. Fuzz face, 1st run 1993 dallasarbiterengland discussion in the effect effect started by thekid, jan 24, 2015. Denis cornell fuzz face, made by the man who redesigned the original fuzz face circuit for dallasarbiter, circa 1970. The original fuzz face used nkt275 transistors made by a british company called new market. Dallas arbiter fuzz face replica complete kit kits.
Cheaper alternatives to vintage dallas arbiter fuzz face. I will say i liked my 2000s fuzz face with no smile slightly better than the newer ones with the smile. Original arbiter fuzz face nkt275 red dot 60s vs our tribute to fuzz face charged white dot nkt275. A list of all the components needed to build up synthroteks arbiter fuzz face clone. Before a clean amp, it can cut quite nicely though thanks to the germanium transistors, it is never as annoying as various other distortions, but before an already distorted sound, the sun. Still others claim that the arbiter fuzz face, the first run of the unit had sf363 transistors in it see 1992 guitar player mag. Ruggedly constructed to the original germanium pnp transistor design and vintage specs. The arbiter fuzz face clone uses the classic circuit that is known and loved by many, and everybody loves a classic.
This is the circuit diagram of fuzz face mods, guitar effect pedal. The fuzz face is a distortion guitar pedal designed in london by arbitrer electronics ltd in the autumn of 1966. Dunlop dallas arbiter fuzz face thomann united states. It is designed to produce a distorted sound referred to as fuzz, originally achieved through accident such as broken electrical components or damaged speakers. It was introduced in 1966 by arbiter electronics, which later became dallas arbiter. Fuzz face guitar effect pedal schematic diagram the original schematic isnt exaclty what is shown above, it had a pretty complicated switching system that has been simplified certainly nothing has been missing dont get worried and a different grounding setup. Arbiters fuzz face mimicked the maestro fuzztone, but in a simple even simplistic design. The classic fuzz box used by jimi hendrix and other legendary rockers of the 60s and 70s. I go over some of my most favorite fuzz pedals, and offer some tips to make it useable in different settings. Dallas arbiter fuzz face from 1970 in rare aqua blue color. We designed the face the fuzz with a few key changes to make it more useful to the modern musician. Fender stratocaster 1957 custom vintage overdrive joyo wah wah electro harmonics cool cat vibe compressor laney amp. The fuzz face is very sensitive to playing dynamics, so you can get many shades of gain with slight variations on the guitars volume knobs.
Four tips to make the most of your fuzz face zzounds. Built to the exact specifications of the original dallasarbiter fuzz face. The fuzz face is an effects pedal for electric guitar, used also by some electric bass players. The dallasarbiter fuzz face has been around since 1966, and it shows no signs of dying any time soon.
In one q1 and q2 had been pnp germanium ac128 or nkt275 types. The debate that will start on this thread is, did hendrix use a germanium or silicon fuzz at woodstock and did hendrix use a roger mayer modified fuzz face or a stock fuzz face. My recently sold early 2000s dunlop fuzz face had nkt 275s in it too. Find great deals on ebay for fuzz face arbiter and vintage fuzz face.
The reason for this is that it actually predates the original arbiter fuzz face production began 1965. The fuzz face featured a smiley face round configuration of its two controls volume and fuzz and footswitch, housed in a red housing. In 1967 or 1968, the brand changed to dallas arbiter, but the circuit remained the same. This is the classic fuzz box used by jim hendrix, eric johnson, and more. An early adopter of the fuzz face was jimi hendrix, who used it on songs such as fire and love or confusion.
This may be the original unit that spawned them all. I secured the remaining finish and rebuilt the circuit using as much of the original parts i could, and then supplementing with my stash of nos. Theres some good reading on analogmans site about the fuzz face circuit. Check out analogmans sunface pedal or phoenix custom electronics fuzz pedal, both are very well made copies of the fuzz face circuit. The original fuzz face is constructed to the vintage specs, with the original germanium pnp transistor design. This is most accentuated with singlecoil pickups, like those on a stratocaster, but you can do it with a humbucker as well. Book depository books with free delivery worldwide. In an attempt to recapture the predallas arbiter fuzz face sound, ivor arbiter recently reissued his original mid60s fuzz face. A micro trimmer is added on the bottom side of pcb board for fi. The ac128 and the nkt275 transistors found their way in, the former, which is reported to be a low quality transistor, and the latter, are very similar. According to gear journalist rg keen, the fuzz face circuit consists of two transistors, four resistors, three capacitors, and two controls.
The early ac128 and sf363e fuzz faces are probably only a myth. Fuzz face diy germanium ac128 transistor jimi hendrix tone. Dallas arbiter fuzz face diy germanium ac128 youtube. Mxr jhw1 authentic hendrix 69 psych series fuzz face distortion pedal bundle with blucoil slim 9v power supply ac adapter, 10ft straight instrument cable 14in, 2x patch cables and 4x guitar picks. Uk company arbiter electronics released in 1966 what would be one of the most beloved guitar effects of all time, the fuzz face. Producing a thick, distorted, fuzzy tone, this pedal adds grit to any signal, creating something akin to the. The paint was flaking pretty bad and the insides were a mess. The simplicity of the circuit has caused much debate and lore, but two transistors, three capacitors and a couple of resistors still sounds like magic. Early fuzz face circuits employed several different types of germanium transistors. The most important components are the transistors, germanium will get you the classic 60s sound where silicon goes towards a 70s sound. Fuzz face effects circuit diagram circuit schematic. The sound of eric johnsons favorite fuzz tone in a pedal designed around johnsons personal collection of fuzz face pedals created by fuzz face master engineer, jeorge tripps handselected bc183 silicon transistors provide extrahigh gain unique look includes custom 6869 knobs and a vintagestyle.
The kit contains all the parts to make either the pnp or npn version of a dallas arbitor fuzz face. Dunlop fuzz face guitar effects pedal musicians friend. The jimi hendrix signature fuzz face is a pretty faithful reproduction of a fuzz face he used at a concert in hawaii rainbow bridge, iirc. The fuzz face, as the name implies, is a classic fuzz pedal, so named because the circular shape of the pedal, coupled with the combination of knobs switches and manufactures name create a smiling face. The sound of the germanium fuzz face was popularized by jimi hendrix on his first two albums.
Ivor arbiter took the round shaped enclosure idea from a microphone stand and it was the first pedal including a. This is a modified diagram and simpler than the original fuzz face diagram. This poor guy had been put through the ringer over the years. The dunlop fuzz face is ruggedly constructed to the original germanium pnp transistor design and vintage specs. Therefore it is more than likely that arbiter based the fuzz face on this circuit. The 90s red dot models are supposed to sound better. Ivor arbiters sound city music shopwhich catered to swingin londons rock royaltysold the first arbiter electronics versions in 1966. The original germanium fuzz face has a warm fuzzy distortion that is easy to tame. Oh and another thing about humbuckers and fuzz faces.
In 1993, dunlop manufacturing took over production, and this is where the fuzz face is made today. Discontinued but can be found, usually half the price of the dallas. It produces a characteristic high distorted sound called fuzz. For the fuzz face circuit to be optimally biased, the collector of q2 needs to be at 4. Through this designs past youll find all kinds of different variations in the basic original circuit, from pnp germanium to npn silicon, and a countless number of fuzz pedals that are based on it.
Pete townshend used a dallas arbiter fuzz face fuzz pedal on stage for a brief period in 1968. But again, he would have been using vintageoutput pickup. I think it is safe to say the fuzz face is one of the top five or ten most famous and influential guitar effects of all time. Silicon transistors were used in later editions of the pedal. This is the classic fuzz box used by jimi hendrix and other legendary rockers of the 60s and 70s. From the micstand casting to the smile that reads arbiterengland to the pnp germanium transistors arbiters reissue is the closestsoundinglooking pedal to the real deal. Popularized by jimi hendrix, this pedal has been used by david gilmour, eric clapton, pete townshend and more recently, eric johnson. Other dunlop jhm5 jimi hendrix fuzz face pedal limited edition pcs worldwide 4. The one drawback with running a ff into an od is you get more of a volume jump from the fuzz when you run it into a clean signal into an od the fuzz will be limited by the ceiling of the od pedal, so its hard with some pedals if you want to use the fuzz for a lead because you dont get any boost in volume once you hit the max level of the od. When connecting the arbiter fuzz face clone circuit to your multimeter as shown in the photos below your meter will read 4. Silicon transistors provided for a more stable operation, but have a different, harsher. You will find apparently two identical designs of the fuzz face. The kit contains a pair of low gain npn silicon transistors and a pair of low gain pnp silicon trasistors that sound great in this stompbox. Vintage germanium nkt275 and silicon bc183 and 108 fuzz face.
Uses nos nkt 275 germanium transistors and sounds killer. Fuzz might have proved a means of imitating a cranked tube amp early on, but has long since established its own thingsomething that even cranked tubes cant match. Ive had some very nice compliments about my strange ability to play the guitar. In the pantheon of classic stompboxes, few loom as large and legendary as the fuzz face. The dallas arbiter fuzz face has one of the most instantly recognizable tones in rock history. This is my fanpage dedicated to the awesome dallasarbiter dunlop fuzz face fuzzface. Thekid most honored senior member strattalk supporter. Played on navigator stratocaster maple fingerboard neck pickup. As time wore on germanium transistors were slowly being phased out in favour of the more stable and consistent silicon versions, as a result dallasarbiter began equipping the fuzz face pedals with these new transistors from 1968 onward with differing results. Building a germanium fuzz face guitar pedal hackaday. Later units bear the dallas arbiter, dallas music industries ltd.