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Post by dcarver on Oct 1, 2019 22:53:29 GMT -7
Does anyone know if there is a difference in the way a fuzz pedal made with NOS OC45 Ge transistors would sound, as opposed to a pedal made with NOS OC41 Ge transistors. Both having the black glass envelop.
Or, are they close enough in performance to where both pedals could sound pretty much the same depending on the design of the circuit they are in.
Thanks.
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Post by wraparound (Steve) on Oct 2, 2019 8:59:11 GMT -7
I don't know for sure but I would guess they would be different. Good luck with your search.
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Post by Lefty on Oct 2, 2019 11:00:11 GMT -7
So many variables.
Email AnalogMike analogmike1@analogman.com
If he can't give you more insight, no one can.
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Post by Faze on Oct 2, 2019 17:11:29 GMT -7
Im not sure but I have had several silicon and germanium fuzz pedals and the Jam pedals Fuzz Phrase is the best one I have ever owned. I have owned and sold many fuzz pedals germanium's are my favorites though the Fuzz phrase is a germanium. its real fat and warm. Really great sustain on it and its organic sounding. Plus it cleans up better then any of the other ones I have and thats what a good germanium fuzz should do. The kingtone mini fuzz is pretty good too. But the Jam is my favorite its been on my board for a while now.
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Post by dcarver on Oct 2, 2019 21:29:47 GMT -7
Thanks for the info guys. The reason I ask is, a few weeks ago I finally decided to dip my toe into the fuzz pool, and picked up a Crazy Tube Circuits Constellation Fuzz . I got it from Distinctive Guitar in Milwaukee. Real good service from them BTW. The pedal has 3 NOS Valvo black glass OC45 Ge transistors. I read where they went through their supply of OC45's. Now, on the Crazy Tube website, the pedal is listed as having NOS Phillips OC41 Ge transistors. I was wondering if it's likely to sound different. I suspect the answer is .... maybe, it depends. Guess I'll have to wait for a good demo to find out. Here's what pushed me over the edge. BTW, everything Pete Thorn says in this video is true from my experience. The pedal cleans up great. The fuzz goes away, but leaves behind the sparkly straty goodness I was looking for.
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Post by Lefty on Oct 3, 2019 6:15:24 GMT -7
Now if you want to discuss Silicon vs. Germanium, or Fuzz Face vs. Tonebender circuits, we can go there. I'm not an authority but I've been down that rabbit hole more times an I can count.
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Post by Faze on Oct 3, 2019 7:35:17 GMT -7
Thanks for the info guys. The reason I ask is, a few weeks ago I finally decided to dip my toe into the fuzz pool, and picked up a Crazy Tube Circuits Constellation Fuzz . I got it from Distinctive Guitar in Milwaukee. Real good service from them BTW. The pedal has 3 NOS Valvo black glass OC45 Ge transistors. I read where they went through their supply of OC45's. Now, on the Crazy Tube website, the pedal is listed as having NOS Phillips OC41 Ge transistors. I was wondering if it's likely to sound different. I suspect the answer is .... maybe, it depends. Guess I'll have to wait for a good demo to find out. Here's what pushed me over the edge. BTW, everything Pete Thorn says in this video is true from my experience. The pedal cleans up great. The fuzz goes away, but leaves behind the sparkly straty goodness I was looking for. I saw that video a while back after I bought the jam fuzz and his video also inspired me that is a interesting fuzz. I look forward to your review on it.
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Post by Faze on Oct 3, 2019 7:36:48 GMT -7
Now if you want to discuss Silicon vs. Germanium, or Fuzz Face vs. Tonebender circuits, we can go there. I'm not an authority but I've been down that rabbit hole more times an I can count. Your preaching to the choir now lefty. I’m a sucker for fuzz pedals.
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Post by dcarver on Oct 7, 2019 23:13:24 GMT -7
So I've been using the Constellation for a few weeks now and in my opinion, it's a great pedal. I should let you know that I'm no authority on fuzz pedals, in fact this is my first one.
One of the reasons I think it's a great pedal, especially for a first timer, is that it has a pretty wide variety of fuzz tones in it. The description on the Crazy Tube Circuits site says the four main fuzz settings are based on classic fuzz pedals from the past (Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, Vox ToneBender, Sola Sound Tone Bender Mk 1.5, Sola Sound Tone Bender MkII). How close are they to the real vintage pedals ?? I have no idea. I've never even seen any of those pedals, let alone heard them. What I can say is that the four fuzz settings sound great.
The FF and the VTB are kind of well behaved fuzzes. They clean up right away, like at 9 on the guitar volume a lot of the fuzz is gone. Get down to 8 and you have the clean glassy tones that Ge transistors are known for. These two settings also work great as an overdrive by backing off the pedal gain to about 12:00 or 1:00, and fine tuning with the guitar volume.
The Sola Sound Tone Bender Mk 1.5 and MkII settings are some serious fuzz. One of the reviewers called them wild and wooly. Yup ... that's accurate. Much thicker, heavier sounding. More low and low mid frequency oriented. Tons of sustain and controllable feedback if you want it. However they don't clean up as quick. In fact, the MkII setting doesn't start to clean up until you get the guitar volume down to around 5.
Then there's the RangeMaster. That setting is a pretty big mid and treble boost. It also seems to give my strat sort of a "honk" sound, if that makes sense.
The last setting on the knob is the RM into the FF. Wild and wooly again, except this time brighter. Loud, upper mids and treble combined with lots of fuzz on this setting.
One of the cool things about the FF & VTB settings, you can set the gain on the pedal to about 1:00 or 2:00, then adjust the guitar volume so that you can pick or strum lightly and get the clean sparkly thing, pick a little harder and get some breakup / overdrive, or dig in a bit and get good fuzz tones. You get a full range of clean to fuzz with just pick dynamics. A lot more so than with an overdrive pedal.
There are a LOT of good tones in this pedal. In fact, I haven't found a bad one yet. It can do a lot of things well, from treble boost to overdrive to heavy fuzz. Plus it makes strat pickups sound really good when cleaned up. I give it five Z's. ( that's good BTW)
If you're interested in this pedal and want a good overview, check out the Pete Thorn demos. If you want to hear it fully cranked with several different guitars, check out the R.J. Ronquillo demo.
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Post by ME on Oct 8, 2019 13:28:27 GMT -7
Fuzz. Love it. Hate it... Buy them, get rid of them. Recently bought a Keeley Fuzz Bender. This pedal works for me, so far. Need to try in a band situation. One of the ways I use it is with the guitar volume down, sort of clean, into the Rangemaster side of a Time Machine Boost (another Keeley pedal) into my Remedy. Mmm, mmm, good! ME
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Post by Lefty on Oct 8, 2019 13:45:51 GMT -7
Don't snob off the Dunlop mini's. I have 3 of them.
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Post by dcarver on Nov 19, 2019 13:06:30 GMT -7
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