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The electronics are contained in a circular-shaped metal housing. [[Ivor Arbiter]] "got the idea for the round shape when he one day saw a microphone-stand with a cast-iron base".<ref name ="Morin" /> The pedal uses two knobs, one for volume, and one for the amount of "fuzz" the pedal produces. The arrangement of controls on the box suggests a face, with the volume and "fuzz" controls as eyes, the "in/out" stomp switch as the nose, the logo as a smiling mouth, and a wedge-shaped rubber mat suggesting a beard.
The electronics are contained in a circular-shaped metal housing. [[Ivor Arbiter]] "got the idea for the round shape when he one day saw a microphone-stand with a cast-iron base".<ref name ="Morin" /> The pedal uses two knobs, one for volume, and one for the amount of "fuzz" the pedal produces. The arrangement of controls on the box suggests a face, with the volume and "fuzz" controls as eyes, the "in/out" stomp switch as the nose, the logo as a smiling mouth, and a wedge-shaped rubber mat suggesting a beard.


The circuit was based on a very common amplifier circuit that could be found in engineering text books (compare: [[Negative_feedback_amplifier#Two-port_analysis_of_feedback|Negative feedback amplifier]]).The circuit topology is known as a "SHUNT-SERIES-FEEDBACK-PAIR" in engineering textbooks. When properly designed it is no longer temperature or Beta dependent. [[Sola Sound]] and [[Vox (musical equipment)|Vox]] had been using the same circuit [[Topology (electronics)|topology]] for some of their [[Tone Bender]] pedals earlier in 1966.<ref>[http://stompboxes.co.uk/History.html]"Pedal Porn - A Little History" by David Main</ref>
The circuit was based on a very common amplifier circuit that could be found in engineering text books (compare: [[Negative_feedback_amplifier#Two-port_analysis_of_feedback|Negative feedback amplifier]]).The circuit topology is known as a "SHUNT-SERIES-FEEDBACK-PAIR" in engineering textbooks. When properly designed the temperature and Beta dependency is greatly reduced to 3rd order effect. [[Sola Sound]] and [[Vox (musical equipment)|Vox]] had been using the same circuit [[Topology (electronics)|topology]] for some of their [[Tone Bender]] pedals earlier in 1966.<ref>[http://stompboxes.co.uk/History.html]"Pedal Porn - A Little History" by David Main</ref>


The original Fuzz Face was discontinued in [[1974]] or [[1975]]. The first, albeit short lived, reissue made by [[Crest Audio]] came out in [[1976]]. A second reissue by Crest Audio was released in the [[1986]]. About 2000 of those were made until [[1990]].<ref name="foxrox1">[http://www.foxroxelectronics.com/FuzzFace%20reissue.html] 1980's Crest Audio FuzzFace reissue story</ref><ref name="foxrox2">[http://www.foxroxelectronics.com/SCRAP.HTM] Foxrox electronics scrapbook</ref>
The original Fuzz Face was discontinued in [[1974]] or [[1975]]. The first, albeit short lived, reissue made by [[Crest Audio]] came out in [[1976]]. A second reissue by Crest Audio was released in the [[1986]]. About 2000 of those were made until [[1990]].<ref name="foxrox1">[http://www.foxroxelectronics.com/FuzzFace%20reissue.html] 1980's Crest Audio FuzzFace reissue story</ref><ref name="foxrox2">[http://www.foxroxelectronics.com/SCRAP.HTM] Foxrox electronics scrapbook</ref>

Revision as of 21:22, 30 August 2010

A 1970's Dallas Arbiter England Fuzz Face. A "Power On/Off" slide switch has been added, post-purchase, between the two controls

The Fuzz Face is an effects pedal used mainly by electric guitarists, and by some bass players. It is a stompbox designed to produce a distorted sound from an electric guitar. This "fuzz" sound is sometimes compared to the sound of a damaged speaker. In fact, early efforts to achieve this type of sound included actually ripping or poking holes in guitar amplifier speakers.

History

Arbiter Electronics Ltd. first issued the Fuzz Face in 1966.[1] Later units bear the "Dallas-Arbiter", "Dallas Music Industries Ltd.", "CBS/Arbiter Ltd." or "Dunlop Manufacturing Inc." name.

The earliest units used germanium transistors. Later on silicon transistors were used. These provided for a more stable operation, but have a different, harsher sound.

The electronics are contained in a circular-shaped metal housing. Ivor Arbiter "got the idea for the round shape when he one day saw a microphone-stand with a cast-iron base".[1] The pedal uses two knobs, one for volume, and one for the amount of "fuzz" the pedal produces. The arrangement of controls on the box suggests a face, with the volume and "fuzz" controls as eyes, the "in/out" stomp switch as the nose, the logo as a smiling mouth, and a wedge-shaped rubber mat suggesting a beard.

The circuit was based on a very common amplifier circuit that could be found in engineering text books (compare: Negative feedback amplifier).The circuit topology is known as a "SHUNT-SERIES-FEEDBACK-PAIR" in engineering textbooks. When properly designed the temperature and Beta dependency is greatly reduced to 3rd order effect. Sola Sound and Vox had been using the same circuit topology for some of their Tone Bender pedals earlier in 1966.[2]

The original Fuzz Face was discontinued in 1974 or 1975. The first, albeit short lived, reissue made by Crest Audio came out in 1976. A second reissue by Crest Audio was released in the 1986. About 2000 of those were made until 1990.[3][4]

In 1993 Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc. took over production.[1] In the late 1990s Arbiter reissued the pedal as well.[5]

Due to its simplicity and status as a classic, the Fuzz Face soon became a favourite among DIY stompbox builders and is a popular beginner's project. Many variations and modifications are documented. Common modern additions are status LEDs and 9V jacks.

As of 2009, a wide variety of clones and Fuzz Face inspired pedals is available. Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc. currently owns the Fuzz Face and Dallas-Arbiter trademarks and still makes the pedal.[6] Germanium and silicon transistor versions are available.

Components

The circuit uses eleven electronic components, plus a battery.[7] At the time the box was first made, the tolerances of electric components were not as tight as they are today. As a result, two circuits utilizing the same components might sound quite different. In addition, germanium transistors tend to be sensitive to temperature, so the sound produced using the box would change as the equipment heated up. According to some sources, professional musicians would try different units from a batch in order to find one which sounded the best to their ears.

Inside view of the pedal showing the comparatively simple two transistor circuit board. The transistors in this model are the BC 108C Silicon variety.

The circuit uses the property of transistors known as "saturation". When used as an amplifier, a transistor's output level is directly related to the input level, but if the input level is high enough the output reaches a maximum and goes no higher, regardless of the input level. The effect is to "cut off" the peaks of sound waves leaving a flat line instead of a rising curve. This introduces extra harmonics into the sound, producing the distortion or fuzz. The circuit of the basic Fuzz Face uses two transistors that both amplify the signal in sequence. The first transistor is biased close to the edge of SATURATION, so the amplified waveform is asymmetrical. The closer this is biased to SATURATION, the more "gargle" and fuzz effect you will get.

In extreme cases the smooth input wave is converted into a square wave which can sound harsh. This tends to occur using transistors with very high gain (output current divided by input current) where the first transistor's output is so high that the second one saturates quickly. Germanium transistors have low gain compared to most silicon transistors.

Early units used NKT275 germanium transistors. Later on BC183L, BC183KA, BC130C, BC108C and BC209C silicon transistors were used. The Crest reissues used BC109C transistors[1][8]

Modern Fuzz Face clones and modifications to the circuit use a variety of transistors, and given the subjectivity of guitar tone, there is no clearly preferred transistor.

Users

The Fuzz Face's continuing popularity and status as a classic may be explained by its many famous users. Among them are Jimi Hendrix,[9] David Gilmour,[10] Pete Townshend[11] and Eric Johnson.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d [1]"Fuzz Face" by David Morin
  2. ^ [2]"Pedal Porn - A Little History" by David Main
  3. ^ [3] 1980's Crest Audio FuzzFace reissue story
  4. ^ [4] Foxrox electronics scrapbook
  5. ^ [5] Vintage Guitar: Arbiter Fuzz Face reissue
  6. ^ [6], United States Patent and Trademark Office.
  7. ^ [7]"Arbiter Fuzz Face"
  8. ^ [8] Analog Man Sun Face and Fuzz Face Page
  9. ^ [9] Dunlop - Jimi Hendrix Fuzzface
  10. ^ [10] Gilmourish - Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face
  11. ^ [11] Who Tabs - Pete's Gear - Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face
  12. ^ [12] Modern Guitars - Eric Johnson Interview
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