Fall 2021

I'm finally getting around to doing a blog post. This week we (I) listed the first germanium Fizz Fuzzes on Reverb. There is one more in the pipeline waiting for final assembly and then on to starting a new batch, after which I hope to do a few "Creators".

Germanium

The germanium version is something I'd wanted to try for a while, but the germanium transistors I had on hand were never up to the task. The reason for doing a germanium fuzz was that germanium has different 'distortion' qualities than silicone, but as always, I'll let the listener watch the demo videos and be the judge of that. Over the summer I bought a bunch of NOS Soviet transistors that turned out to work well with the germanium circuit without any other changing of component values from the original You-Know-What Rite circuit,... which I usually try and refer to as a 'biker fuzz' because of the Davey Allan usage in those 60's low budget biker film soundtracks....

...The germanium transistors do require a somewhat time consuming measuring and selection process, compared to the silicone transistors, because they take some time to 'warm up' during measurement. Germanium transistors are not as stable as the silicone transistors but the NOS ones from 'Russia' are pretty good, I believe they are later production than ones from other countries, and hence the process may have improved. My guess is they are from the 1980s rather than the 1960s.

Creator

Also in the works is a Fizz Fuzz "Creator". Yes I may have stole that name from the deluxe LEGO sets. The Creator is a silicon fuzz that has four switches and an extra Fizz knob. The extra Fizz knob allows biasing the second transistor in addition to the first, for some extra sounds. There is a filter switch for the output of each transistor, and there is a bias switch for each as well. The filter switches add in more bass, at the expense of some of the 'fuzziness', which to me means the high frequency spikes. As for the bias switches, they shift between the earlier 'high gain' germanium biasing and the later silicone biasing. Normally I use the later silicone type biasing for all the Fizz Fuzzes, and just use the early method for the germanium. Having the option to switch it provides an interesting change in character.

Right now the status of the 'Creator' is the spontaneous prototype shown on the Facebook page. As soon as I get some actual production made, I will break out the cameras for a demo. It does take a while for me to go from concept to production. Making the fuzz itself doesn't take too long, but designing graphics, ordering parts, doing LOTS of testing before offering any for sale, then documenting, doing demos, marketing (such as it is) etc, all eats up time. If you are a potential employer watching, please keep that in mind, I don't have a staff!! Although my product introduction may be slow, if you order a Fuzz, it will go out ASAP. I don't list anything I'm not ready to ship. If you want a custom that involves doing something similar to something I've done in the past, I can usually get that together pretty quickly mixed in with the regular 'production'.

Thanks

Finally, Thanks to the customers who've purchased my Fuzzes, and to those who've communicated with me with feedback and suggestions.