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Face Fuzz (based on: Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face)
Fuzz was one of the first “transistorized” guitar effects. Transistors amplify the signal and when they clip, distortion is generated. When the clipping is hard instead of gradual, the distortion is harsh and buzzy, named “fuzz”. The tone of fuzz depends greatly on the type of transistor used: germanium, silicon etc. (available as Clip Types in the Drive block). Common opinion is that germanium transistors sound warmer/rounder, while silicon ones have more gain and are harsher.
The USA-made Maestro (Fractal Audio’s “Master” Drive model) was the first fuzz pedal. It became famous after being used in Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones.
Back then the idea behind fuzz boxes was not only to approach the sound of a cranked amp (many vintage non-master amps sound like a fuzz when cranked: try the Brit JM45 model with Drive at 10), but also to emulate instruments like violin, cello and organ. While the latter is open to discussion, fuzz pedals never disappeared.
In real life fuzz pedals can pose players for challenges:
In this series we already covered the Bender Fuzz model, based on the Tone Bender from the 60s, made by Macari’s/Sola Sound (UK).
Dallas-Arbiter’s original Fuzz Face (1966, UK) is based on the Tone Bender MK1.5 with its two transistors. The Fuzz Face with its remarkable round “smiley face” shape is perhaps the most famous of all fuzz boxes because of one particular owner: Jimi Hendrix. He used germanium as well as silicon Fuzz Faces. Other famous users include David Gilmour, SRV and Eric Johnson. It also was one of the very first true bypass pedals.
Dunlop owns the rights to the Fuzz Face name and produces many different versions of the Fuzz Face, including signature editions.
Fractal Audio’s current Face Fuzz model is based on Dallas-Arbiter’s Fuzz Face with germanium transistors. You can easily switch it to silicon, by adjusting the Clip Type parameter.
The Fuzz Face is an extremely simple pedal with just two knobs:
With Fuzz set at max, the pedal will start to sound like a ring modulator. Many players just crank the Fuzz knob, set Volume and then use the guitar’s volume knob to get the desired amount of fuzz. This way even clean sounds are achievable, especially with the germanium Fuzz Face; check out the “Fuzz Face Tips” video below by James Santiago (Voodoo Lab, Dunlop, UAD). This approach works for the model too.
Article in Vintage Gear
Article in Tone Report
Of course the Drive block allows us to adjust far more things. Slew, Mix and other parameters are available. Bias is a lot of fun to experiment with when using a fuzz. But that's beyond the scope of this thread (see manual and wiki).
About CPU:
Link to the list of published threads
Face Fuzz (based on: Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face)
Fuzz was one of the first “transistorized” guitar effects. Transistors amplify the signal and when they clip, distortion is generated. When the clipping is hard instead of gradual, the distortion is harsh and buzzy, named “fuzz”. The tone of fuzz depends greatly on the type of transistor used: germanium, silicon etc. (available as Clip Types in the Drive block). Common opinion is that germanium transistors sound warmer/rounder, while silicon ones have more gain and are harsher.
If you want to read more about the origin of fuzz and guitar effects in general, I recommend Analog Man’s Guide to Vintage Effects, written by Tom Hughes (For Musicians Only), a joy to read.
The USA-made Maestro (Fractal Audio’s “Master” Drive model) was the first fuzz pedal. It became famous after being used in Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones.
Back then the idea behind fuzz boxes was not only to approach the sound of a cranked amp (many vintage non-master amps sound like a fuzz when cranked: try the Brit JM45 model with Drive at 10), but also to emulate instruments like violin, cello and organ. While the latter is open to discussion, fuzz pedals never disappeared.
In real life fuzz pedals can pose players for challenges:
- Germanium transistors are unreliable. The later silicon ones are more consistent but many players prefer the sound of germanium.
- Many fuzzes rely heavily on a direct connection to the guitar’s pickups. Put a buffered pedal or a Wah inbetween and you’ll often lose your beloved fuzz tone.
- Guitar pickups and the guitar’s volume also matter. Which is the beauty of fuzz.
Cliff:
"The Fuzz in the Axe-Fx reacts as though there is a buffer in front of it (because there is). It's a limitation inherent to all modeling products. I modeled it using a nominal source resistance. I forget what I used for the source resistance but it was probably around 100K ohms. To really simulate it you would need a controller to simulate the changing output impedance of the guitar.”
"The Fuzz in the Axe-Fx reacts as though there is a buffer in front of it (because there is). It's a limitation inherent to all modeling products. I modeled it using a nominal source resistance. I forget what I used for the source resistance but it was probably around 100K ohms. To really simulate it you would need a controller to simulate the changing output impedance of the guitar.”
In this series we already covered the Bender Fuzz model, based on the Tone Bender from the 60s, made by Macari’s/Sola Sound (UK).
Dallas-Arbiter’s original Fuzz Face (1966, UK) is based on the Tone Bender MK1.5 with its two transistors. The Fuzz Face with its remarkable round “smiley face” shape is perhaps the most famous of all fuzz boxes because of one particular owner: Jimi Hendrix. He used germanium as well as silicon Fuzz Faces. Other famous users include David Gilmour, SRV and Eric Johnson. It also was one of the very first true bypass pedals.
Wikipedia:
"Arbiter Electronics Ltd. first issued the Fuzz Face in 1966. Later units bear the "Dallas Arbiter", "Dallas Music Industries Ltd.", "CBS/Arbiter Ltd." or "Dunlop Manufacturing Inc." name. The earliest units used germanium transistors. Silicon transistors were used in later editions of the pedal. Silicon transistors 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". The pedal uses two knobs, one for volume, and one for the amount of "fuzz" the pedal produces. The arrangement of controls and logo on the box suggests a smiling face. The circuit is based on the shunt-series-feedback amplifier topology - a standard in engineering text books. Sola Sound and Vox had been using the same circuit topology for some of their Tone Bender pedals earlier in 1966. Dallas Music Industries made a final run of Fuzz Faces in 1976 or 1977, shortly after they had moved to the United States. The company bought Crest Audio in the 1980s and although it was operating under that name when it reissued the Fuzz Face in the 1986, the units bore the Dallas-Arbiter name. They made about 2000 Fuzz Faces until 1990. In 1993 Dunlop Manufacturing took over production, making a variety of Fuzz Faces to this day. Several germanium and silicon models are available.”
"Arbiter Electronics Ltd. first issued the Fuzz Face in 1966. Later units bear the "Dallas Arbiter", "Dallas Music Industries Ltd.", "CBS/Arbiter Ltd." or "Dunlop Manufacturing Inc." name. The earliest units used germanium transistors. Silicon transistors were used in later editions of the pedal. Silicon transistors 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". The pedal uses two knobs, one for volume, and one for the amount of "fuzz" the pedal produces. The arrangement of controls and logo on the box suggests a smiling face. The circuit is based on the shunt-series-feedback amplifier topology - a standard in engineering text books. Sola Sound and Vox had been using the same circuit topology for some of their Tone Bender pedals earlier in 1966. Dallas Music Industries made a final run of Fuzz Faces in 1976 or 1977, shortly after they had moved to the United States. The company bought Crest Audio in the 1980s and although it was operating under that name when it reissued the Fuzz Face in the 1986, the units bore the Dallas-Arbiter name. They made about 2000 Fuzz Faces until 1990. In 1993 Dunlop Manufacturing took over production, making a variety of Fuzz Faces to this day. Several germanium and silicon models are available.”
Dunlop owns the rights to the Fuzz Face name and produces many different versions of the Fuzz Face, including signature editions.
Fractal Audio’s current Face Fuzz model is based on Dallas-Arbiter’s Fuzz Face with germanium transistors. You can easily switch it to silicon, by adjusting the Clip Type parameter.
The Fuzz Face is an extremely simple pedal with just two knobs:
- Fuzz: sets the amount of fuzz (model: Drive control).
- Volume: controls the output level (model: Level control).
With Fuzz set at max, the pedal will start to sound like a ring modulator. Many players just crank the Fuzz knob, set Volume and then use the guitar’s volume knob to get the desired amount of fuzz. This way even clean sounds are achievable, especially with the germanium Fuzz Face; check out the “Fuzz Face Tips” video below by James Santiago (Voodoo Lab, Dunlop, UAD). This approach works for the model too.
Article in Vintage Gear
Article in Tone Report
Of course the Drive block allows us to adjust far more things. Slew, Mix and other parameters are available. Bias is a lot of fun to experiment with when using a fuzz. But that's beyond the scope of this thread (see manual and wiki).
Personal note
Many of my presets have a two Drive blocks. One of them is set to Bender and to Face Fuzz (X/Y). The models are quite similar. I prefer the Bender model for chordal work on top of a clean or dirty Fender-ish amp model, and select the Face Fuzz model for single note leads.
Many of my presets have a two Drive blocks. One of them is set to Bender and to Face Fuzz (X/Y). The models are quite similar. I prefer the Bender model for chordal work on top of a clean or dirty Fender-ish amp model, and select the Face Fuzz model for single note leads.
About CPU:
- Fractal Audio's Drive models take up varying amounts of CPU. The Face Fuzz is a heavy CPU user.
- When a Drive block is engaged, CPU percentage will rise during playing, because CPU usage is "amplitude dependent".
Link to the list of published threads
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