HungryFuzz HEY GUYS, new module!

NEW MODULE TIME! Well, prototype time. The design is done, and there's some germanium transistors that will be going in there, and they need testing. So here's the rundown of the module and circuit, and if you're looking for build tips, those are after the break!

I like distorted kicks. It's part of my identity. Both modules in my Hungry- series work so well with kicks, the HungryRat (Proco Rat clone) is HARSH SHARP, and my HungryThumb is a compressor and does amazing things to kick drums, including soft clipping, compressing, saturation, lots of fun. Well, I don't know how many germanium transistor distortion pedals have been ported to Eurorack, but the number is probably low (germanium transistors aren't common) so here we go!

The original Fuzz Face pedal "remains an enigma". It was released in 1966, consists of a battery, four resistors, three capacitors, two germanium transistors, and two potentiometers. Ludicrously simple!  The page I just linked to talks about how some of the unique sound may have been a happy accident. There's asymmetrical clipping which starts out soft and goes harder with increased signal voltage. I think that's probably the main accident?

The design has been developed exhaustively over the years, with different designers experimenting with different transistors and transistor types (NPN silicon transistors, for instance), and tweaking resistor values, and (my favorite) hurling potentiometers in there wherever they might make a difference in the sound.

For pedals, where the knobs are in the stompbox which is usually on the floor, two knobs may be fine. But we synthesizer guys love to have all the knobs at our fingertips, and the Zvex Fuzz Factory seems to be the most complex design out there, with five whole knobs to play with. So I cribbed from that circuit, added my starve circuit which also allows the distortion core to work with bipolar voltages (so there's no DC swing when adjusting the starve, right?) (although I left the DC blocking capacitors in the signal patch) (which are MLCC in the prototype because I don't believe that most capacitors "sound" like anything). There's a stupidly wonderful tone control in there, and of course a proper output buffer with adjustable gain to get the output to be a nice safe 1K impedance at 10V peak to peak.

And that's the circut! I have zero zero zero hands-on experience with a Fuzz Face of any variety, so I'm.... excited to see how the prototype sounds?

But I'm neglecting to talk about germanium transistors! They're nifty! And very obsolete. So check after the break for what to do with these weird parts!