We Build A Fuzz Face With Markus Reeves [Germanium & Silicon]

Jeorge Tripps gave us the bits, so let’s put them together and GET FUZZY!

Life too short for long YouTube videos? Please see the ‘Interesting bits and go-to sections’ information below.

In this video we assemble one ready-prepared Dunlop Fuzz Face, before soldering a board for another from scratch, then compare the two pedals with a bunch of guitars.

Welcome to the show! Here’s a blast from the past. Waaaay back in 2018 we had guitar FX leg-end Jeorge Tripps on the show. Jeorge is the man behind Way Huge and also works with Dunlop / MXR and that whole catalogue of cool stuff. His contribution to the guitar pedal world is massive to say the least and we were thrilled to have him on.
Here’s the old vid with Jeorge: https://youtu.be/_9-7Bx4mdOM

Anyway, dear Jeorge kindly bestowed upon us Ye Olde Bag O’ Fuzz Face, containing all the parts we’d need to build our very own circular distortion device. And as we discovered, Jeorge had gifted us some //potentially// rare and magical germanium transistors, perhaps swapped for the family cow, with a giant, up a fuzzstalk.

Fast forward to the end of 2021 and moving at the typically glacial pace of That Pedal Show, we have finally got around to building it, largely because our friend Markus Reeves offered to school us in the ways of kit-type builds, thus creating a scintillating viewing experience for the hallowed and beloved TPS community.
As fans of the show will know, Markus is a newer name to the world of effects pedals, garnering great praise from pretty much everyone with his meticulous point-to-point creations.
You can see his fuzzy business here: https://reeveselectro.co.uk/

Massive thanks to Markus for doing this with us.
Massive thanks to Jeorge Tripps and Dunlop for the parts.

• What’s the music over the PCB wiring sections?
These excerpts are from our recent Octa Fuzz Jams and Band Context videos.
Dan and Mick on guitar or bass, Dougie Mussard on drums. Links as follows…
- OctaFuzz Jams: https://youtu.be/Bmg756L0V2g
- Echo & Delay In Your Band: https://youtu.be/hHQsrG_wwmE
- Boss SD-1 & TS9 In Your Band: https://youtu.be/l7OSahzgd0M

Enjoy the video!

Pedals & stuff in this episode…
• TheGigRig QMX2
https://www.thegigrig.com/quartermaster
• Two Custom Dunlop Fuzz Face Distortions
• 1970s Roland Space Echo
• Marshall 1987x with 1960AX cabinet / Celestion G12M Greenback speakers

Interesting bits and go-to sections…
0:00 Intro & welcome
0:34 Jeorge & The Bag O’Fuzz Face
2:03 What’s in the bag?
4:29 Assembling the ready-made fuzz
5:55 Does it work?
7:02 The Fuzz Face circuit explained
13:40 Populating the fresh PCB
16:03 Soldering basics
23:00 Why is the NKT275 so renowned?
24:45 Time to solder in the transistors
29:45 Donor Fuzz Face for the new board
33:15 The other, off-board wiring
37:00 More soldering advice
39:05 Does it work?
40:44 To the studio to hear them properly
41:50 Marshall and Space Echo
43:35 Faces Faces compared, Dan Telecaster
46:30 Markus Telecaster
47:47 Mick Gold Stratocaster
50:07 Reactions so far
51:56 Dan Les Paul
53:50 Mick ES-335
57:29 Dialling the fuzz back a bit
59:00 Dan ’61 Les Paul Junior
1:01:00 Makus Epi Casino
1:02:35 Mick Blue Stratocaster
1:05:10 Closing thoughts

Guitars in this episode:
• 1965 Fender Telecaster - no video yet
• Fender Custom Shop ’62 Relic Stratocaster - no video yet
• Fender Jason Isbell Telecaster - Mick’s video here: https://youtu.be/CGx88BCHUSQ
• Gibson Custom 1958 Les Pal Standard (2002 model) – Dan’s video at: https://youtu.be/UrmPhw_8vpg
• Gibson Memphis 1958 ES-335 – Mick’s video at https://youtu.be/Ha82vk1wLyA
• 1961 Gibson Les Paul Junior – Dan’s video here: https://youtu.be/0CORolxVmeY
• Epiphone Casino – Mick’s video here: https://youtu.be/ubwr6Owqp_E
• Fender American Vintage ’62 Stratocaster (2001) – Mick’s video at http://bit.ly/2cQv3yT

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