Silicium might be an endangered species. Progress around carbon electronics (nanotube and tripods) and nanotech are going so fast that a well-known Japanese TV brand is issuing next year a flat TV screen using carbon nanotube. Much more than this, in our days of digital technology, it is quite uneasy to find the simplest Silicium transistors essential for fuzz box craft.
In this context, it may seem ridiculous to focus on the old germanium electronic science, which main actors are just fond memories of the past.
Nevertheless, and I am not the only one to think this way, nothing sounds half as good as a well-tuned germanium distortion device for electric guitar.

This is why today, I would like to introduce you to my old buddy, the AC128 germanium transistor ,
exclusively used in my handmade Mercer Box and KATAPULT pedals .

Besides being in the famous original Fuzz Face, the AC128 was used in numerous domestic electronic appliance, and certainly one of the most common European transistor. This explains why it is still possible to find nice new-old-stock of these jewels.

They usually come in 3 different types :

The real thing

This is both the oldest and arguably the best sounding AC128. It is very similar if identical to the infamous NKT275 which equipped the original Jimi Hendrix grey fuzz face .
But this wonderful piece of crap has a major drawback : completely random technical data in a VERY wide range. This means that any given theorical design has something like 30% odds to function right away. This fact has 2 consequences:

1- Each distortion device using this same transistor must be modified afterwards to match the theoretical technical data of the set of 2 or more transistors.

2- This a posteriori adaptation must be made while monitoring the tone of the resulting distortion in order not to drift away from the prototype.

Nowadays cheap transistor tester are avaible widelyso transistor selection is a tad easier.

It is therefore easy to understand that this kind of transistor is not industry compatible. Only handmade and hand-tuned devices can benefit from this nasty gremlin. Beauty has its price.

The hottie

This strange device is exactly the same transistor BUT with a factory mounted radiator, useful in other applications where it receives its 32v possible supply. The AC128 can be as hot as a soldering iron in certain cases with no damage. Compare this to a ts9 chip.

You will find these square beatuies often in a matched pair with a AC127. Those pairs were used in the not-so-distant past for making small amps that will go in radio, record players etc … remember the Queen deacy amp was powered by ac128 as power transistors.

I feel the radiator somehow tightens the fuzz tone, while not in a big way, making it a valuable successor.

The modern

Well, they were the last poduction AC128 and can be found easier in new old stock. Their data is even more erratic , with hfe gain going from floor to roof in the same batch. I don’t recommend them for beginners.

Unfortunately,while really good in booster / one-transistor pedals, this young component gives a higher even/odd harmonics ratio in fuzz pedals than its pain-in-the-ass ancestor. So the resulting distortion is , exaggerating, closer to a metal zone than a fuzz face.

They are precious anyway, as they fit in the original fuzz face design without any change and give a very acceptable approximation, even for a purist. They really are pure germanium after all!

The little sister

The AC188 pictured here, is a scaled down version of the modern AC128, made for lower voltage applications. And what are our 9v fuzz box ? In fact , this little sister does miracles with electric guitars.

Pushed to their limits, they deliver a full frequency grawl that is hard to beat. A very interesting transistor indeed, the AC188 is too rare to give its full dimension but remains one of my fave if you know how to use it.

the OC family

OC prefixed transistors were made by Mullard and Valvo , and are famous among pedals aficionados because they were present in famous classics such as Marshall supafuzz and eraly vox tonebenders. They usually are good quality and good sounding. The oc75 seems to have been manufacured or selected for good and constant Hfe , making it a perfect choice , while the oc76 must be sorted but yet is also a great choice for fuzz pedals. I can imagine OC75 were selected OC76 , just like Philips were offering different selection for their great dac chip tda1541 .

The Frenchies

The first transistor to be produced in France was invented by Doctors Welker and Mataré of the Société des Freins et Signaux Westinghouse (F & S Westinghouse) in mid 1948 and announced to the World in May, 1949

In the world of fuzz, some french transistors made their way to history such as the SFT352 present in the famous Elka Dizzy Tone which was at my time a modest copy of the tonebender.

But in 1962 , the two companies present in the early days,
Thomson-Brandt and CSF merged into two new firms , COSEM in the French Alpes and SESCO in Aix-en-Provence , a few miles away from my hometown, Marseille.

So it’s no surprised I found here nice supply of germanium transistors from SESCO, including my fave, the 324TI which has perfect HFe and noise level for fuzz pedals.

These means I can do a nearly 100% made in Marseille pedal, which I call the F.F.F. ( French Fuzz Face ) . Please send me a note if you’re interested.

EPILOGUE : When supply will dry…

In a very close future, all stocks, including mine, of original germanium AC128 or any usable germanium transistor will dry.

Forever.

After this extinction, that only a few aficionados will notice, there will be no other possiblities to obtain THE original fuzz tone than a used Germanium fuzz box or a digital model.

Make your choice.

From my point of view, I feel my ’65 strat deserves more than a plastic computer. And in my experience, no digital guitar tone can sound good live or even recorded.

” How well you know me

You’ve seen me cry

I’m just a shadow

In a rock’n’roll sky “

Deep Purple 1973 “Super Trooper”

The post the AC128 transistor appeared first on Jacques Stompboxes.

All pictures copyrighted. Any use should mention JACQUES PEDALS source, thank you

Pedals brands can issue new effects making your guitar sounds like an organ, a piano or your deceased aunt voice, it all started and will end with this scandalous tone of fuzz. Let’s face it : the whole history of music has changed with these dirty two transistors wonders that gave guitar a leading place in all kind of music. If you play electric guitar, you know that is the tone you want and that you will never regret buying. Even several of them.

This page is about my personnal collection of vintage fuzz pedals, which are a favorite of most collectors. Why ? Usually they are very simple circuit anyone with a soldering iron could replicate. But the thing is, with simple circuits that EVERY component can be ‘heard’ and thus each pedal has its own signature. Tonal differences are not small if you swap any of their components. And their enclosures, with the beautiful sign of time, are the best time capsule I could think of. Most of the most expensive vintage pedals are simple circuits in an old box. I have sorted them by country of origin.

FRANCE

Yes, there were fuzz in France and this one is really beautiful. Garen was mostly an amp manufacturer , and their small amps are looked after because they are related to Django Reinhardt. But this item is a real germanium fuzz. Here are the innards :

The transistors look like modern ac128 but they are blank. A very useful and nice feature of this pedal is its filter switch : works like a fixed tone with 3 positions.

This baby fuzz is more obscure and there is no real proof she’s french. I base my belief on the lettering which was very up to date in the early ’70s in France. And from its knob : I had the same on my car radio.

It is worth noting that transistor were produced in France since 1946 , and one of the best fuzz germanium transistor is for me the SESCO ( Societe Europeenne des seim-conducteurs ) 324TI …. too bad I seem to be the only one to own a few….

JAPAN

This is much more obvious, of course . I started my collection with the pedal you can see at the right of this picture : The uncanny companion fuzz from Shin-ei .At this time –I was 15— I simply bought it because it was the cheapest : how could I know this pedal could become so collectable now ? But I just fell in love at first note : I could at least get a REAL guitar sound. It is considered nowadays as a very rough square signal buzz tone, but its nasty fuzz tone still turn heads.

This second model, is much better sounding to my ears.Its crafty electronic circuit has been used in several pedals such as the ibanez fuzz, univox superfuzz and numerous wah-fuzz pedals but remains the most classic tone for me. Its tone switch , labeled differently through time, is a great addition. If I has to choose one ….. here it is, ibanez style :

rare, in its round edges enclosure style :

And of course a look at its circuit, which , as you can see, is quite complicated if you compare it to a fuzz f ace. It use high gain ( between 450 and 500 ) plastic silicium PNP transistors, my personnal favorite being the BC239, preferably made in France or Germany, while you have a numerous choice of great devices which can do the job. Electrolytics are important too.

ENGLAND

Well , a good choice indeed, isn’t it ? First of all, because a real lot of collectible fuzz pedals are collectible because they are linked to a british rock band, and these bands bought their fuzzboxes at home. A good start should be the circuit of the arbiter fuzz face :

A real simple circuit circuit means a high sensitivity to the components, which means a VERY simple one to a VERY high. Every component here is vital. In this original version, we have NKT275 transistors which are AC128 from outside continental Europe. We have these days great transistors testers, giving us precise gain and leakage –leakage is what made a blank noise— but I use my own method. Anyway, choosing a pair of transistors for a fuzz face is like haute-cuisine. Same thing for the carbon resistors and the caps. Even the enclosure is somehow important. All that fuss makes the difference, believe me. Here is one of my recreation :

Then we have of course the mighty supa fuzz from Marshall amps. 3 transistors give a more refined tone we all love :

The OC75 used here are a kind of AC128 too but made by Mullard in England or Valvo in Germany. They are very good and consistent transistors. They come in black but sound the same if they are not. All these are PNP transistors, and even if you don’t care, please consider that the metal enclosure is usually connected to the + side of the battery, which means that if it comes to your mind to install a DC plug on these pedals, you will have a short circuit in case it touches another modern pedal, which enclosure is to ground. Don’t do it. And it is true saline 9v batteries give these fuzz a nice sag a la rectifier tubes.

My rare jennings fuzz is a beauty : it uses rare silicium white-head ME4102 transistors . Think silicium fuzz face in a good day. From the VOX amps inventor, my friends.

Because vox of course entered the bandwagon before that. Here you have on right hand an old english vox tone bender with its colorsound more modern version. Both pedals use germanium , while colorsound went silicium on their bigger jumbo rendition. You may have noticed most english fuzz pedals are painted with hammerite paint, usually grey. This paint was everywhere in my youth but mostly on anything professional : tools, desks, office cupboards, office armchairs, etc … it really means one thing : You are at work. Work implies serious stuff. I suppose it was a way of protecting them from abutse and that was the way musical instruments executives see that trend: a worktool. Later, they start smoking.

This london aka top gear fuzz is quite an exception : its enclosure is made of wood covered in leatherette . Like an amp. One could guess time would have destroy them but they’re still here. I would still prefer hammerite metal over this nice arrangement.

ITALY

Another very good supply source. Italian makers went head first on the new fuzz pedal market with great designs and ideas.

Their 1st pedals certainly came from subcontracting vox . Italian made vox pedals have their own personnality while the enclosure shape was a copy of the original vox ‘foot’ shape enclosure. To fuel the growing market , they made them under their own JEN brand. The Jen factory was located in Pescara and was really skilled in musical electronics up to synthetizers.

They use this enclosure with numerous pedals. The 3 slits could be used for sliders like here, but were also fitted with a round hole for classic pots. Then they used this small blue box with several brands. The black knobs could be found on guitars too and are genuinely italian.

They eventually went to a more big muff like design, but still it has a nice classy italian touch. Sounds like a big muff too as we are now for from the english fuzz origins.

This fuzz king from electronic sound is a rare bird which bears the Gary Hurst signature. Mr Hurst is the inventor of the tonbender but there is few information of this italian connection. Those pedals were made in ABS moulded plastic but well made circuit wise. They are quite rare and expensive now.

While at watching over the ocean, they also made a nice Fender Blender lookalike , made by Cosmosound , famous at that time for their Leslie cabinet copies ( again )

Last but not least, the rare and expensive Elka Dizzy Tone , which was made with French SFT transistors.

U.S.A.

Last but not least, but I don’t have old american made fuzz boxes in my collection, certainly because they were really rare in Europe. But I will go with my first american pedal and I suppose no one will raise an objection seing the muff here :

It is the point where fuzz became ‘civilized’ with the addition of the double diode that leads towards distortion. An all-time classic here in its ramhead version. I also love the reverse logo one pictured here :

So that’s conclude my fuzz pedal personal history from the companion shin-ei bought in France in 1974 to the big muff purchased in London in 1977.

I also have my own designs based on the Mercer Box for germanium and the Fuseblower for the silicium, they both represent my own vision of what is the very sound of fuzz.

BACK TO JACQUES PEDALS

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Beautiful French singer from the ’60s, Isabelle Aubrey…

Well, to say the awful truth, France has never been a gear country.
When somebody use the word  » vintage  » in our delightful country, you better raise your glass then your axe.
Camembert yes, cheesy fuzz pedals no. Or is it so?

Not exactly. This neat overdrive pedal was produced in the late ’70s by the Stimer firm, better known for its acoustic guitar pick-ups: Django used one for his famous Selmer jazz guitar. They still produced this item when they issued the ST7 pedal as you can see in this wacky catalogue:

The Django pick-up is the 2nd bubble in the central column.

Their complete 5 pedals line was : SP100 preamp, system5 phasing, fuzz machine sustain, my distor tube machine, which, by the way, gives a very becoming overdrive tone, somewhere between a ts9 and a well-done Maurice Chevalier impersonation. The fifth pedal is mysteriously interesting: it is called « The Polyphonic » and bears 6 switches labelled..1 to 6. Room enough for imagination on what this effect was supposed to do…Cassoulet ? Bouillabaisse ?

Garen, as in « lapin de Garennes », is the other French brand with some notoriety. They were mainly present in the small tube amp market at a time where there were nothing else but tubes, and disappear when small Japanese tranny amps enter the market. These small tube amps are now looked after in France, for their champ-alike cranked-up distortion, French black and white ’50s gangster movies vibe and funny way to burst in flames at embarrassing moments.

Here we have a much rarer venue, La Chambre de Reverberation, or more humbly ,the reverb box. All tubes, modern swinging-Leningrad look , spring fitted, this rack is really useful to add some much needed empty swimming pool reverb to your pseudo-surf recordings with a French accent.
Please note that this beautiful box is now part of Musee de Montlucon for popular music collection.

This is a rare europa rack, made in France, complete with a digital prehisotric programming. You can memorize 8 configurations including very noisy overdrive with its dedicated noise gate ( any attempt to use it alone will end up catching an obscure Hungarian AM radio, full volume ) and super-easy-feedback-catching analog delay . All in all , it can give nice tones, all including a nice but obligatory pumping a la slow gear. I have seen other Europa product in ’70s French mags, mostly rackable pedals with exotic connections, but they really are quite hard to find in the flesh. Those into heavy make up ’70s french girls will enjoy….Myself, I can’t resist :

Beat that southern France product….Mireille Darc (French: [miʁɛj daʁk]; 15 May 1938 – 28 August 2017) was a French model and actress.

Now a great pedal. Made in France, by Garen which was somehow affiliated to Stimer in some way. It’s a big and heavy pedal which is more or less a great germanium tonebender, featuring blank marking AC128 transistors, with a great 3 positions tone filter.

I don’t know if these trannies are blank on purpose for copyright fear …however workmanship or ‘ artisanat ‘ is great and this pedal would have been very useful for Maurice Chevalier if he ever had a stratocaster and a marshall stack.

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