Benson - The Germanium Fuzz
THE FIRST FUZZ PEDAL WITH AUTOMATIC THERMAL BIAS TECHNOLOGY
THE BASICS
The Germanium Fuzz is a fuzz pedal. The knobs change the sounds. IMPORTANT: after plugging it into power (9vdc only), it will take 2-3 minutes on average to sound correct. Good time to tune your guitar and grab a beverage. The color of the LED indicator light might change. Don’t turn the internal trimmer. THAT’S IT. Read on only if you want some excellent primary source material for an online fuzz thesis…
This pedal is designed around two germanium 2N527 OR 2N404 Germanium Transistors. They have been graded for gain and leakage and carefully matched to sound their best. They are set up in the ubiquitous 60’s circular fuzz topology, and tuned for good sound, and include some additional oddities aimed at solving the issues that prevent more widespread use of Germanium devices....detailed below.
THE FIRST FUZZ PEDAL WITH AUTOMATIC THERMAL BIAS TECHNOLOGY
The bias of the transistors in this pedal is automatically regulated by a circuit that GENTLY warms the transistors to a preset operating point using analog components, and ensures a consistent sound, no matter the external temperature. When the LED is orange, the transistors are warming up to increase their hFE (transistor gain) and to shift the bias point to the correct voltage. When the LED turns green, the warmer is off because the correct bias and hFE have been set. Expect the LED to toggle back and forth every so often while the pedal is on…that is how you know its working. The heaters will warm the transistors enough to still be effective on a sunny stage, but far cooler than anything that would harm the transistors. This pedal is designed to operate between freezing and 100˚F but might still sound fine outside this range. There are two colors: Studio Black is not meant for direct sunlight, Solar White is fine with it. We have found there is a 20˚F difference between a black pedal and a white pedal in direct sunlight.
INPUT IMPEDANCE
The low input impedance of the classic two transistor germanium fuzz circuit is both a blessing and a curse….a blessing because it can yield a tight sparkly clean tone when guitar volume is rolled down, and a curse because it sounds nasty (in a bad way) if there are buffers or pedals before it in a signal chain. We went to some extremes to keep the blessing and lose the curse.
We installed a class A buffer in the very input of the Germanium Fuzz. This buffer feeds a Jack Orman style passive pickup simulator circuit (an audio transformer set up as an inductor, a resistor, and a capacitor). These two additions make compatibility with other pedals possible without losing the desired sound. After the pickup simulator circuit, we have added an “Impedance” control, which simulates rolling down the guitar volume to get that tight sparkly sound…without adjusting your guitar volume….which you can still do and still sounds great.
GAIN RANGE
The circuit has been tuned to be used as a rich sounding clean boost, an overdrive, all the way up to an aggressive fuzz with some octave overtones. It will sound different, and I think more useful, than the classic versions. There are many colors of tone available with the impedance and gain controls…they are very interactive. This is meant as a “pretty” fuzz a la 60’s-70’s classic rock/psychedelic rock. It is not a spitty, harsh experimental fuzz and more often sounds like an overdrive or distortion until the gain is turned all the way up, and the impedance is turned down.
INTERNAL TRIMMER
Please don’t turn the internal trimmer. It is precisely set at our factory. Turning the trimmer voids the warranty. The correct trimmer position is marked in case you get one used where a tone lord hath already turnt it.
POWER SUPPLY
This pedal is for use only with a 9vdc Boss syle center negative power supply...There is no battery. Please do not subject this pedal to more than 9vdc or the pedal or power supply could be destroyed. This pedal draws less than 100ma when the heater is engaged, and far less than that when it is off. It will pull those 100ma instantaneously, which most power supplies have no issue with. With substandard or non standard power supplies it is possible the pedal will start oscillating madly at the heater threshhold, where the LED changes, in which case may we suggest using a current doubler cable, or switching to a higher rated power output.
Marke | Benson |
---|
English Version below.
Allgemeine Sicherheitshinweise
• Bevor Sie das Gerät in Betrieb nehmen drehen Sie bitte alle Regler auf Minimum bzw. auf „Null“.
• Lesen Sie die Bedienungsanleitung sorgfältig durch, bevor Sie das Gerät in Betrieb nehmen.
• Bewahren Sie die Bedienungsanleitung für zukünftige Referenz auf.
•Verwenden Sie das Gerät nur für den vorgesehenen Zweck.
• Halten Sie das Gerät von Wasser, Feuchtigkeit und extremen Temperaturen fern.
• Bewahren Sie das Gerät außerhalb der Reichweite von Kindern auf.
Elektrische Sicherheit
• Vergewissern Sie sich, dass die Netzspannung mit den Angaben auf dem Gerät übereinstimmt.
•Verwenden Sie nur das mitgelieferte Netzteil oder ein gleichwertiges, von einem Fachmann empfohlenes Netzteil.
• Ziehen Sie den Netzstecker, wenn das Gerät längere Zeit nicht benutzt wird.
• Schützen Sie das Netzkabel vor Beschädigungen.
• Verwenden Sie das Gerät nicht, wenn das Netzkabel beschädigt ist.
• Vermeiden Sie den Kontakt des Geräts mit Wasser oder anderen Flüssigkeiten, um das Risiko eines elektrischen Schlages zu minimieren.
Hinweise zur Reparatur
• Reparaturen dürfen nur von qualifiziertem Fachpersonal durchgeführt werden.
• Versuchen Sie nicht, das Gerät selbst zu öffnen oder zu reparieren, da dies zu schweren Verletzungen oder Schäden am Gerät führen kann.
• Bei Funktionsstörungen oder Defekten wenden Sie sich an einen autorisierten Service-Techniker oder an uns. info@effekt-boutique.de
Warnhinweise
• Öffnen Sie das Gerät nicht. Es enthält keine vom Benutzer zu wartenden Teile.
• Stellen Sie sicher, dass die Lüftungsschlitze des Geräts nicht blockiert sind, um Überhitzung zu vermeiden.
• Verwenden Sie das Gerät nicht in der Nähe von entflammbaren Materialien oder Flüssigkeiten.
• Ziehen Sie bei Gewitter oder längeren Betriebspausen den Netzstecker, um mögliche Schäden durch Spannungsspitzen zu vermeiden.
• Setzen Sie das Gerät nicht direkter Sonneneinstrahlung oder anderen Wärmequellen aus.
• Essen Sie keinen gelben Schnee
English
General safety instructions
• Before you start using the device, please turn all controls to minimum or “zero”.
• Read the operating instructions carefully before using the device.
• Save the instruction manual for future reference.
•Use the device only for its intended purpose.
• Keep the device away from water, moisture and extreme temperatures.
• Keep the device out of the reach of children.
Electrical safety
• Make sure that the mains voltage matches the information on the device.
•Use only the included power adapter or an equivalent power adapter recommended by a professional.
• Unplug the device if the device is not going to be used for a long period of time.
• Protect the power cord from damage.
• Do not use the device if the power cord is damaged.
• Avoid contact of the device with water or other liquids to minimize the risk of electric shock.
Repair instructions
• Repairs may only be carried out by qualified specialist personnel.
• Do not attempt to open or repair the device yourself as this may result in serious injury or damage to the device.
• In the event of malfunctions or defects, contact an authorized service technician or us. info@effekt-boutique.de
Warnings
• Do not open the device. It contains no user-serviceable parts.
• Make sure the device's ventilation slots are not blocked to avoid overheating.
• Do not use the device near flammable materials or liquids.
• During thunderstorms or long breaks in operation, pull out the power plug to avoid possible damage caused by voltage peaks.
• Do not expose the device to direct sunlight or other heat sources.
• Don't eat yellow snow
Hersteller / Manufacterer:
Benson Amps LLC
USA
97214 Portland
2335 SE 11th Ave
ryan@bensonamps.com
bensonamps.com
Imported by
MAS Distro Europe Ltd
Ireland Y35 E1X0
Bridgetown
Mulrakin
(+353)863058950
info@masdistro.com
www.masdistro.com