Cornish NG-2 - what is it based on?

JEPBLEP

Pete Cornish NG-2 - does anyone have any reliable sources as to what it is based on? Or have one they want to sell? Also, any owners that own(ed) both NG-2 and NG-3 able to testify they can be made to sound similar?

Background
In my quest to educate myself on all things pedals (f*ck me, that's a deep black hole), I'm currently living in a state of belief that the sun will never rise again with the same glow until I obtain a Pete Cornish NG-2. 

From what I can see on the website, it's no longer produced and one can only put in orders for the NG-3. The main difference seems to be the addition of a bias pot. I'd lie if I knew what that was, even after having read the description. A thread here has Pete Cornish himself being quoted that it's pretty different though.

From a thread on TGP the general consensus seems to be that's it's super duper unique and all that jazz, but that doesn't really solve my predicament. One member suggests stuffing a few $100 bills in a fuzzface which is a great suggestion, but I don't do USD, so that's a dead end.

Disclaimer: if I seem to ask/state anything particularly dumb, don't doubt yourself. You're probably right. Do feel free to point it out.

tone1

@Gassage will be along shortly

Wazmeister

I think its an original design, but @NotNowJohn owned one I think, and he may give more insight

NeilYoungFan

Used to own a NG-2. I don't think it's completely based on any of the traditional fuzz circuits. Even if it is, Pete has definitely modified the heck out of it (like he has done with the G-2). If I HAD TO relate it to one existing design, I'd say it is in the Tonebender camp. But the interactive sustain and drive controls open up endless possibilities on their own, let alone the added bias control on the NG-3. Unique and interesting pedal in any case.

JEPBLEP

@NeilYoungFan - Thanks for that, that confirms things (unfortunately), but appreciate it.

@Tone1, @Wazmeister - Thanks for the call outs!

Gassage

I had one for a fleeting moment, but I don't think I even tried it!

Sassafras

Gassage said:

I had one for a fleeting moment, but I don't think I even tried it!

I know you operate a revolving door policy for your set-up but that's just insane!

Bridgehouse

Sassafras said:

Gassage said:

I had one for a fleeting moment, but I don't think I even tried it!

I know you operate a revolving door policy for your set-up but that's just insane!

He goes for the "one in and out" policy

JEPBLEP

Gassage said:

I had one for a fleeting moment, but I don't think I even tried it!

That good huh? 

Teetonetal

He didn't like the colour.

NotNowJohn

Yep, I had an NG-2 a few years ago. I was going through a fuzz phase and thought I'd give it a go. I also love Rock Minuet by Lou Reed...
As I recall the NG-2 was great at raspy, unruly, velcro fuzz. It can sound like a fuzz face or Tonebender but is pretty flexible and not really based on either.
With low gain, it can spit and stutter. It doesn't really get muffy. The sustain and bias is very different.
Shortly after I bought my NG-2, PC started offering the bias mod that the NG-3 now has, which I felt it really needed for extra versatility and to be able to dial down the 'imminent amp death'. .
I believe that the NG-3 can be dialled in to sound the same as the NG-2. But with the addition of the bias control, I'd imagine the NG-3 is a very flexible and powerful fuzz machine.
The NG is quite bonkers and huge fun if you like fuzz. I may yet get another one.

JEPBLEP

@NotNowJohn ;

That's super useful, thanks! I've been in touch with Mr. Cornish himself and he seems relatively adamant about being able to achieve the same tones as the NG-2 with the NG-3 and shared the backstory that I'll -after asking for permission- will share. 

It seems like a truly unique set of pedals that anyone that has actually owned/tried one is very happy with. Good schtuph.

Gassage

No, what happened was, about 2010, Pete had an ST2 and NG3 with orange peel on the paintwork. He sold both cheaper to me; I took the NG out of curiosoty, someone then offered me more than I paid for it.

JEPBLEP

So here's a bit of an update on two parts - the biggest one being, Pete Cornish has decided to bring back the NG-2 and is taking orders.

Pete Cornish wrote:

Dear Ferdi,
I have re-introduced the Grey Series NG-2 following yours and several others requests. The price will be GBP 418.66 plus VAT = total GBP 502.39 with free delivery to a UK address. If you want to reserve one please let me know and I will send a payment request when they are ready. I do not have any parts for the NG-2 so must start ordering components immediately :-))
Best Wishes,
Pete Cornish.

In conversing before this wondrous news, he also shared the back story of the NG-3: 

Pete Cornish wrote:

Dear Ferdi,
I had no idea that the old NG-2 page was still up - it should have been deleted when I changed to the NG-3. However:
Here is the story behind the NG-2 becoming the NG-3:
When I supplied the first NG-2 to Lou Reed I mentioned that there was an internal bias control that I set during testing. Lou asked if this could be made external so that he could adjust it to find other possibilities. As this was very successful I decided to add the Bias control as a user adjustable control and hence called the pedal the NG-3 to differentiate it from earlier versions. There is no audio difference between the NG-2 and NG-3 just the possibility of user adjustable Bias control.
To set the NG-3 to NG-2 conditions - set Bias to 3 o'clock (IE: just a little back from maximum) and leave it there. Lou discovered many other ways to use the Bias - EG: set Bias to 12 o'clock, Drive to Max, Sustain to Minimum - sounds like playing backwards as the volume is reduced initially and then gets louder as the note decays - the way this works depends on guitar signal level. (...)
Best Wishes,
Pete Cornish.

So I think we can all agree that reading in between the lines, aside from the cool story, that pretty much reads like "Dear Ferdi, you are like Lou Reed. Best Wishes, Pete Cornish." - which is going to go on my LinkedIn soon.

N.B: Emails shared with permission from Mr. Cornish.