Cornell: The 1st Fuzz - Help..

grappagreen

Any experts on this here?

I've purchased one with NOS NKT275 white dots in it.... maybe.

Looked inside and looks to have old looking NKT's with the dot.. great..

Looked online and then find what appear to be numerous versions;

1. With label on back that at the top states 'Special Edition NOS Transistors' and four digit serial no.
2. Some with a certificate stating NOS transistors
3. Some with a plexi front panel label rather that screen print and 4 digit serial no.
4. Some with screen printed text

Of course I can find examples of each claiming to have the NOS trannies..

Mine is a plexi fronted version serial no. 477 with no 'Special Edition' back label and no certificate..

Help!

I have contacted Cornell btw. but no response thus far.

Si

Funkfingers

grappagreen said:

I have contacted Cornell btw. but no response thus far.

If e-mail is taking too long, contact them by telephone.

tone1

Dennis usually answers 

grappagreen

Will do - didn't wanna hassle them tbh!

I'll hold tight and if nothing comes back pick up the phone..

Si

Funkfingers

tone1 said:

Dennis usually answers 

He may not be the quickest but he is almost invariably correct about things.

Sassafras

Crush them with a pair of pliers, it will soon become apparent if they're the real deal or just rejacketed generic transistors.
  

Lebarque

Does it sound good? If so, don't worry.

grappagreen

Lebarque said:

Does it sound good? If so, don't worry.

Whilst I totally agree with this sentiment I’d also like to be sure that I got what I paid for..

Lebarque

grappagreen said:

Lebarque said:

Does it sound good? If so, don't worry.

Whilst I totally agree with this sentiment I’d also like to be sure that I got what I paid for..

Yeh, fair play. But assuming it's used, what could you do about it now anyway? Ps. I had one of these (NOS NKT) years ago. It ripped! I believe Alex from Arctic Monkeys uses one too.

grappagreen

Purchased on the bay and described as NOS - I could return it..

This thing rips and cleans up really nicely as well. I’ve built an AC128 FF which I actually think is great and holds its own against my Thorpy Vet Gi..  I’m on a fuzz journey at the mo and hence the desire to see what the NKT thing is all about.,

Si

Lebarque

I'm lucky enough to have a rare standard gain Sunface nkt 275 white dot which is great. I should really sell it though - they fetch £500 odd these days! I've got a Magnetic Effects Black Moon too. Such a fantastic, flexible germ beast. Highly recommend and a bargain at £125.

JD50

I had one of those Cornell NKT 1st fuzzes a few years back.... it sounded good but to be honest I couldn't have told the difference between it an the £20 BC108 fuzz I bought off eBay, they all sound so similar to me.

grappagreen

JD50 said:

I had one of those Cornell NKT 1st fuzzes a few years back.... it sounded good but to be honest I couldn't have told the difference between it an the £20 BC108 fuzz I bought off eBay, they all sound so similar to me.

Interesting - my experience with the 108 based units and Ge was night and day.. very diff freq response and clean up properties etc.

grappagreen

For anyone who ever wants some clarity on these devices see below from Cornell;

When I first made the First Fuzz Pedal I had some of the original NKT 275 transistors and used them in the pedal - this was back around 2003. 

At that time the first fuzz became popular and i quickly used up the stock i had,  when trying to replace the stock i found that the price had gone up around 3 times. 

Not knowing what to do (and as it was priced on my web site) i wanted to keep it the same price. A company in America started producing the transistor at a cheaper price so i used them, However customers also wanted the original transistors so i offered the First Fuzz pedal with new transistors and with the original transistors but at a higher price with a certificate to say that the transistors used were the original. 

  

When i used up the New transistors i decided to spend more time searching for original transistors, i found a batch that were made in 1966 but stopped issuing the certificate at that point because i decided not to buy any of the new transistors and only have the one pedal with the original ones in. 

  

This means that out in the world there are units made with new transistors but the customer would know this because of the price difference (and different transistor in the pedal).

  

I only used original transistors since

Looks like I'm all good on the NKT275 front then..

Si

Sassafras

/\ Is he talking about transistors?

grappagreen

Sassafras said:

/\ Is he talking about transistors?

Not sure - let me read it again

mr335ish

To resurrect an old thread, I have a Cornell 1st Fuzz bought in 2011 which I would like to move on.

Had look inside and there are two NKT275 white dot trannies.

No serial number, no certificate (that I can remember), some of these go for £120 some are up for £600+ !

I'm not entirely clear from DC's note if there is only one type of NKT275 white dot or early and later versions.

Anyone able to clarify - and does it matter (apart from the crazy prices).