AstroTone/Sam Ash fuzz germanium mod?

Yorkie

So I have been trying to give fuzz a go. I built this Sam Ash stuff (https://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/product/astrotone) with and without booteek parts and I regret to say that I can't find much use for this pedal (I usually play 'cleaner than a mothafucka', like Miles would say).

But before I take this circuit out and put some other 3-knobber in the case, I would like to hear about any interesting germanium mods to this circuit. I like the broken sound of some fuzzes, and seeing that they all seem to have germanium diodes, I think it might make sense. Then again it might sound like arse. Which is kinda the point of it? 

Thoughts?

Yorkie

Anyone?

Yorkie

Ok, maybe it doesn't need modification after all. I've found that hitting it with a loud boost and/or compressor gets you there, more or less. Still not 100% happy but definitely no longer frustrated enough to make me jump over the modification barrier.  

inewham

Not this particular circuit but on an op am fuzz I just took some flying leads off the PCB where the two clipping diodes are (D1 & D2 on this circuit) and took them to a 3 way switch so I could choose between Ge and Si diodes, and LEDs. It worked OK.
Ge is 'softer', as you might expect. I also lashed up a clean blend which works well with the Ge diodes but then its sounds less like a fuzz. (Obviously changing to Ge transistors would mean re-biasing the whole circuit but its the diodes that are doing the clipping so it wouldn't be worth the effort)

Yorkie

inewham said:

Not this particular circuit but on an op am fuzz I just took some flying leads off the PCB where the two clipping diodes are (D1 & D2 on this circuit) and took them to a 3 way switch so I could choose between Ge and Si diodes, and LEDs. It worked OK.
Ge is 'softer', as you might expect. I also lashed up a clean blend which works well with the Ge diodes but then its sounds less like a fuzz. (Obviously changing to Ge transistors would mean re-biasing the whole circuit but its the diodes that are doing the clipping so it wouldn't be worth the effort)

Nice. Where did you get your Ge diodes? 

inewham

I used to to work in electronics a long time ago and  removed them from an old circuit board.