{"product_id":"benson-amps-studio-black-fuzz","title":"Benson Amps Studio Black Fuzz","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"labelCellPair hover-container labelCellPair--formModeV2 flex\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"cellContainer\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-columntype=\"multilineText\" aria-readonly=\"true\" data-testid=\"cell-editor\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex-auto flex baymax\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex flex-auto flex-column readOnly readFirstMultilineTextCellEditor formModeV2MultilineTextCellEditor visualRefresh2022 rounded-big\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-12 contentEditableTextboxContainer\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-multiline=\"true\" role=\"textbox\" class=\"contentEditableTextbox light-scrollbar ignore-baymax-defaults pb-half editingDisabled\"\u003eTHE BASICS\u003cbr\u003eThe Germanium Fuzz is a fuzz pedal. The knobs change the sounds. IMPORTANT: after plugging it into power (9vdc\u003cbr\u003eonly), it will take 2-3 minutes on average to sound correct. Good time to tune your guitar and grab a beverage. The\u003cbr\u003ecolor of the LED indicator light might change. Don’t turn the internal trimmer. THAT’S IT. Read on only if you want\u003cbr\u003esome excellent primary source material for an online fuzz thesis.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSUMMARY\u003cbr\u003eThis pedal is designed around two germanium 2N527 OR 2N404 Germanium Transistors. They have been graded for\u003cbr\u003egain and leakage and carefully matched to sound their best. They are set up in the ubiquitous 60’s circular fuzz\u003cbr\u003etopology, and tuned for good sound, and include some additional oddities aimed at solving the issues that prevent\u003cbr\u003emore widespread use of Germanium devices....detailed below.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE FIRST FUZZ PEDAL WITH AUTOMATIC THERMAL BIAS TECHNOLOGY\u003cbr\u003eThe bias of the transistors in this pedal is automatically regulated by a circuit that GENTLY warms the transistors to a\u003cbr\u003epreset operating point using analog components, and ensures a consistent sound, no matter the external temperature.\u003cbr\u003eWhen the LED is orange, the transistors are warming up to increase their hFE (transistor gain) and to shift the bias point\u003cbr\u003eto the correct voltage. When the LED turns green, the warmer is off because the correct bias and hFE have been set.\u003cbr\u003eExpect the LED to toggle back and forth every so often while the pedal is on…that is how you know its working. The\u003cbr\u003eheaters will warm the transistors enough to still be effective on a sunny stage, but far cooler than anything that would\u003cbr\u003eharm the transistors. This pedal is designed to operate between freezing and 100˚F but might still sound ne outside\u003cbr\u003ethis range. There are two colors: Studio Black is not meant for direct sunlight, Solar White is new with it. We have\u003cbr\u003efound there is a 20˚F difference between a black pedal and a white pedal in direct sunlight.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eINPUT IMPEDANCE\u003cbr\u003eThe 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\u003cbr\u003enasty (in a bad way) if there are buffers or pedals before it in a signal chain. We went to some extremes to keep the\u003cbr\u003eblessing and lose the curse.\u003cbr\u003eWe installed a class A buffer in the very input of the Germanium Fuzz. This buffer feeds a pickup simulator circuit (an\u003cbr\u003eaudio transformer set up as an inductor, a resistor, and a capacitor). These two additions make compatibility with\u003cbr\u003eother 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\u003cbr\u003eguitar volume….which you can still do and still sounds great.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGAIN RANGE\u003cbr\u003eThe circuit has been tuned to be used as a rich sounding clean boost, an overdrive, all the way up to an aggressive\u003cbr\u003efuzz with some octave overtones. There are many colors of tone available with the impedance and gain\u003cbr\u003econtrols…they are very interactive. This is meant as a “pretty” fuzz a la 60’s-70’s classic rock\/psychedelic rock. It is\u003cbr\u003enot a spitty, harsh experimental fuzz and more often sounds like an overdrive or distortion (unless it’s turned all the\u003cbr\u003eway up). We call it a fuzz because it has a fuzzy character but it is so much more.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eINTERNAL TRIMMER\u003cbr\u003eDon’t turn the internal trimmer. It is precisely set at our factory. Turning the trimmer voids the warranty. The correct\u003cbr\u003etrimmer position is marked in case you get one used where someone turned it. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePOWER SUPPLY\u003cbr\u003eThis pedal is for use only with a 9vdc Boss style center negative power supply...There is no battery. Please do not\u003cbr\u003esubject this pedal to more than 9vdc or the pedal or power supply could be destroyed. This pedal only draws 70ma\u003cbr\u003ewhen the heater is engaged, and far less than that when it is off. It will pull those 70ma instantaneously, which most\u003cbr\u003epower supplies have no issue with. With substandard or non standard power supplies it is possible the pedal will start\u003cbr\u003eoscillating madly at the heater threshold, where the LED changes.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"labelCellPair hover-container labelCellPair--formModeV2 flex\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"labelContainer mr2 mt-half\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex pointer\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"-1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex-auto flex-inline items-baseline\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"fieldLabel quiet text-dark fit break-word white-space-normal hyphens\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"cellContainer\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-columntype=\"text\" aria-readonly=\"true\" data-testid=\"cell-editor\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex-auto flex baymax\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex-auto width-full overflow-hidden pre-wrap break-word text-color-default text-size-default colors-background-raised-control stroked1-inset-thin stroked-blue-inset-outset-focus colors-background-subtler rounded-big px1 css-1jhs511 line-height-4 no-user-select\"\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"labelCellPair hover-container labelCellPair--formModeV2 flex\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"labelContainer mr2 mt-half\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex pointer\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"-1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex-auto flex-inline items-baseline\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Soft Noise Audio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52669716136259,"sku":"","price":365.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0899\/3964\/0643\/files\/BensonAmpsStudioBlackFuzz.png?v=1769686731","url":"https:\/\/softnoiseaudio.com\/products\/benson-amps-studio-black-fuzz","provider":"Soft Noise Audio","version":"1.0","type":"link"}