Anyone who skipped forward past the chat should feel proper guilty. That is the gold...the setup, the background, the vision, the personality! Scroll your ass back to the beginning and try again.
***Nerd comment: adding a Germanium (Ge) diode to offset the leakage on a Ge transistor (reverse biased) is the solution to the temperature problem. Since they are both made of Ge, they are affected in the same way by the temperature. If they both have same leakage current, the diode will cancel the transistor leakage at any temperature.Very cool episode BTW!
@@kbirridia maybe a small enough resistor would do a similar job. However a resistor would alter the 'sound' of the fuzz, because of its linear conductance. Both diode and transistor have non-linear conductance, so using a diode is the best solution here.
It’s nice of you to add the “skip all the chat” disclaimer, but I can’t see why anyone would want to do that. Thanks for another fantastic show, guys! 🙏🏻
You’re probably right about that. It takes a while to realize that the world of pedals is not an exact science but more like a philosophy - there are no real answers, just more questions ;-)
Great show today Mick & Dan, really good demonstrating the germanium fuzzes with the heat test so people can hear how the heat affects the pedal resulting in basically an unusable pedal. Thanks gents keep up the good informative work. Cheers Steve
This episode cracked me up - fun and valuable stuff, guys! More Johan Segeborn style experiments and tangents would be great fun. Would love to see you do some experiments together once normal travel is back again.
Love this, super interesting topic. Used to rehearse through Canadian winters in a garage without insulation, band mate had an EAE Model FET drive pedal that used to give up when it got too cold. We’d take five while he’d hold it up to the furnace to revive it. 😆
I saw almost all of your vids... I've never laughed that hard on your video. This is masterpiece, at least for me as a phisicist and bedroom guitarist. You satisfy me in both ways :3
Loved it! The tangents, the playing, the testing, the knowledge, all great! Really surprised how well the Benson did with heat. Didn't think it would hold together. I changed from a Kingtone Mini Ge to the Mini Si after trying to play one around 34c in my house last summer. Found out from Jesse that the ideal operating range is actually quite low 4c to 24c.
My favorite demonstration of quantum mechanics inside a semiconductor (all those electrons jumping up to the next energy level as the temperature goes up...)! Real fun video!
Loved this video, guys. Couple of observations... That floral board was beautiful! The silicon fuzz face sounded awesome for me! If you're ever in Surrey, pop over for a cup of tea and a jam. X
I sense a new resume update for some guitar techs...."Able to stand with fans and blowdryers on-stage at the pedalboard during a gig to ensure the fuzz is operating at the proper temperature. Watching you guys blowdrying the pedals was pretty epic. Well done.
I love my Benson fuzz. I’m so glad you guys did an episode on it. I’ve always struggled to find a fuzz I got on with. I had tried a big muff, way huge swollen pickle, and OBNE Alpha Haunt, but none of them really clicked with me (the rams head muff was nice for certain things, but I found it quite limited). I always preferred the germanium sound to silicon, and was looking at a sun face, but just couldn’t decide which of the gazillion transistor options to get, and at the jam one (I’ve forgotten the name), but I was a bit apprehensive about dropping quite a lot of money on a pedal that would be temperature sensitive and would really need to be first in the chain. Then the Benson was announced, I watched a few demos and immediately ordered one. It’s been a revelation. First and only fuzz I’ve really loved!
"So keep measuring it." As Dan is blowing on his NKT Red dot worried it wasn't gonna come back! 🤣 Sorry funny not funny!! My heart sank with you for a minute! Absolutely giddy every time you guys do an episode on fuzz!!! That never gets old! Bang on!! I'd love to see some more "...pedal pick" episodes highlighting interesting builders out there? Keep up the inspiring work guys, thank you!!
Bill Nye the fraud guy. Doesn’t even have a science degree. And spare me the nonsense about science doesn’t require a formal degree. It certainly should if you are teaching it.
I had to pause this half way through to have a play through my NKT Red dot Sun Face, which I bought promptly after watching your old show at Analogman. It sounded particularly glorious today because it was just me at the house and I could turn the volume up just a little bit more than normal to hear that singing sustain with my 335. Really seemed you guys had fun making this one! 😁 All you need is (a working) fuzz
Polystyrene cooling device is just a cheap styrofoam cooler (beer cooler) here in USA. Usually the cheapest cooler found at Walmart used for fishing trips. Loved this episode guys!
@1:04:32 Mick: Didn't the warning on that thermostat say, 'NOT to point at eyes' as it may cause damage? Dan: the only real adult in the room points it right at his own eyes. ROLF!
@@ThatPedalShow LOL! Well he is the one with actual children and doesn't have much of a choice does he. I did fully enjoy the video. I am a Germanium diode fanboy.
Wow, this was an interesting show you convinced me to shun away from germanium fuzz pedals and I always preferred silicon for some reason now I'am glad I did .Great Show by the way Thanks!!!
Oh’ Mick.....that was a SWeeeeeeeeeT opener! 🙏 I have been waiting for this one....it is the most curious of conundrums. I also have a belief that there also must be some circuit sensitivity in some old amps as one day, it can be heavenly and other days, unrecognizable.
His playing is always great but lately he seems particularly inspired. The last video they just made about univibes has some of the best playing from him I've ever heard.
Wow, thanks guys. To be honest, this is my thing - the thing I love most. So that might be it. Thank you both. Pre - you’re right about the circuit sensitivity I reckon. So much variance in that old stuff!
Love my Austin Pride with switchable Ge and Si transistors - a Fuzz Face for all occasions (and temp variations)! Some of your best bonkers oscillating fuzz tones produced thus far with these D&M-science experimentals. 🤓
@That Pedal Show btw, from this day forward, let there be known that Dan is the Explanation Ninja, while Mick is the Presentation Ninja :-) Dan's explanation of buffers, impedance and how circuts work together around the 42:00 mark is just excellent :-)
I really want to see more with the UAD golden- yes it's pricey, but demos I've heard are sounding really, really good- better than anything else. Love to hear the TPS take on this unit-
Thanks for all of the fuzz videos. I've been on a fuzz trek. Just ordered a Sun Face low gain germanium with external clean trim and bias dials! I'm certain it will fit my ears and style like a glove. If it does, I'll let you smell the glove
Btw, please bring back the Fender Bassbreaker 15! That’s the people’s amp! With quarantines still going on around the world, it would be awsome to revisit that series of episodes - getting the best of your amp - with the Bassbreaker!
There hasn't been any quarantines where I am since April of 2020 (i.e . 13 months ago). Why are people still quarantining (in western Countries)? The evidence is clear that it doesn't help and just shuts down the economies . . . man.
She could go on Safari next winter, my Fuzz has a lamp pointed at it in an otherwise no mod cons studio, just out of town from her place. If I get the Echo Array [Death Star] fully operational,, she might be hearing that regardless.
@@robotsongs Hah, just a typical example of internet hive mind. That said, Sylvia has an immense knowledge of pedals and gear, but from a completely different perspective than your average guitar player. She could be a cool guest on a future show if that opportunity ever presents itself
Didn't own a Fuzz pedal until I bought the CB MKII preamp. Then I realized how wrong I was about what I thought Fuzz was. Not only did Fuzz sound wonderful but it was so dynamic and varied in tonal character. Perhaps most important and something you can't get from just hearing someone else play Fuzz is how wonderful it "feels" to play through a Fuzz pedal. Since my great awakening to Fuzz from the CB MKII preamp I have added an Analogman Sunface and just recently the Benson Germanium Fuzz. Great episode. Thanks for helping us understand, at least in my case, the often misunderstood Fuzz. Fuzz, I had to feel it to really get it. Long live Fuzz!
I live in Brazil and one hot day my lovely Jimmy Behan Tone Bender MK1 clone went silent just like that Analogman Sun Face. Now I'll have to find a sweet spot for it... In the fridge. 😄
What you need is a liquid helium filled cryo unit under the pedalboard. Run the cooling tubes along the length of the board, back to a mains powered pump. You can even use it to keep your refreshments cool while you play. Downside is, your board will weigh twice as much but it's a small price to pay in the interests of enhancing your performance, looking after your fuzz and keeping your beer nice and cold.
My favourite Germanium fuzz is my Ramble Twin Bender. In Queensland I need the ability to adjust the bias as it gets hotter, and it has an impedance pot like the Benson allowing me put a wah etc before it. Other than that it's a classic Mk II bender.
All the fuzz manufacturers seem to think that buffers BEFORE fuzz is the only problem, but I've struggled with them anywhere in the chain, before OR after. That quirkiness is just the nature of those old circuits it seems, and the magic of that sound is often worth the headache. 🤟
Wow it’s crazy how big a difference that makes. I’ve never owned a germanium fuzz, (I’m not really a fuzz guy... yet) but i believed you guys when you said it changes with temperatures. I didn’t think I would hear it that much though! To my ears it seemed like the sweet spots were just above room temperature, but once it started getting significantly hotter it got much much worse
Well I'm not even a big fan of fuzz but you fellas still made an entertaining and informative video as were the other videos of yours that I've watched. I admit that I haven't watched a huge amount of your videos, probably because I don't get many notifications of your videos....TH-cam doesn't do you many favours as far as recommending your videos goes 👍
Dan, the things you do with Drop D tuning(s) are so dark and lovely. not to pander, but as a HUGE Silverchair fan they remind me very much of something Daniel Johns would craft. kudos, man! so...um...give us more D? all kidding aside, would love to hear you riff more in that tuning. cheers!
Hey Mick you should be able get hold of and fit a low profile mini-micro fan inside the pedal housing that runs off your 9v pedal socket, I'm sure you should be able to get one as the size of the cooling fans they put in extreemly thin and shallow laptops these days is minute. If there is not enough depth in the pedal case; just add some spacers and longer screws to the pedal back cover to give you more room to possibly fit a low profile fan.
I have the Benson Germanium Fuzz and it’s just awesome. The temperature control is nice but the way it nukes any impedance issues just blow my mind. I have a few active pickup guitars, I like to run a wah before fuzz, I like to use synths sometimes, and it just makes everything work without much else tinkering. It’s a great all around preamp and also a brilliant addition to a digital setup, I put it in front of my HX Stomp or Zoia and it’s a massive improvement in feel and dynamics
Best ever. Always thought those old roadies who told me they put FX in the fridge where victims of too much acid. And I wouldn’t have sold my germanium pedal last summer in the heat thinking it was on its way out 🤷♂️
It stunned me just how bad my wonderful germanium fuzzes sounded on humid Australian days. Made many a hasty decision only to later realise it was just the weather.
Thanks for a great demonstration! Very educational (as usual). I guess I need to replace all my vintage germanium with silicon. No! I shall buy more (new) fuzzes! Thanks guys.
A bias control helps, but if it’s too hot, the bias won’t save you either. Analogman put bias knobs on his Ge Fuzzes, and they’re excellent most of the time. The reason I didn’t keep my White Dot NKT275 was because I played a lot of outdoor gigs, and it was so temperamental, that I went back to my Si Jimi Fuzz, like the one Mick uses a lot. I thought about getting the Benson, but I have a feeling we’re going to see other Fuzz Faces with similar technology very soon. I really want to try one and compare it to my two main Si Fuzz Faces, before spending $300. There are some asshats already selling these Bensons for near $400, while Benson is out of stock.
Alternative titles: - Voiding your warranty 101 - From Fuzz Face to Fuzz Fart - I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more fuzz! - Fuzzing by degrees Thanks guys - for another fascinating showcase of pedal power :)
thanks guys, it really felt like a proper fuzz episode was over due. remember if a fuzz is after a buffer, you can turn the fuzz knob to zero and crank the volume. then you can control the fuzz level with your guitar volume. it sounds a bit thinner but not bad at all.
That Krautster is sweet. I have a Yamaha with that pickup combination. I put my Fuzz Face clone back on the board after Q&A on Monday. I'll have to get some more Carbon Batteries for my Hubcap John ...
I use an external thermostat on my chest freezer to make it into a beer keg fridge. I would imagine that you could use that same thermostat to regulate the temperature of a fuzz fridge.
Hi laddos (see, it’s not as simple as just adding an ‘o,’ sometimes you need to double up a consonant sound). Anyway, where I live in Japan, we often hover around the 40°C mark in summer. My solutions for my germanium Fuzz Face clone: added external bias (only of some help), putting it in the veg cooler and, once it warms up after about 10 - 20 mins of use, using one of those medical gel packs that you keep in the freezer. Wrap it in a tea towel to take care of condensation and put the fuzz on top. Oh, recent true fuzz story. At home I use a wee Vox AC4HW1. Sounds glorious. Anyway, went out a couple of weeks ago and took my board. Plugged into a Twin Reverb reissue, quite rather loud. Turned on the Fuzz Face, still set for home. Felt like a truck had just driven into my chest. Hello headroom. Peace and all that. Dean
Yes! I love the sheer extent of crazy that people will consider for fuzz. Hahahaha! Mick here. And hooray for that truck over the chest. That’s what we live for!
@1:06:00 - For Mick's pedal cooler, the build could be really simple and is very possible to make. Get a small, powerful fan such as a Noctua 40mm running at 12v (costs under £15) and you could wire it straight to the Gigrig power supply you both use with a 12v adapter (trivial for Dan!). Plus it's small enough to fit the side of an enclosure and you can easily cut a hole on the sides for airflow. Tbh this will work as well as any water cooling here as trying to get contact for heat transfer on components on a pedal would be a pain, directing airflow is straight forward & no condensation too!
You do understand that the air that a fan blows around is at exactly the same temperature as the rest of the air, right? If you personally stand in front of a fan then the airflow past you feels cooler, but this is because the flowing air enables your own body temperature regulation system (sweating) to work better - the actual air itself is at the same temperaure as all the rest of the air. If you do not believe this then set up a thermometer in a room and let it settle to the ambient temperature. Then turn on a fan and blow it onto the thermometer. The temperture remains the same. A fan has no mechanism whatsoever for absorbing heat, it just moves the air around at whatever temperature the air happens to be. The reason that airflow works to lower the temperature of the cooling water which circulates around an engine is that the engine gets an awful lot hotter than the surrounding air. In that case, blowing the surrounding air onto the engine or more accurately through the radiator will cool the engine down, but only because the engine was so very hot in comparison in the first place. Obviously, blowing air which is significantly cooler than the hot thing will produce a cooling effect as excess heat from the hot thing can be transferred into the cooler air flowing around it. But in a situation where a thing is at the ambient temperature, then blowing more air over it which is at the same temperature as it will have no cooling effect whatsoever.
I urge you guys so much to get a Catalinbread Giygas Fuzz on the show! Also I know you touched on the Band of Gypsys Mini Fuzz Face before, but try it with the volume around 1-2 o'clock so it pushes the amp a fair bit, and the fuzz down below less than a quarter on the dial (Don't know if you guys noticed its massive amount of available headroom but its not a fuzzface at all, 3 transistor Roger Mayer circuit, but it sounds waaay more clear like a saggy distortion with the knobs this way.) I saw a demo where a guy used it through a cranked plexi with the controls like this and it sounded ace so I started using mine the same way, has a much brighter clean-up on the guitar volume this way too , though there is a Roger Mayer designed Hendrix Woodstock Strat circuit with a treble bleed and middle pickup blender pot (not sure if thats how Hendrix got it too cleanup better, but i use a kinman type treble bleed with it and helps a lot). If you watch the way Jimi used it during the performance at Woodstock, he is really just using the guitar volume to get varying degrees of distortion/fuzz otherwise he just turns the pedal on and off and uses the guitar volume to clean up the distorted Marshall for cleaner cleans - have a watch of the live footage sometime. The Authentic Hendrix line Dunlop Gypsy Fuzz 2017 model with the tone knob is even better again in my opinion with brighter and darker tone options. MXR Super Bad-Ass Variac Fuzz is the same circuit again but with voltage drain and a charge pump for 5-15V !!!! The Catalinbread and the Dunlop Gypsy Fuzz are my favourites for clarity and cut with a mega amount of fuzz. Highly recommend a look at them. I think Mic would be rather pleased with the tones on a Strat ;)
Active cooling of fuzz pedals? Possible, but tricky. The first place I'd look is in a camping supplies shop, as there are many portable mini fridges that run on 12Vdc. Ideal to transport temperamental pedals. Possibly even usable on stage (if you don't mind having a big box next to your pedalboard & don't need to adjust on the fly). Advantage - simple to implement & relatively cheap (I've just had a quick shufty on t' web, these camping fridges seem to run from about £70 and up, so roughly the cost of a single pedal)... Other'n that idea, it is at least possible to cool a pedal directly. You'd need a replacement base plate, to which you'd need to mount a thermoelectric cooling element, using the Peltier effect. Info on this is available on Wikipedia. As there are usb powered drinks coolers available that use this technology, this might actually be a practical idea. Huh. Who'da thunk it, an actual practical idea. Set Dan onto it, he'd probably be able to make/mod something up that would actually work... (EDIT - there's plenty of ebay listings for usb mini fridges, mostly under £20. Might be worth some experimentation..?) Anyhoo, great episode - I've always heard horror stories ABOUT Ge fuzzes misbehaving, but this is the first time I've ever actually SEEN it demonstrated... Cheers... G
"There is a point to this tangent..." There's your next T-Shirt design.
Haha...or maybe a t shirt design with “there is a tangent to this point” 😂😂
Dead-on
i know I am kinda randomly asking but does anyone know a good website to watch newly released series online?
@Thatcher Collin Lately I have been using Flixzone. You can find it on google :)
Anyone who skipped forward past the chat should feel proper guilty. That is the gold...the setup, the background, the vision, the personality! Scroll your ass back to the beginning and try again.
Hahahahha! Thank you Joel!
I bought my wife a new refrigerator for her birthday. She wasn't thrilled that it came fully loaded with germanium fuzzes.
Damn, that would be a main selling point for me. 👌🏽
That’s a great idea!
Bravo, man. Hilarious!
😂🤣🥲
I had to pause at "Woke up this morning" because I was laughing so hard I couldn't hear you guys. Well done, Mick.
Thank you! Glad somebody out there is as goofy as us. Hahahaha
@@ThatPedalShow Did you think I was turning in for your analysis of gear? Get serious, buddy :P
I love Dan's evil gremlin laugh on the way to the fridge... such wholesome fun
***Nerd comment: adding a Germanium (Ge) diode to offset the leakage on a Ge transistor (reverse biased) is the solution to the temperature problem. Since they are both made of Ge, they are affected in the same way by the temperature. If they both have same leakage current, the diode will cancel the transistor leakage at any temperature.Very cool episode BTW!
Woah!
Assuming the pedal is keeping the transistor at the same temperature, would a simple resistor work (though not as resiliently as a diode)?
@@kbirridia maybe a small enough resistor would do a similar job. However a resistor would alter the 'sound' of the fuzz, because of its linear conductance. Both diode and transistor have non-linear conductance, so using a diode is the best solution here.
Is that in any way related to the, what is it, two transister and three transistor variations in the early Tone Benders?
This is the show where Dan and Mick destroyed all of their fuzz pedals.
Somebody's Fuzz Face
Is crowdin' my icebox
Somebody's cold one
Is givin' me chills
Guess I'll just close my eyes
I understood that reference
Best song you could've possibly referenced
alright
Wrestle with Jimi
"Honey, why do you have guitar pedals in the fridge?" - heard in houses all over the world.
@@Ndlanding yeah you prolly last as long as the condom stays cold while in use. A few seconds. Lol jk
Awesome demonstration of 'hot' fuzz...nothing beats empirical knowledge!!
G4 is having MIDI controlled temperature for your fuzz pedals. There's a fine line between an amplifier and an oscillator.
It’s nice of you to add the “skip all the chat” disclaimer, but I can’t see why anyone would want to do that. Thanks for another fantastic show, guys! 🙏🏻
Some people really hate the chat Kasper. They’re the ones who haven’t worked out that there are no answers yet. We welcome them to our bosom. :0)
You’re probably right about that. It takes a while to realize that the world of pedals is not an exact science but more like a philosophy - there are no real answers, just more questions ;-)
Great show today Mick & Dan, really good demonstrating the germanium fuzzes with the heat test so people can hear how the heat affects the pedal resulting in basically an unusable pedal.
Thanks gents keep up the good informative work. Cheers Steve
Fantastic episode. When the Dandrive went out at 20:00, it was unreal!
Hoping to see you go through the UA FX in detail sometime soon as well
Great show as usual, and nice to see a bit of the UA reverb too. They did a fabulous job with that (unsurprisingly).
This episode cracked me up - fun and valuable stuff, guys! More Johan Segeborn style experiments and tangents would be great fun. Would love to see you do some experiments together once normal travel is back again.
Love this, super interesting topic. Used to rehearse through Canadian winters in a garage without insulation, band mate had an EAE Model FET drive pedal that used to give up when it got too cold. We’d take five while he’d hold it up to the furnace to revive it. 😆
This might be my favorite TPS episode of all time. So nerdy, and I love it!
Dan, that Krautster is the bee's knees! Love it every time you break it out! I will one day acquire one. Great show, guys! Thank you!
So glad to see you guys fuzzing out classic videos!
This show also gives a new meaning to the famous sentence Trotsky once said:
"That fuzz was like an icepick to my ear"
I saw almost all of your vids... I've never laughed that hard on your video. This is masterpiece, at least for me as a phisicist and bedroom guitarist. You satisfy me in both ways :3
Hooray! Hahaha!
Loved it! The tangents, the playing, the testing, the knowledge, all great!
Really surprised how well the Benson did with heat. Didn't think it would hold together.
I changed from a Kingtone Mini Ge to the Mini Si after trying to play one around 34c in my house last summer. Found out from Jesse that the ideal operating range is actually quite low 4c to 24c.
Always covering the difficult topics guys and making them so enjoyable
My favorite demonstration of quantum mechanics inside a semiconductor (all those electrons jumping up to the next energy level as the temperature goes up...)! Real fun video!
Is it weird that I like this show even more, now that I know we have the same taste in butter?
Hahahahahahha! Hahahahahhhaha
What The Fuzz ?! Great show !! Great playing, fascinating experiments, lots of laughs. Thanks guys!
Loved this video, guys. Couple of observations...
That floral board was beautiful!
The silicon fuzz face sounded awesome for me!
If you're ever in Surrey, pop over for a cup of tea and a jam. X
Small brain: Bias knob
Big brain: Pedalboard hairdryer
Fascinating show. Bravo. I'd enjoy more pick/mix/jam shows too, if that is a possibility. Thanks again.
I sense a new resume update for some guitar techs...."Able to stand with fans and blowdryers on-stage at the pedalboard during a gig to ensure the fuzz is operating at the proper temperature. Watching you guys blowdrying the pedals was pretty epic. Well done.
The Benson sounds huge. I wish high school science class was this fun.
After owning 100's of pedals I've come to the realization that the Blues Driver is still the best... period.
You guys are so innovative and .... crazy! That's why I love your channel!!
Hooray! Thanks Jack!
Hey guys! Take care with the heat: A lot of vintage germanium stuff can be irreparably damaged if heated past 75 Centigrade....
Andrew in Brisvegas
I love my Benson fuzz. I’m so glad you guys did an episode on it. I’ve always struggled to find a fuzz I got on with. I had tried a big muff, way huge swollen pickle, and OBNE Alpha Haunt, but none of them really clicked with me (the rams head muff was nice for certain things, but I found it quite limited). I always preferred the germanium sound to silicon, and was looking at a sun face, but just couldn’t decide which of the gazillion transistor options to get, and at the jam one (I’ve forgotten the name), but I was a bit apprehensive about dropping quite a lot of money on a pedal that would be temperature sensitive and would really need to be first in the chain. Then the Benson was announced, I watched a few demos and immediately ordered one. It’s been a revelation. First and only fuzz I’ve really loved!
Yes! Nice one! We think they’ve knocked it out of the park with this one!
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy...sunshine on my fuzz face makes me cry! Cheers Mick and Dan!!
"So keep measuring it." As Dan is blowing on his NKT Red dot worried it wasn't gonna come back! 🤣 Sorry funny not funny!! My heart sank with you for a minute! Absolutely giddy every time you guys do an episode on fuzz!!! That never gets old! Bang on!! I'd love to see some more "...pedal pick" episodes highlighting interesting builders out there? Keep up the inspiring work guys, thank you!!
Further proof of why I love the NKT Red Dot Sunface so much. When it was in the perfect temp range here, it sounded soooooooooooo good.
This episode was That Pedal Show meets Bill Nye the Science Guy. Loved it!
Bill Nye the fraud guy. Doesn’t even have a science degree. And spare me the nonsense about science doesn’t require a formal degree. It certainly should if you are teaching it.
Honestly I don't know what all the fuzz is about.
Honestly, with fuzz, you either get it or you don't, me personaly, I am no longer interested in "normal" drives. Either amp overdrive or fuzz
@@hotmilkcrewberlin4475 I was just messin’.
Tony Brooks - There’s another t-shirt waiting to happen...
I had to pause this half way through to have a play through my NKT Red dot Sun Face, which I bought promptly after watching your old show at Analogman. It sounded particularly glorious today because it was just me at the house and I could turn the volume up just a little bit more than normal to hear that singing sustain with my 335. Really seemed you guys had fun making this one! 😁 All you need is (a working) fuzz
Yes!!!!! Nothing like it when it’s all working Andy!
Bloody brilliant show, we laughed all the way through. Thank you for the Hot Fuzz sounds.
Yay!
That might be the best episode of that pedal show! So cool.. I mean neat
Polystyrene cooling device is just a cheap styrofoam cooler (beer cooler) here in USA. Usually the cheapest cooler found at Walmart used for fishing trips. Loved this episode guys!
Fancy ass “alrighty then” fuzz....and another shirt idea is born 👏👏👏. All my love per usual, this was incredibly enjoyable.
Hahahaha!!!
@1:04:32
Mick: Didn't the warning on that thermostat say, 'NOT to point at eyes' as it may cause damage?
Dan: the only real adult in the room points it right at his own eyes. ROLF!
That’s the first time this year Dan has been called a real adult. He thanks you!
@@ThatPedalShow LOL! Well he is the one with actual children and doesn't have much of a choice does he. I did fully enjoy the video. I am a Germanium diode fanboy.
Gents, thanks for putting your pedals in danger for our entertainment. That was AWSOME!
Epic experimentations today... love it! 🤘🤓
The RCA Ge Sunface by A.M is a great temperature stable option and they are temporarily back in stock. I have the Red dot/RCA hybrid and I love it.
Of all of the guitars on this channel, that '61 Strat is just sublime.
MICK. Wtf was THAT?!? KILLER intro dude. Holy shit.
Thank you!
Mick is a Golden God!
@@recklesstoboggan "I'm on drugs!" Jumps off the roof into the pool.
Loved the show, so much fun!
Wow, this was an interesting show you convinced me to shun away from germanium fuzz pedals and I always preferred silicon for some reason now I'am glad I did .Great Show by the way Thanks!!!
Oh’ Mick.....that was a SWeeeeeeeeeT opener! 🙏
I have been waiting for this one....it is the most curious of conundrums. I also have a belief that there also must be some circuit sensitivity in some old amps as one day, it can be heavenly and other days, unrecognizable.
His playing is always great but lately he seems particularly inspired. The last video they just made about univibes has some of the best playing from him I've ever heard.
Wow, thanks guys. To be honest, this is my thing - the thing I love most. So that might be it. Thank you both. Pre - you’re right about the circuit sensitivity I reckon. So much variance in that old stuff!
Love my Austin Pride with switchable Ge and Si transistors - a Fuzz Face for all occasions (and temp variations)! Some of your best bonkers oscillating fuzz tones produced thus far with these D&M-science experimentals. 🤓
@That Pedal Show btw, from this day forward, let there be known that Dan is the Explanation Ninja, while Mick is the Presentation Ninja :-) Dan's explanation of buffers, impedance and how circuts work together around the 42:00 mark is just excellent :-)
The EQD Erupter Fuzz has had a similar circuit on the input to the Benson for years! Very cool pedals.
56:45
Mick: Heating up Benson. Hits 50C.
Benson: "I'm cold. I'm gonna heat up (turns on red light)." :D
I really want to see more with the UAD golden- yes it's pricey, but demos I've heard are sounding really, really good- better than anything else. Love to hear the TPS take on this unit-
Thanks for all of the fuzz videos. I've been on a fuzz trek. Just ordered a Sun Face low gain germanium with external clean trim and bias dials! I'm certain it will fit my ears and style like a glove.
If it does, I'll let you smell the glove
Btw, please bring back the Fender Bassbreaker 15! That’s the people’s amp! With quarantines still going on around the world, it would be awsome to revisit that series of episodes - getting the best of your amp - with the Bassbreaker!
And a FUZZ....
Lovin' the BB15
Yes please!
There hasn't been any quarantines where I am since April of 2020 (i.e . 13 months ago). Why are people still quarantining (in western Countries)? The evidence is clear that it doesn't help and just shuts down the economies . . . man.
Nice timing, Sylvia Massy just did a demo of this effect on Earthquaker's channel a couple of days ago
She could go on Safari next winter, my Fuzz has a lamp pointed at it in an otherwise no mod cons studio, just out of town from her place. If I get the Echo Array [Death Star] fully operational,, she might be hearing that regardless.
Is "Sylvia did it first" the new "Simpsons did it first?"
@@robotsongs Hah, just a typical example of internet hive mind.
That said, Sylvia has an immense knowledge of pedals and gear, but from a completely different perspective than your average guitar player. She could be a cool guest on a future show if that opportunity ever presents itself
@@robotsongs I laughed
@@eskilseter honestly probably cool crossover to do her “studio experiments” style vid with the TPS bois.
love the 7am (est) uploads!🤘🏼🥳
Me sitting outside the office until I finish watching, lol.
If nothing else... the paisley Dan Drive is absolutely drop dead gorgeous looking. I love the look of that pedal.
Didn't own a Fuzz pedal until I bought the CB MKII preamp. Then I realized how wrong I was about what I thought Fuzz was. Not only did Fuzz sound wonderful but it was so dynamic and varied in tonal character. Perhaps most important and something you can't get from just hearing someone else play Fuzz is how wonderful it "feels" to play through a Fuzz pedal. Since my great awakening to Fuzz from the CB MKII preamp I have added an Analogman Sunface and just recently the Benson Germanium Fuzz. Great episode. Thanks for helping us understand, at least in my case, the often misunderstood Fuzz. Fuzz, I had to feel it to really get it. Long live Fuzz!
Nice one Rob! Fuzz is a huge deal and it’s wonderful moment when you first get lost in it! Awesome!
I live in Brazil and one hot day my lovely Jimmy Behan Tone Bender MK1 clone went silent just like that Analogman Sun Face. Now I'll have to find a sweet spot for it... In the fridge. 😄
Highlight of the episode : Dan singes retina 🤣 Benson to rule them all🤘
This is such a fun and inspiring episode, watch it again and again 🙂
What you need is a liquid helium filled cryo unit under the pedalboard. Run the cooling tubes along the length of the board, back to a mains powered pump. You can even use it to keep your refreshments cool while you play. Downside is, your board will weigh twice as much but it's a small price to pay in the interests of enhancing your performance, looking after your fuzz and keeping your beer nice and cold.
My favourite Germanium fuzz is my Ramble Twin Bender. In Queensland I need the ability to adjust the bias as it gets hotter, and it has an impedance pot like the Benson allowing me put a wah etc before it. Other than that it's a classic Mk II bender.
All the fuzz manufacturers seem to think that buffers BEFORE fuzz is the only problem, but I've struggled with them anywhere in the chain, before OR after. That quirkiness is just the nature of those old circuits it seems, and the magic of that sound is often worth the headache. 🤟
I've been away for a while, the “Poppa Smurf” look fits you Dan!
Wow it’s crazy how big a difference that makes. I’ve never owned a germanium fuzz, (I’m not really a fuzz guy... yet) but i believed you guys when you said it changes with temperatures. I didn’t think I would hear it that much though!
To my ears it seemed like the sweet spots were just above room temperature, but once it started getting significantly hotter it got much much worse
Also to my ears the benson might be the best sounding fuzz on the board!
Epic Episode! Congrats!
That was great. I had a lovely 15 minuet nap about halfway through and all. Cheers
Hahahah! Dan too. :0)
Absolutely loved this episode!
Great way to start the weekend!
Just learned about those Temp controlled Bensons. My guitar player picked one up and it sounds incredible!
Well I'm not even a big fan of fuzz but you fellas still made an entertaining and informative video as were the other videos of yours that I've watched.
I admit that I haven't watched a huge amount of your videos, probably because I don't get many notifications of your videos....TH-cam doesn't do you many favours as far as recommending your videos goes 👍
Dan, the things you do with Drop D tuning(s) are so dark and lovely. not to pander, but as a HUGE Silverchair fan they remind me very much of something Daniel Johns would craft. kudos, man! so...um...give us more D? all kidding aside, would love to hear you riff more in that tuning. cheers!
Now that was true bravery - amazing!
Hey Mick you should be able get hold of and fit a low profile mini-micro fan inside the pedal housing that runs off your 9v pedal socket, I'm sure you should be able to get one as the size of the cooling fans they put in extreemly thin and shallow laptops these days is minute. If there is not enough depth in the pedal case; just add some spacers and longer screws to the pedal back cover to give you more room to possibly fit a low profile fan.
I have the Benson Germanium Fuzz and it’s just awesome. The temperature control is nice but the way it nukes any impedance issues just blow my mind. I have a few active pickup guitars, I like to run a wah before fuzz, I like to use synths sometimes, and it just makes everything work without much else tinkering. It’s a great all around preamp and also a brilliant addition to a digital setup, I put it in front of my HX Stomp or Zoia and it’s a massive improvement in feel and dynamics
Coooool! Nice one Matt!
Best ever. Always thought those old roadies who told me they put FX in the fridge where victims of too much acid. And I wouldn’t have sold my germanium pedal last summer in the heat thinking it was on its way out 🤷♂️
I also love that Dan’s new favorite lick is the Albert King lick! 😂🤟🤟
We’ll learn him eventually Eric. :0)
It stunned me just how bad my wonderful germanium fuzzes sounded on humid Australian days. Made many a hasty decision only to later realise it was just the weather.
That Benson fuzz is really good! So complex.
Thanks for a great demonstration! Very educational (as usual). I guess I need to replace all my vintage germanium with silicon. No! I shall buy more (new) fuzzes! Thanks guys.
Cool 😉! really like Jesse's take on temperature and germanium fuzz with the King Tone Ge Mini bias control in a small footprint!
A bias control helps, but if it’s too hot, the bias won’t save you either.
Analogman put bias knobs on his Ge Fuzzes, and they’re excellent most of the time. The reason I didn’t keep my White Dot NKT275 was because I played a lot of outdoor gigs, and it was so temperamental, that I went back to my Si Jimi Fuzz, like the one Mick uses a lot.
I thought about getting the Benson, but I have a feeling we’re going to see other Fuzz Faces with similar technology very soon. I really want to try one and compare it to my two main Si Fuzz Faces, before spending $300.
There are some asshats already selling these Bensons for near $400, while Benson is out of stock.
Alternative titles:
- Voiding your warranty 101
- From Fuzz Face to Fuzz Fart
- I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more fuzz!
- Fuzzing by degrees
Thanks guys - for another fascinating showcase of pedal power :)
thanks guys, it really felt like a proper fuzz episode was over due. remember if a fuzz is after a
buffer, you can turn the fuzz knob to zero and crank the volume. then you can control the fuzz
level with your guitar volume. it sounds a bit thinner but not bad at all.
That’s interesting........
That Krautster is sweet.
I have a Yamaha with that pickup combination.
I put my Fuzz Face clone back on the board after Q&A on Monday.
I'll have to get some more Carbon Batteries for my Hubcap John ...
So to summarise, germanium + heat = Korg Miku.
Hahahahahh!!
This turned into an enormous math exam for people in the states. 😢
I use an external thermostat on my chest freezer to make it into a beer keg fridge. I would imagine that you could use that same thermostat to regulate the temperature of a fuzz fridge.
Hi laddos (see, it’s not as simple as just adding an ‘o,’ sometimes you need to double up a consonant sound). Anyway, where I live in Japan, we often hover around the 40°C mark in summer. My solutions for my germanium Fuzz Face clone: added external bias (only of some help), putting it in the veg cooler and, once it warms up after about 10 - 20 mins of use, using one of those medical gel packs that you keep in the freezer. Wrap it in a tea towel to take care of condensation and put the fuzz on top.
Oh, recent true fuzz story. At home I use a wee Vox AC4HW1. Sounds glorious. Anyway, went out a couple of weeks ago and took my board. Plugged into a Twin Reverb reissue, quite rather loud. Turned on the Fuzz Face, still set for home. Felt like a truck had just driven into my chest. Hello headroom.
Peace and all that.
Dean
Yes! I love the sheer extent of crazy that people will consider for fuzz. Hahahaha! Mick here. And hooray for that truck over the chest. That’s what we live for!
@1:06:00 - For Mick's pedal cooler, the build could be really simple and is very possible to make. Get a small, powerful fan such as a Noctua 40mm running at 12v (costs under £15) and you could wire it straight to the Gigrig power supply you both use with a 12v adapter (trivial for Dan!). Plus it's small enough to fit the side of an enclosure and you can easily cut a hole on the sides for airflow.
Tbh this will work as well as any water cooling here as trying to get contact for heat transfer on components on a pedal would be a pain, directing airflow is straight forward & no condensation too!
You do understand that the air that a fan blows around is at exactly the same temperature as the rest of the air, right?
If you personally stand in front of a fan then the airflow past you feels cooler, but this is because the flowing air enables your own body temperature regulation system (sweating) to work better - the actual air itself is at the same temperaure as all the rest of the air.
If you do not believe this then set up a thermometer in a room and let it settle to the ambient temperature.
Then turn on a fan and blow it onto the thermometer. The temperture remains the same.
A fan has no mechanism whatsoever for absorbing heat, it just moves the air around at whatever temperature the air happens to be.
The reason that airflow works to lower the temperature of the cooling water which circulates around an engine is that the engine gets an awful lot hotter than the surrounding air. In that case, blowing the surrounding air onto the engine or more accurately through the radiator will cool the engine down, but only because the engine was so very hot in comparison in the first place. Obviously, blowing air which is significantly cooler than the hot thing will produce a cooling effect as excess heat from the hot thing can be transferred into the cooler air flowing around it.
But in a situation where a thing is at the ambient temperature, then blowing more air over it which is at the same temperature as it will have no cooling effect whatsoever.
I urge you guys so much to get a Catalinbread Giygas Fuzz on the show! Also I know you touched on the Band of Gypsys Mini Fuzz Face before, but try it with the volume around 1-2 o'clock so it pushes the amp a fair bit, and the fuzz down below less than a quarter on the dial (Don't know if you guys noticed its massive amount of available headroom but its not a fuzzface at all, 3 transistor Roger Mayer circuit, but it sounds waaay more clear like a saggy distortion with the knobs this way.) I saw a demo where a guy used it through a cranked plexi with the controls like this and it sounded ace so I started using mine the same way, has a much brighter clean-up on the guitar volume this way too , though there is a Roger Mayer designed Hendrix Woodstock Strat circuit with a treble bleed and middle pickup blender pot (not sure if thats how Hendrix got it too cleanup better, but i use a kinman type treble bleed with it and helps a lot). If you watch the way Jimi used it during the performance at Woodstock, he is really just using the guitar volume to get varying degrees of distortion/fuzz otherwise he just turns the pedal on and off and uses the guitar volume to clean up the distorted Marshall for cleaner cleans - have a watch of the live footage sometime. The Authentic Hendrix line Dunlop Gypsy Fuzz 2017 model with the tone knob is even better again in my opinion with brighter and darker tone options. MXR Super Bad-Ass Variac Fuzz is the same circuit again but with voltage drain and a charge pump for 5-15V !!!! The Catalinbread and the Dunlop Gypsy Fuzz are my favourites for clarity and cut with a mega amount of fuzz. Highly recommend a look at them. I think Mic would be rather pleased with the tones on a Strat ;)
Active cooling of fuzz pedals? Possible, but tricky. The first place I'd look is in a camping supplies shop, as there are many portable mini fridges that run on 12Vdc. Ideal to transport temperamental pedals. Possibly even usable on stage (if you don't mind having a big box next to your pedalboard & don't need to adjust on the fly). Advantage - simple to implement & relatively cheap (I've just had a quick shufty on t' web, these camping fridges seem to run from about £70 and up, so roughly the cost of a single pedal)...
Other'n that idea, it is at least possible to cool a pedal directly. You'd need a replacement base plate, to which you'd need to mount a thermoelectric cooling element, using the Peltier effect. Info on this is available on Wikipedia. As there are usb powered drinks coolers available that use this technology, this might actually be a practical idea. Huh. Who'da thunk it, an actual practical idea. Set Dan onto it, he'd probably be able to make/mod something up that would actually work...
(EDIT - there's plenty of ebay listings for usb mini fridges, mostly under £20. Might be worth some experimentation..?)
Anyhoo, great episode - I've always heard horror stories ABOUT Ge fuzzes misbehaving, but this is the first time I've ever actually SEEN it demonstrated...
Cheers... G