IC, Sillicon or Germanium fuzz?

[frankus]

So I've a 69 mk2 Fuzz which is PNP and Germanium an Danelectro Cool Cat Fuzz mk2 and a BYOC ultimate fuzz.

I really loved the 69 fuzz so figured another germanium would be in order, I wasn't impressed with the NPN AC127s in the BYOC so I got some BC108Cs to try them - ha-hahah-ha!! They're real bastids!

I miss the fact that with the 69 I can leave it on all the time and simply back off the volume on the guitar to get some boosted clean sounds - the sillicon fuzz sounds great but doesn't seem to do that. Might be the BC108Cs having an HFe of 500+ and the 69 Fuzz having a 70/140 range for Q1 and Q2.

The Dano, rather frighteningly enabled me to get a very nice White Cliffs of Dover sound although it required some tweaking - backing the bass off seemed to increase the fuzz massively.

What's you're preference a fuzz you leave on and wind up with the volume on the guitar or one you stomp on?

[JackGriffiths]

I have both Germanium and Silicon MJM London Fuzzes (Fuzz Face clones) and pick whichever I might be feeling more at the time, or whichever fits the amp I'm playing with. The Germanium one is a little less subtle when up full with a much bigger bass response - I like it for that 'wall of fuzz' tone that's great for playing huge thick leads (keep in mind I'm using these with humbuckers into an already overdriven, fairly dark amp). The Germanium cleans up a little better, too, and that is one of the main reasons I use those circuits, because of the clean-up ability and sparkle it can add to the original tone of your dry signal on 10 with the guitar volume around 7 or 8, if that makes sense. However, I do love the Silicon because it's a little more articulate and overdrive-y - I can use it for leads without worrying about cutting through as much, and it still cleans up very well, just with a little more bite and drive, which is personally something I like.

For me, it's a mood thing. If I was using one on a clean amp as a main source of dirt then I'd probably go Silicon more often for the better articulation with humbuckers, but with the way I use them, I prefer the Germanium was the more drastic BIG approach and the silicon for the more bitey, cutting approach. I love them both!

Jack