The Sunface is a clone of the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, with a few tweaks. First, it has a 50k trimmer at the input of the circuit so you can adjust the pregain (it works exactly like the volume pot on your guitar), second it has an external control for biasing Q2 (the Sundial). Original units use a B5k pot here, which in series with the 2.2k resistor doesn't even equal the original Fuzz Face bias resistor of 8.2k. So you might want to up that pot to a B10k.
Analogman has made both a positive ground, germanium version, and a negative ground silicon version. The germanium versions have NKT275 transistors, and the silicon version uses the BC108. The layout reflects both versions with the perf side showing positive ground, and the PCB side showing negative ground.
nice pedal,thanks for the layout ,used the pcb ,pnp
ReplyDeleteHello, I have a problem, when I put the pot of fuzz all up, I rf freq in my amp.e hear a loud whistle
ReplyDeleteHey! I've made a Sunface BC109, Its almost the same as this one, a little more gain. But the fuzz knob only works at almost the end of the potentiometer, you think changing the Pot for a logarithmic type would solve It? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThat's a fairly common problem with Fuzz Face type circuits.Try using a reverse log 1k pot or linear 2k pot if you can't get the rev log. Switching to an audio taper there will only make the problem worse.
DeleteOk , Thank you for that. I gonna do some tests and give you a feedback!
Delete5k linear is a too high value? You think It can mess up with the rest of the ciruit?
DeleteIt might be too high... A rev log 1k is probably your best bet.
DeleteI took the change. Pedal remains with the problem, but for a surprise tone was improved, dont know why. Ok, thanks for the help, gonna find out some reverse log pots, I took a look at pots type graphics and got why you sad that!
DeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteI've made it using a mixture of soviet GT403G and GT308A, it sounds very interesting, but certainly lacks gain compared to nkt275 which i unfortunately don't have :(
Hey! What is the component marked with 4001?
ReplyDeletePolarity protection diode, 1N4001.
DeleteAre you sure the values of the resistors are the correct ones? I have an nkt275 and two of the four transistors have different values than on your schematics. Also I don't see a diode and the 47uf capacitor, maybe they are on the back of the pcb of the sunface.
DeleteI just looked at a bunch of sunfaces and all have different transistor values, confusing yes
DeleteOh and btw what are the voltage values on the capacitors?
DeleteResistor values may vary based on what kind of transistors Mike's used. This is essentially a Fuzz Face which often times needs some tweaking to get sounding right. The layout is verified and the values match that of the other layouts for this circuit I've seen. Voltages for caps can be whatever you have on hand. I typically use 100v for the film caps and 35 or 50v for the electros.
ReplyDeleteHey, man. The layouts are confused. The pollarity of diode and the 47 caps are different. Can you help me? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIf you read the second paragraph of the post, the left side shows positive ground and the right side show negative ground. If you're building with NPN transistors, follow the orientation of the right side. If using PNP transistors, follow the left.
DeleteWorks fine and sound amazing! Thanks, bro!
Deletehey man thanks for the layouts, what should i change in the layaout if im using a bc109 transistor? pleas help!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't have to change much. Socket the transistors for sure, and socket the 33k resistor as well. See where the stock values get you and adjust if need be from there.
DeleteHi! Is it possible to change this trimmer to a external pot, like the Bias control? Thanks! Rafael
ReplyDeleteOf course. The input goes to lug 3 and lugs 1 and 2 are jumpered and go to the 1µ input cap.
DeleteThanks a lot!
DeleteI've tried with bc109, 2n2222, bc548.
ReplyDeleteSounds great...more compressed than the NPN Fuzz Face.
Thanks!
Hey all,
ReplyDeleteI just built the PNP version with Mullard OC42's and really like it. I am noticing a drastic volume decrease (goes from 100% volume to about 15%) when rolling the guitar volume back slightly - it basically stays at that low volume for the majority of the volume pot sweep before going completely out. It makes traditional fuzz use (rolling back volume to clean up tone) unusable. Does anyone know what this might be about?
Does it do that when the trimmer turned all the way up? It's there to set the level of the input signal (similarly to the volume control on your guitar). If it's turned maxed (so there's no resistance between the In pad and the 1uF cap) the guitar volume should clean up better. If that doesn't work, it could just be the taper of your guitar's volume pot.
DeleteI just built the Bcbsil 108 version and the bias pot doesn't seem to do anything at all I used a b10k
ReplyDeleteHi, man! This works for sure! but the bias pot is to be 50K!!
DeleteThanks fot the great layout. used bc108. I have played a bit with trimpot settings and to my personal taste ; I had changed it with a 47K resistor.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWhat resistor did you change with 47k?
DeleteGreat sounding board. cross posting my comment from tagboardeffects
ReplyDeleteI tried this and its such a great sounding circuit. Very subtle when it comes to being able to control the fuzz via the guitar volume. I used BC108B transistors but I decided to put a lower gain (<80hfe) transistor for Q1 (2n3440) as it reduces the peak fuzz and gives you the ability to dial in cleaner sounds too with the guitar volume. its more about personal taste. I faced a lot of issues due to a simple mistake of not checking the battery - it was old and my emitter voltage on Q2 was very low and that caused gated sounds. It took me a while to figure it was the battery that was causing that. Facepalm.
Breadboard this to fine tune the sound and socket transistor so that you can change them easily.
A good part of the fuzz arrives at the end of the pot. I may have to try rev log pots as others have suggested.
DeleteI meant low collector voltage and not emitter on Q2.
Went for the NPN version and realised it would only work when I used my Boss RC3 with a test loop mimicking the guitar input. When I plugged the guitar straight to the fuzz input I got nothing. Tweaking the 50k trimpot lead to no result at all. Being a noob I suspect it might be related to the impedance of the input signal. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteHI guys, I'm thinking to give this a go, has anyone got a wiring diagram for the fuzz pot and volume pot and switches etc? thanks in advance :)
ReplyDeleteLove the sound but I wish I could get it up to unity volume and then some. Any ideas how?
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
Try raising the value of that 470r resistor, should make it louder. Another option is to try a higher gain transistor for Q2
DeleteHi. I have 2 AC128 transistors (germanium PNP) available. Is there anything to change in the scheme with these two instead of the NKT275s?
ReplyDeleteShouldn't need to change anything with the AC128s.
DeleteOk, thanks!
DeleteHola gracias por tanta información... hice esta belleza y al subir todo el fuzz suena un pitido. por que pasa esto? Y si cambio la de 2.2k a 8.2 que obtengo? Saludos
ReplyDeleteDear friend, the 50k trim does not go to ground? Because i think this control is used like a guitar volume... if used on this way you put it, is like an resistor (var 0~50k) on the circuit. Ok, this way is good to remove some radio frequency, but it does not work like a guitar vol. Greetings from Brazil
ReplyDeleteIs this the same BC183 sunface version or this one has differrent resistors/caps values?.. ..I have a few transistors and I would like something like the real versión. Another question, how is 50K trim biassed in the real sun face? what value?. I´ve build a simple BC109 FF and is amazing too.
ReplyDeleteThank you