Features
These are the custom built-to-order Sun Face pedals, takes around 3 weeks to build. We sometimes have several types of READY TO SHIP Sun Face pedals, usually with power jack, LED, and sundial, on their own ordering page.
We have a few random pedals that are ready to ship at the workshop, if you would like one of these email us at [email protected] referencing the one you'd like & we will tell you how to order it:
- 2SB171 w/ side jacks $205
- 2SB171 w/ top jacks, on/off mini toggle, and sundial knob $255
- Vintage Germaniums Med/high gain, side jacks $195
- BART w/ side jacks, power jack, and sundial knob $290
The slightly larger "BART" size cases can be used for any of our Sun Faces, just request one in the order comments box at checkout. The good thing about these boxes is that they allow any options (top jacks with on/off fuzz pot etc).
If you are new to fuzz, you might want to check out this article by Mark Marshall : A Brief But Complete Guide to Fuzz Pedals
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The Sunface has many transistor options, there is no BEST, they are all very similar but have some differences that could make some better than others for your needs.
Here is a short summary, much more info is on the Sunface page on analogman.com :
GERMANIUM: earliest Fuzz Face transistors. Temperature sensitive, warm and smooth.
2SB171 & 2SB175 Japanese transistors : usually MATSUSHITA or Toshiba brand, about 40 years old. 2SB171 are Medium low gain, 2SB175 are higher gain. Not too finicky, nice warm tone, not too bright. Great cleanup. These are warm and very smooth, sort of like a flute - But the 175's ROCK!
General Electric: GE made these 2N type transistors in the 1050’s. Black larger metal cans, similar to the 2SB transistors but maybe a little brighter, not quite as smooth a little edge to them for better cut.They have the ‘GE’ logo on the tops. Come in low, med, and high gains.
RCA: These are the only Germaniums we have found that are not very temperature sensitive. These are a little brighter than the NKTS (even the white dot) with a little more CUT to the sound. They clean up REALLY nicely and brighter than the NKTs when clean. They come in low gain or higher gain, low gain still has plenty of fuzz. They are not sensitive to temperatures like most germaniums, and sound good even when pretty hot. We offer them in lower gains and higher gains depending on how much fuzz you want.
NEW RCA In mid 2022, we got a batch of similar looking RCA transistors made in 1967.
These sound like the other RCA, but are not good at extreme temperatures. They are pretty high gain
for germanium but still clean up nicely as heard in the video demo vs the NPN CV.
Hitachi 2SB77: These low gain germaniums from Japan have excellent characteristics and work great for a traditional sounding Fuzz Face. They have a decent amount of fuzz when up all the way, and a nice gradual cleanup, with medium tone, not too bright or dark.
NPN GERMANIUM British CV : We had some of these NOS transistors from 1976 in our stash, and saw that a British pedal builder whose work I like was using them in a popular, expensive fuzz, so we finally tried them. The main benefit they have is normal polarity so you can use a daisy chain, though I still recommend isolated power. These sound similar to the RCA, nice brightness and decent cleanup, which gets bright and British sounding. The gain is pretty high, so best to use a touch of the CLEAN trimpot unless you want the full fuzz sound.
CV 7005 Low Gain Germanium : We scored some of these recently and offer them again. These are the K/B NTN version, made by Newmarket probably on the same line as NKT275. About the same as the log gain NKTs we used to sell.
JB Low Gain Russian Germanium : We finally made some of these up in summer 2024 by customer request, as the Dunlop version is no longer available. See the video on facebook.com. We usually have some ready to ship with power jack, LED, and sundial.
SILICON: Easier to use, no temperature issues, brighter, do not clean up like the germaniums.
BC108 : most normally found in 1970 era Fuzzfaces, metal can. Can be very high gain, can cause radio or other noise. Best to back the FUZZ KNOB or clean trimpot down a bit."C" is a high gain range, the "B" are lower but still higher than most germaniums.
BC183 : Medium high gain. I like these best for a general silicon fuzz. Almost all the silicon transistors sound about the same if you use trans with the same gain ranges. But these BC183 are all in the right gain range so it's easier to make a more consistent and excellent sounding fuzz. These are really smooth, almost like a germanium sound and people often are surprised at how well they clean up. We also have slightly lower or higher gain, let us know if you have a preference.
BC-109B Similar to BC108 but edgier, cuts well, not quite as smooth as the BC108. Has a nice attack, cuts great, lowish noise. BC-109C is higher gain, a little smoother edge than the 109B.
RT-201 - Made by General Electric in 1966 or 1976, small high quality metal can transistor. Looks like BC108, Gold legs, great tone, cuts through. These have medium low gain for silicon (like higher gain germanium) so no noise or weird artifacts, but PLENTY of fuzz!
Power Jack
Power jack is an option on these to allow you to plug a power supply into the pedal. If you get it, the Sun Face will still come with a battery and work the same with a battery. If you might use a power supply or TheGigRig Virtual Battery, it's much better to get the power jack than to connect a cable to the battery clip. Just make sure to use ISOLATED POWER (which is what the Virtual battery does if you have a non-isolated power supply).
BATTERY DISCONNECT OPTIONS
We can add a power off switch on the FUZZ pot, when you turn it down all the way it clicks and disconnects the battery. This will only fit on the side jacks model. We can install a mini toggle switch to kill the battery on the top jacks model. If you can unplug the cable from the input jack, it will do the same thing. But for people with the pedal in the middle of their pedalboard, one of these options will make it easier if you want to use a battery. If you use a power supply (requires the power jack option) then these battery disconnect options are not needed.
CLEAN KNOB
We can move the internal white CLEAN trimpot to an external knob. It works like turning down the volume knob on your guitar, to make the sound more clean and tight/bright.
If you get this option, it will be between the Volume and Fuzz knobs and you must choose TOP JACKS. It is a smaller knob, and the other two knobs will be smaller also. The MXR KNOB rubbers will not fit if you get this option.
If you don't get the Sun Dial, we can do the clean knob as a normal size black knob in the middle of the pedal and you can get top or side jacks.
Below is the current optional CLOCK LOGO, which you can choose instead of the Sun Face.
BART size vs MXR size enclosure:
BART SIZE 125B: 2.5" wide x 4.75" tall x and 1.5" high
MXR SIZE1290 or 1590B : 2.25" wide, 4.25" tall, and about 1.25" high
Here is a demo of the RT-201 from Little Barrie in the UK:
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