All other Fuzzes wish they could be this one!

[jmusser]

I believe this is the one the Mark Hammer said is his favorite, if I remember right. I have built a gob of the traditional fuzz boxes, and I still reserve judgement to call this one the best until I build the NPN germanium Tone Bender MkII, but tonight, I may have built the ultimate aggressive fuzz. The Shin-ei Companion Fuzz Box FY-2, is absolutely awesome! I played around with various transistors in there, but the winner hands down, is the OC140 germanium NPNs. All I can say, is WOW! Go to http://members.fortunecity.com/uzzfay/fy2/fy-2schem.html  , and build this fuzz. The C536F transistors come out to being NTE85 Si transistors. I had several NTE cross referenced transistors, including the 2N2924. None of them, would light this circuit off. I went to 2N3904 Si transistors, and they sound really good in there, as well as a couple others. But once I installed the hot OC140 germs in there, it took out the extreme harshness, and created a wooly, cauldron boiling, fuzz master! I don't know that I have been more impressed with a circuit, since I built Aron's restored Jordon Bosstone. This one folks is a MUST HAVE!

[Yun]

I believe this is the one the Mark Hammer said is his favorite, if I remember right. I have built a gob of the traditional fuzz boxes, and I still reserve judgement to call this one the best until I build the NPN germanium Tone Bender MkII, but tonight, I may have built the ultimate aggressive fuzz. The Shin-ei Companion Fuzz Box FY-2, is absolutely awesome! I played around with various transistors in there, but the winner hands down, is the OC140 germanium NPNs. All I can say, is WOW! Go to http://members.fortunecity.com/uzzfay/fy2/fy-2schem.html  , and build this fuzz. The C536F transistors come out to being NTE85 Si transistors. I had several NTE cross referenced transistors, including the 2N2924. None of them, would light this circuit off. I went to 2N3904 Si transistors, and they sound really good in there, as well as a couple others. But once I installed the hot OC140 germs in there, it took out the extreme harshness, and created a wooly, cauldron boiling, fuzz master! I don't know that I have been more impressed with a circuit, since I built Aron's restored Jordon Bosstone. This one folks is a MUST HAVE!

I think i built that one with a swolen pickle Tone stack, man.  So- i dunno how it sounds stock-wise, dude.  i think i might dig it out of the closet, or just build a stock one  ....

[LP Hovercraft]

Reputedly, the bass guitar part on the second half of the Radiohead song "Exit Music For a Film" is run through one of those.

[Harry]

Let's have some sound clips!

[Ian]

I breadboarded this pedal as my second build project (after the Tweak-O) just a few days ago and, after correcting a few grounding errors due to breadboard inexperience, was very happy with the result. I had been interesed in this particular fuzz circuit after learning it was the source (well, via a broken fuzz-wah pedal) of some of the more over-the-top moments on the Jesus and Mary Chain's "Psychocandy". I used 2n5088's for the transistors and the fuzz-pot wiring scheme suggested in Mark Hammer's earlier post, and got just the kind of outrageous, velcro-peeling distortion I was after. I swapped some components around and was suprised at how much more mellow and conventional the original fuzz-pot wiring scheme sounded. I've also tried using a BD-2 at zero "gain" as a kind of booster in front of the fully-cranked Shin-ei, which seems to add some complexity to the fuzz, making it a little less buzzy.

It was definitely a fun project and I'd recommend it to any beginner with an interest in a 60's-style or over-the-top fuzz. Building it brought up a question I'd like to address to any of the "elder statesmen" or more experienced builders here if they have a second: part of what interested me in this circuit was a claim I read somewhere around here that it sustained poorly. While most builders and guitarists seem to be looking for more sustain, I was actually interested in the idea of a low-sustain distortion because I thought it might mimic more closely the acoustics of a guitar strum (loud attack, fairly quick decay). Well, the Shin-ei's no Big Muff, but it does have it's share of sustaining power. How then would you go about designing a distortion circuit to have very little sustain? I understand, if distortion is really a kind of compression, that some additional sustain is going to be introduced inevitably, but can it be cut down without using some kind of obvious gating effect? Is there more to it than just "use less gain"?

[MartyMart]

Jeff, did you use the suggested mods by Mark Hammer ?
Connecting the fuzz pot's outer lugs to the .0033 and .0022 caps, with
wiper going to the .001  and scoop network ??
It does help the fuzz "range" and is worth doing

I have BC109C's in mine, sounds awesome  !
Perhaps I'll try a couple of OC140's  .... I remember trying
but bias was off some ....

Marty.

[jmusser]

No Marty, I haven't done that mod. I must have missed that one awhile back. I'll have to do a search for it. I kind of built it, and then started right away on the germ Tone Bender. I've been busy while you've been gone. R.G. told me how to get the 60s Style Fuzz Box (RCA Hobby Circuit #43) going, and I built the Selmer Buzztone, which I've yet to get going. It's at http://britamps.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/selmer/schematic/buzz.html  So far it has biasing problems, and I can't get it to work.

[Mark Hammer]

Jeff, did you use the suggested mods ?  Connecting the fuzz pot's outer lugs to the .0033 and .0022 caps, with
wiper going to the .001  and scoop network ??  It does help the fuzz "range" and is worth doing

If you dig up a schematic of the Mos-Rite Fuzz-Rite and take a look at the Fuzz control in there, and then look at a Shin-Ei FY-2 schem with the flipped around (modded) Fuzz pot, you'll see a great deal of similarity.  Strong family resemblance between the two....when the pot is flipped.  Given fact that only two contacts are being swapped, it is a trivial matter to install a toggle switch to select between stock and Fuzz-Rite configuration.

Nice fuzz.  Makes you want to buy a puffy paisley shirt and pin-striped bell-bottoms, and wear tinted granny glasses.

[Steben]

Granny? Plllllease... a pair of Lennon-"bowls" will do fine.

[chaddhamilton]

Not to hijack this thread, but I am building this circut too and don't have a .0033 cap and RS does't carry them.  Any problems with replacing with a more-accessible .0047 or  2 .0022's?

[Mark Hammer]

A 2200pf and 1000pf in parallel (both very common values and I'm confident Rat Shack will carry .001uf) will give you .0032uf, which is close enough.

[Wild Zebra]

  I just finished the Shin-Ei 2 days ago using Dragonfly's vero layout, Thanks Dragonfly.  I cranked it through my JC-120
last night and man it is a wicked fuzz, fierce.  I just used some 2n3904's I had laying around.  Never heard an original
so can't compare.  I'm wondering how similiar it sounds with those tranny's.  May have to find some with the hfe mentioned
above.  I would say its just about unity, but it would be nice if it boosted in volume a bit.  But I honestly can't say I would
play clean and then kick this bastage in, pretty much turn it on, crank it up, and rock it out.  Very pleased.

[Mark Hammer]

It is a pretty darn loud fuzz, so if the best you can squeeze out of yours is unity gain, then something is wrong, either in the transistors chosen or the wiring.

[nordine]

i'm not that a fan of fuzzes, because of their compression properties.. but..

this is THE ULTIMATE FUZZ for me... it's got that "electric flux" (as in sci-fi movies) sound i was trying to get till now

i used some bc549's (about 350hfe), and i'm really pleased

[MartyB]

Here's a PCB layout and transfer for it :

http://aronnelson.com/gallery/MartyBs/shin_ei_fuz?full=1

http://aronnelson.com/gallery/MartyBs/shin_eipcb?full=1