Mangler - Fuzz Face

[Bio77]

I'm not really a fuzz guy, but I've been playing this one a lot the past few weeks.  I used the "All American" PNP set from Small Bear, sounds great.

[cooder]

Cool graphics I'd say!
'American Psycho' of the pedals...

[Martan]

Good transistors would probably change a lot of minds for people who think they don't like Fuzz. Glad you like it! Looks very cool.

[mjg]

That is all kinds of awesome.  Nice work!

[selfdestroyer]

Really digging the artwork. Great job!

[gordo]

Oh great, now I'm going to have nightmares. That graphic really gives me the creeps. Well done though, that's a very nice build.

[Bio77]

Thanks to all. 

The graphic is a band logo from a local group, The Deep Eynde.  The pedal isn't inspired by their sound, just wanted some kind of face for the fuzz face.  This one came to mind. 

[Juicy_scooby]

Hey thanks so much for posting! It's reassuring to actually see a completed PCB to make sure you're not crazy.

To that end: I've read some competing ideas about how to orient your transistors....it's a silly question but I can't find the data sheets or other guidance for my "dutch treat" pair regarding which leg is the Collector and which is the Emitter...so...

Does the DOT or TAB correspond to the Collector of most PNP Germanium transistors? 2N281's specifically...

Also: I didn't buy any sockets for these babies, but I might considering I'm nervous about burning them out, would a heat sink cover my bases? And how does a heat sink work in this kind of application?

Any advice would be awesome, thanks guys!

[Bret608]

Hey, I've got some 2n281s as well, so I can confirm that the red dot is the collector. I haven't been brave enough to not use sockets on any of my Ge transistors, so hopefully someone else can chime on the heat sinkage...

[matmosphere]

I generally don't use sockets for that stuff, and I have never burnt anything out. I wouldn't worry much, just be quick and accurate when you solder.

I have always felt the main advantage to sockets is being able to swap out transistors to see how it changes the sound of the circuit. Once I'm happy with how something sounds I always solder transistors in to make sure they won't fall out.

[Bio77]

I didn't socket these transistors. I was just quick and waited a bit between each leg I soldered.