closest to MXR M173 classic 108 fuzz?

[shawnee]

Hey guys, I thought I was going to build an octofuzz but I may be going a different direction for now. I've never been a big fan of fuzz (I always prefered the Marshall type overdrive sounds) but I'm starting to warm up to the sound. I listened to lots of fuzz clips on youtube and the funny thing is with all of the expensive boutique boxes out there my favorite is the MXR M173 classic 108 fuzz. Am I crazy? Anyway, I like the thick "woofie" smooth fuzz better than a trebley splatty fuzz. I guess silicon would be the way to go for me. So which madbean build would be best for me? I may do more than one and will probably do the cosmopolitan because of the tone range. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. On a side note I think my 17 year old son is going to build his first pedal (green russian spec mudbunny). :-)

[Haberdasher]

I agree those youtube demos of the mxr sound great, so it's possible you're not crazy. 

my best guess would be a npn mangler with bc 108's and a buffer.  you could even put the buffer on a footswitch.

[mgwhit]

The MXR Classic 108 is just a Silicon transistor Fuzz Face circuit with an optional input buffer.  The Mangler is the classic Fuzz Face circuit, but there is a discontinued project called the Zygote that is a Fuzz Face with more mod options built in.

The Mangler is built for PNP (typically Germanium) transistors, so if you want to use NPN Silicon transistors you'll need to follow some extra steps in the project PDF.  If you want really smooth fuzz, though, I'd recommend Germanium over Silicon.  Just get a matched pair from Small Bear and either (a.) go battery only, or (b.) get a Road Rage board to provide the -9V you'll need.

[dwstanford]

Yeah a bc108 fuzz face will give you all those great mxr 108 fuzz tones and more.  Like haberdasher said, a switchable buffer would also be a good idea.  A hybrid fuzz face could be awesome as well.  Be sure to get several bc108's so you have a variety of gain ranges to choose from.  The standard 80/120 combo is hard to beat.

[cjkbug]

for si transistors, I've found that a slightly lower gain range sounds best. at the same range as ge trannys si trannys can sound a bit harsh.YMMV

[shawnee]

Thanks for the info guys. I may try to pick up a Zygote pcb.