Description
Catalinbread StarCrash Fuzz
The Fuzz Face debuted in 1966 as a germanium-equipped model, and by the ‘70s, all Fuzz Faces being made featured silicon componentry for circuit stability reasons. However, the powers that be barely adapted the circuit to its new semiconductors, only a single part was changed to reflect this. In light of this, the Starcrash is the ‘70s fuzz you wish they would have made from the beginning. For starters, we got rid of that goofy Fuzz knob. We know that 95 percent of all players run it dimed, and the remaining five percent use their guitar’s volume knob to rein it in. Secondly, we installed a handy Bias control, also known as a “dying battery simulator.” This starves the second transistor of voltage and lets you dial in the right amount of texture, from raw and brawny to lean and harmonically rich. The Low-Cut control enacts a tastefully executed filter circuit that cuts the bass frequencies from 40Hz to 500Hz with the turn of a knob. While bias and filter controls cut volume, we’ve compensated by giving the Starcrash a little more volume than the typical “Face” circuit, so you can still push your amp regardless of knob settings.
Controls
The Fuzz Face debuted in 1966 as a germanium-equipped model, and by the ‘70s, all Fuzz Faces being made featured silicon componentry for circuit stability reasons. However, the powers that be barely adapted the circuit to its new semiconductors, only a single part was changed to reflect this. In light of this, the Starcrash is the ‘70s fuzz you wish they would have made from the beginning. For starters, we got rid of that goofy Fuzz knob. We know that 95 percent of all players run it dimed, and the remaining five percent use their guitar’s volume knob to rein it in. Secondly, we installed a handy Bias control, also known as a “dying battery simulator.” This starves the second transistor of voltage and lets you dial in the right amount of texture, from raw and brawny to lean and harmonically rich. The Low-Cut control enacts a tastefully executed filter circuit that cuts the bass frequencies from 40Hz to 500Hz with the turn of a knob. While bias and filter controls cut volume, we’ve compensated by giving the Starcrash a little more volume than the typical “Face” circuit, so you can still push your amp regardless of knob settings.
Controls
- Volume: yes.
- Low-cut: Engages a high-pass filter that cuts at ~30Hz (minimum) and ~500Hz (maximum). It’s a 3dB cut per octave so when it’s up you lose 3dB from ~250Hz, 6dB from 125Hz, etc etc. 30Hz is inaudible to the human ear (and it would only cut 3dB at 15Hz anyway) so the control is effectively out of the circuit when down. It’s at its most notable when it’s up past noon. Anything before that just cuts out subharmonic mud.
- Bias: Changes the character of the fuzz from “distortion-esque” to “Velcro fuzz.” When it’s down, the sound is full and throaty. The noon position on this knob is the normal Fuzz Face bias point, ~8K2 on the Q2 collector. Up is sputtery and Velcro-esque. It’s just about the best sounding limit of this kind of control, any higher and it wouldn’t be usable.
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