Germanium FY-2

I am a fan of the silicon Shin Ei FY-2. The sonic range is anywhere from gnarly to raspy covering grim and cheesy as well. I build mine with a gain control and output boost as well as a tone control to dial back on the mid scoop. The Germanium model is different. It shares some Fuzz Face architecture.

Unlike the Fuzz Face, which I think of as creamy, the FY-2 is bright and fuzzy through most of the range of the fuzz control. There is some of that exploding character at the highest fuzz setting that I love. It does clean up with the volume backed off and retains retains that bright cutting character.

It excels at single notes. Chords however vibe slightly as with an octave fuzz. Slightly grotesque and dissonant.

My build with pretty non-polarized caps

The build is easy and straightforward and looks nice on the board with matching electrolytic capacitors and transistors.

My initial reaction to a low E through this device was Beck's E-Pro (which was likely a Silvertone through a Big Muff, but still).

Here are some sounds with a Road Worn Strat through a Valve Junior.