Big Joe Stomp Box Co. B-313 Freakshow Fuzz (Germanium)

The Big Joe B-313 Freakshow Fuzz (Germanium) is a fuzz pedal built around two 1960s NOS (new old stock) matched germanium transistors. Big Joe describes the germanium Freakshow as "highly responsive, fat sounding, and harmonically-rich," delivering rich, fat and creamy fuzz tones¹. It is one of two Freakshow Fuzz models: the other is the B-312 Freakshow Fuzz (Silicon), which uses silicon transistors for a different flavor of the same design²³¹.

Germanium and silicon versions

Big Joe offers the Freakshow in two transistor flavors, and the maker puts the choice plainly: "Be it Germanium or Silicon, we've designed a fuzz box to suit your preferred tonal flavor"¹. The germanium B-313 and the silicon B-312 share the same core feature set, including the external Bias and Trim controls and the selectable input impedance Buffer circuit¹³.

Where they differ is the sound and one control. Pedal of the Day, reviewing both, describes the silicon model as having "a more modern, brighter sound," while "the Germanium unit is highly responsive, fat sounding, and harmonically-rich"⁴. The germanium version also carries a Temp control that the silicon version lacks⁴.

Controls

The B-313 puts the basic fuzz shape on the top row and the deeper adjustments below it. Pedal of the Day describes the layout: "Tone, Fuzz and Output control adorn the top row of the parameters, offering up just what you need to get an excellent base"⁴.

The Bias and Trim controls are the same on both Freakshow versions, and Big Joe says they offer "flexibility with symmetry, gain structure, and clipping"¹. For a player, that means the character of the clipping can be adjusted from the outside of the pedal rather than by opening it up, which matters with germanium circuits where transistor behavior shapes the whole feel of the fuzz.

The Temp control is the germanium version's extra. Germanium transistors drift with heat, and Pedal of the Day explains that this control "allows the user to re-adjust the germanium transistors" depending on varying temperature conditions⁴. It is a practical addition for a pedal that lives on a board under stage lights.

The input buffer

Fuzz pedals are famously picky about what feeds them, and the Freakshow addresses that with a selectable input impedance Buffer circuit. Big Joe says the buffer "gives you a brighter sound, but also helps remove high-end roll off and oscillation" when the fuzz is not first in the signal chain¹. Pedal of the Day highlights the same feature, noting it helps "remove high-end" roll off and oscillation issues when other pedals come before the fuzz⁴.

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day reviewed the B-313 in November 2019, having covered the silicon B-312 the month before and called the B-313 "a Germanium version of the pedal"⁴². On build quality, the reviewer's verdict was:

The same review calls it a reliable pedalboard asset for years of use⁴.

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