The Chase Tone Candy Apple Red Glazed Dallas Arbiter Germanium Fuzz Face Replica is a hand-built germanium fuzz pedal modeled on the Dallas Arbiter Germanium Fuzz Face. Chase Tone describes it as "Custom tuned Dallas Arbiter Germanium Fuzz Face Replica", individually built with "more fuzz and harmonic complexity allowing notes to sustain and easily develop into feedback", in what the maker calls a pure vintage organic fuzz tone1. It is a three-knob design, adding a Temper control to the classic Fuzz and Output layout, and it runs on 9V positive ground power or a battery.
Chase Tone lists this pedal as sold out. It is also a positive ground device: a standard negative ground power supply will not work with it, so check your supply polarity before plugging in.
What it does to your sound
Chase Tone's own description centers on sustain and feedback: the pedal is tuned so that notes "sustain and easily develop into feedback", with more fuzz and harmonic complexity than a stock design, in the maker's words1. The maker posts sound clips on its product page, including one recorded with a 1957 Fender Tweed Champ Replica with a deluxe size speaker cabinet and a 12 inch Weber Alnico speaker, using a 1968 Fender Stratocaster Replica, with the fuzz engaged at 12 seconds and reverb added on a Korg digital recorder for ambience1. A second clip, credited to a customer at band rehearsal, pairs the pedal with a Ceriatone JTM45, a 1997 Fender Jimi Hendrix Tribute Stratocaster and a Dunlop Crybaby Wah, with Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail reverb added for ambience1.
The controls: Output, Fuzz and Temper
The pedal carries three controls: a Fuzz Control, an Output Control, and a Temper Control1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fuzz | Maximizing this control increases the total amount of fuzz. Chase Tone says the customized circuit offers an improved range of control, allowing less fuzz and a more over-driven fluid tone for the majority of the control's travel.1 |
| Output | Maximizing this control increases sustain, punch and treble bite. The maker suggests setting it against your tube amplifier's volume and EQ, with an optimal setting usually between three quarters and maximum, turning clockwise.1 |
| Temper | Fine-tunes the circuit for temperature. Optimal adjustment is around halfway (noon) at 72 degrees Fahrenheit, with fine tuning in either direction to compensate for temperature fluctuations. Extreme settings produce a gated effect.1 |
The Temper control is the practical answer to a known quirk of germanium fuzz circuits: their bias point shifts with temperature, so a pedal set up in a cool room can behave differently on a warm stage. Chase Tone's guidance is to start at noon and nudge the control either way as conditions change1.
Transistors and construction
The pedal uses NOS (new old stock) PNP gold lead germanium transistors. Chase Tone says the vintage germanium transistors are individually hand selected and audited in the circuit for optimal tone, low noise and reliability1. Each pedal is built and individually fine-tuned and tested one at a time in the USA, according to the maker1. The enclosure carries a Candy Apple Red Glazed durable powder coat finish1.
Power: positive ground and the battery drawer
This is the one specification that matters most before you patch the pedal in. Chase Tone is explicit: "If using a power supply it must be a 9V Positive Ground supply. A standard negative ground power supply will not work!"1
- Power supply: 9V positive ground required; a standard negative ground supply will not work1
- Battery: a 9V battery is supported, and the pedal has a battery drawer; press inward and upward to disengage the lock, with no tools required1
- Wrong supply: protection circuitry prevents damage to the circuit briefly if the wrong power supply remains plugged in, but damage may occur1
Most modern pedalboard power supplies are negative ground, so this pedal may need its own isolated positive ground output or a battery. The built-in protection only guards against brief exposure to the wrong supply, not continued use.
How it sits in Chase Tone's fuzz range
Chase Tone builds several fuzzes around germanium and silicon designs. The Chase Tone Fuzz Fella Candy Apple Red Germanium is the closest relative: it also runs on reverse polarity 9VDC power or a 9V battery, uses true bypass via an epoxy reinforced, nickel-plated 3PDT switch wired for no or low pop, and adds FEEL and BASS controls alongside its full-range FUZZ control. The FEEL control adjusts, in Chase Tone's words, "from dying battery velcro fuzz to germanium 1966 Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face & compensate for temperature fluctuations", while the BASS control is aimed at humbuckers, wah compatibility and buffers before fuzz2. The Fuzz Fella also wears mini replica 1960s black retro control knobs2. Other pages cover the Chase Tone '68 Red Velvet Fuzz and the Chase Tone Red Stardust Germanium Fuzz.
Buying and shipping
Chase Tone listed the pedal at a $195.00 purchase price1. Shipping was $9.50 USPS Priority Mail in the USA with insurance and delivery confirmation, $28.00 international USPS Priority Mail with insurance to Canada, and $40.00 international USPS Priority Mail with tracking elsewhere1. The maker's page currently shows the pedal as sold out1.
Questions
Does this Fuzz Face replica need a positive ground power supply?
Yes. Chase Tone states that if you use a power supply, it must be a 9V positive ground supply, and that a standard negative ground power supply will not work. This is normal for vintage-spec PNP germanium fuzz circuits. The pedal also takes a 9V battery, and a battery drawer is built in that opens without tools.
What happens if I use a negative ground supply with it?
The pedal includes protection circuitry that prevents damage to the circuit briefly if the wrong power supply remains plugged in, but Chase Tone warns that damage may occur. In other words, the protection is a safeguard against a momentary mistake, not a license to run the pedal on a standard negative ground supply.
Is the Chase Tone Fuzz Face replica true bypass?
Yes. Chase Tone describes it as true bypass via a 3PDT stomp switch, which the maker says is a significantly higher quality switch than the boutique market standard. The related Chase Tone Fuzz Fella Candy Apple Red Germanium uses an epoxy reinforced, nickel-plated 3PDT switch wired for true bypass with no or low pop.
What transistors does the Chase Tone Fuzz Face use?
It uses NOS PNP gold lead germanium transistors. Chase Tone says the vintage germanium transistors are individually hand selected and audited in the circuit for optimal tone, low noise and reliability, which is why each pedal is fine-tuned and tested one at a time.
What does the Temper control do?
The Temper control fine-tunes the circuit's bias. Chase Tone says the optimal adjustment is around halfway, at noon, at 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and that fine tuning in either direction may be necessary to compensate for temperature fluctuations. Adjusting it at its extreme settings can produce a gated effect.
Where is the Chase Tone Fuzz Face made?
Chase Tone builds the pedal in the USA, and says each one is built with pride and care and individually fine-tuned and tested one at a time.
Sources (2)
- Custom tuned Dallas Arbiter Germanium Fuzz Face Replica, chasetone.com
- CHASE TONE®FUZZ FELLA®- Candy Apple Red GERMANIUM, Chase Tone
