The Chase Tone Dallas Arbiter Germanium Fuzz Face Replica is a fuzz pedal built as a faithful copy of the original 1960s Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, the PNP germanium circuit behind some of the most familiar fuzz sounds in rock. Chase Tone builds each one individually and describes it as delivering "A pure vintage organic fuzz tone," with more fuzz and harmonic complexity than a stock vintage unit, allowing notes to sustain and easily develop into feedback1.
The original it copies
The Fuzz Face was originally sold by Dallas Arbiter, and the first versions used germanium transistors. As Griffin Jennings writes in Delicious Audio's fuzz buying guide, "The first Fuzz Faces used germanium transistors, which have a warm smooth tone but are very susceptible to feedback, tem[perature]" sensitivity, a trait anyone who has gigged a vintage-spec germanium fuzz will recognize3. Analog Man's reference pages likewise point to the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face as the benchmark circuit that Fuzz Face clones aim for4.
Chase Tone leans into that heritage rather than modernizing it: the circuit board is described as an exact replica of the original 1960s PNP germanium layout, and the pedal uses new old stock PNP gold lead germanium transistors, individually hand selected and audited in each circuit for optimal tone, low noise, and stable performance1.
The controls
Like the original, the replica keeps the familiar two-knob layout, with one addition that addresses germanium's well-known temperature sensitivity1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fuzz | Maximizing this control increases the total amount of fuzz, with increased range over a vintage unit1 |
| Output | Maximizing this control increases sustain, punch and treble bite1 |
| Temperature Control trimpot | Board-mounted trimpot, preset at 72 degrees Fahrenheit; fine tuning compensates for temperature fluctuations, and extreme settings give a gated effect1 |
The Output control's optimal setting is usually between three quarters and maximum clockwise, adjusted in comparison to your tube amplifier's volume and EQ settings2. The Temperature Control trimpot is the practical answer to a question every germanium fuzz owner eventually asks: why does the pedal behave differently from a cold morning to a hot stage? Chase Tone presets the bias at 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and turning the trimpot lets you re-bias the circuit as conditions change, with a gated, spitty fuzz available at the extremes if you want it1.
Versions and availability
Chase Tone also offered a Candy Apple Red Glazed version of the replica, a custom tuned Dallas Arbiter Germanium Fuzz Face Replica whose customized circuit offers an improved range on the Fuzz control, allowing less fuzz and a more over-driven fluid tone for the majority of the control's travel2. It switches via a 3PDT stomp switch and uses the same NOS PNP gold lead germanium transistors, hand selected and audited in the circuit2.
The Candy Apple Red Glazed version is listed as sold out2. The standard red-texture version is a Limited Production Item at $2991.
Chase Tone builds both versions in the USA, individually fine-tuned and tested one at a time12, and offers free shipping for United States Veterans on the Candy Apple Red Glazed version2.
Where it sits among Chase Tone's fuzzes
The replica is the historically faithful option in a fuzz lineup that also includes the Chase Tone '68 Red Velvet Fuzz, the Chase Tone Fuzz Fella, the Chase Tone Red Stardust Germanium Fuzz, and silicon-based designs like the Chase Tone Blue Stardust BC108 Silicon Fuzz and Chase Tone Black Stardust BC109 Silicon Fuzz. For more on the effect type itself, see Fuzz Pedals.
Questions
What does the temperature trimpot do on a germanium fuzz?
Germanium transistors shift their bias as temperature changes, which is why vintage Fuzz Faces can sound different on a cold stage than in a hot club. The Chase Tone replica has a board-mounted Temperature Control trimpot, preset at the factory to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Adjusting it fine tunes the bias to compensate for temperature fluctuations, and extreme settings produce a gated effect.
Is the Chase Tone Fuzz Face replica true bypass?
Yes. Chase Tone describes the switching as Grounded Input True Bypass, using what the maker calls a significantly higher quality switch than the boutique market standard. The Candy Apple Red Glazed version is described as true bypass via a 3PDT stomp switch.
Where is the Chase Tone Fuzz Face replica made?
In the USA. Chase Tone says each pedal is built with pride and care and individually fine-tuned and tested one at a time in the U S A.
What transistors does the Chase Tone replica use?
New Old Stock PNP gold lead germanium transistors. Chase Tone says the vintage germanium transistors are individually hand selected and audited in each circuit for optimal tone, low noise, and stable performance.
What is a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face?
The Fuzz Face is a fuzz pedal originally made by Dallas Arbiter in the 1960s. The first Fuzz Faces used germanium transistors, which Delicious Audio's buying guide describes as having a warm smooth tone but being very susceptible to feedback and temperature. The Chase Tone pedal is an exact replica of the original 1960s PNP germanium layout.
Sources (4)
- Dallas Arbiter Germanium Fuzz Face Replica, chasetone.com
- Custom tuned Dallas Arbiter Germanium Fuzz Face Replica, chasetone.com
- Best Fuzz Face Clones And Evolutions In 2024, Delicious Audio, 2024-04-17
- Foxrox Wah Retrofit, Analog Man (analogman.com), for Foxrox Electronics, 2015
