Expresso FX Germanium Fuzz

The Expresso FX Germanium Fuzz is a classic fuzz pedal reminiscent of those made in the 1960s, built by the small custom maker Expresso FX and designed by Sofiane Tebboune. It is a hand-wired take on the Fuzz Face circuit, which Delicious Audio calls "one of the most popular and copied vintage fuzz circuits," and it runs on hand-selected NOS germanium transistors rather than modern reproductions¹²³.

Expresso FX describes the pedal as producing "very desirable fuzz tones with all the nuances that germanium transistors are known for," and says the circuit "interacts very well with the guitar's volume pot, and goes from a cleanish tone (depending on the selected transistor pair) to full blown distortion" as you roll the guitar's volume up². That volume-knob cleanup is the behavior germanium Fuzz Face players traditionally look for, and it is one of the reasons the builder offers a choice of transistor pairs.

Controls and transistor options

The standard pedal keeps to the classic two-knob Fuzz Face layout, Volume and Fuzz. An optional EQ toggle switch, which Delicious Audio notes was not present in the pedal used for its video, provides three EQ voicings focused on highs, mids and lows³.

The transistor choice is where most of the tonal variation lives. Each pedal is built with a matched pair, and Expresso FX offers three pairings²:

The price does not include transistor upgrades, so the pair you choose affects the cost as well as the tone¹. If you want a third voicing in one box, the related Expresso FX Custom Dual Germanium/Silicon Fuzz with Filter Control adds a hand-selected silicon transistor, which the maker says "gives a fantastic alternative tone," plus a Filter control for the circuit's low end and an external bias knob to compensate for variation between transistors⁴.

Parts and construction

The pedal is fully hand wired on genuine Vero stripboard, 0.15" pitch, in a genuine Hammond aluminum enclosure powder-coated to the maker's standard¹². The parts list is built around new-old-stock (NOS) components, meaning unused parts from the era the circuit came from¹²:

• NOS Philips capacitors, including NOS Philips electrolytic capacitors in the Mini version¹⁵
• NOS Mullard "Mustard" C296 polyester capacitors³
• NOS ERO KT1800 film capacitor²
• NOS Allen Bradley carbon composition resistors²
• NOS Mullard and Newmarket germanium transistors¹
• Alpha 16mm potentiometers²
• Premium Cliff UK jacks²
• Premium 22 AWG solid core silver-plated copper wire with Teflon insulation, plus audio-grade shielded wire²
• Lead-free, silver-based solder²

The Mini version swaps in Switchcraft jacks and Bourns trimpots alongside the same NOS Philips electrolytic capacitors⁵.

Power, battery and bypass

The pedal runs on an internal battery, and a toggle switch on the back of the case disconnects it without having to unplug the pedal, which preserves battery power³. Bypass is true bypass, so the pedal is out of the signal path entirely when switched off².

Versions and limited editions

The Germanium Fuzz has appeared in several forms beyond the standard pedal:

• Germanium Fuzz "Mini": a mini version of the Germanium Fuzz, but with exactly the same components and same tone, built with hand-selected NOS germanium transistors and an Alpha footswitch⁶.
• Germanium Fuzz "Mojo Edition": a special limited edition of the Germanium Fuzz that, per the manual, "pushes the boundaries in every direction," with hand-selected NOS germanium transistors including NOS Mullard and Newmarket types, and an Alpha Taiwan footswitch⁷.

The standard pedal comes in a wide range of powder-coat finishes, including Antique Copper Hammertone, Blue Hammertone, Candy Pink, Dark Purple Sparkle, Dark Red Sparkle, Green Hammertone, Gray Hammertone, Matt Snow White, Translucent Candy Blue and Translucent Matt White¹.

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

Questions