Silktone Amps makes the Germanium Fuzz, a fuzz pedal that Pedal of the Day describes as one that Silktone Amps put out a couple of years before April 20241. The pedal carries a Cleanup knob that, in Pedal of the Day's words, gets you "into crunch/clean boost territory with beautifully musical germanium color"2, and Orman is credited for the pickup simulator concept behind it2.
What it does to your sound
The pedal is built around two germanium transistors2, the arrangement classic to both the Fuzz Face and the Tone Bender Mk1.5. Where a plain germanium fuzz lives or dies by its bias point, the Silktone puts that point on display and under your control. Guitar Pedal X describes it as deploying "a similar LED voltmeter bias system for a Fuzz Face style circuit, with voltage sweeping upwards" as you adjust it34.
The Cleanup knob stretches what the pedal can do beyond its name. Pedal of the Day says it gets you "into crunch/clean boost territory with beautifully musical germanium color"2, so the Germanium Fuzz can be backed off from full fuzz into crunch and clean boost sounds while keeping its germanium character2. Pedal of the Day identifies it as a fuzz pedal1.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Clean-up | Pulls the pedal back into crunch and clean boost territory with beautifully musical germanium color2 |
Pedal of the Day also credits Orman for the pickup simulator concept used in the pedal's design2.
The Active Bias Monitor
Germanium transistors shift with temperature, which is the standing complaint about Fuzz Face and Tone Bender style pedals. Silktone's answer is the Active Bias Monitor, patent pending, which Pedal of the Day credits as the reason the pedal works "without the normal issues (thanks Orman)", with Orman credited for the pickup simulator concept behind it2. The LED display lets you see where the bias sits and sweep it upwards by ear rather than guessing3.
Pedal of the Day describes the Germanium Fuzz as a pedal that Silktone Amps put out a couple of years before April 20241, and credits Orman for the pickup simulator concept in its design2.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day later referred to it as "the Germanium Fuzz pedal" that Silktone Amps put out a couple of years before April 20241. The same review highlights the Cleanup knob, which it says gets you "into crunch/clean boost territory with beautifully musical germanium color"2.
The Fuzz+ edition
Silktone Amps put out the original Germanium Fuzz a couple of years before April 2024, as Pedal of the Day notes in its later coverage of the pedal1.
- A fuzz pedal from Silktone Amps1
- Released a couple of years before April 20241
- A Cleanup knob that gets you into crunch/clean boost territory with beautifully musical germanium color2
- Orman credited for the pickup simulator concept2
Pedal of the Day credits Orman for the pickup simulator concept in the Germanium Fuzz's design, which it says lets the pedal work "without the normal issues"2.
The Germanium Fuzz remains the pedal Pedal of the Day describes as one Silktone Amps put out a couple of years before April 20241, with its Cleanup knob offering crunch and clean boost territory alongside the fuzz2.
How it compares
The Silktone shares its two-germanium layout with other pedals in the genre. The Benson Amps Germanium Fuzz is also designed around two germanium transistors, but takes a different route to temperature stability, using automatic thermal bias technology that gently warms the transistors to a preset operating point, and it is tuned to run from clean boost through overdrive up to aggressive fuzz with octave overtones. The Brantone Electronics Tonemaster Mk1.5 Germanium Fuzz works the same Mk1.5 territory, and the Expresso FX Germanium Fuzz uses hand-selected NOS germanium transistors. For the wider field, see the Fuzz Pedals type page, and for the boost and drive end of what the Silktone covers, Overdrive Pedals and Distortion Pedals256.
Videos
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Questions
Is the Silktone Germanium Fuzz a Fuzz Face or a Tone Bender?
Both traditions are in play. Pedal of the Day places it in the classic FF/TB1.5 topology, meaning it draws on the Fuzz Face and the Tone Bender Mk1.5 circuits, and Guitar Pedal X describes it as a Fuzz Face style circuit. MusicRadar and Guitar World reported its February 2022 launch as a Tone Bender Mk1.5-style fuzz, so it sits between the two designs rather than being a copy of either.
What is the Active Bias Monitor?
It is a patent-pending feature Silktone built around the pedal's germanium transistors. Germanium fuzzes are famously sensitive to temperature and bias voltage, so the Active Bias Monitor lets you watch and adjust the bias point, shown on an LED voltmeter style display, with the voltage sweeping upwards as you turn the Bias control. Guitar Pedal X notes it deploys a similar system to other bias-metered fuzzes but for a Fuzz Face style circuit.
Can the Silktone Germanium Fuzz do overdrive?
Yes. Pedal of the Day describes it as not just a fuzz but all of fuzz, overdrive and distortion in one pedal. The Cleanup knob takes you into crunch and clean boost territory with what the reviewer calls beautifully musical germanium color, while dialing the bias past 8.00 gets you into fat, sticky fuzz. It covers ground normally spread across fuzz, overdrive and distortion pedals.
How many transistors does the Silktone Germanium Fuzz use?
Two germanium transistors sit at the heart of the circuit, according to Pedal of the Day's review. That two-germanium layout is the classic arrangement shared by the Fuzz Face and Tone Bender Mk1.5 designs the pedal draws on, and by related pedals such as the Benson Amps Germanium Fuzz, which also uses two germanium transistors.
What is the Silktone Fuzz+?
The Fuzz+ is the 2024 updated version of the original Fuzz. Silktone added pre-fuzz bass and treble shape controls, a second footswitch for Raw mode, a smoother Cleanup taper, higher output volume and a power supply that accepts any 9V DC source, while keeping the external Bias control and LED bias screen. Guitar World listed it at $269 when it was announced in October 2024.
Sources (6)
- Silktone Amps overdrive+, Pedal of the Day, 2024-04-14
- Silktone Amps Germanium Fuzz, Pedal of the Day, 2022-07-11
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-02-07
- Brantone Electronics Tonemaster Mk1.5 Germanium Fuzz, Delicious Audio, 2018-03-12
- Germanium Fuzz by Benson Amps | RockBoard | PedalPedia, RockBoard PedalPedia
- Benson Amps Germanium Fuzz - Pedal of the Day, Pedal of the Day, 2021-11-01
