The Torino Audio Crumble Germanium Fuzz is a fuzz pedal that sits between fuzz and distortion: the balance between the two is adjustable with a 3-position switch, and it also features a 20dB boost to push your amp into overdrive1. It belongs to the wider family of fuzz pedals and distortion pedals, but its approach to clipping is its own.
How it clips
Despite the name, the germanium in the Crumble is in the diode clipping stage, not in transistors. Torino Audio says the pedal "gets its clipping and harmonics generation from the combination of Mosfet overdrive and Germanium diode clip"1. The maker describes the design process behind it:
"We studied the clipping pattern, transient response, harmonic spectrum of many classic pedals, and we ended up with a design which works differently."
The 3-way switch and 20dB boost
The pedal's main control beyond the usual knobs is a 3-way switch. Torino Audio explains that "you control the symmetry of the distorted waveform through the 3 way switch," and that "the balance between Fuzz and distortion is adjustable with the 3-position switch"1. The 20dB boost is there to push an amp into overdrive1.
The maker suggests settings across the pedal's range:
- Doom: switch at center, low gain, volume over 12 o'clock, into a mildly cranked Mesa, which the maker calls perfect for Doom1
- Stoner: switch at maximum fuzz, tone at 9, gain at 121
As for the range of tones, the maker puts it this way: "You can go from Little Wing to Satisfaction, down to crushing Doom mayhem"1.
Circuit design
The Crumble is an analog design with a deliberately simple signal path. Torino Audio states the pedals "have no integrated circuits, no buffers nor digital processing," and that there are "no buffers, only 3 active elements on the signal path"1. For players who care about what sits between their guitar and their amp, that is a very short list of components.
If you use a buffer elsewhere on your board, note that the Crumble itself contains none: the maker specifies only 3 active elements on the signal path1.
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Questions
Does the Torino Audio Crumble have a buffer?
No. According to the maker, the Crumble has no buffers and only 3 active elements on the signal path. It also has no integrated circuits and no digital processing, so the signal passes through a very small number of components between input and output.
Is the Crumble Germanium Fuzz analog or digital?
It is analog. Torino Audio states the pedal has no integrated circuits, no buffers and no digital processing. Its clipping and harmonics come from a combination of Mosfet overdrive and germanium diode clipping rather than any digital circuitry.
Can the Crumble Germanium Fuzz be used for doom tones?
Yes, the maker suggests settings for it. With the switch at center, low gain and volume over 12 o'clock into a mildly cranked Mesa, Torino Audio calls it perfect for Doom. With the switch at maximum fuzz, tone at 9 and gain at 12, the maker points to Stoner tones.
Does the Crumble use germanium transistors?
No. Despite the name, the Crumble gets its clipping and harmonics generation from the combination of Mosfet overdrive and germanium diode clipping, according to the maker. The germanium in this design is in the diode clipping stage, not in transistors.
Sources (1)
- Torino Audio Crumble Germanium Fuzz, Delicious Audio, 2020-04-06