Best in ClassDanDrive PedalExpresso FXFarmer Factory EffectsFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzGermanium FuzzSilicon FuzzTalisman Audio+-
Key Points
The selection covers four 2-stage Fuzz Face style fuzzes with Germanium/Silicon switching: DanDrive Austin Pride (€589/$543), Expresso FX Custom (£299/$405), Farmer Factory Colombeta (€250/$290), and Talisman Audio Deluxe Face Blender (£320/$430).
Austin Pride uses NTE103/NTE123; Expresso uses CV7351/CV10806; Colombeta combines OC41, 2N2905A, GET113/GET114 and NC307; Deluxe Face Blender uses OC140/OC141, BFX84 and BFY50. Each offers Germanium, Silicon and Hybrid voicings, with differing controls and finishes.
As of the stated current pricing, these remain available, though transistor selections, specifications and appearance may vary.
An adventure that started back in September of 2019 and culminated at this year’s July Brighton show!
I was very lucky to snag one of the very last Austin Pride editions with the classic pairing of Germanium NTE103 and Silicon NTE123 Transistors. I acquired mine during the peak of Dan Querner’s ’Fabric Wrap Era’ with really colourful designs. Later models are much more single block colours than patterned fabric - although various tolex and textured finishes are now used - I really liked that earlier fabric wrap era though.
Expresso FX makes a slightly different 4-knob Edition now - with an additional 4th Filter knob, it also only has Transistor-switching on one of the stages - so that version would not quality for this selection - but it’s the closest pedal Sof currently makes - he does still take the occasional commission - but I’m not sure he has any of those CV7351’s left any more!
I had clocked the Farmer Factory Colombeta back in October of last year, while it took me until the start of this July to snag one - just a smidge ofer a fortnight before I acquired the Deluxe Face Blender. The earliest Colombeta’s had black knobs - but I think I prefer the later red-knob editions. And Sebastien assures me that I got his favourite arrangement of transistors with those 4 superb disparate types onboard!
The Talisman Deluxe Face Blender I picked up at the Brighton show on July 18th - one of two fuzzes I picked up from Talisman Audio’s Tom - where the other was the excellent GP7 Fuzz. Overall the Deluxe Face Blender is a litter fatter, and a touch more potent - with 2 relatively similar sets of Transistors. They are obviously more differentiated than the first two listed in this selection - but not quite as eclectic as the Colombeta’s mix.
All-in-all a superb selection of the top-tier examples from this particular class. Each one of these here is a wonder-fuzz for sure. You would be delighted with any one of these, I am very fortunate to own all 4!
Intriguingly these are arranged in Alphabetical Order, which also just happens to be the order I acquired them in (by year) :
- 2019 : DanDrive Austin Pride Fuzz - Q1 : Ge NTE103 / Si NTE123, Q2 : Ge NTE103 / Si NTE123.
- 2020 : Expresso FX Custom Ge/Si Fuzz - Q1 : Ge CV7351 / Si CV10806, Q2 : Ge CV7351 / Si CV1080.
- 2026 : Farmer Factory Colombeta Fuzz - Q1 : Ge OC41 / Si 2N2905A, Q2 : Ge GET113 / Si NC307.
- 2026 : Talisman Audio Deluxe Face Blender Fuzz Q1 : Ge OC140 / Si BFX84, Q2 : Ge OC141 / Si BFY50.
Note that because of the rarity of certain transistors - newer models will have a different selection to mine typically - but there are proper finds happening all the time - and some of these transistors are still in small slight circulation - if you can find them!
All 4 varieties are still available - while the look and finish may vary, as may some of the overall specs and the number of controls. 3 of these guys still take the occasional commission - so you may try your luck with that - but you will of course have to pay for the privilege.
All of these are at the top of the tier list! As I often say - the perfect mix of Germanium, Silicon, and Hybrid Fuzz Face - all in the same box!
Further details below - with the original reviews related to this article - to the right on desktop - and below on mobile!
Note that Current Pricing is quoted here, a couple of these were a touch more affordable a few years back!
DanDrive Austin Pride Ge/Si Switching 2-Stage Hybrid Fuzz - €589 ($543)
www.instagram.com/dandrivepedal/?hl=en - No website yet - but several dealers around the world.
Controls - Level, Fuzz, Clean-up, Bass Boost : On/Off, Bias, Q1 Ge/Si Switch (NTE103/NTE123), Q2 Ge/Si Switch (NTE103/NTE123).
This is of course based on the 1991 César Díaz (Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar tech) Square Face Fuzz take on the Fuzz Face circuit. Which just happened to have Germanium NTE103 Transistors onboard. And where Dan Querner further evolved that circuit to the Austin Pride variant here - which goes from 2 knobs to 4, adds a further bass boost switch, and switches for selecting Silicon or Germanium Transistors on both Q1 and Q2 Slots..
I'm very fortunate to have acquired the perfect pairing of Germanium NTE103 and Silicon NTE123 Transistors - brilliantly matched. This is the best version of the Square Face Fuzz, and an S-Tier example of this type of 2-Stage Transistor Switching Fuzzes - which give you Germanium, Siliicon, and Hybrid Voicings.
This is an incredible pedal to start off this sequence. I got it early enough in its cycle - to get in the best Transistor Selection onboard - and at the very best price. The pricing has risen considerably since. And for my taste the later versions still sound superb - but they're not the classic NTE103 + NTE123 Pairing - and not quite as handsome as they used to be for my preferences.
On current pricing this is significantly the dearest one here - still sounds fantastic in its more recent incarnations - but ideally you should be looking for that NTE103 + NTE123 combination - which is rare as hen's teeth nowadays!
There's still no website for DanDrive pedals - but there are a number of international dealers now - which cover pretty much all territories. This is kind of the 'Reassuringly Expensive' part of this selection. All these 4 are excellent - while this particular one is very special indeed!
- NTE103 is roughly equivalent to AC127 / AC187 / GT404.
- NTE123 is roughly equivalent to BC109 / 2N2219A / 2N2222 / 2N3019.
Expresso FX Custom Ge/Si Switching 2-Stage Hybrid Fuzz - £299 ($405)
expressofx.com/product/custom-dual-germanium-silicon-fuzz-cosmos/
Controls - Volume, Fuzz, Q1 : Ge CV7351 / Si CV10806, Bias, Q2 : Ge CV7351 / Si CV10806.
I can't recall the origin of this pedal - whether Sof was already working on it, or whether I suggested it in some way. We were on very friendly terms for a couple of years - and used to talk once or twice a month. Covid then came along and somewhat put an end to our association. I've tried to reconnect several times - to no avail!
In any case this dates from a period when Sof favoured these Green/Purple colour-switching Gørva enclosures - and very pretty they are too. Where he built this one-off to my preferences. I feel he did a previous version in a 1590BB - but I wanted it to be compact. For a period Sof very much preferred to work with larger enclosure sizes, but more recently seems to have come around to my way of thinking - even making Mini editions of his pedals - which he was vehemently opposed to during our association. The more compact enclosures were fiddlier to build - and back in those days Sof was a little resistant to Compact enclosures - specifically for his Custom Editions. I own 6 Expresso FX pedals - I've always intended to get more, but it's not quite worked out yet!
For this Custom Ge/Si variant Sof deliberately selected Transistor varieties that I hadn't experienced before - both MilSpec CV type transistors - which I have always loved. He selected the CV7351 as the Germanium type, and the very complementary CV10806 as the Silicon Type. It has one fewer knob than the DanDrive, and one fewer toggle-switch - but sounds every bit as good. Both Dan and Sof are expert Transistor-wranglers - and have a very fine ear for tone.
Sof still takes the occasional custom commission - which is the only way to get a pedal similar to mine. The current model that's on more general release is only Transistor-switching on one Stage, but has an additional Fitler control. That version would not qualify for this selection - but it is the current Expresso FX Model.
The CV7351 + CV10806 is another perfect pairing across Germanium, Silicon, and Hybrid Fuzz Face Variants. This is indeed another Top-Tier superb sounding pedal!
The above demo is for the current general release version.
You can hear sound samples of my exact pedal - via this Instagram Post :
- CV7351 is roughly equivalent to 2N1308 / 2N1306 / 2N1304 / AC127 / GT308.
- CV10806 is roughly equivalent to BC109 / BC108 / 2N2222.
Farmer Factory Colombeta Ge/Si Switching 2-Stage Hybrid Fuzz - €250 ($290)
reverb.com/shop/farmer-factory
Controls - Level, Fuzz, Bias Ge, Q1 : Ge Mullard OC41 / Si Motorola 2N2905A, Q2 : Ge Mullard GET114, Si Siemens BC307.
I had my eye on this one since October of last year - when Sebastien first teased it on Instagram. It took me a good half a year to get my act together to acquire one. And lucked out in snagging the very best variant of this circuit today - featuring a marvellously eclectic selection of Transistors - all very disparate and different, but which blend beautifully in this pedal. Sebastien is another one of those superior Transistor-Wranglers, I've often equated him to the John Lyons of Europe - as he's so prolific with different variants, building in superb turret-board fashion, and even Manhattan style!
The first editions of the Colombeta had black knobs - but look superior with these Dark Red variants. This is such a fun build - especially when you see how different all the transistors look - a couple of glass bulb varieties, but one in a red sleeve. And then TO-5 and TO-92 silicon variants. These pedals tend to come in pairs, and at least within the same TO category - so Sebastien is exceedingly brave in his choices here!
- OC41 is roughly equivalent to 2N217 / GT42 / GET872.
- 2N2905A is roughly equivalent to 2N2907A / 2N4405 / NTE129.
- GET113 is roughly equivalent to CV8607 / 2N223 / NKT231 / NKT232 / 2N1305.
- BC307 is roughly equivalent to BC556 / BC557 / BC560 / BC251 / BC212.
Talisman Audio Deluxe Face Blender Ge/Si Switching Point-to-Point 2-Stage Hybrid Fuzz - £320 ($430)
www.instagram.com/talismanaudio/ - No website as yet! Contact Tom via Instagram.
Controls - Volume, Fuzz / Gain, Filter : Low 2.2 μF / Hi 5.6nf, Bias, Q1 Transistor Select : Ge OC140 / Si BFX84, Q2 Transistor Select : Ge OC141 / Si BFY50.
All of these look great inside and out, while this Point-to-Point Editions's insides are fairest of all! Tom was fully on his A-game here with the selection of components - with those colourful capacitors further elevating the appeal of this pedal. And that large blue Alcap and green Niichicon anchoring those Philips Tropical Fish types very attractively
I have the same OC140 and OC141 in my favourite Hello Sailor Effects Rebel Leia Fuzz - and they sound wholly killer. I'm not sure I've come across the BFX84 before, but the NFY50 seems familiar! Tom has come a very long way in a relatively short passage of time. The quality of his builds is staggeringly good, and a testament to a creative and constantly evolving mindset. I picked up two amazing Fuzzes from him at this year's Brighton Guitar Show - the GP7 Soviet Gas Mask Canister 2-Stage Fuzz, and this flagship 2-Stage Deluxe Face Blender.
I almost entirely leave the Filter on the Low Cap / Bassier setting, and for the first time among these - have a hybrid mix as the favourite flavour. With Germanium on Q1 and Silicon on Q2 - that delivers the most magnificent harmonically rich profile - perfectly balanced! This is a similarly eclectic selection of Transistors - but within type though - as both sets of transistors sit within the same classes of TO.
An exceptional build - and performs every bit as good as it looks - quite magnificent really. The Point-to-Point nature makes this circuit really special - while all 4 here pretty special - each in tis own way!
- OC140 is roughly equivalent to CV7112 / CV5873 / CV8435 / AC127 / AC187.
- BFX84 is roughly equivalent to 2N3053 / BFY50 / 2N2297 / 2N1613.
- OC141 is roughly equivalent to AC127 / ASY75 / SFT261 / 2N1091 / CV10061.
- BFY50 is roughly equivalent to 2N2218 / 2N2219 / BC140 / BFX84.
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