Shin-ei - FY-2

Caillan · Post by **Caillan** » 11 May 2009, 13:09

Hello all,

I am working on building a Shin-ei FY-2 clone (based on the uzzfay page here), but I'm having the commonly reported problem of volume loss, has anybody found a way to fix this while keeping the tone as similar as possible??

SpencerPedals · Post by **SpencerPedals** » 11 May 2009, 13:43

Stick a booster after it as done here:

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/ind ... &Itemid=26

The schematic there will show you a one transistor clean boost tacked onto the end of the circuit. I've had this on my breadboard messing with other things and found that a boost before the circuit adds undesirable color to the sound. I've yet to get back to the breadboard to put one behind it to observe it, firsthand. I would recommend the Mark Hammer scoop lift pot mod, though:

It gives you more variation in a circuit that has almost none, standard. I also used BC141 metal can transistors; they sound much more growly than a BC550 sort of transistor. I don't have any of the original types, but I would have to guess they just used a generic medium gain japanese transistor that was readily available at the time. I've got a few other things to try as well.

Caillan · Post by **Caillan** » 11 May 2009, 14:04

Excellent, thank you so much I shall have a play with this circuit and see what I come up with!!

SpencerPedals · Post by **SpencerPedals** » 11 May 2009, 14:48

Anytime. Enjoy!

Solidhex · Post by **Solidhex** » 12 May 2009, 09:41

Arrr

The way the "fuzz" knob is wired drives me nuts for some reason. I keep wanting to see it with the .0022uf wired to lug 1, output to lug 2 and .0033uf from q2's collector wired to lug 3. Like a Fuzzrite.

--Brad

Dan N · Post by **Dan N** » 12 May 2009, 10:27

Solidhex wrote:Arrr

The way the "fuzz" knob is wired drives me nuts for some reason.

Me too!

Fix it and ditch the filter section = loud grainy happiness.

Sigh, but then it's not an FY-2.

devastator · Post by **devastator** » 24 Aug 2009, 16:29

How sound this pedal ?

phibes · Post by **phibes** » 24 Aug 2009, 23:55

The output boost from the GGG project works well also. That's what I used on the one I built.

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf ... sc_bst.pdf

Low gain transistors sound best in the circuit.

How does a FY-2 sound? Not my cup of beer but some people really dig it.

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » 25 Aug 2009, 13:02

Here's the one I've just built. It uses an LPB-1 derivate to boost the output. I used 2N3904s in this, which sound good enough (this pedal does sound awful).

THE_SCORPION · Post by **THE_SCORPION** » 11 Sep 2009, 16:19

If you want to hear one in action, listen to Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy Album

devastator · Post by **devastator** » 11 Sep 2009, 16:25

I made on the last week, god ! that sounds like a cold shit. I'm really disapointed about that, I would a real cool fuzz and I had that.

If you want to hear one in action, listen to Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy Album

Yeah after I've made mine, I go listen to some Jesus and Mary chain's songs, that's absolutely that sound.

timhulio · Post by **timhulio** » 15 Sep 2009, 15:36

Yeah I always try to pass-on the "it doesn't sound that great" proviso with this pedal. I actually found a setting on the Boss FZ-2 that nails this effect pretty well. However that's not a great sounding pedal either.

Thaxt · Post by **Thaxt** » 03 Dec 2011, 15:31

You can always use the AMZ mod of a 10-50K/L pot between ground & the midscoop section. That way you can vary this fuzz's scooptones with more midrangey-ness.

nightraven · Post by **nightraven** » 03 Dec 2011, 23:29

THE_SCORPION wrote:If you want to hear one in action, listen to Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy Album

you'll have to be more specific

they used the FY-2 on some tracks and the FY-6 (Fuzz-wah) on others
'Just like Honey' is a good example of FY-2 action

LucifersTrip · Post by **LucifersTrip** » 04 Dec 2011, 20:39

Thaxt wrote:You can always use the AMZ mod of a 10-50K/L pot between ground & the midscoop section. That way you can vary this fuzz's scooptones with more midrangey-ness.

if you want ultimate control, sub a 50K and 100K pot respectively for the 10K & 15K in the scoop.

btw, I was over a friend's yesterday and he told me his favorite fuzz was a Kimbara Fuzz

Is it exactly the same as the FY-2, just rebranded?

Thaxt · Post by **Thaxt** » 01 Feb 2012, 01:25

On the midscoop section, try doubling the value of the .001uf cap by putting a 2nd one in parallel to it, bringing things up to .002uf. This should give more heft & body to the resulting fuzz.

Then, reverse the positions of the 10K & 15K resistors on this tone shaping area, placing the 15K resistor closer to the output stream of the circuit. The 10K will now be on the opposite side of the midscoop. Makes a diff as far as I can hear.

Tweaking the values of any of the major midscoops - the FY-6, the Univox Superuzz, the Bee Baa, & some of the newer circuits on the net that are variations on these, the results can be startlingly good.

LucifersTrip · Post by **LucifersTrip** » 01 Feb 2012, 02:38

...you can always build the germanium version and get a very loud brutal fuzz right off!

my final version:

have a blast

Bernardduur · Post by **Bernardduur** » 01 Feb 2012, 08:17

CooL!

Didn't even know there was a germanium version of this....... is it as buzzy as the silicon version???

LucifersTrip · Post by **LucifersTrip** » 01 Feb 2012, 09:43

Bernardduur wrote:CooL!

Didn't even know there was a germanium version of this....... is it as buzzy as the silicon version???

I honestly never considered the si version buzzy, especially with that midscoop...but no, it doesn't sound like that. The ge version is a Fuzz Face variant that sounds nothing like a FF.

It is 10 times as loud as the si version, dirty, mean, & fuzzy...closer to a fuzzrite. It's also one of the easiest fuzzes to get to sound killer and you don't even need high gain ge's

You can easily mod a FF to sound similar...it will sound nothing like a FF.

JustinFun · Post by **JustinFun** » 08 Feb 2012, 14:27

LucifersTrip wrote: It is 10 times as loud as the si version, dirty, mean, & fuzzy...closer to a fuzzrite. It's also one of the easiest fuzzes to get to sound killer and you don't even need high gain ge's

I can vouch for this - breadboarded it over the weekend and spent a happy couple of hours plonking practically every germanium transistor I own into it - I even got good sounds with a GT108v with an hfe of 24(!) in Q2. Best results were around 70, though.

I had nothing better to do as we were snowed in without electricity or heating for most of sunday...