Solaris Fuzz

Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face (Ge/Si)

Overview Solaris Project Link

The Solaris Fuzz project is the ultimate DIY clone of the

Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, one of the most ubiquitous
effects in the DIY and boutique effect landscape. While
the original Fuzz Face is a very simple circuit, many
modifications have been made in the nearly 50 years
since it was first introduced.

This PCB will allow you to build with germanium or silicon

transistors (or a hybrid like Joe Gagan’s Easy Face),
positive or negative ground, the original two knobs or
as many as five. It also incorporates an optional charge
pump, allowing you to use a standard 9v center-negative
power supply while still using PNP germanium transistors.
3 1

If you do build the 5-knob version, note that all of the

original Fuzz Face tones are still available. Each of the
extra knobs can be set to a “stock” value which essentially
removes their effect on the circuit.

Controls & Usage

The Fuzz Face’s controls are as follows:

• Fuzz controls the amount of gain from the Q2 transistor which overdrives the signal.
• Volume controls the overall output.
• Contour affects the midrange (borrowed from the Fulltone ‘69).
• Input allows you to attenuate the input signal, mimicking the effects of turning down your guitar volume.
This way you can get similar volume-knob tones even if the fuzz is not the first effect in your chain. Joe
Gagan, who came up with this control, recommends turning the Fuzz knob all the way up and using only
this knob for the amount of distortion.
• Body is an input capacitor blend, which controls the amount of bass.

Modifications & Experimentation

The goal of this project was to make the ultimate tweakable Fuzz Face that incorporated just about every DIY
modification imaginable. Accordingly, you can make a ton of different variants using the same PCB. However,
since the Fuzz Face is approaching 50 years old and is probably the most analyzed guitar pedal circuit in
existence, I couldn’t possibly include every bit of research and legend in this build doc. These two pages sum it
up better than I ever could:

• The Technology of the Fuzz Face by R.G. Keen

• The FAQ for Fuzz Face Fanatics by Steve Daniels / Small Bear Electronics

DALLAS-ARBITER FUZZ FACE / SOLARIS FUZZ 1

Parts
Resistors Capacitors Semiconductors
R2 33k C1 2u2 2 IC1 TC1044 3
R3 100k C2 22uF D1 1N4742 zener
R4 220R 5 C3 10n Q1/Q2 germanium 1
R5 1k C4 47uF LED 5MM
RPD 1M to 2M2 C5 10uF 3
LEDR 4k7 C6 10uF 3 Potentiometers
CX1 10pF
Fuzz 1kC
CX2 10n
Volume 500kA
CX3 3u3
Input 250kB 4
CX4 10pF
Body 100kB 9mm 2
Contour 1kB 5
Gain 500R trim (3362P) 6
Bias 10k trim (3362P) 7
1
For this circuit, it’s not so much the part number of the germanium transistor as it is the properties (gain and
leakage). I highly recommend getting your transistors from Small Bear Electronics—they’ve been offering
tested & matched sets them for 15 years. They will also include a list of resistor values to use. Note that SBE’s
included resistor numbering is slightly different than mine: their R3 is my R2, and their R6 is my R3. (R4 and
R5 are the same in both.) If using their Q2 bias resistor (R5), keep the Bias trim pot all the way down.
2
If using the Body control, omit C1 and use CX2 and CX3. The Body pot can be omitted with no jumpers.
Ideally the Body pot would be a 9mm plastic shaft, mounted to the PCB rather than the enclosure.
3
If you’re using NPN germanium transistors, or if you’d rather reverse the DC jack wiring for positive ground,
you should omit IC1, C5 and C6 and jumper the NPN pads together. Remember that when using reversed DC
jack wiring, you can’t daisy-chain with other pedals. The voltage inverter is much more convenient.
4
If you’re leaving off the Input control, jumper the INPUT BYP pads (or else pads 2 & 3 of the Input pot).
5
If you’re leaving off the Contour control, jumper pads 1 & 2 of the Contour pot and raise R4 to 470R.
6
This is just provided for tweakability—the default is all the way down, but you can turn it up to raise the gain of
the first transistor stage which can saturate the second stage a bit.
7
This trim pot allows you to bias Q2. The stock value is 8k2 (or around 75% up when using 1k for R5) but
should be adjusted based on the transistor to get between -4.5V and -5.5V on the collector pin. (If your build
includes the Contour pot, it should be set at about 20-30% during biasing.)

Additional Part Notes

• Capacitors are shown in nanofarads (n or nF) where appropriate. 1000n = 1uF. Many online suppliers do
not use nanofarads, so you’ll often have to look for 0.047uF instead of 47n, 0.0056uF instead of 5n6, etc.
• The PCB layout assumes the use of film capacitors with 5mm lead spacing for all values 1nF through
470nF. I prefer EPCOS box film or Panasonic ECQ-B/V-series.
• Potentiometers are Alpha 16mm right-angle PCB mount.
• I recommend using these dust covers / insulators from Small Bear to insulate the back of the pots from
the board and prevent shorts. If you don’t use these, use some electrical tape or cardboard to act as
insulation. The right-angle pots will make direct contact with the solder pads otherwise.

DALLAS-ARBITER FUZZ FACE / SOLARIS FUZZ 2

DALLAS-ARBITER FUZZ FACE / SOLARIS FUZZ

Schematic
+9V
+9V +9V NPN1
IC1
1 8
2 7
+9V C4 3 6 -9V NPN2

1N4742
LEDR
4 5 -9V
47uF

4k7

D1
TC1044
10uF
C5 C6

5MM
PGND

LED
10uF

GND GND GND

CONTOUR

10n
1kB
SW

C3
R4
-9V
3 1 220R

VOLUME
2

3
OUT

500kA
R5
1k

2
33k

1
R2

1
BIAS
10kB
IN1

2
GND

10pF
CX4
IN2

3
Reverse for NPN
IN 3
CX1 C C

2u2
INPUT
250kB

C1
RPD
2M2

B AC128 B AC128
10pF Q1 Q2
2

E E

CX2
1

10n
1

BODY
100kB

2
GAIN

1
500R
GND GND GND

2
3

3
GND
CX3
3u3

R3

3
100k

FUZZ
1kC
Reverse for NPN

2
22uF Reverse for NPN

1
C2

GND
3
General Build Instructions
These are general guidelines and explanations for all Aion Electronics DIY projects, so be aware that not
everything described below may apply to this particular project.

Build Order
When putting together the PCB, it’s recommended that you do not yet solder any of the enclosure-mounted
control components (pots and switches) to the board. Instead, follow this build order:

1. Attach the audio jacks, DC jack and footswitch to the enclosure.

2. Firmly attach the pots and switches to the enclosure, taking care that they are aligned and straight.
3. Push the LED1 into the hole in the enclosure with the leads sticking straight up, ensuring that the flat side
is oriented according to the silkscreen on the PCB.
4. Fit the PCB onto all the control components, including the leads of the LED. If it doesn’t fit, or if you need
to bend things more than you think you should, double-check the alignment of the pots and switches.
5. Once you feel good about everything, solder them from the top2 as the last step before wiring. This way
there is no stress on the solder joints from slight misalignments that do not fit the drilled holes. You can
still take it out easily if the build needs to be debugged, but now the PCB is “custom-fit” to that particular
enclosure.
6. Wire everything according to the wiring diagram on the last page.
1
For the LED: You can use a bezel if you’d like, but generally it’s easier just to drill the proper size of hole
and push the LED through so it fits snugly. If you solder it directly to the PCB, it’ll stay put even if the hole is
slightly too big. Make absolutely sure the LED is oriented correctly (the flat side matches the silk screen) before
soldering, as it’ll be a pain to fix later! After it’s soldered, clip off the excess length of the leads.
2
Note on soldering the toggle switch(es): It will require a good amount of solder to fill the pads. Try to be as
quick as possible to avoid melting the lugs, and be prepared to feed a lot of solder as soon as the solder starts
to melt. I recommend waiting 20-30 seconds between soldering each lug to give it time to cool down.

“RPD” and “LEDR” resistors

The resistors marked “RPD” and “LEDR” are generally not original to the circuit and can be adjusted to
preference. “RPD” is the pulldown resistor to help tame true-bypass popping, while “LEDR” controls the
brightness of the LED. I generally use 2.2M for the pulldown resistor and 4.7k for the LED resistor.

Sockets
Since double-sided boards can be very frustrating to desolder, especially components with more than 2 leads,
it is recommended to use sockets for all transistors and ICs. It may save you a lot of headaches later on.

DALLAS-ARBITER FUZZ FACE / SOLARIS FUZZ 4

Drilling & Placement
Print this page and have an adult cut out the drilling template below for you. Tape it to the enclosure to secure
it while drilling. Note that the holes are shown slightly smaller than they need to be, so drill out the holes as
shown and then step up until they are the correct size for the components.

Hammond 1590B
(bottom/inside view)

FUZZ VOLUME

INPUT CONTOUR
BODY

Parts Used
• Switchcraft 111X enclosed jacks
• Kobiconn-style DC jack with internal nut

DALLAS-ARBITER FUZZ FACE / SOLARIS FUZZ 5

Standard Wiring Diagram
This diagram shows standard true-bypass wiring
with a 3PDT switch. When the switch is off, the
input of the circuit is grounded and the input jack
is connected directly to the output jack.

The SW pad is the cathode connection for the

LED. This will connect to ground to turn it on
when the switch is on. Usage of the on-board PGND +9V
LED connection is not required if you have
specific placement needs for your enclosure,
but’s incredibly convenient.

The wiring diagram also makes use of star

grounding principles where all of the grounds
connect to a single ground point (in this case the
sleeve of the input jack). This is best practice
to avoid added noise caused by improper
grounding. The sleeve of the output jack is IN GND OUT SW
unconnected.

This PCB has been specially designed for

separate power and signal grounds, which SLEEVE
converge at the GND pad. Run the ground wire
from the DC jack to the “PGND” pad at the top. TIP

If using a painted or powdercoated enclosure, TIP

make sure both jacks have solid contact with
bare aluminum for grounding purposes. You may
need to sand off some of the paint or powdercoat
on the inside in order to make this happen.

License / Usage
No direct support is offered for these PCBs beyond the provided documentation. It is assumed that you
have at least some experience building pedals before starting one of these. Replacements and refunds will not
be offered unless it can be shown that the circuit or documentation are in error. I have in good faith tested all of
these circuits. However, I have not necessarily tested every listed modification or variation. These are offered
only as suggestions based on the experience and opinions of others.

Projects may be used for commercial endeavors in any quantity unless specifically noted. No bulk
pricing or discounting is offered. No attribution is necessary, though a link back is always greatly appreciated.
The only usage restrictions are that (1) you cannot resell the PCB as part of a kit, and (2) you cannot
“goop” the circuit, scratch off the screenprint, or otherwise obfuscate the circuit to disguise its source.
(In other words: you don’t have to go out of your way to advertise the fact that you use these PCBs, but please
don’t go out of your way to hide it. The guitar effects pedal industry needs more transparency, not less!)

DALLAS-ARBITER FUZZ FACE / SOLARIS FUZZ 6