The Perfect Fuzz Face! | Expresso FX Ge Fuzz Mini (NOS Newmarket CV7005, Texas Instruments 2N1307)

The Perfect Fuzz Face! | Expresso FX Ge Fuzz Mini (NOS Newmarket CV7005, Texas Instruments 2N1307) A pair of NOS germanium transistors from two different eras. One from Newmarket, England. One from Texas Instruments. Together in one compact Hammond enclosure, built by hand in the UK by one of the most obsessive boutique fuzz builders alive. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:43 Demo Begins, Redland Amp Head Set Low Gain, Ge Fuzz Mini Cranked, Guitar Volume at 10 01:56 Slight Volume Knob Cleanup for Killer Glassy Clarity! 02:59 Lowering Guitar Volume for More Clarity 03:33 Jam Pedals Retrovibe MK.4 with Volume Knob Cleanup 04:27 Guitar Volume to Max 05:02 Retrovibe Vibrato Mode 06:16 Retrovibe Bypassed, Redland Amp Head Set High Gain 07:09 Guitar Volume Nearly at Zero, Exploring Benson Redland EQ Scoop 08:43 Guitar Tone to Minimum for a Neck Pickup Sound 09:11 Knobs back to 10, Amp Treble set brighter 09:32 Darkening Amp Tone, Retrovibe with Amp Set High Gain, Fuzz Cranked In this episode, the Expresso FX Germanium Fuzz Mini is the story. Expresso FX is the work of Sof — a UK-based builder who has earned a devoted following among the NOS transistor faithful, described by some as the fourth of the great UK Fuzz Lords alongside Stu Castledine, Steve 'Pigdog' Williams, and David Main of DAM. The Germanium Fuzz Mini is Sof's compact-format take on the classic Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face two-transistor circuit, and the component specification is as serious as it gets. Inside: NOS Philips moulded metallised polyester capacitors — the exact same type found in the original Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face — NOS Allen-Bradley carbon comp resistors, premium Cliff UK jacks, 22 AWG solid core silver-plated copper wire with Teflon insulation, and premium Kester lead-free silver-based solder throughout. The enclosure is a genuine Hammond aluminium unit, powder-coated to the highest standard. True bypass throughout. The transistor pairing in this unit is the premium option — a Newmarket CV7005 and a Texas Instruments 2N1307. The CV7005 is a military-spec Newmarket germanium device with a warm, full, touch-sensitive voice closely related to the celebrated NKT275 family — one of the most sought-after transistors in the boutique fuzz world. The TI 2N1307 brings a complementary textural character to the first stage. Together they form an asymmetric, dynamically expressive circuit with the hallmark qualities of the very best germanium Fuzz Face-style builds: enormous dynamic range off the guitar volume, a bloom and warmth that silicon cannot replicate, and a responsiveness to pick attack that makes the pedal feel less like a piece of outboard gear and more like an extension of the instrument. The Mini ships tuned to vintage Fuzz Face specs, and like all great germanium circuits it wants to sit first in your signal chain — ahead of any buffers. From there, it covers the full spectrum: from barely-there whisper clean at rolled-back guitar volume to a massive, singing, full-bloom germanium fuzz with the guitar on ten and the Fuzz control opened up. In between is where the magic lives — that three-quarters-up territory where the germanium is just beginning to saturate, every nuance of pick attack shapes the tone, and the circuit breathes with the player in a way that no pedal schematic can fully account for. The Shock the Fox TGF — a one-of-a-kind bolt-on DeeCee model built by Tye Tyler from a single board of Pecky Cypress, with a dual carbon fiber and truss rod neck, Halon 1/2 Tele bridge aged in Greece, FoxLock neck pocket, and a Righteous Sound King Street P90 with matching Pecky Cypress insert. The King Street is an early-P90-inspired low-wind Alnico 2 design with broad midrange, growly lows, and top-end chime — an ideal voice for feeding a germanium circuit. Electronics are Emerson Premier Pro pots and cap, a custom Caroline Guitar Co treble bleed, and an Analysis Plus output jack. Into a Benson Redland 35 Head and 2x12" cabinet — 35 watts of 6L6-driven American tone with Chris Benson's uniquely interactive Redland EQ — with the Benson Tall Bird Plus all-tube spring reverb and harmonic optical tremolo running post-preamp in the loop of a Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander. It's a rig worthy of the fuzz in front of it. This is what happens when NOS component obsession meets a builder who truly understands what the circuit wants to do. #ExpressoFX #GermaniumFuzz #FuzzFace #NOSTransistors #ShockTheFox #RighteousSound #BensonAmps #Redland35 #TallBirdPlus #GermaniumTransistors #P90Pickups #BoutiqueGuitar #BoutiqueFuzz #FuzzPedal #EdgeOfBreakup Subscribe for more boutique tone explorations. 🎸 Shock the Fox TGF | Pecky Cypress | Righteous Sound King Street P90 | Emerson Premier Pro | Caroline Guitar Co Treble Bleed | Analysis Plus Jack | Halon 1/2 Tele Bridge (aged in Greece) 🎛️ Expresso FX Ge Fuzz Mini | NOS Newmarket CV7005 & Texas Instruments 2N1307 🔊 Benson Redland 35 Head & 2x12" Cab | Benson Tall Bird Plus