Unlike a pedal like a Tube Screamer, which will always sound good if the right chip and other parts are installed correctly, a fuzzface is a very finicky circuit. The transistors used in a fuzzface make all the difference in tone, feel, and amount of fuzz/cleanliness. Germanium transistors were the first type of transistors generally available, starting in the early 1960s. They are not very stable or easy to manufacture consistently. Since silicon transistors took over from germanium, almost nobody makes germaniums anymore, and the few that are made just don't do the trick in a fuzzface circuit. Each transistor used in a fuzzface needs to be tested for several parameters including gain, leakage, noise, and tone to make a great sounding fuzz. These transistors are just not available in any decent quantity. For these reasons, no big company can, or usually even tries to, make a classic fuzzface that sounds good. It's too much of a hassle.

We have a Fuzz Face modification I do to the Dunlop reissue Fuzz Faces or Arbiter UK reissues which makes them sound GREAT, just like Clapton in Cream or early Hendrix. We also sell our own version, the SUN FACE, if you do not already have a pedal for us to mod. The sound is nice and smooth, singing bluesy tone, not harsh noisy fuzz.

This pedal is VERY SENSITIVE to your guitar volume : if you turn down a Strat's volume to about 7, there is very little distortion. At 9, it is a nice smooth bluesy tone, like Clapton in Cream. At 10, it is quite fuzzy, especially if you have hot pickups or humbuckers. Also, if you use another effect before the fuzz face, it can make it get a nastier distortion. You may try running a Distortion+ or compressor into the fuzz face, or vice versa, with varying volume settings on the guitar and/or effects. But for the purest tone, there should be no effects between the guitar and the fuzz. However, effects with true bypass that are turned OFF are OK before the fuzz (for example, a Teese wah). Vintage style wah pedals have some issues when used with a vintage style fuzz face (though Jimi did not seem to mind!).

The middle knob is on center of the Sun Face Graphics. It is the exact same function and circuit as the internal BIAS trim pot on the 2 knob model. It is used for keeping the fuzz happy at different temperatures, and with different or worn batteries. The SUNDIAL so the face is vertical at our shop temperature (70 degrees or so depending on if it's Winter or Summer!). You can set it by ear, just turn it up until the buzziness goes away as much as you like. Jim Weider has an NKT Sunface with the SUN DIAL and likes to run the sundial higher than our normal setting, he turns it almost all the way up for less fuzz and a purer tone. You can turn it down all the way for a sound like "spirit in the sky", where the fuzz fizzes out.