Winnipeg Electrical Co.'s Homework Series Fuzz is a fantastic and distinct take on a Fuzz Factory 7 style circuit
This is one of the very best 2-Transistor Fuzzes I’ve experienced - it pays to check the instructions on this one though - as the Tone and Body controls are both inverted - going from Maximum to Minimum values! That sort of thing can at times catch me out a little!
So in one respect this is a Classic Fuzz Face, while in another it’s really a Fuzz Factory 7 style Fuzz Face - with very similar controls to that more evolved circuit.
It is therefore essentially my 5th Fuzz Factory proper - including the original Zvex Vertical one, and then extended range versions including - Bispell Audio’s Gleam, Chase Bliss’s - Bliss Factory, and Zander Circuitry’s Siclone. This Homework Series Fuzz is Germanium, as are the Bliss Factory and Zvex Fuzz Factory, while the other 2 are Silicon variants. Actually - I should probably include the Menatone Law Bender here too - as that is somewhat of Face-Bander!
Not everyone gets on with Fuzz Factory Fuzzes - but you just need to understand that this is very much a Fuzz Face at at its root - just with a few extra controls. And if you want to reduce it down to a Fuzz Face circuit - it’s just a matter of mostly winding down some of the extra controls.
Recommended Starting Positions - Volume @ Noon, Stab @ Max (9V), Drive @ Noon, Gate @ Min, Tone @ Min (inverse, therefore Max Highs), Comp @ Min, Body @ Noon (Note Body is inverse too!).
So with the recommended settings I pretty much get my perfect fuzz tone already - while I like to crank the Volume and Drive a little further - say to around 2 o’c. That is then the absolute perfect Fuzz Face voicing - and you can leave it at that if you wish. You would of course miss out on the extensive range and variety of tones those 7 controls deliver - I’m always delighted when a pedal is properly at unity at around noon - which is very much the case here!
Alternatively you can start winding back the Stability control, and winding up the Compression - which inevitably means you need to raise the Gate value too. The Fuzz Factory and Fuzz Factory 7 have a weird reputation of being somewhat unruly / unwieldy - but you can always bring them quickly to heel if you know what you’re doing. I guess there is still some skill to the degree and finesse of knob-twiddling for all those in-between sweet spots - while it shouldn’t be a format that is difficult to master for most.
Controls - Volume, Stability (Bias / Starve / 9V CW), Drive, Gate (Threshold), Tone (LPF), Compression, Body (< More Low End | Less Low End >).
Zvex Fuzz Factory 7 Controls - Volume, Stability, Drive, Gate, Tone, Compression, Fat, Tone Defeat 2nd Footswitch.
It doesn't take a PHD to establish the similarities in exterior topology between the Homework Fuzz and Zvex Fuzz Factory 7 - the knobs are in different positions - but they're labelled pretty much identically bar the Body / Fat control. That works slightly different on both pedals too - in that the Zvex Fuzz Factory 7 Fat control is a 9 position rotary selector - which one assumes switches in different capacitor values, while for this Homework Fuzz - Body is a variable control - which sweeps between 2 Capacitor Values - More Bass to the Left, and Less to the Right! For me for some reason, the most Bass is to be fond at the 9 o'c position! And the Goldilocks setting for that parameter is very much the middle!
The interior circuit I'm led to believe is somewhat differently set up and calibrated - it certainly delivers on all fronts for me. When you turn up certain controls though - you can fairly easily get a sort of feedback 'whistle' sound - which you then dial out using the Gate, or else knock back those controls a little! The guitar volume cleanup for this fuzz is of course the usually amazing level you get for Germanium Fuzz Faces.
Geoff at WEC has picked a great sounding pair of Germanium Transistors - ASY33S designation - which are the military specification equivalent of AC128's. I really love everything about this pedal - it's relatively easy to dial in - and relatively easy to get great tones out of. And of course it comes at an amazing price - I'm not saying it's the exact equivalent of a Fuzz Factory 7 - as that has some different features, include the second Tone Defeat Footswitch.
Hand-painted Zvex Fuzz Factories are at $549, the Vexter Edition is at $399, while this WEC Homework Series Fuzz Edition is just $199 CAD - which amounts to circa $150, and less than £120 - an absolute bargain for sure! Get yours now on the Winnipeg Electrical Co. Webstore - before Geoff runs out of stock on this ASY33S's!
Demos
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
