Many fuzz enthusiasts swear that the germanium Fuzz Face possesses a certain magic that was lost when the design later moved to silicon: warmth, musicality, and unmistakable mojo.\n\nThe downside is that authentic germanium fuzz circuits can be notoriously temperamental. Changes in ambient temperature can have a significant impact on their behaviour, making them far less predictable than their silicon counterparts.<\/p>\n
The Deitsch Mark 1 is a loose reinterpretation of the 1966 Fuzz Face, featuring a number of thoughtful improvements that make it more flexible and more practical to use than its ancestor.<\/p>\n
The most notable improvement is the addition of a dedicated BIAS<\/strong> control and an indicator LED that lights up when the circuit reaches its sweet spot<\/em>. This allows you to quickly compensate for temperature changes and dial the pedal back into its optimal operating range.<\/p>\n You can even take it further and intentionally set the bias a little above or below the sweet spot, depending on your preference.\n\nPushing the bias control to its limits also opens the door to more \u201cbroken\u201d and unstable tones.<\/p>\n The pedal also includes a very responsive TONE<\/strong> control and a MOSFET BOOST <\/strong>with plenty of gain on tap.\n\nThe boost is particularly useful when working the guitar\u2019s volume knob, letting you explore the beautiful clean-up behaviour typical of germanium circuits.<\/p>\n