FrankenFretter
February 12th, 2011, 12:20 AM
I've had a Peavey ValveKing Royal 8 for a while now, and I never did bond with it. I tried upgrading the speaker to a Jensen Mod, but that didn't make enough of a difference for me. The overdrive always sounded too much like a kazoo for my tastes. I tried to sell it on Craig's List a couple times, but everyone who came to try it out felt the same way I did, and I couldn't really blame them.
Fast forward to a couple days ago: I read CL almost daily, and I'd seen a Fuzz Face pedal on there several times, with the price dropping a little each time. The owner had modded the pedal with a build it yourself board with germanium transistors that he'd obtained from a forum friend in England. He'd also swapped the knobs for the vintage-style top hats used in the 1969 era FF pedals. Now, I don't know nearly as much about the Dallas Arbiter FF pedals as this guy does, but he had done a lot to make the pedal vintage-correct. In his latest ad, he'd stated that he'd consider trading for a small practice amp. I emailed him with an offer to trade the Peavey for the FF, and he agreed to come and try out the amph.
To cut my already long story a bit shorter, we were both happy to make the trade, and I now have (finally!) a fuzz pedal that I'm happy with. It sounds like a good vintage FF should sound, and that's what I've been searching for. I had recently purchased an Arctec Blender Fuzz/Distortion pedal in hopes of finding a good fuzz sound, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. Close, but not quite. If anyone is interested, I'll be putting that pedal up for sale quite soon.
I know the golden rule; pics or it didn't happen. Here you go!
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_NPlyZiLy0Pw/TVYmWP2eakI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/nKKQx26Isqo/s800/100_2157.JPG
Fast forward to a couple days ago: I read CL almost daily, and I'd seen a Fuzz Face pedal on there several times, with the price dropping a little each time. The owner had modded the pedal with a build it yourself board with germanium transistors that he'd obtained from a forum friend in England. He'd also swapped the knobs for the vintage-style top hats used in the 1969 era FF pedals. Now, I don't know nearly as much about the Dallas Arbiter FF pedals as this guy does, but he had done a lot to make the pedal vintage-correct. In his latest ad, he'd stated that he'd consider trading for a small practice amp. I emailed him with an offer to trade the Peavey for the FF, and he agreed to come and try out the amph.
To cut my already long story a bit shorter, we were both happy to make the trade, and I now have (finally!) a fuzz pedal that I'm happy with. It sounds like a good vintage FF should sound, and that's what I've been searching for. I had recently purchased an Arctec Blender Fuzz/Distortion pedal in hopes of finding a good fuzz sound, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. Close, but not quite. If anyone is interested, I'll be putting that pedal up for sale quite soon.
I know the golden rule; pics or it didn't happen. Here you go!
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_NPlyZiLy0Pw/TVYmWP2eakI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/nKKQx26Isqo/s800/100_2157.JPG