Features
These are the custom built-to-order Sun Face pedals, takes 1-2 weeks to build. We also have several types of READY TO SHIP Sun Face pedals, usually with power jack, LED, and sundial, on their own ordering page.
The slightly larger "BART" size cases can be used for any of our Sun Faces, just request one in the order comments box at checkout. The good thing about these boxes is that they allow any options (top jacks with on/off fuzz pot etc). ____________________________________________________________________________________
The Sunface has many transistor options, there is no BEST, they are all very similar but have some differences that could make some better than others for your needs.
Here is a short summary, much more info is on the Sunface page on analogman.com :
GERMANIUM: earliest Fuzz Face transistors. Temperature sensitive, warm and smooth.
2SB171 & 2SB175 Japanese transistors : usually Toshiba brand, about 40 years old. 2SB171 are Medium low gain, 2SB175 are higher gain. Not too finicky, nice warm tone, not very bright. Good cleanup. These are warm and very smooth, sort of like a flute - But the 175's ROCK!
General Electric: GE made these 2N type transistors in the 1050’s. Black larger metal cans, similar to the 2SB transistors but maybe a little brighter, not quite as smooth a little edge to them for better cut.They have the ‘GE’ logo on the tops. Come in low, med, and high gains.
2N527s: These are 2N type silver transistors with silver legs. They are fairly bright and clear, and they sound great. The USA are ‘W’ brand, medium high gain & the GE are General Electric and medium gain. The cleanup is good, depending on gain (the higher gain, the less cleanup).
BART: these became available in 2020, BIG fuzz sounds but excellent cleanup throughout the volume pot range on your guitar. Cuts through great, some edge and crunch to the sounds. Run the FUZZ knob down a bit and the BIAS up a bit for cleaner sounds like the white dot NKT275. These will use the slightly larger case as they are too big for the small case. This case allows any options (top jacks, on/off pot, top power jack if no CLEAN knob). These are sometimes just a little noisy (white noise/hiss) and come in Medium-high gain. We also have a different model of the BART which is low gain and has a Big Muff sort of sound, like an AC128 transistor, not as clear as our others but great for that thick compressed sound.
RCA: These came back in 2021! The only Germaniums we have found that are not very temperature sensitive. These are a little brighter than the NKTS (even the white dot) with a little more CUT to the sound. They clean up REALLY nicely and brighter than the NKTs when clean. They come in low gain or higher gain, low gain still has plenty of fuzz. They are not sensitive to temperatures like most germaniums, and sound good even when pretty hot.
RCA/BART Hybrid : We can use an RCA low transistor to avoid temperature instability, and a BART high transistor to make the sound fatter and fuzzier. They still clean up well, all along the volume pot range, not too fast. A little brighter than all BART. Although this is not listed as an option on the page you can order it by selecting either the RCA or BART transistors ($45 option) and in the order notes write that you'd like the RCA/BART hybrid pair. These are medium gain.
Hitachi 2SB77: These low gain germaniums from Japan have excellent characteristics and work great for a traditional sounding Fuzz Face. They have a decent amount of fuzz when up all the way, and a nice gradual cleanup, with medium tone, not too bright or dark.
NPN GERMANIUM British CV : We had some of these NOS transistors from 1976 in our stash, and saw that a British pedal builder whose work I like was using them in a popular, expensive fuzz, so we finally tried them. The main benefit they have is normal polarity so you can use a daisy chain, though I still recommend isolated power. These sound similar to the RCA, nice brightness and decent cleanup, which gets bright and British sounding. The gain is pretty high, so best to use a touch of the CLEAN trimpot unless you want the full fuzz sound.
JB Low Gain Russian Germanium : We finally made some of these up in summer 2024 by customer request, as the Dunlop version is no longer available. See the video on facebook.com. We usually have some ready to ship with power jack, LED, and sundial.
SILICON: Easier to use, no temperature issues, brighter, do not clean up like the germaniums.
BC108 : most normally found in 1970 era Fuzzfaces, metal can. Can be very high gain, can cause radio or other noise. Best to back the FUZZ KNOB or clean trimpot down a bit."C" is a high gain range, the "B" are lower but still higher than most germaniums.
BC183 : Medium high gain. I like these best for a general silicon fuzz. Almost all the silicon transistors sound about the same if you use trans with the same gain ranges. But these BC183 are all in the right gain range so it's easier to make a more consistent and excellent sounding fuzz. These are really smooth, almost like a germanium sound and people often are surprised at how well they clean up.
BC-109B Similar to BC108 but edgier, cuts well, not quite as smooth as the BC108. Has a nice attack, cuts great, lowish noise. BC-109C is higher gain, a little smoother edge than the 109B.
For more info about the Analog Man Sunface & options link here:
Power Jack
Power jack is an option on these to allow you to plug a power supply into the pedal. If you get it, the Sun Face will still come with a battery and work the same with a battery. If you might use a power supply or TheGigRig Virtual Battery, it's much better to get the power jack than to connect a cable to the battery clip. Just make sure to use ISOLATED POWER (which is what the Virtual battery does if you have a non-isolated power supply).
BATTERY DISCONNECT OPTIONS
We can add a power off switch on the FUZZ pot, when you turn it down all the way it clicks and disconnects the battery. This will only fit on the side jacks model. We can install a mini toggle switch to kill the battery on the top jacks model. If you can unplug the cable from the input jack, it will do the same thing. But for people with the pedal in the middle of their pedalboard, one of these options will make it easier if you want to use a battery. If you use a power supply (requires the power jack option) then these battery disconnect options are not needed.
CLEAN KNOB
We can move the internal white CLEAN trimpot to an external knob. It works like turning down the volume knob on your guitar, to make the sound more clean and tight/bright.
If you get this option, it will be between the Volume and Fuzz knobs and you must choose TOP JACKS. It is a smaller knob, and the other two knobs will be smaller also. The MXR KNOB rubbers will not fit if you get this option.
If you don't get the Sun Dial, we can do the clean knob as a normal size black knob in the middle of the pedal and you can get top or side jacks.
Below is the current optional CLOCK LOGO, which you can choose instead of the Sun Face.
BART size vs MXR size enclosure:
BART SIZE 125B: 2.5" wide x 4.75" tall x and 1.5" high
MXR SIZE1290 or 1590B : 2.25" wide, 4.25" tall, and about 1.25" high
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Sun Face BART/RCA Hybrid 
