The Benson Amps Germanium Fuzz is the latest creation from Portland's finest handmade amplifier company, perfectly capturing the sound and dynamic feel of a vintage Germanium Fuzz with some excellent modern features that remove some of the drawbacks of using Vinatge Germanium based fuzz pedals.
Designed around a pair of 2N527 Germanium transistors, the Benson Germanium Fuzz captures the range of tones offered in similar vintage pedals. Tweaking the Volume, Gain and Impedance controls can achieve everything from warm Germanium boost, gritty overdrive through to classic fuzz tones. The impedance control is key - further to the right is tighter and more crisp, with further to the left adding more hair gain. This allows you to get that 'volume rolled back fuzz sound' right out of the box. The pedal features built in buffer and pickup simulators, removing the problems associated with Germanium fuzzes sitting well alongside buffered pedals.
The game changing feature is the temperature control technology, designed to keep the Germanium transistors at optimum working temperature, no matter the external environment. When the LED is orange, the circuit is warming up. When it goes green, the ideal temperature has been achieved and the warmer turns off. It's normal for this LED to toggle back and forth between orange and green as it does its work to keep the transistors operating at the perfect temperature
