Uploaded June 2014 | Updated September 2026, 16 hours ago
Description The Hoofbag has constructed a 300mW 9 volt Germanium amplifier for electric guitar. It's a Gr8 idea to build your circuits on a solder-less breadboard just in order to find out if the design suits your needs, before rendering it to a soldered state. The transistors are a VN5444 (which is roughly the equivalent to an OC45. An OC81D and a pair of germanium transistors of unknown manufacturer. Germanium, as opposed to silicon, integrated circuit and valve/tube has its own unique sound when an electric guitar is played through it at power levels where distortion occurs. Germanium is preferred to any other semiconductor active component, for fuzz box construction: This is probably because the original fuzzes used germanium technology, so has a certain authenticity. The Driver transformer: an LT44, output transformer: LT700, both available for about £2.50 each from eBay. Germanium transistors however, are becoming very costly because constructors want them for fuzz box building. A good book to buy for this subject: and is where the original but hoof modified schematic was taken from is Audio Projects by FG Rayer, T.Eng. (CEI), Assoc. IERE. Bernard Babani BP90. The Hoofbag will upload a schematic for this little amplifier to hoofbags.me.uk
Description The Hoofbag has constructed a 300mW 9 volt Germanium amplifier for electric guitar. It's a Gr8 idea to build your circuits on a solder-less breadboard just in order to find out if the design suits your needs, before rendering it to a soldered state. The transistors are a VN5444 (which is roughly the equivalent to an OC45. An OC81D and a pair of germanium transistors of unknown manufacturer. Germanium, as opposed to silicon, integrated circuit and valve/tube has its own unique sound when an electric guitar is played through it at power levels where distortion occurs. Germanium is preferred to any other semiconductor active component, for fuzz box construction: This is probably because the original fuzzes used germanium technology, so has a certain authenticity. The Driver transformer: an LT44, output transformer: LT700, both available for about £2.50 each from eBay. Germanium transistors however, are becoming very costly because constructors want them for fuzz box building. A good book to buy for this subject: and is where the original but hoof modified schematic was taken from is Audio Projects by FG Rayer, T.Eng. (CEI), Assoc. IERE. Bernard Babani BP90. The Hoofbag will upload a schematic for this little amplifier to hoofbags.me.uk
