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Blacktop Fuzz – Vintage Silicon Muscle. This Keeley machine is a relatively straight-ahead fuzz. The magic is in the transistors. Germanium sounds great if it’s got the perfect gain and is just freshly off-loaded from the freezer. Again, no Texas Motor Speedway for those old NKT-275 guys. I like my fuzz a little dark. I like my fuzz thick and sticky. Not quite Velcro, but getting there. I like it sensitive and low noise! I don’t like noise or hiss! I want my dynamics to reign supreme. Tell ya what, these transistors got it babe.
The circuit features one thing I really like, a battery sag switch. Eric Johnson (a great Texan mind you) hit it right on the head. The voltage sag makes a difference. It makes it spongy, softer, more pleasant on the ear. So we sag the heck out of the supply voltage and give you a nice Yin/Yang thang. You chose, saggy or tight. Soft or bold. For Fuzz fans, this is where Eric Johnson meets Joe Bonamassa. Tuned in-between the two. You never have to worry about it going dead on you when it hits about 90 degrees. Toss it in your gig bag and know that you have that sound, just right, any time. That border between germanium and modern silicon, the Vintage Fairchild 2N3565. The Keeley Blacktop Fuzz – Vintage Silicon Muscle.