fuzz face with carbon zinc vs alkaline 9v battery

[DSL74]

So is there any truth that fuzz faces sound 'better' (fuzzier?) on carbon zinc than they do on alkaline batteries? Or is it a myth? And if the consensus is that carbon zinc works better, why would that be the case?

 

[cubistguitar]

carbon zinc is best, many fuzzfaces sound kinda ratty on an alkaline or a 9v supply

some builders solve these issues in the build and I have had some that sounded good on a power supply, but often the battery rules with the basic ff circuit.

as for why it works best, I am no materials scientist, but I suspect they were designed with this power source, alkaline wasn't available for sale in the sixties

 

[DSL74]

carbon zinc is best, many fuzzfaces sound kinda ratty on an alkaline or a 9v supply

some builders solve these issues in the build and I have had some that sounded good on a power supply, but often the battery rules with the basic ff circuit.

as for why it works best, I am no materials scientist, but I suspect they were designed with this power source, alkaline wasn't available for sale in the sixties

Thanks. So do you think even a current Dunlop fuzz face like the Hendrix will sound best with a carbon zinc?

 

[Zutron]

I haven't noticed a bit of difference in my FF Hendrix mini between carbon zinc, power supply, or alkaline. Zero.

 

[kakev]

So is there any truth that fuzz faces sound 'better' (fuzzier?) on carbon zinc than they do on alkaline batteries? Or is it a myth? And if the consensus is that carbon zinc works better, why would that be the case?

Yes, they sound different. And not just fuzzfaces but for example wahs as well. Once I had to change new duracell to my wah prior gig, after gig soundguy told my wah sounded crap. For the next gig I put older battery in and asked how did it Sound now. To him it sounded alot better, was asking if I did some mods to it.. But wahs sound too spiky, stiff and trebly with new alkaline batteries.

I run my old ts-9 of voodoo lab pp2 and even with that I lower the voltage, sounds better that way. I think modern batteries are able to put out more current..

 

[DSL74]

I haven't noticed a bit of difference in my FF Hendrix mini between carbon zinc, power supply, or alkaline. Zero.

This makes me wonder if the mini uses a slightly different circuit than the full sized one and isn't as sensitive to the type of power supply, if indeed the older fuzzes sound better on carbon zinc batteries.

 

[muletrane]

Carbon

Cheaper. Sound better (maybe). Cheaper. Last long. Cheaper!

 

[coltonius]

I think the way the batteries die is also a factor, though I'm not certain of the exact specs offhand. Analog Mike has all the good details, so hopefully he'll chip in at some point!

 

[brn]

http://www.dingotone.com/wordpress/...06/Discussion-about-fuzzface-batteries-V1.pdf

 

[davidrik]

The way I understand it is the early fuzz circuit was so simple that the carbon battery was also acting as a capacitor, in addition to powering the pedal. That being said, I can hear a difference when using a carbon battery in my ge fuzz face. YMMV.