Moreland Magnetics 707 Fuzz

The Moreland 707 fuzz is a circuit is based on the rare Elka Dizzy Tone fuzz, using a more aggressive transistor set and a few minor tweaks. Due to the nature of germanium devices, each unit sounds slightly different and has its own subtle character - which is a big reason Moreland designer, Andrew Wiggins dove into collecting, building, and selling germanium fuzz. 

In short, this is his favorite fuzz circuit.  It roars, it snarls, it crumbles, it breathes; the texture is deep and complex, yet pliable and never stiff or opaque. The natural gate snaps the whole world back into context, reminding you how fearfully loud the pedal actually is, in spite of the low noise floor. 

This edition has two NOS Japanese transistors cascading into a high gain Matsushita 2SB176, stopping by an old stock 1n270 germanium diode along the way. Each set was carefully selected for tonal characteristics and audited by ear before assembly. NOS capacitors were used in the tone section for a little razzle-dazzle. 

Controls:

-Controls are, from left to right: SUSTAIN, BALANCE, and ATTACK. 

Sustain controls the amount of saturation to the third gain stage, fully clockwise can get you into saggy-bottom Neil Young territory. Balance is the closest thing you have to “volume” however in the strictest sense it does not work the same way. It may more accurately be named “Intensity”. Attack is somewhat analogous to “tone”, but also does not work the same way. Counter-clockwise is “thinner” and clockwise is “fatter” - it could also be renamed “focus”.

 -All three controls are interactive: you may not hear a huge difference in sustain or attack with higher balance settings; you may hear a volume drop with thinner attack settings, and can compensate with higher balance; you may like a lower sustain setting if you have gain stages before the pedal. My favorite setting is all three knobs at 2:00.

Power: 

-This is a POSITIVE GROUND circuit! This means, in the interest of brevity, that this pedal will NOT work in a daisy chain with other NEGATIVE GROUND pedals! 

-If you have an isolated power supply on your pedal board, you should be fine! NO REVERSE POLARITY ADAPTER IS NEEDED!

-The pedal is supplied with a 9v battery. This is the preferred method of powering your fuzz and it will last a veritable geological eon as long as you remember to unplug from the input jack when you’re not using it. Inserting a plug into the DC jack will also defeat the battery. 

-With any germanium devices, temperature is a concern due to inherent characteristics of the materials. This problem is sometimes exacerbated in “leaky” transistors, like the ones used in the third position here. You should be alright if the unit has a good hour to acclimate to room temperature after being left in extreme environments like the back of your van on a hot Texas afternoon. Outdoor gigs in direct sunlight aren’t recommended for best operation.