Sunface

Mike Piera started building Sunfaces in 2002, quickly establishing the benchmark for Fuzz Face recreations. Each unit uses hand-selected transistors from his massive vintage collection, with germanium options including RCA, Japanese 2SB175, and various NKT variants, plus silicon choices like Telefunken BC108 and BC109.

Two knobs handle Volume and Fuzz, with an optional third Sundial knob that externally adjusts transistor bias. At its sweet spot (around 5 volts on the bias), the circuit responds to guitar volume roll-offs just like the best 1960s originals, cleaning up from full fuzz to sparkling clean.

Under 1mA current draw means a battery lasts hundreds of hours. Germanium versions run positive ground (center-positive power). Players include David Gilmour, Dan Auerbach, Doyle Bramhall II, and Jorma Kaukonen.