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SHIN-EI COMPANION FY-2 FUZZ
One of my favourite pedals I have had for awhile now is the Shin-ei Companion FY-2 Fuzz. The FY-2 was sold under a number of brand names, such as Jax, Apollo and Kimbara but was designed by the same company that made the Univox Super-Fuzz.
This fuzz pedal is not for the tone enthusiasts. It manages to create a sound more similar to a construction site than a musical instrument. It can definitely be categorised at the opposite end of the spectrum of the many, many boutique overdrives in the market. The fuzz can be described as a violent splutter rather than a long, sustained overdrive output.
This pedal currently populates the board of Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood and can be heard on bass lines from tracks such as Exit Music (For A Film) and Myxomatosis. The pedal has also been an instrumental sound on The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy.
These Japanese fuzz pedals were discontinued in the ’60s and have become a highly sought after dirt box, in part for its NPN Silicon 2SC536F transistors, and for the passive mid-scoop between the fuzz-generating circuitry and output level control. These features fuse together to give the notorious “chainsaw cutting a beehive” sound.
Here’s a quick demo of the FY-2.
Clip Details: Fender Jazzmaster > FY-2 > Boss RC-20XL Looper > Marshall JCM600
Guitar Settings: Rhythm played with volume knob turned down. Lead with volume knob maxed.
Pedal Settings: [FY-2] Volume set to Max, Fuzz to 2:00.
C.
Christian,
I wonder if you have tried out one of Happy Robot’s pedals?
In particularly the Shin-ei FY-2 Fuzz Replica >>>
http://www.happyrobotmusic.co.uk/shin_ei_fy2.html
I’ve been trying to hunt down an original FY-2 Fuzz box but
haven’t been able to catch one. I’ve missed out on the last
few.
Let me know your opinion on the Happy Robot FY-2. I will be
marrying the FY-2 with a AD-80 delay, boss TR2 tremolo, and
a Shin-ei fuzz wah to create loud chainsaw-like melodies.
Regards,
Christian
Hey Christian,
That Happy Robot pedal is a great replica. It does achieve similar sounds to the FY-2 but the Scoop setting alters the tone altogether. One of the drawbacks of the FY-2 is that the mid-scoop really cuts the output volume, so much so, that for use in a band context I have to run a clean boost after it.
Also, the FY-2 doesn’t so much scoop the mids and boost the lows and highs, it REALLY boosts the highs and cuts the mids. It is a high gain treble nasty sound that I haven’t seen replicated 100% yet. The Happy Robot can get similar sounds (esp. in the first minute of the clip) and can get you more bass heavy tones as well. It is a good option until that one comes around again.
Post a clip here when you do get your effects chain together. I’d love to hear it. Sounds Spacemen 3-esque!
C.
Thanks Christian,
Are you saying the Happy Robot FY-2 mid-scoop really cuts the output volume.., or the Shin-ei FY-2?
If that’s what you are saying, Happy Robot dude said he can leave off the mid-scoop knob.
Regards,
C
No, the FY-2 has a big mid-scoop. I’d grab the Happy Robot with that Mids control as you’d have more sounds available to you, while still having the original tones.
Another feature of the FY-2 is that it allows a lot of the bass frequencies through. This makes it appealing to bass players (Colin Greenwood) as well as guitarists. By stacking some bass heavy overdrives/fuzz into the FY-2, you can get a tone similar to those found on the Happy Robot clips. So if you do decide on the Happy Robot, I would keep the Scoop control.
C.
hey guys, Ian here from Ghost Effects/Happy Robot, some good discussion!
yeah my version has the scoop control which means you can vary the amount of mid scoop that is applied to the sound, its a commonly known mod for the fy-2. Some people also build them ‘straight’ but with a booster like the eh lpb after the circuit to make up for the volume loss because of the mid scoop. I like the scoop control as it gives a lot of variation to the tones available giving you sounds more like a fuzzrite and other classic fuzz sounds, in fact the fy-2 without the mid scoop section is very similar to the fuzzrite and other pedals of the era.
I actually have a prototype here of something i have been messing with, its a variation of the fy-2 circuit without the entire mid scoop section but with 4 controls, level (self explanatory), attack (like a fuzz control on a fuzz face, something the fy-2 lacks), blend (same as the ‘fuzz’ control on the fy-2 but i use different value capacitors to make it a bit more extreme), and timbre (similar to the tone control on a tonebender mkIII/Buzzaround). Also i used a Si transistor for q1 and a Germanium transistor for q2!
cheers for the interest in my fy-2! ; )
That sounds great Ian.
An interesting mod I have done before is adding a recovery stage by adding Q3+tone control a la Coloursound Tone Bender.
Can’t wait to see a production unit and thanks for the update.
C.
hi, im lucky enuff to have both an original fy-2 and a happy robot version. the happy robot one sounds almost identical to the original, possibly better apart from it not having the originals “mojo”, but thats to be expected with any clone. the mid scoop massively improves on the original. i can get a convincing mbv “sometimes” sound from mine, as well as the usual jamc/cramps/spacemen 3 sound the original is known for. highly reccomended
Hi Christian,
I’m working with the Foxx Tone Machine reissue (a similar effect to the original Univox Superfuzz, as both the Foxx Tone Machine and the Univox follow full-wave rectification with diode clipping and some filtering). I’m sure that between the two circuits, there is a similar design, although I’ve never looked at the Univox personally. Do you think the Q3+tone control would be a good addition to make to the Foxx? If so, how did you do it?
A good tone circuit to try is the three knob Tonebender. Just be sure to have a good recovery stage post-tone stack.
C.