“THE GOOD ONE”
After studying and analyzing so many Muffs over the years, one thing WAC knows for sure is that vintage does not always mean great tone. This is particularly true of triangle knob era Muffs which have been reported to have up to 18 different circuits all housed in the same enclosure! For a real treasure, you have to come across a truly GOOD ONE.
“DIRTY GUTS”
Pedals are weird; sometimes using the “wrong” components creates a certain magic that can’t quite be explained, and the G. Smith pedal is proof of that.
So here’s where the “Dirty Guts” come in. WAC decided to seek out surplus bags of old crusty ceramic disk caps. The older and dirtier, the better. There was some trial and error; they wanted caps that were old, but also consistent. There were batches that were too inconsistent or too crumbly and delicate from improper storage to be used. Some were just too cheaply made. But after some hunting around, they were able to find old, dirty, somewhat crusty, but reliable and consistent caps that would help to recreate the magic inside of Mr. Smith’s pedal.
When you look inside the Good One, it’s a grungy mix of old and new that has its own unique beauty.
RESISTORS
For the Good One, WAC elected to use NOS carbon composition resistors wherever possible. However, after doing some measurements, there was a particularly odd-ball value that was quite a ways off from its stated value. Because the value of these resistors is not a standard one for carbon-composition resistors, the only way to compensate for this is to use two mil-spec metal film resistors. So, if you take a peek inside the pedal, you’ll see two shiny new light blue resistors nestled in with all those old-school brown carbon comps.
TRANSISTORS
For the transistors, WAC settled on two that they had never used, nor come across before. They went through a few different vintage transistors, tried a mix of old and new, tried all NOS, then all new, and several combinations thereof. After poring over way too many data sheets, they finally settled on a couple of transistors that were not NOS, not crusty, not that hard to find, not commonly used for pedals, but that absolutely nailed the sound of the original half-spherical FS3700 black-top transistors.
The rest of this new pedal follows their usual practice of top-quality components, hand-wiring, and genuine mechanical true-bypass switching.
The heavy-duty folded steel enclosure is made, painted, and silkscreened in Los Angeles by two multigenerational small businesses.
So there it is… the story of The Good One, affectionately known as the “G Smith” at the shop.
