The original Zonk Machine was a 3 transistor germanium fuzz derived from a Tonebender MkI and produced for a short time in the 1960’s. Like my regular Zonk, this version has a slightly modified circuit in that it includes a 3-way tone switch and two internal trim pots for adjusting the overall gain. These trims are important when compensating for temperature variations, as germanium transistors are very temperature sensitive and in hot conditions, the gain will increase. I produce my Zonk using high quality, professionally manufactured PCB’s. Specific transistors are selected for gain and leakage as opposed to any particular brand, and may not be exactly as pictured.

The Zonk Machine is one of the more esoteric designs on the market and has a fairly unique character. It can go from a soft reedy fuzz to all-out gain, almost overdrive in texture, but at all times there is a certain amount of gating, especially on the tail of the notes. Unlike a Fuzz Face, it will not clean up on the guitar volume. Despite the gating effects, the pedal is also capable of tremendous sustain, hanging on to the note even when it seems it ought to die. Check out the demo section for examples

New Hybrid Version

Back in the 60’s, a few “hybrid” Zonks were produced. Hybrid in this context means a mixture of silicon and germanium transistors. This was presumably done for the same reason you’d want to do it now - namely, matching 3 transistors for the Zonk is tricky, and germanium is temperature sensitive, whereas silicon is not. My implementation of the silicon transistor into the circuit is slightly different to the vintage circuit as my goal was to do so without changing the sound. The original hybrid Zonks sound somewhat different to the fully germanium ones.