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  #1  
Old 01-28-2010, 12:34 AM
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bucket brigade and germanium - what?

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Hi

can anyone tell me what bucket-brigade means in relation to delay or anyother effects?

can anyone tell me what the difference is between germanium and other types of fuzz including double germanium?

thanks
Bassnut62
  #2  
Old 01-28-2010, 12:43 AM
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A bucket brigade is a type of IC chip that can store voltage levels in each of its little storage cells, and then pass that stored voltage level on to the next cell, and then the next, like a bucket of water passed from one person to the next. Your instrument signal is the voltage, and each time the stored piece gets passed along, it outputs another "repeat" of delay. It's called analog delay, but actually it's in a gray area between analog and digital.

Germanium is an element, and various transistors can be made with different elements. The other most common one is silicon. In a fuzz circuit, germanium is said to have more of a smooth "vintage" tone, while silicon is said to be more cutting and "modern"--but don't take those descriptions as pure fact, only a vague generalization. "Double germanium" just means two of them were used, for a slightly different tone. There is no generalization to be made about the sound of two germ transistors vs. one, so you'll need to read peoples' descriptions of the specific pedals they're used in. E.g. look for posts comparing the single-germ B:Assmaster to the double-germ one.
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  #3  
Old 01-28-2010, 08:48 AM
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Hi Bongo

Thanks for those two excellent explanations.

I now understand germanium fuzz and will try and have a listen to some differences.

I think I've got it with bucket brigade too. I hope you don't mind a couple more questions tho:
Are there three types of delay then, i.e digital, bucket brigade and analog; or is it more that bucket brigade is a kind of form of analog?
In which case, what sort of differences are there in sound qualities between BB and analog?

The knowledge in this community is such a great resource, so generously shared. Thanks one and all
  #4  
Old 01-28-2010, 08:52 AM
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what is generally called "analog delay" is bucket-brigade. Analog is a misnomer, but it does differentiate this technology from modern digital delay.

"true analog" delays do exist - tape delay and oil-can delay are the only ones I know of - and the oil-can is almost a crude form of BBD...
  #5  
Old 01-28-2010, 08:58 AM
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Also, diodes as well as transistors can be made out of germanium, and these are often used (although usually silicon) in most distortion/fuzz circuits to clip the signal.
  #6  
Old 01-28-2010, 09:01 AM
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thanks guys.
  #7  
Old 01-28-2010, 09:24 AM
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I think you're seeing the term bucket brigade used more now because marketers are starting to use it to differentiate "real" analog delays from digitally modeled ones.

Germanium fuzz has come to mean smoother/better/vintage to some people, though "perhaps somewhat different" is maybe a more accurate description. There were plenty of vintage fuzzes using silicon as well, and there is often a wide variation in the sound of individual examples of either type (so there are plenty of "bad" sounding germanium fuzzes out there).

In the larger electronic world, germanium was replaced by silicon, because silicon is superior in 99% of electronic applications - where you're not deliberately clipping it to get distortion. Because of this, it's not readily available, making it rare, and thus more desirable to some for that reason alone.

drewfx
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