ArgentSilicon Fuzz

From the vendor

An all-transistor silicon fuzz with similarities to the Tone Bender, Fuzz Face and Big Muff.

The Argent Silicon Fuzz is based on the BOSS FZ-3 Fuzz, originally released in 1997. Although it was discontinued after only a couple of years, today they routinely sell for USD$250 or more. Notable users include John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins).

While it was marketed as a successor to the FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz, in reality the two circuits share nothing whatsoever in common either in tone or in the underlying circuitry. The FZ-3 is loosely based on the Fuzz Face / Tone Bender circuits, while the FZ-2 is derived from the Superfuzz with an input boost and tone stack added.

The FZ-3 has been traced on two occasions in the past, but both schematics have several incorrect values and would not result in a workable fuzz effect. We traced a third unit in 2021 to come up with a definitive schematic, and as a result, the Argent is the first accurate clone of the FZ-3.

Aside from the conversion to true bypass, the Argent is the same as the original unit with no modifications or substitutions. And while the input JFET’s type is not terribly important, Aion FX does offer the 2SK209-GR (the SMD version of 2SK184-GR used in the original) pre-soldered to through-hole adapter PCBs.

Note: This project uses a type of capacitor that has been temporarily discontinued by WIMA. Please see our news article about the issue and the substitution spreadsheet for project-specific recommendations. We are stocking a limited supply in the mean time. The build document has not yet been updated to reflect this.