Seven Fuzz Topologies of the 1960s, Pt. 7: The Jordan Boss Tone
Part 7 of Seven Fuzz Topologies of the 1960s, a bench-reference series. New here? Pt. 1 covers the drawing conventions and how to read the clipping diagrams.
7
Capacitive-Coupled Dual-NPN Cascade
Jordan Boss Tone "California" topology · 1966
Two capacitor-coupled common-emitter gain stages in a row, then a pair of clipping diodes on the output. Both stages saturate, so the transistors square the wave first and the diodes then level the top and bottom of an already square signal.
- Devices
- Silicon NPN ×2, 9 V, negative ground
- Supply as drawn
- +9 V
- Controls
- ATTACK (input level) · VOLUME
- Clipping
- transistor saturation ×2, then symmetric diode clipping
Stage by stage
- Each stage is the same building block: collector-to-base bias resistor, 10 k collector load, small emitter resistor. Gain per stage is ~20, so the pair delivers ~400 before anything clips, far more than a guitar needs.
- Because the stages are capacitor-coupled they each find their own bias point, so the design is far less fussy about transistor gain than the direct-coupled Fuzz Face.
- Q1 starts to clip asymmetrically (transistor style); Q2 finishes the job and produces a square wave. The diodes to ground on the output then hold both halves to ±0.6 V, which evens out the asymmetry and fixes the output level regardless of how hard you play.
- The Boss Tone plugs straight into the guitar jack, so its ATTACK control is effectively a second guitar volume knob in front of the whole thing.
Bench notes & values
- The stage values here are representative, chosen to bias each collector near mid-rail with a modern hFE ~200 part, rather than a trace of a specific unit. Original "California" units used 2N2924-class NPN parts; the later Nashville version rearranged the diodes. If you want to reproduce a specific year, trace that unit’s values in.
- Try removing the 470 Ω emitter resistors (ground the emitters) for more gain and a fuzzier, more Fuzz-Face-like clip; keep them for a tighter, more controlled sound.
- Bench cost: about $2.
Same topologyJordan Boss Tone (California)Jordan Boss Tone (Nashville)