BJFE / BearFoot fx Guitar Effects Community

So I've recently acquired a CAF from a fellow forum member. I'm not sure if anyone else has experienced this or not but the Nature Knob on this thing gets a little poppy, and when you sweep the knob you can hear it swelling in and out at very specific spots as well. I'm assuming that there's nothing wrong with the pedal, it's in pristine condition and still sounds amazing. My only thought was that it could be the way the germanium transistors react to changes in frequency.

Another thing too. Has anyone noticed this type of compression in the pedal? In certain sweet spots the pedal can be silent until played. Then when you stop playing there is some white noise that goes away after a bout 1-2 seconds. Just thought it was weird.

Other then that, I'm sold on this thing. The sound is really beefy compared to my other main fuzz which is a Montgomery Appliance Buzzaround. Love both because one does something the other can't. CAF more beef and more octavia. Buzzaround chainsaw ripping through flesh sounding fuzz, chord wise it's very pronounced nothing gets covered up, and the fact that I can crank my amp way up and this thing won't make a sound until asked. You could put my amp in a baby's crib and the kid wouldn't wake up.

I haven't owned or played a CAF in some time, so the first question I think I remember it as a "crackle ok" knob.

The nature knob is changing the bias, and probably many other things, so at certain settings you get noise and then nothing is due to the gating nature of the particular bias. I have the new Foxrox CC Hybrid (fuzz face style) and the bias knob which is called Grit does the same thing on the far clockwise settings. Lots of fun!

The Buzzaround style fuzz is one of the few I have never owned, or even tried though I thought I wanted one. I let my CAF go because I found it too bright. I suspect I will own one again and I have some plans to try and tame it a little. It is one pedal I wish had a Presence cut knob/trimmer to make it more versatile.

if the natur indeed controls the bias setting then thats normal. many fuzz have a gating sound when you starve the bias.

does this really have germanium transistors?

Almost positive there is a post from Bjorn about this exact thing - also almost positive it's normal

The Nature knob sets the bias.. as JK alludes to, crackle is ok. If I'm running my amps wide open or have reverb on the "crackle" can cause quite a scare...

I don't think the CAF is overly bright; maybe's it's the P90/Humbucker combos but it generates complex textures where most fuzzes cannot. We were messing around with the CAF last night for new sounds on some tracks/mic placements; both cuts are the same setting that isn't too bright but fairly complex.

two cuts pasted together; dry run then CAF.