Fuzzy Feeling

Warm and creamy Fuzz - back off if you're looking for the earsplitting-type. Great for warm and grinding 60ies Sounds - thats what I am using it for, the occasional fuzz guitar in my Surfband. Turn the attack knob up until half the way and you get a rising amount of fuzz, turn it further up and the further you go the sound gets more and more unpredictable and crazy (always reminds me a bit of those crackling Neil Young Sounds). But you can always control the level of craziness, great! If you want to get even more crazy try doing "forbidden" stuff, like for fun I put my Fender Reverb Unit BEFORE the fuzz. The result was quite interesting if you're into weird, broken sounds. I just wish Dave would build a version with a tone knob to sharpen up the sound when playing with my band, it hardly cuts through the mix, even with level cranked up to the max. In my dream world the tone knob yould just add some highs, turned all the day down it gives you the sound right like it is now... Can't wait to use it when recording though!

Never had any issues so far and the box seems reliable enough to last for years.

Two knobs, amount of fuzz and level. You can't get easier than that...

No issues - no need for support.

Together with AshBass' clone of the Morley Fuzz the best sounding Fuzzbox I tried so far. The usual "If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again" is a definite YES!! Use with a 90ies Jap Jazzmaster, SD AntiquityII PUs, Fender Reverb Unit and '64 Fender Showman in my surf-beat band.

I am by no way a fuzz expert. I find this pedal to give a very strong fuzz compared to other pedals I tried.  And I mean "real" heavy, deep fuzz, not some kind of fizzy distortion like many so-called "fuzz" pedals produce instead. The fuzz is very clear (if that makes sense) and distinct, as opposed to "cloudy" and "undefined".  Like a Harley at high RPM. Very transparent too.  You definitely hear the guitar's inherent tone bleed through (again unlike most fuzz pedals that sound the same whatever guitar and pickup position you use (e.g. Vexter fuzz) I have the attack fully to the right and it spits like it should.  Very dirty. It has just the right amount of gain.  Definitely geared towards Hendrix-type sounds. Of course a lot depends on the amp settings.  I like to put my tube amps on a clean setting so it doesn't smooth out the fuzz. I'd say this pedal gives a "middy" fuzz : Not bottom heavy like a muff but neither trebbly like a fuzz factory. From my very small experience (I only had it for a couple band practises) it doesn't cut well through my band mix so far.  But then, no other fuzz really does besides my Vexter.

I doubt any fuzz pedal will ever have reliability issues. This one looks and is built like a tank. The inner components are well soldered (Point to point soldering). Dave's crew are wizzards with a soldering iron. Extremely nice job there.  The housing is dreadful, way too big for what's inside. More like a shoe box ...

Attack knob "Attack" means fuzz. Shorter attack (to the right) is spitting, stuttering fuzz. Longer attack (to the left) gives smooth sustaining distortion. The latter setting gives a darker tone as well to my ears. Volume knob (to my ears it's a gain knob) Large On/Off button with a hard point to pass. Guitar IN/OUT jacks on both sides 9V adapter jack on top True (hard wired) bypass. Everything hand soldered. 3 PNP germanium transistors. One important thing to notice (I learned the hard way), due to the nature of PNP transistors, is that ground is on the positive terminal. Means you cannot power it together with other pedals unless they have positive ground as well (I don't know of any ...) Phase switches and inverters on your power supply won't help !! A big annoyance for pedalboards !! No ON/OFF LED ! No battery lid.  You have to unscrew the 4 bolts on the bottom plate.

I had several mail exchanges with Dave. He's an extremely nice person to deal with. Extremely helpful and knowledgeable. He once faxed me a wiring scheme for a mod on his Valve preamp. First class customer service ! I couldn't give less than a 10 here.

I like : - The price ! - The clear, distinct and deep fuzz ! I don't like : - The power supply aspect (but there is no solution).    A battery should last forever though ... - The housing. Way too big.  Make it a Boss sized box please. - The ON/OFF switch.  I prefer a smooth type switch like on my   Tech21 XXL - The paintjob and the finish.    I have the gold/bronze one with drips all over it.   (Definitely NO wizzards with a brush hehe .... ) - No ON/OFF LED (I think I might put one myself in a near future) - The big knobs.  I don't care for "retro" look.    Give me a small naked box with small knobs (like the Vexter)   and I'm happy. All in all an excellent fuzz. Some things to improve on the user interface mostly, NOT on the sound ! It would benefit from a tone knob that could actually INCREASE the trebble (as opposed to regular tone knobs that only CUT the trebble) Look folks, based on my positive experience with this pedal alone, I bought a DHA Valvetone MkII preamp a couple weeks later ... and I'm no collector. That should tell you something.