Piercing Moose Octifuzz

I should note that my inital interest in fuzz and octave-fuzz came from a desire to add is-the-battery-dead-or-is-my-guitar-broken and other aberrations of guitar sound to my sonic options... I'm not particularly interested in getting "that Hendrix sound". Since Way Huge's out of business, finding a brand new Piercing Moose was a pleasant surprise, though finding out it would cost twice as much as it did when the co. was in business was not. I auditioned at least 8 other fuzz and octifuzzes (octifuzzi?) and was treated to quite an education in how different each one is... you soon find that each excels at a particular aspect of the desired effect but that the area of overlap between any 2 models (even made by the same manufacturer) tends to be small. I came away certain that I will be getting at least one or two other pedals touted as doing the "same" thing some day, but the sound of the Piercing Moose was exactly what I wanted. The Fuzz control yields a wide range of options and the interactions between the Tone and Fuzz controls further broadens the palette of options. This pedal seemed to be the most flexible of the bunch... I expected the Fulltone Ultimate Octave to easily steal such distinction, but for all of it's tweak-ability, the yield in terms of sound quality and range was average at best. For auditioning purposes I used a good-but-nothing-special Strat through a Vox AC30 set reasonably flat and clean. I played a wide range of things (played certain chords, intervals, lines, bends, etc), but repeated these same things throughout the comparisons. My Moose now spends most of the time running through a Rivera and/or Fender and guitars are usually Danelectro (6/12/bari) and an Ibanez Artist (when humbuckers are wanted). Though I've had the pedal for a relatively short time (about a month), it's of proven value to me. Also, it has a wonderful penchant for creating rich and complex harmonic interactions with the amplifier and guitar.

I've not had this pedal long enough to know if it's as well built as it seems. The pedal feels quite solid... The footswitches are not the most sturdy I've seen and have little black plastic caps on top of them which makes me a little nervous... I'm not particularly graceful or careful with my stomping (they are called "stompboxes" afterall). No problems so far... No idea what I'd do if it died... it's a wonderful pedal, but it's extremely hard to find and will only get more expensive and harder to find as time goes on. (Guess I'd build that Foxx Tone Machine afterall!)

Despite a vast range of tone possibilities, the Piercing Moose provides a manageable 3 knobs (volume/tone/fuzz) and 2 footswitches (fuzz on/off and add/remove octave up) with which to explore the fuzz and injectable octave. Also, the LED has 3 states: off (no effecting employed); green (fuzz on); and red (fuzz and octave on). A part of me would've liked a bit more control over specific nuances of the effect. However, whatever minor tweaking control may be lost/missing is compensated in the ease-of-use department. Though easy, a manual (schematic too?!) with some suggested settings to try would've been nice.

I've heard great things about the company (and it's talented founder)... which makes it that much more of a bummer that Way Huge is not officially around anymore. A "Lifetime Warranty" card came with this pedal... I'm rather curious if I'll get any response after sending it in...

Overall is a good word for this pedal... It has a wide range of sonic options that are easily accessible and adjustable with a few nice "extremes" as well. Unlike the numerous other pedals that really only "shine" at their extremes and are somewhat lackluster at any more subtle settings, the Piercing Moose delivers across the gamut. I've been a gear-headed guitar dork for at least 15 years and play  a range of stuff... primarily folk, pop and noise rock. While always keen on new and interesting ways to make "noise"... the Moose has and will likely continue to see it's best and most interesting uses in my more "pop" oriented stuff... it's a wonderful wrench to throw into anything in danger of sounding complacent. If it were lost or stolen... I really hope that never happens! It's so hard to find and so damn expensive. I might revisit the Prescription Electronics "Face Lift" (4-knob Silicon version... one rare time where Germanium isn't necessarily better), because it had the most overlap... (but cost half as much)... or I might build a Foxx Tone Machine and start playing with the electronics to get it to act like a Moose. I wish it had a bit more direct control over the "intensity" of the interaction between the octave, fuzz and tone... and that one could control gating of some sort to allow for more options in the fart'n'fall off department. It's a major shame that Way Huge's gone. The pedals aren't as sexy as zvex and such... but they did a darn good job of the task at hand.

The pedal is very clean, and has true bypass so it won't interfere with your unmodified signal. The Fuzz is OUT OF THIS WORLD. It has a butter smooth feeling, overtones are present load and clear. You can dial up some crazy sounds too, some of which would be enjoyed by only a small number people on the planet. However, there is an incredible range of sounds that sits in the palatable domain.

The box is built for abuse and I trust it. But this is only trust as I have not owned it long enough to say its totally reliable.

The Piercing Moose has three controls, Fuzz, Tone, and Level. All are tuned, so placing the pot at a particular setting means that it is well defined. This is as opposed to some pedals where you get it to 1/4 and its as though the thing were already maxed out. The relationships between the Fuzz/Tone and the Level settings are little more involved. e.g. raising the Fuzz adds a bit of level.

I've talked directly to the maker/designer on the phone, he was really helpful in helping me make a decision. It is a small operation so it is hard to say what will happen when they get swamped.

I would buy this pedal over and over. It it responds to many nuances of my playing, it changes character as a roll the volume on the guitar off. And the tone is perfect. I am a also an owner of a Sovtek Big Muff, and although the Big Muff can generate some interesting tones it is definitely a pain in the ass. The pots are tuned horribly, and pedal sucks tone out of your signal when off. I plan to keep a sharp eye on what Way Huge is doing, they have a great line of products already, and have some very interesting future models coming.