Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Fuzz Box Fiasco: Part #1. OctaFUZZ by. Fuzz Puppy

Analog War Cry
-presents-
Fuzz Box Fiasco
A collection of unique and superb stompboxes




  • Builder - Tim Weghorst
  • From - Bradenton, Florida
  • Years in Game - 2 Years
  • Pedal - OctaFuzz

And so it begins... another killer collection of what we think are some of the best fuzz pedals out there right now. The years have gone by and the originals and favorites of times past still make their permanent home on many of our pedalboards and rigs. It wasn't until I began this site that I realized there was so much more out there, not to take anything away from the amazing fuzz pedals that have been delivering decade after decade. I decided to hunt down the scene for something new - and low and behold what I'd discover was an entire community of one-man operations, small indie companies, and startups that were building higher quality, longer lasting, and insanely great sounding stompboxes. I've tested a ton of pedals throughout the years, not all have made it on the site, but for those that have I truly believe they are the cream of the crop. The underdog deserves his day in sun from time to time, and today we let him have.

Something completely new for you guys, or at least it was new to me up until a few weeks ago. I present to you guys and welcome FuzzPuppy! A small handbuilt stompbox company run by the one and only Tim Weghorst - a cat with a passion for great tone, a love for music, and a proper background in electronics engineering (what more could you ask for?). Put it all together and wallah! FuzzPuppy is born. So far so good, and what makes this little pedal outfit even cooler is not only do they create killer sounding pedals, but with every pedal you buy they help a dog charity in need. Pretty freakin' cool if you ask me. Who doesn't dig that? Effects pedals and helping pups! I'm sure I'll be bringing you guys some more features from FuzzPuppy, for now...

The OctaFuzz / fuzz - octave fuzz

    • True Bypass
    • Built with vintage germanium clipping diodes
    • Super cool octagonal enclosure
    • Compatible w/standard center (-) power supply
    • 9V battery not included
    • Current consumption 20ma.
    • FuzzPuppy will donate 5$ to dog charity w/purchase
    • Free shipping



    Having taken a long hiatus from the blog I thought I'd get back and have trouble finding new and interesting companies to sink my teeth into. So far that has not been the case, take this little number The Octafuzz - a two part fuzz box that gives you a mean grinding fuzz and a grilling octave fuzz in it's second position. It's design is quite pleasing to the eye, from the odd shaped enclosure, hip artwork, and bright colored layout. It isn't all some gimmick though let me assure you. The pedal kicks out some of the most fuzz friendly tones I'm yet to come across.

    I took the pedal and ran it through my number one guitar - my Tele w/humbucker in the neck, I also rocked it with a Strat for some classic rock gorgeousness. Amps of choice were a small 5 watt tube amp and my 4x10 tricked out Deville. I began by plugging into the larger amp and setting the root tone at it's cleanest and most sparkling. My mission was to see what the pedal could do to a completely crisp signal. Some fuzz pedals don't deliver on this avenue and work best when played through overdriven tones, which is fantastic, but I always tend to discover that the fuzz boxes that deliver proper fuzz tones on their own are always the most user friendly to an overall signal. Just as expected the Octafuzz pasted the test and delivered a killer sounding warm yet crunchy fuzz tone that converted the amps clean tone into something all it's own. If you've read my reviews you'll notice I really love using fuzz boxes though verb and compression. I've created a sound I like to call "The Screaming Banshee", which is really brutal sounding when matched up with the right fuzz pedal. I ran the Octafuzz's regular fuzz setting through my invention and was very happy with the outcome. I also had a blast playing it's octave fuzz setting through my signal, but where this fuzz sounded best was through an already overdriven tone. I tried a few different things, ovedriving the amp itself, overdrive pedal in front of the OcaFUZZ, and cranking the low watt amp to it's most. All of these sounded warrior crazy cool through both the pedals flavors! I quickly discovered for my liking the best setup was the 5 watter, the Tele, and a bit of verb along with this pedal. I was able to push out big fat single note fuzz licks as well as some of the most groolish grinding fuzz chords known to man. My fingers felt they did their job with simplicity as they flew along the strings bending and grabbing onto chord to lick. Jamming along with some buddies I noticed the pedal didn't drown out any of the bass or drums, and cut through the mix just where it needed to be heard. It's a simple choice this pedal, it delivers not only on one but two fronts and does it damn well.


    With fuzz boxes you always need to be careful of two main things. The fuzz sound drowning out everything the more you crank it, and the inability to dial in a decent high-low mix. These are two problems that many people don't notice until they bring their pedals home and turn them up full blast. The Octafuzz sounded and performed beautifully both in it's lowest and highest levels. I didn't matter if it was stacked up against a Les Paul or Strat, vintage or modern amp, or stompbox overdrive or natural. The OctaFUZZ does the trick with absolute ease. I am looking forward to hearing what a Fuzz Puppy overdrive pedal can do, let's hope one comes in soon!

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    For more info on Fuzz Puppy go to the link here http://fuzzpuppy.com/ 

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