Fuzz Week/Part #3: Fridgebuzzz LOTRF

-Analog War Cry-

presents

Fuzz Week
A collection of unique and superb fuzz boxes
part#3

Back in the 60's there were many fuzz pedals hitting the music scene, many of them making their way onto albums and stages, and lots of them made famous by our golden era heroes. There was one fuzz box in particular though that had everyone going bananas and was known for creating some unique and memorable tones. The name of that pedal? The Shin-Ei Fuzz. It was used by many of the rock bands of that time and was featured on a ton of our favorite tunes. Try to go out and find one today, you'll quickly notice they're not cheap and don't just hang around on every music shop corner. Fridgebuzzz Electronics has taken care of this problem, not only has this pedal made it's way back into our lives, but it's improved and capable of many more signature rock tones.

#3.

Fridgbuzzz
Brooklyn, New York
Builder/Designer: Paul Rothman
Years in the Game: 2
Pedal: Land of the Rising Fuzzz

* Handmade in the USA
* Beyond original design
* Each pedal is hand screened and numbered
* Extreme to vintage voiced fuzz tones
* Designed to work great with many instruments
* Custom builds also available upon request





I am a huge fan of many of the classic fuzz pedals that put fuzz boxes on map. But I'm also not so keen of a handful, some that most people would say sound amazing. The thing with fuzz pedals from back in their early days is that because they were so new to the scene, it meant there was lots of room for improvement. It was like playing russian roulette, you never knew if you were gonna get a bad one or a golden one. Some cats have taken care of this problem and at the same time injected some ideas of their own. Paul Rothman went right ahead and did just that, and not with a pedal that already sounded s0-s0 which would have been cool, but with a pedal that already sounded amazing which is even better. He took some of the ideas from the all mighty Shin-Ei Fuzz Pedal to design and transformed a true modern classic of his own. The name of Paul's killer pedal is The Land of the Rising Fuzzz (get it?). A pedal who's sound definitely belongs in it's own class, as time goes by I definitely see this fuzz box becoming a collector's piece. From it's skin to it's guts this pedal screams class and quality all the way. Diecast aluminum enclosure, rugged powder-coat finish, true bypass switching, hand screened enamel graphics, switchcraft jacks, poly-film capacitors, double sided/solder masked pcb...you get the picture. Last but not least, a collection of unique tones and sounds that will keep you busy for a long long time. I've mentioned before that time and time again many builders get the whole fuzz effect idea wrong, wrong wrong wrong! Not to say that the whole idea of the fuzz pedal hasn't grown, I believe there is definitely a group of fuzz pedals out there that have evolved into some great new flavors, and there are those few that have kept it traditional and in the vintage era. It's just that many cats have taken advantage of the hype and mystery that surrounds fuzz pedals, and out of it has come some strrraaaannge pedals. A good fuzz box needs to either keep it real or take it to the next level. The Fridgebuzzz LOTRF takes it into both arenas, the old school and the new. An intelligently designed layout of controls is why this pedal is so versatile, this along with some vintage appointments makes for one swell stompbox. The controls on the pedal are Volume, Tone, Fuzz, and a mini toggle that flips from Mode 1 to Mode 2. The Volume knob controls the it's overall volume, it can be set to match your guitars level or go beyond it to help push your amp into further saturation. The Tone knob works as a high frequency roll-off which is great for taming the fuzz's growl and bite. I was able to play the pedal through a bunch of different guitars and match the pedal's tone to each of the pickup's characteristics. The Fuzz control is actually really special, depending at what kind of instrument or frequency you throw at it will effect how it responds. This makes for mucho many fun sounds. In Mode 1 the pedal dishes out it's most dissonant and sharpest tones, coming closer to the original design. Mode 2 is the mellower and smoothest of the two modes, and it's in this mode that you can really shape some signature sounds for yourself. In Mode 1 we got some great synth-fuzz sounds, sounds that worked great for adding some off-the-wall character to your tone. Direct into a clean tone the pedal completely rearranges your signal into a rich'n'thick fuzz facelift. What was really impressive was just how transparent and well balanced each tone was. Even in it's most extreme settings the pedal worked great with both chords and lead work. The sound explodes and compresses in a way that many fuzz pedals don't, creating that killer muted trumpet-like fuzz sound really well, almost as if it's being pushed by wind instead of electricity. When you back off on your strumming you get these great short, sputtery, and sythn-like sounds. The more you dig in the more you hear the effect open up. This works great for going from verses to hooks, without the need to roll back the guitar's volume knob. As we were putting it through it's paces we noticed it sounded really great for those 60's psychedelic single note runs, if this is your scene this pedal delivers spot-on. We through a bit of compression and a ton of reverb behind this tone and got some of the trippiest sounds to ever come out of a fuzz box.My favorite thing about this pedal is playing it through a wah. Some pedals can sound thin and harsh when played through wah pedals, not this baby. To make things really interesting we set a treble booster in front of it, not only did it take to the booster well but it flew into a whole new feel and sound, like shooting it with steroids. Then we got to the bass guitar, oh yes mama. Bass players I say this to you. "Stop Looking, your dream fuzz pedal is here!" And it didn't end there. Keyboards of all kinds also sound great through this pedal. For a cat like I who lives in the studio setting this is a perfect pedal, which makes this a real desirable stompbox. I don't only play guitar, in fact I'm up to instrument number 8, and working on the 9th. This has become one of the most useful and player friendly pedals to ever land on my doorstep. Like the original Shin-Ei the Land of the Rising Fuzz is also a pedal of it's own category. The difference? You won't have to worry about getting a bad sounding pedal, while at the same time having access to all the original's tones and then some. There are a few bands that come to mind when I think of this pedal... The Rolling Stones, Dead Meadow, Black Mountain, The Ventures, Sleep, The Kinks, The Melvins, Kyuss, and The Electric Prunes, to name a few. Whether you're thing is psychedelic rock, classic rock, or experimental rock, this baby will do you fine. Get a taste of fuzz box history and make some history of your own. Can you dig it?

For more info on Fridgebuzzz Electronics you can go to www.fridgebuzzz.com I highly suggest you stop by the site check out some sound bytes and catch up on what happening with them. Look for more info on Fridgebuzzz Electronics to come in the near future.

Fuzz Week/ Part #1: The OxFuzz

-Analog War Cry-

presents

Fuzz Week
A collection of unique and superb fuzz boxes

Part#1.

Here we go kids, a killer week of some of the baddest of the bad, and illest of the ill fuzz pedals. All of them will be a bit different and all of them capable of dishing out some insanely cool fuzz tones. We had a blast seeking out and rocking out to these amazing sounding pedals. We chose what we think will be a solid 7 days of fuzz tone madness, and some great stompboxes for you to go out and try.

#1.

OxFuzz FX

Toronto, Canada
Builder/Designer: Ken Baluke
Years in the Game: 1

Pedal: OxFuzz

* Handcrafted in the USA

* Built w/your choice of Ger or Sil transistors

* Made w/high quality components and parts

* Works w/both guitar and bass

* Bright blue LED for dark settings

* Meticulously tested for serious fuzz tone

Like all the great pedals I ever come across the OxFuzz also fell into my hands by chance. While do some surfing on the web was how I discovered this rare and great sounding gem. The OxFuzz is a small, simple pedal, with two controls, a switch and that's that. Now with all the ridiculous multi-effects and ten knob pedals available today you might be thinking this pedal ain't much. I will sat this, the OxFuzz does the one thing it was designed to do and it does quite well. Which is always better than a pedal that does fifty things you'll never be able to use. The OxFuzz sound lives within the vintage and classic rock realm, staying true to the likes of the 60's and 70's psychedelic rock era. It also has a modern touch to it and sports a flavor of it's own which makes this fuzz box a design of it's own. From the second the OxFuzz pedal arrived I noticed there was something about it that really attracted me to it, and this was before I even plugged it in. At first I couldn't quite put my finger on it, and then it hit me, the black box, wild neon blue LED, and off-white chickenhead knobs. I don't know if Ken planned this layout or if it was by chance, either way it worked out great and looks super slick. I first plugged the pedal into a clean Fender amp with all it's knobs set at noon, no reverb, and volume at about 4. I set the OxFuzz controls straight up and hit a chord. A warm, lush, velcro-like fuzz tone came shouting out of the amplifier. The kind of fuzz you need to keep pushing with picking and strumming or it trickles away in eerie pops and crackles. Cats back in the day got this kind of sound by shredding and ripping up their amp's speakers. It reminded me of that fuzz/synth sound that cats like Kyuss, Dead Meadow, and Comets on Fire use in their songs. If you dig that mind heavy, slowly grinding rock sound this is the perfect pedal for the job. As I added more of the effect knob I could hear the fuzz getting much smoother, more saturated, and even tighter. This was a lovely surprise, instead of the fuzz getting out of control and untameable, it became more defined while at the same time able to hold onto it's wild characteristics. Next we matched it up to a handful of different effects, delay, wah wah, tremolo, and phaser. Sometimes fuzz pedals can act funny when combined with certain modulation pedals. They can get thin, lose their body, and become lifeless. The OxFuzz sounded great through all the pedals I matched it up with. My favorite was using it through my wah and phaser, the outcome was a psychedelic trip of swirls, squeaks, and flying fuzz goodness. Of course me having a good wah pedal helps matters, but having a killer quality fuzz is just as important and necessary when playing through a wah with fuzz. Next I through in some slow timed delay and rolled back on my guitar's tone knob, I got some of the trippiest acid rock sounds. I was stuck in a trance for a good while playing old rock licks and swelling in the delay through a volume pedal. Then it was phaser time, something I was afraid to do. I can ever ever get lucky enough to get a good phased out fuzz tones. It's always the same thing, either it kills the fuzz in half, or the phase effect becomes too strong and overpowering. All it took to get some killer phased/fuzz tones with this pedal was laying off on the guitar's tone knob and keeping the phaser in check through the Depth knob. Ahh yes, good ol space rock madness. Now I saved the best for last, where this pedal really shines and separates itself from the rest. I always like to push fuzz pedals as far as I can, put them through tons of gain, and get as much out of them as humanly possible. How do I do this? Simple. with boosters and amp distortion settings. First we switched guitars, a vintage Strat played through a Marshall dirty rhythm tone. Oh the overtones and undertones we were able to get from this pedal, absolute harmonic richness and creamy everlasting sustain. The number of awesome tones we were able to get from just a dirty amp and the OxFuzz were unbelievable. This is because the pedal responds so well to the guitars volume knob, it makes it possible to get all those cool inbetween bluesy dirt tones. A wonderful pedal for those of you gigging a ton and those looking to get as many sounds possible from small setups. One tone that really stood out from riding the volume knob was an almost clean/honking fuzz tone, very strange but so damn good for playing slow blues with. What I did was set the pedal at noon, set the amp's Treble-Bass-Mids-and Pres to about 75%, and roll the volume back to about 50%. As I played softly I was able to maintain my clean signal, as I began to dig in and play harder I noticed the fuzz would creep in at the front of each note. All my chords rang through with great top end sparkle and lead licks accented with a hint of OxFuzz goodness. This is something I'm able to do with good overdrive and distortion pedals, being able to get it from a fuzz box made this a real special tone. There's not much else I can say about this little demon, it's works great with many guitars and amps, dishes out a ton of killer sounds, and is the perfect size pedal for gigging or lugging around to the studio. Ken makes these to order, builds them with the best quality parts, and uses rare Sil and Ger transistors. The outcome is a must have for any tone arsenal. Ken is also working on a new treble booster type pedal called the OxDrive and a bass version of the OxFuzz. Go on and get you one, you know you want it.

For more info on OxFuzz FX's go to www.myspace.com/oxfuzz or click the OxFuzz logo in our links. You can also contact Ken direct at kenofotis@hotmail.com Stay tunes, we might just have some more fun from OxFuzz FX's.

Two classics in the making from E.W.S.

For those of you who haven't heard of or had a chance to try out the pedals from E.W.S. let me just say this...One hell of a talent! I first came across the E.W.S. line by mistake. I had gone to my local shop for a chorus pedal when I saw an old favorite of mine, the Arion SCH-1. I always thought to myself that is someone just went in and spent a little time with this pedal that it could really become one hell of a contender in the chorus pedal world. I had mentioned this thought to my buddy working at the shop and he says to me. "Go home, go online, google E.W.S. Arion mod and your wish will be granted." I was so freakin excited when the screen showed me the cool old style Arion pedal with what appeared to be some really cool mods. This was how I came about these cats and their world of killer stompboxes. At the moment E.W.S. is becoming a worldwide favorite and being used by many of the top-dogs in the music playing community. So come take a ride with me, and let's swim in some fuzz and chorus madness...beautiful madness.

The FD-1
FuzzyDrive

For those of you who have been following my little blog you know I am a bigtime fuzzbox addict. When it comes to fuzz pedals I am not easily impressed, I've even been known to knock on some of the old time favorites, but is a topic for another time. When I think of a good fuzz I think thick, rich, fat, defined chaos. I think of the band Cream, Hendrix, The Velvet Underground, or The Electric Prunes, now that's fuzz baby! When I play a fuzzbox I want to hear fuzz, not out of control distortion or death metal tones, that is not fuzz. An easy way to define fuzz is that little pedal above, the FD-1 Fuzzy Drive from the good people at E.W.S. The FD-1 sports Volume, Gain, and Tone knobs, it's true bypass, and runs on the standard 9v adapter or 9v battery. But there is something unique about this fuzz pedal that makes it stand out from many other fuzz pedals, it also owns distortion and high overdrive characteristics. Not only can this pedal dish out some rockin fuzz tones, but it can also create some Blackface type smooth break-up. I have gotten some monster tones from boosting fuzz pedals with low overdrivers, the outcome is pure rock and roll bliss. The Fuzzy Drive takes this exact concept and does it damn well. This is a perfect fuzz pedal for those of you looking for a fuzzbox that can handle both chords and big fat one note fuzz licks. The FD-1's voice is a combo of rich'n'fat vintage style fuzz and harmonically charged distortion. I believe this pedal's design was directed at producing Clapton's woman tone of the 60's, and if this wasn't the plan they sure as hell struck gold anyhow. With all the tight lows and defined mids coming from this pedal I had to see how well it worked going into an already overdriven amp. We cranked up an 18 watt Marshall to med overdrive, fed it the FD-1 with the Gain knob set low. The return was a golden era rock distortion that would impress any size stadium. As we turned the Gain knob we noticed that the tone stayed intact, by compressing just the right amount the pedal was able to take the amp's already tight overdrive and break it up into perfect sounding fuzz, super groovy. By turning the Tone knob up or down we noticed we were able to control finger sensitivity. High Tone settings really creative touch sensitive response, while low Tone levels got us a warm and looser feel. Another really cool quality about the Tone knob is it's very responsive even at low volume levels. It was time to max out all the knobs through a clean amp sound. The sustain this pedal dishes out is bananas, it rings and rings, and rings some more. We also got some cool feedback effects, and once we added other effects into it things got really interesting. The Fuzzy Drive packs a mean amount of output that will have any combo of amp and guitar squealing at the sky. This is a great pedal for those of you that need to use both a fuzz and dist/od to get your tones, letting you save much needed pedalboard space. You'll get great sounding overdrive, distortion, and fuzz tones, with the ability of dialing in everything in-between. This is definitely a pedal for those of you looking to tap into the psychedelic and classic rock arena.

Arion SCH-Z
EWS Chorus/Vibe Mod

This here my friends, this here is a very very cool pedal. Everyone I have turned onto this pedal has been extremely surprised and very pleased. It has become a favorite of many professional players, used by the gigging cats, and a great pedal for adding life to any track. EWS has taken what was already a decent effect pedal and turned it into an unbelievable chorus pedal. This pedal's wide range of sounds is capable of fitting in with just about every type of music and will help expand your mind into some super cool psychedelic trips. The Arion SCH-Z with the EWS Chorus/Vibe mod was my first introduction into the world of EWS effects. This combo chorus and vibe pedal is not like any other of it's kind, it sports a sound of it's own which has really began to turn some heads. I absolutely love this, when someone can take a great sleeper and turn into something really special. To try to explain the sound of this pedal will not be easy. Like many other great sounding chorus and vibe pedals you have to hear them to really get a feel for what they're all about. A good chorus pedal is something you feel coming from your amp, just a great vibe pedal can help you get to the next lick. But non the less I will dive right in and give you the best description possible. First let's look at it's mods. For all us tone connoisseurs EWS has added a 3PDT Switch, making this badboy true bypass and true tone friendly. Next in line is the tone adjustment made to the Arion's tone circuit. The outcome is a much sweeter, smoother effect, and wider tone capabilities. Compared to the SCH-Z's stock chorus effect this modded version blows it out of the water. The chorus swirls much cleaner and warmer, making for a full lush effect. The pedal's LED has also been modified to a more vivid bright blue, a nice touch for those deathly dark stages. The next mod is where EWS really went to town, where the mono/stereo slider switch once was now lives the chorus/vibe option. This little control is what gives this pedal the ability to produce it's many many killer sounds. To add a little body or size to your tone just take the Depth and Rate controls and set them low. This is perfect for filling dead space, your chords, licks, and solos will instantly come to life. As I turned the Rate knob higher I began to get some great leslie effects. Everything from subtle to extreme leslie speaker sounds was attainable by tweaking the Depth knob. All those fantastic Hendrix and Trower classic rock tones came flying from my amplifier, and I was still only on the chorusing side of the pedal. I wanted to see just how extreme the chorus could get so I went ahead and maxed it out. I was surprised to hear that even them the sound was usable and somewhat organic sounding. We now set the Arion to Vibe mode and this is where the pedal really came to life. First let me say this is one of the easiest vibe pedals to dial-in, getting a good sound out of this pedal was cake. The vibe effect is not too thick and overpowering, it keeps your guitar signal true and doesn't wash away your playing. If you play a guitar with pickups that are either too bright or too dull, the Tone knob will help keep the chorus or vibe in just the right balance. I noticed the Tone knob worked great when playing with loud band members. Just turn it up a bit and listen to the effect signal stand out evenly. We also played some of our favorite overdrive pedals in front of the vibe effect and got some really convincing SRV blues tones. I must say EWS really payed great attention to the tone delivery and tone balance. Some vibe and chorus pedals tend to be either too weak, or become overwhelming and sink your root tone from your playing. This is not a problem with EWS's Arion mod, the pedal's effect and tone are tuned beautifully for both rhythm and lead work. I can see why so many professional players have come to rely on this pedal. It is user friendly, produces both unique chorus and vibe tones which is great for creating a signature sound, it's tone is well defined and never becomes harsh or thin, and last it is capable of delivering many different flavors. A classic in the making and most definitely a pedal that will become a collector as time passes. I highly suggest you try this one out, your tone will gladly welcome it.


For more info on EWS effect pedals you can go to www.ews-us.com or click the EWS logo in our links. Look for more EWS features, reviews, news, and updates. Remember, Let'em Hear You Scream!!!

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Not for the weak

Diabolical Devices

So what do these cats have to offer that others don't? Many many things, and the first time you plug into one of their devices you'll notice you're not playing just some boring piece of gear. I had the pleasure of discovering Diabolical Devices some months ago and was quite taken by their extensive line of unique and insanely cool musical products. The Matter Disorganizer is only one of the few products that this extremely talented outfit produces. Besides effects pedals Diabolical Devices also builds a killer collection of hand wired amps, an array of circuit-bent instruments, wild keyboards, and a handful of strange and out of this world analog devices that will give you just about every color in the sound rainbow. These cats aren't out there cloning the Fuzz Face, Tubescreamers, and Big Muff's. No sir they are not. They have tapped into a whole new world of analog based heavenly devices. One thing I will have to get my hands on sooner or later is one of their kickass looking guitar amps...but that's for another time. What we have here my dear friends is one sweet and evil sounding stompbox. A pedal definitely worth making some for on your pedalboard.

The
Matter Disorganizer

The Matter Disorganizer is a silicon based fuzz box with some octave up options and beyond. When I say beyond I mean it does some things I was very surprised by and certainly not ready for. Let's touch on it's more traditional side first though shall we? Pulling out vintage fuzz tones and scorching Hendrix like lead tones is an easy as pie for this little pedal. It's setup of three knobs and two switches are capable of a lot. What I love about this pedal is how self-explanatory it is. Fuzz controls the fuzz amount, Tone shapes your tone, and Volume dishes out the output...lovely! On the left you find it's Bypass switch, just dial in your sound and WAHLAA! Prepare for a lot of meaty, ear grinding, fuzz screaming madness. Think Vox Superfuzz and Foxx Tone Machine having a baby. It oozes creamy fuzz tones and somehow is still capable of sounding just a bit ruff around the edges, this is one of those strange blends that makes a great pedal great. This is a perfect pedal for you single note fuzz addicts, powerful enough to make single note runs sounds like beefy power chords. It holds like no other and without the need of a compressor or sustainer. Imagine that early Soundgarden tone on steroids, or a that sick and twisted Justin K. Broadrick sound. If you're looking to get a Godflesh and Jesu tone this is the pedal to get the job done. Another cool thing about the Matter Disorganizer is it cleans up into a wicked sounding overdrive, not your normal run off blusey overdrive, but a new breed of tasty sounding overdrive that is more than useful. I got these gret low-fi overdrive tones when doing this. Take the Volume knob on your guitar and rol back about half way, do the same with your tone knob, and you have a kickass new sound. I must say, I am very wary when it comes to fuzz boxes. There are just too damn many of them out there and the reason for it being the pedal boom we experiened a few years back. Something this fuzz box has to offer that is quite satisfying is it's ability to sound both modern and classic, and without giving up any original character of it's own. And now that we're talking original I do believe it's time to mention this pedals little 8va switch. I'm not exactly sure what the hell is going on inside this pedal and I really don't care, all I know is that once I step on this here 8va switch all hell runs loose and there's no turning back. You get all that psychedelic classic rock octave fuzz madness, add a little synth texture, a dash of sputtering/screeching goodness, make sure to stir properly, and you have one of the baddest motherfuckers this pedal world has ever seen. This is the kind of switch you want to have with you when you're playing a gig and want all heads to turn your way. The sounds the Matter Disorganizer is capable of once the 8va switch is engaged are far beyond words, definitely not for the weak. I had a blast mixing in high amounts of reverb, and analog delay, the outcome is off the hook! The sonic adventures you will have with this pedal will have your music sounding like no other and have heads turning to see where it's coming from. It's great to have cats like John McNeece out there building us these grand little works of art. Also a killer way to experience those gems from early days, not everyone can afford vintage fuzz pedals. There not too many cats out there with the gift for tweaking and turning the old school devices into something unique and original. Every time I come across one of these cats I feel it is my duty to share their work with you. You can hear where the inspiration came from for desiging this pedal, you can also hear something new. And in the end it turns out as another timeless classic.


For more info on Diabolical Devices go to www.classaelectronics.com Have blast discovering some killer new toys my friends. Look for more Diabolical products in the near future.

Mellowtone Charity Auction/Building 10 Limited Edition Pedals

:::MELLOWTONE:::

Limited Edition Wolf Computer

fuzz pedal

Eric Edvalson talented effects builder and owner of Mellowtone Custom Guitar Effects Pedals is building a special run of limited edition Wolf Computer fuzz pedals and is doing a string of charity auctions to help The Smile Train nonprofit organization. The Smile Train's mission is to provide free cleft surgery for millions of poor children in developing countries who would otherwise never receive it and to provide free cleft-related traning for doctors and medical professionals. Twenty percent of each auction will be going to The Smile Train. There will be ten special edition Wolf Computer fuzz pedals that will consist of a series of five white and five inverted black pedals. There will be one pedal listed each day starting at 1$ from 3/18 through 3/27, the color of each pedal will alternate each day. Eric's goal through these ten auctions is to hopefully fund at least one surgery or get as close as possible to in helping one boy or girl get their smile back, either way every bit of the charity portion will certainly help. How can you not dig that? For those of you who aren't familiar with the Wolf Computer or any of the Mellowtone effects pedals take it from a cat who lives to seek out killer sounding stompboxes, thet are some seriously unique, great sounding, and cleverly built effects pedals. Seek out some Youtube videos, Google some info, or go to http://www.mellowtonefx.com/ for more info on them, you won't be disappointed. You can find more info in the auction, Eric's Ebay auctions link will be posted below where you'll be able to find each newly posted auction each day. Get with it and happy biddings everyone.
http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/letsgocoyote_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ