I’ve been on a fuzz pedal kick lately. Something about doomy, sludgy, low BPM songs really get me into a creative mood. That, and a friend of mine just showed me the new Fu Manchu record and things got serious. 

So, I decided to plug in all the fuzz pedals we have at Replay and decide what the top sounding pedals are at the shop. Here are my top five fuzz pedals IN ORDER at the shop right now. Let me know if you agree, disagree, or think I should switch to clean tones.  

1. The best fuzz pedal in the shop right now is the Fuzzsquatch Fuzzdrive from Interstellar Audio. Seriously if you want to sound like a fuzz God/ sludge master, you don’t even need another pedal. This is the sort of effect that you just crank up super loud and let the neighbors rock out too. Play any Black Sabbath number through this pedal and you will thank me later. This pedal is all analog circuitry with an op amp setup and is like the Big Muff Pi because of the amount of sustain and distortion this pedal produces.  

1. Number two, and a close second, was The Mocker drive by Aclam. This pedal is based off the Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts club band record, and I got to say, this pedal does a fantastic job achieving that tone. See, this pedal is basically a Vox UL730 circuit because it uses original clipping diodes that Vox used in the UL series amps and it sounds DEAD ON. This pedal captures the fuzz tones from the 60’s perfectly and is quite possibly the best “Velcro fuzz” I have ever heard. The Beatles said love is all you need, but this pedal was not invented yet.  

1. Number three is a solid fuzz from JHS called the Supreme 1972 which is part of the legends of fuzz series. When these first came out, they were like trading Pokemon cards to me. I wanted to collect the whole series but out of all of them, this was my favorite. I would say that this pedal is very aggressive and somewhat noisy, but that can be expected in some fuzz pedals. It is based off of a Univox Super-Fuzz with an octave effect that can give you a huge wall of sound. The reason it is number three for me is because the design is somewhat wonky, and the pedal can also be noisy in conjunction with certain effects. But hey, don’t knock it until you try it.  

1. Number 4 is also a JHS pedal, and I feel like it is sort of cheating. You might already know what I am going to say. The Muffuletta. I can your thoughts now: “But Cliff, that is like a bunch of pedals in one so that does not count!” But to that I say, if you want a Muff but do not know which to choose, then look no further! The is a fantastic pedal for those fuzz heads who want options with the Ram’s Head setting being my personal favorite.  

2. Last but not least is The Satisfaction Fuzz from Electro Harmonix. When Kent first asked me to order this pedal, I was skeptical because there had not been any customers who asked for it, but I am so glad we carry it at the store now. This pedal is a great 60’s sounding fuzz for under $100 dollars and a fantastic choice for a player who wants to get into the world of fuzz tones without breaking the bank. This pedal recreates the sounds of a 60s fuzz with two knobs, attack and volume, and is very versatile. It is also true bypass, so you do not need to lay awake at night wondering if you made the correct choice in buying this or if it is taking tone away! 
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Let me know what you think of my list, but I urge you to stop by the store and demo some fuzz pedals for yourself. There are lots of them out there so I know it can seem intimidating, but once you start to use fuzz, it’s pretty damn hard to stop.

-Cliff Hanger