Modular Monthly

ZVex’s Fuzz Factory and Instant Lo-Fi Junky

The Fuzz Factory is an undisputed classic of the guitar pedal world and was the first selfoscillating germanium fuzz when ZVex created it in 1995. Based on a ’60s Fuzztone design, it is vastly expanded by ZVex. So it has ’60s heritage, is a ‘classic’ of the guitar world but what does it bring to the Eurorack format? Well, we’d say total destruction! Cue the devil horns, fire up some waveforms and mangle your way through fuzz destruction while throwing yourself around like Adam Sandler in Little Nicky, rocking out to Van Halen… Or take a calmer approach to the softer fuzzy goodness you can coax out of it, as the Fuzz Factory is a fantastic tone shaper that can shape your synth tones with compression, gating and fuzz, and create parallel processing with the dry/wet control. Everything is CV-able so if over four bars you want your synth riffs to increasingly saturate you can have it. There’s also a ‘fat’ control bringing in sub harmonics adding extra weight and thickness making it great for drum processing, FX chains and any kind of synth tone you throw at it.

The second module from ZVex is the Instant Lo-Fi Junky, which will aid any kind of warped vinyl or modulating tape style effects. We’ve enjoyed running acoustic instruments through it just as much as modular synths but whatever you throw at it you can name your new band Boards of Maple as it will take you into those lovely warm and thick lo-fi textures that just ooze character. Like the Fuzz Factory adaptation, we get CV over everything which easily validates porting both modules into the format.