ZVEX FUZZ FACTORY A GREAT FUZZ OPTION FOR THE PSYCH PLAYERS

RRP: $279 Distributor:

Global Vintage

Topology: Germanium transistor EQ: No

Pros:

Crazy sounds Sensible sounds Cons:

Price

Using a combination of germanium transistors, feedback loops and controls that allow the user to mis-bias the circuit inside, the Fuzz Factory is versatile in a way that most pedals simply aren’t. Want to reduce the input voltage so the pedal breaks up into oscillation? Go right ahead. Feed the output from one block back into itself? Sure thing!

For this reason, it was a breath of fresh air when released, and gave ZVex the foundations on which to build an empire of the unusual.

In terms of sounds, it’s in the Fuzz Face family tree, so it’s possible with some tweaking to get a quite sedate blues lead tone out of the pedal, but of course it shines when it’s a screaming ice-pick of velcro-fuzz mayhem.

Even now, when there’s seemingly more pedal companies out there with each passing day, there’s something simple, elegant, and thrillingly iconoclastic about the humble Fuzz Factory.