Z.vex Fuzz Factory

Handmade, fuzzy, unstable, this hacker’s dream beat all the carefully engineered corporate offerings, and looked cool while doing it

Z.Vex Effects is perhaps the original weirdo boutique pedal maker, and their reputation can be traced back almost entirely to this one appropriately eccentric pedal.

So, what is it and how did it come about? Well, as far as we can tell, circuit bending was a major driving force behind the unusual controls of the Fuzz Factory, seeing as at least two controls alter the bias of transistors in the circuit. The core of the Fuzz Factory is superficially pretty similar to a

modded Fuzz Face, and the Fuzz Factory likewise uses NOS germanium transistors to get its unique sound.

Germanium transistors are noisy, sensitive to heat, and often more unstable than silicon transistors if biased wrong, so in a very real sense the Fuzz Factory is at times more like an experimental breadboard jammed into a pedal than a clinical tone machine, and that’s part of the appeal. Unlike a tight, refined distortion pedal, the Fuzz Factory looks to create inspiration from serendipity, from noises, squeaks and oscillation, and it’s remained enduringly popular with players ever since its introduction. For an idea of the wide range of tones on offer, listen to early Muse records – it’s all over Origin Of Symmetry, from the fuzzy squealing at the beginning of Plug In Baby to the glitchy stabs of fuzz guitar in the verses of New Born. Matt Bellamy ultimately would have several built into guitars, and would use another Z.vex creation, the Rf-field powered Wah Probe, to play a wah solo with his hand live. Another prolific user is Annie Clark, or St. Vincent; again, you can hear the unmistakable squeak and hum of the Fuzz Factory all over her intricate riffs.

The Fuzz Factory looks to create inspiration from serendipity, from noises, squeaks and oscillation