Choosing the Best Fuzz PedalBuying Guide

In the early days of amplification, low fidelity speakers would, when pushed to their limits, produce distortion that pleased blues, R&B, and rock musicians. Later, accidental speaker damage—or The Kinks’ Dave Davies and guitarist Link Wray intentionally slashing and poking holes in the speaker cone—created even more uniquely distorted sounds.

Thankfully, guitarists and bass players wouldn’t need to damage their amplifiers forever for that fuzzed out tone. By the early 1960s, electronics tinkerers began creating fuzz effects in the pedal format.

In 1961, Grady Martin lent his six-string bass guitar—distorted into a “fuzz” tone by a faulty preamp—to the Marty Robbins’ tune “Don’t Worry”, and then to his own song, the appropriately titled “The Fuzz.”

The tone inspired engineer Glenn Snoddy to create what would become the Maestro Fuzz-Tone and led the Tacoma-based instrumental rock band The Ventures to ask their friend, Orville "Red" Rhodes, to recreate Robbins’ fuzz. Rhodes obliged, creating a custom, one-off fuzzbox that The Ventures used on the track “2000 Pound Bee.”

The era of the fuzz pedal had arrived.

Below, we will get into a range of fuzz pedals, both classic and new, budget and boutique. As you will see, there is a fuzz for every player.

Functionally, most fuzz pedals of past and present are rather similar—at least as far as what they do circuit-wise. What truly sets one fuzz pedal apart from another is its other features, like EQ, octave, tone, and so on, which allow players to sculpt their fuzz tone.

There are typically two common transistors used to create fuzz pedals—Germanium and Silicon transistors. Yet another is the Op-Amp fuzz pedal, although it is far less common than either Germanium or Silicon transistor fuzz pedals.

Germanium fuzz pedals generally have lower gain, and overall creamier or smoother sound than their silicon successors. More low-end distortion is coming through the transistor. And much like vintage analogue synthesizers, these transistors could be unstable.

These transistors were found in early fuzz boxes, like the Fuzz Face and Maestro Fuzz Tone. Another popular 1960s fuzz pedal is Roger Mayer’s Octavia, which blended fuzz with an octave switch feature. Jimi Hendrix was a famed user of the Octavia, but My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields is also a fan of the pedal.

Germanium transistors are, however, still used in modern fuzz pedals. These pedals could have a decidedly vintage-style sound, like the Fuzz Face reissues, or they could be ones that try to break new ground, like ZVex Fuzz Factory Vexter.

“Subjectively the sound of Germanium offers a smoother, more-ear pleasing distortion,” Robert Keeley says of these fuzz pedals. “Whether that’s technically due to greater capacitances, lower bandwidth (Germanium can’t handle those higher frequencies that can sometimes lead to harshness) as well as lower gain, can sometimes lead to more gratifying sounds.”

Introduced in the 1970s, silicon transistor fuzz pedals are more stable and cheaper than their geranium counterparts. The fuzz tone produced by these transistors has a harsher edge than germanium fuzz pedals. Silicon fuzz pedals are also brighter (more treble).

While newer fuzz pedals took advantage of the silicon transistor technology in the 1970s, some germanium fuzz pedals transitioned to silicon. The Dunlop Fuzz Face is one such fuzz pedal that shifted to silicon transistors. Electro-Harmonix’s Big Muff is a fuzz pedal that has always been silicon-based.

Some fuzz pedals are germanium-silicon hybrids. You know, best of both worlds. Boutique pedal maker Magnetic Effects offers a germanium-silicon hybrid called White Atom, with a range of fuzz tones. Vemuram also offers a hybrid, called Myriad, which also has looper and mix features.

In Op-Amp fuzz pedals, like the late 1970s Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Op-Amp, multiple transistors are joined into one single circuit. These fuzz pedals are notable for smoother fuzz and nice sustain. Op-Amp fuzz pedals might have faded into obscurity if not for Billy Corgan, who used a late '70s Big Muff Pi with an Op-Amp circuit. A more recent Op-Amp fuzz pedal is Keeley Electronics’ Rotten Apple.

Vintage fuzz pedals at a glance:

• Germanium or early Silicon and Op-Amp transistors
• Rich, creamy low end fuzz tones
• Used on the best music of the 1960s and 1970s

Those looking for fuzz pedals of the earliest vintage, from the 1960s to the early 1980s, will be looking at germanium fuzz pedals. But, as we said, these fuzz pedals will include those that began incorporating cutting edge silicon transistor technology.

Like anything vintage, these fuzz pedals are in high demand and short supply. Which means players will pay a premium for the privilege of adding one to their pedalboard.

Modern fuzz pedals at a glance:

• New pedals take fuzz to novel sonic vistas
• More features for more flexible sound
• Germanium fuzz pedal and Op-Amp reissues, and lots of hybrids

For those wanting to explore the frontiers of fuzz, or find iconic reissues, modern fuzz pedals have a lot to offer. There is no shortage of choice for fuzz fanatics.

A host of octave fuzz pedals exist that replicate and enhance Roger Mayer’s original, the Octavia, like MXR’s Octavio Fuzz Pedal. Other pedals evoke and build upon germanium fuzzes of yore, like EarthQuaker Devices’ Hoof Fuzz V2.

Fuzz pedals that break new ground are also aplenty. One option is Walrus Audio’s Janus, which blend fuzz with tremolo circuitry. Another is Death by Audio’s Supersonic Fuzz Gun, which allows players to control the density of the sound but also filter it like a synthesizer.