The fuzz pedal is a classic guitar effect pedal that's similar to overdrive and distortion, but does it slightly differently. Fuzz pedals shape an extra-grainy and 'buzzing' flavour of distortion and its rich and complex sound can be heard on records made as far back as the sixties.
What is a Fuzz Pedal?
Fuzz is a kind of guitar effect that takes the sound of a guitar and converts it into a square-wave-like sound that's coated in complex overtones. In the past, this kind of distortion happened when you plugged in faulty gear, whether it was the guitar, amplifier or recording equipment. First captured in a stompbox in the sixties, the unique, ripping sound of the fuzz pedal has been a popular effect ever since - the name 'fuzz' simply reflecting its furry, buzzing sound. If you're looking for a different flavour of distortion, have a look through our distortion and overdrive pedals, and if your bass is need of a little fuzz, then you'll find the right pedal in our bass fuzz effects section.
Germanium and Silicon Fuzz Pedals
To get that iconic fuzz sound, the signal is passed through transistors. These are basically very tiny amplifiers that strengthen the audio signal depending on the voltage. These transistors will have either germanium or silicon diodes, which add their own character to the fuzz effect. Germanium transistors are known for creating a more flexible and warm fuzz sound that's similar to the sound of a valve amplifier (the Tone Bender pedal is a classic example of transistor-based fuzz). However, germanium is hard to get hold of and can push the price of a pedal up. The material is also really sensitive to temperature shifts so the sound can be pretty inconsistent, but simply because they give guitarists that vintage-style fuzz, germanium transistors are still really popular. Objectively, Silicon transistors are a better alternative since the material is far easier to get hold of and therefore much cheaper. Silicon is also more stable and can handle a higher voltage, which equals more consistent and reliable sound, and compared to the warmer germanium transistor, silicon has a more treble-heavy sound to it. A really popular example of silicon-based fuzz is the Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi pedal.
Something for Everyone: From the Electro Harmonix Muff & Dunlop Fuzz to MXR and Boss Fuzz Pedals
The fuzz is one of the most popular guitar pedals going. Keith Richards from the Rolling Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townsend from The Who, David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins: the list of legendary guitarists and iconic bands that have harnessed the power of fuzz us endless and the list of brands fuzz stompboxes is just as long. You can get fuzz pedals made by Electro Harmonix, Dunlop, MXR, Boss, and many more and in our fuzz section, you'll find over 150 fuzz pedals to browse through.
