Top 5 Fuzz Pedals: The best dirt boxes of 2016
Here’s My list of the top 5 fuzz pedals for 2016 so far. I am a big fan of fuzz pedals and so these choices are my personal favourites. Fuzz is such a primal sound and when used well can evoke feelings and emotions unlike any other effect in a guitarist’s sonic arsenal, from Gilmour-like ‘singing’ sustain over Jack White’s crunchy riffs to the filthy dirge of The Stooges. The humble fuzz box has shaped the history of music since its inception.
First up for me is the ThorpyFX Muffroom Cloud. This is a versatile, Muff-style fuzz from UK builder Adrian Thorpe. The design takes the classic Big Muff circuit and rebuilds it from the ground up, yet keeps that classic singing sustain just with a far more powerful and controlled EQ section.
Next would have to be the Dr No Effects 11.11 Alain Johannes Signature pedal which we just wrote about only last week. This is a celebration of the marriage between Alain and his late wife Natascha. I was really impressed by the thought that had gone into the pedal and love the design. It can achieve some very interesting tones and has that cocked wah feature as well, adding some versatility of the pedal.
The Catalinbreads SFT is not strictly speaking not just a dirt box, as it can do clean tones as well. It’s based upon an Ampeg bass head circuit. But when it does do fuzz, it really does it well. It’s a revised version of the pedal and I love the tones you can coax from it when it goes really dirty in Stoner mode!
Cloak Audio’s Jackdaw Synth Fuzz is the oddball in my list. It’s filthy! It’s synth-like! It’s all sorts of wrong and that is exactly why it’s in my top 5!
Last but far from least would have to be the Keeley Monterey. This is Hendrix in a box, with lots of control and ways of blending classic psychedelic ’60s effects, all crammed into one very reasonably sized unit. It’s got some great features and you should be able to get close to those classic Jimi tones using this.
So what is your favourite fuzz from 2016 so far? Was it the Fuzz Factory in its new limited edition ‘Bauhaus’ livery for example? Let us know in the comments section below!