Fuzzwell Maypole review

[mrfrisky330]

Bonjour!

I recently bought a handmade fuzz pedal of eBay from a new UK based maker "fuzzwell", I was after a fuzz for use in a band and after hearing the sound clips on SoundCloud thought at £45 it was worth trying.

It has 3 knobs, volume, bias which acts like the one EHX has where it acts like a battery power level which means it can simulate a new or dying battery, and of course the obligatory fuzz knob also it has a second footswitch and this makes the sound brighter and smoother.

Plugging in my 2014 USA Gibson Futura into it I began to experiment. I noticed the middle knob seems to work backwards(!) the users assumption is turning clockwise would increase the range of the sound but it cuts it, and the button on the left stays on when the pedal is off then doesn't do anything to the sound (??).

Sound wise it is cool, unlike the cheap Chinese fuzz face copies it does not squeal and hum, I found even the low fuzz settings very nice and smooth, especially with a healthy slice of spring reverb.

Maximum fuzz and minimum bias setting was smooth and full not thin and raspy and even with singlecoils it sounded warm without masses of hum and electronic noise, the brightness button changes the character of the fuzz to something more expressive and cutting.

My only thoughts on "improvements" would be having the left hand button have a greater impact on the tone as with some pickups it seems too subtle. A proper holder for the battery would be nice, the supplied rubber feet is a nice touch and it is nice the owner gets to decide where they are put.

My current fave setting is volume in the middle right hand knob at 3 o'clock and the middle knob at 9 o'clock, sounds very 70's without the fizzy tone sucking.

The pedal is definitely value for money, even compared to the legendary Stone Deaf Fig Fumb it still has a place on a pedalboard!

[Chankgeez]

Plugging in my 2014 USA Gibson Futura into it I began to experiment.

… but I don't have a 2014 USA Gibson Futura to experiment with.

... even compared to the legendary Stone Deaf Fig Fumb it still has a place on a pedalboard!

Also, I didn't know the Fig Fumb was already considered legenday.

[mrfrisky330]

Update: took it too rehearsal and plugged into a Marshall DSL100 played "spirit in the sky" and the sound was awesome the band was blown away by the clarity and power!

Plus no nasty electronic hum at high volume

[Chankgeez]

[spacelordmother]

[Tristan]

It really is a great fuzz, I played quite a few Fuzz Face style pedals but this is one of my favourites.
Especially the tone switch is voiced really great and provides two distinctly different sounds, the bias control sounds great across the whole range and it's really easy to dial in a nice thick and genuinely fuzzy sound that cuts through the mix.
Most other Fuzz Face style pedals either don't cut through the mix or they don't really sound like a true fuzz, let alone do they have such great tonal variety.

[eatyourguitar]

why would you expect the tone switch to do something when you already bypassed the pedal? if it bothers you that both LED's don't go out when you bypass the pedal well that can be fixed. I like it the way it is now. that way you know what to expect when you kick it on. you can also set the tone switch with visual feedback before you engage the pedal. I like that.