How many 'original' fuzz pedals?

[grindonomicon]

Seems like a good place to ask this question... I'm wondering how many fuzz pedals came out when fuzzes first started being used, I guess in the mid-late 60's? Fuzz Face, Tonebender, Big Muff, Superfuzz, Foxx Tone Machine, etc. How many more were made back in the day? And do all of them have modern clones, or improved-enhanced versions? I checked out a book from the library on pedals, but it didn't have a comprehensive list of them...

[StopReferencing]

One. Maestro Fuzz-Tone.

[kosta]

This doesn't give you any kind of chronology, but I find it to be the best source for keeping track of related circuits, re-brandings of the same circuits and that kind of thing. http://www.effectsdatabase.com/

Also, the DAM forum is pretty heady in its collective knowledge of OG fuzz... http://stompboxes.co.uk/forum/index.php

[Gunner Recall]

http://www.kitrae.net/music/Fuzz_Big_Muff_Timeline.html
Is a pretty cool timeline.

http://www.kitrae.net/music/big_muff_history.html
is a slightly longer read

[devnulljp]

One. Maestro Fuzz-Tone.

This is pretty much it. Tonebender MkI is based on the Maestro.
Muff and Jumbo Tone Bender are so similar there's no agreement which really came first and if one was based on the other or not
Same with Fuzz face and Tone Bender Mk1.5

[Gunner Recall]

If we're looking at a complete list of originals from the 60's...

I guess the FZ-1 (which spawned the tonebender/fuzzface), fuzzrite, big muff pi, and I guess the octavia?
Although mayer claims otherwise, isn't the axis fuzz he built for jimi just a tweaked fuzzface?

[grindonomicon]

This doesn't give you any kind of chronology, but I find it to be the best source for keeping track of related circuits, re-brandings of the same circuits and that kind of thing. http://www.effectsdatabase.com/

Also, the DAM forum is pretty heady in its collective knowledge of OG fuzz... http://stompboxes.co.uk/forum/index.php

I can read and listen to samples on the DAM forum for a long time...

Interesting reading @ the meathead dark is a fuzz face variation.

http://www.kitrae.net/music/Fuzz_Big_Muff_Timeline.html
Is a pretty cool timeline.

http://www.kitrae.net/music/big_muff_history.html
is a slightly longer read

That first one is pretty much what I was looking for...

How original are some of the modern pedals? Like the Megalith or Pharoah? If I'm remembering right, some of the modern monster fuzz pedals, like Supercollider and Musket, are tweaked Big Muffs?

[Gunner Recall]

The supercollider, musket and pharaoh are all muffs...though they've got some pretty interesting tweaks (the pharaoh especially since it sounds NOTHING like a muff).

Not sure on the megalith...anyone have any gut shots to share?

[Fuzz_Pi]

Maestro Brassmaster, Sam Ash Fuzz Box, Mosrite FUZZ-Rite are some others

[Snufkino]

One. Maestro Fuzz-Tone.

Yup. I LOVE the Shin-ei FY-2 fuzz box but I'd love to try out a Maestro some time.

[grindonomicon]

The supercollider, musket and pharaoh are all muffs...though they've got some pretty interesting tweaks (the pharaoh especially since it sounds NOTHING like a muff).

Not sure on the megalith...anyone have any gut shots to share?

Not asking for gut shots, but I bet StopReferencing has seen the insides of his megalith... And would know what kind of variant it is if he's half as smart as we all think he is.

Maestro Brassmaster, Sam Ash Fuzz Box, Mosrite FUZZ-Rite are some others

Yup. I LOVE the Shin-ei FY-2 fuzz box but I'd love to try out a Maestro some time.

I'd like to try a brassmaster or shin-ei fuzz or one of the modern variations or clones... Esp that 'Blue's Theme' distortion of the shin-ei! I always see the 'Dentone' shin-ei style pedal ('w/ no volume loss and tone control!' wooo!) on ebay. Not tempted enough, but if I won the lotto...

[aen]

Actually, Oliver from DBA traveled back in time and invented all of the fuzz pedals from the 60s.

[edkoppel]

The Maestro is indeed the inspiration for any fuzz that came after that.

but if you go purely by sound, there are a few originals...
Maestro FZ-1
Tonebender MKI
Tonebender MKII
Tonebender MKIII
Big Muff
FY-2
Super Fuzz
Fuzz Face
Fender Blender / Ampeg Scrambler / (I love the fOXX tonemachine, but it came after these and was clearly inspired by them)
Octavia (roger mayer's was 1st I believe)
Jordan Bosstone
Mosrite Fuzzrite
Earth Sound Research Graphic Fuzz
MXR Blue Box
Meastro Brassmaster / Maestro FZ-1S (these are both insane!)
Jen Fuzz & Sustain (I just got one of these and it was doing Devi-style fuzz back in the 70s, really crazy pedal!)
ZVex Fuzz Factory (although feedback loops are nothing new, putting them in a pedal was)

I'm sure there are more, and now with people doing bit crushers, I would say those are pretty unique.

[Dandolin]

^^
Money shot.

[Bassus Sanguinis]

^^
Money shot.