The Basic Audio Fuzzrite is quite close sounding to vintage Fuzzrites. I have several silicon Fuzzrite clones, one 1990s Sanner, and an original 1960s one. It's my hometown fuzz! I think the circuit is one of the great riffing fuzzes and can do a ton of styles. Fuzzrites are my favorite pedals and my vintage one is my most used pedal.
The older ones have a bit more octave, but also get compressed more easily*. Basic Audio's is slightly more open with less of the perceived overtones, but it also is much easier to tame when switching guitars and amps because of the texture knob and input filter.
Sometimes my 1960s Fuzzrite, especially with my Mosrite Ventures, can be extremely dark in amps. I usually put bass to 0 and treble to 10 to make it feel slightly more “alive.” I didn't feel like I needed to do that with the Basic Audio one (however, that is always how my Ampeg Gemini is EQ'd).
Other clones of fuzzrite tend to emphasize one aspect of the Fuzzrite sound with out ever really getting the blend correct (to me at least). It's either more raspy, more overtone, or more flat distortion. The Basic Audio gets closer than most other ones that I have tried. It's got a good blend in the sound. I also feel like the Basic Audio example is probably the easiest to dial in with different guitars an close replica of the original sound and not losing any of the “magic.”
The noise floor seems to be lower on the Basic Audio than on my vintage ones (which is kind of funny, because they run on battery...could just be old caps).
I didn't really try it with any other instruments (like drum machines or synths) because I tend to not like Fuzzrites on them. I love the Fuzzrite and it's my main fuzz. I think the Basic Audio version is an exceptional substitute for the original (and maybe better for some setups and used later in the chain).
Versus the Basic Audio DOT, which is based on the Fuzzrite, I would say the DOT is more versatile in sound (there are a lot of different tones in there). The sound is more raspy and kinda lo-fi, but its still got Fuzzrite character. The DOT is also awesome with synths and drum machines. I kind of like the DOT panel/case design more.
I still prefer my vintage one but, if I didn't have it, I would be totally happy with the Basic Audio Fuzzrite.
*they do vary. Yea, can't always pin down every vintage fuzz as exact because they have wider part variances, aging parts, batteries, and just different people on an assembly line biasing them or tuning them (if they had trims and stuff).
The ESR Graphic Fuzz based oscillating madman. It's pretty wild. I really liked it more as a noisemaker. It has a lot of cool tricks up it's sleeve and I enjoyed it more than a stock ESR Graphic Fuzz.
The Pendulum does a lot of cool tricks. It's not an oscillating fuzz with the typical “Nintendo” arps: there is almost like a heterodyne action to the oscillation that can sit around the signal. There are cool pitch rises as a guitar note decays, chirps, synth jungle sounds, laughing, cocked wah sounds, gated sounds, and more on top of the solid core fuzz sound. The oscillation is very responsive to the controls (you can tip it over either way kind of like the lal lluna). I kept finding new sounds, but also wanted to focus on the sounds I'd already found. The tone of the Pendulum also translated well via mics on my guitar cabinet*.
I loved it on guitar or with no signal (I didn't get a chance to try it with other guitars though, just the Jag). It pairs amazingly with delay. It has a certain “cut” to it that I liked. On synths, it wasn't as good as I expected after playing it with guitar; Basic Audio's other pedals (like DOT, EF-ONE-ZEE, etc) outshine it in the robot world.
It's a totally unique fuzz pedal that kind of made me want to play more. As of the moment, I think the Pendulum is my favorite from this tourbox. It's one of those pedals I think a person would have to try and see and not like, "Oh, that sound, buy X." It's got too much depth to not explore. Pendulum is a blast!
* A lot of fuzzes do not, Basic Audio fuzzes usually do though...they just sound good recorded. I have a ton of fuzzes that sound awesome in the room, but terrible with every mic setup I've ever tried on them. For some reason, basic audio fuzzes can actually sound better mic'd.
Thanks! I'm trying to finish all this when I have a minute here and there.
More coming, but here is....
Low Volt
My first impression of the Low Volt was pretty mixed. It just kind of felt awkward and muffled to me (I always lean bright). However, I revisited the pedal a few times and ended up really liking it! The dynamics are pretty dialed in and somewhat more rigid than the other pedals in the tour box which took some trial and error (I don't have a whole lot of guitar skill to lean back into to get me through haha).
What really changed my perception of the Low-Volt was after listening to it recorded. It really sounds amazing through a microphone! Sometimes, with my old Ampeg, it would sound kind of dull to me via speaker, but in headphones, after recording, it nearly always sounded amazing and polished (too bad I can't say that about my playing). To my ears, it sounded the best of all the fuzzes after listening (wasn't always my favorite to play or mess around with).
I got everything from gated zipper leads, raspy fuzz, “horn” emulations, glitchy fuzzes, muffled distortion (some with some biting overtones). For a Germanium fuzz, it's surprisingly well behaved and didn't seem to be temp dependent (I didn't really go take it outside and try though). The sound is just a solid Germanium through and through. I think it would fit very well into a 1970s glam sound (kind of like Guida or Slade or something). Once I got used to it, I thought it was an excellent riffing/rhythm fuzz.
I knew it was based on the Zippy which I played years ago (thanks, Chankgeez!) and, even though my memory is fuzzy, that kind of “horn feeling” is there along with zipper tones. Low Volt feels deeper than the Zippy. There are some excellent riffing sound almost like a muffled Sinfoton or something. It can probably even be a stand in for a Ge Pep Box (though without its extreme ducking trick and instability).
I think single coil guitars open up a little more playability in dynamics to the Low Volt versus humbuckers (which is true of a lot of fuzzes). The starve was one control I didn't use a whole lot, but that's probably just a taste thing. Still don't know what Pinch does, but I think I almost always had it on.
Low Volt is an excellent fuzz that left me pretty impressed.
The original Kay Fuzz Tone is supposed to be similar in circuit and sound to the old Univox Super Fuzz (or Ibanez Standard Fuzz). I can hear that when I play the Basic Audio take on the circuit. It's raspier, tighter, and more “cutting” than the Standard Fuzz I had years ago. Cyberpunk* is kind of how I've always thought the Super Fuzz sounded and, after reading that the Kay is related to the Univox, it made sense why I had a similar description.
Basic Audio added some features to the stock one but also removed one that I think would have added a lot to the pedal. The added diode switch is nice, but I didn't use it a whole lot (set and forget). I pretty much left the octave on the entire time which has a nice and balanced feel with the entire sound. The fat switch I kept off most of the time. The original had a food treadle that really made it more unique and I wish that the Basic Audio one had an expression pedal input (or was built in a wah case) so I could sweep through the tone control.
It really is a nice sounding pedal and an excellent alternative to the more common Super Fuzz. The Kay is a bit tighter and more “vintage sounding” than my old Standard Fuzz, which I felt was fuller and less cutting. If I had to pick between a stock Super Fuzz and this Kay, I would probably choose the Kay. I think the Basic Audio Kay could even be a nice alternative to the LAL 45 (with its tone knob).
Like all the Basic Audio pedals, it sounds great recorded. The Kay also sounded excellent through my amp. It's simple to play and it was easy to dial in sounds I liked. I liked the sharpness of it and it can get pretty nasty too. Some sounds I dialed in could almost work as a stand-in for something like a Fuzzrite (even though not related) if somebody wanted an octave fuzz and a good riffing garage tone in one pedal.
The sound is there, with some excellent sculpting options, and it is a fuzz circuit less traveled that should be tried by more people. To me though, in a modern pedal environment and because the original was designed for it, I think it needs that extra uniqueness of the foot treadle or expression pedal to push the Basic Audio Kay from great to awesome.
*Yes, yes, cheesy. Don't know what that means really, just a gut feeling?
- Somehow related to the Shin-Ei Companion Fuzz which is neat.
- Did not like using it on synth at all.
Side note on Kay:
- Didn't try it on synth (there is actually a eurorack module based on the kay tone fuzz and superfuzzes usually work well, just didn't feel like it I guess?)
Some older videos I made with Basic Audio Fuzzes (thanks to Dandolin and Chankgeez!)
Thanks, LG!