In a world of Fuzz overload (where every company”s first pedal is a Fuzz) it’s kind of hard to stick out and do something innovative without stepping on the feet of innovators’ past. However, I will have to say that the Fairfield Circuitry’s Four Eyes Crossover Fuzz, consisting of three parallel JFET fuzz circuits driven by a voltage controlled state variable filter with resonance control and mu-amp input stage, is trying its darnest.
The wide operating range of the frequency control, switchable resonance and the three drive pots allow this pedal to go from extreme to relatively subtle; from super thin to ridiculously fat. This pedal just screams versatility.
The filter has three simultaneous outputs all related to a center frequency. The low pass, high pass and band pass outputs each have a fuzz circuit fed by a drive pot. Essentially, this circuit is responsible for brewing one bad ass cup of Multi-Band Crossover Fuzz. The controls consist of LO, MID, and HI knobs that drive the fuzz circuits of their respective frequency bands, a FREQ knob which sets the cutoff/center frequency of filter circuits, a 3-way resonance control switch with values of 1 (mild), 10 (Spicy) and 100 (Suicide), an expression pedal/cv input for controlling the FREQ, a VOLUME knob, and a bypass foot switch.
This is one of those pedals where you just have to hear it and tweak it for yourself. The videos do a good job of showing off the potential, but within just a few tweaks you can be going into uncharted territory exploring fuzzes, distortions, filter sweeps, growls, fizzles of all flavors. The idea is to set your cutoff/center frequency at resonance setting, then tweak the three bands of fuzz to taste to deliver completely unique fuzz tones. There are just so many tonal possibilities from thin and nasal to thick and gooey. I can’t express in words how versatile this fuzz is. Where the fun starts to get out of control is when you patch it with an expression pedal or other control voltage source such as an LFO from your modular synth or Moog Pedal LFO output which then modulates the cutoff/center frequency and produce sweeps and swells similar to a fuzz wah or auto wah. The addition of a CV input really spices things up and adds to the uniqueness and sonic richness of this pedal.
This is my first experience with a Fairfield Circuitry product and I must say that I am in love. They took an overdone pedal genre like fuzz and made one of the most exciting pedals I’ve had the pleasure of using in a long time. The controls scream versatility and variability. The actual fuzz circuits themselves are top notch quality and sound extremely organic and creamy. Everyone could find a use for this fuzz, everyone! – Gus Green
