Recently upgraded to V2, the Kingtone Minifuzz is a vintage tone machine that uses the highest quality components and comes with tons of tweakable options so that you can capture any classic fuzz sound you’re looking for.
The huge volume control allows you to crank the pedal onstage with your foot while the bias knob lets you starve the voltage for spitty and velcroy tones. There’s also a smaller Fuzz knob on the bottom right to set the amount of fuzz.
The three-way toggle switch, also present in V1, lets you choose between three voicings:
- Fat/Full for smooth muff-type sounds
- Zonk for hairy bender-style tones
- Vintage for a more mid-focused cutting tone reminiscent of the Fuzz Face.
And this brings us to the new features found in V2, which are noteworthy:
the most noticeable change is the presence of a Type knob that selects between Silicon and Germanium diodes, something that makes this pedal more sonically flexible and the purchase of it more efficient since for V1 you were asked to choose between one or the other.
Secondly, on top of the Fuzz knob, there’s a Red Bias LED, which is extremely handy because it lights up when you hit the ideal Bias level, which may vary due to environmental variables like temperature.
Finally, and on top of all of that, in a move reminiscent of Chase Bliss Audio’s compact pedals, the Kingtone team moved all the internal switches to side panel DIP switches, adding a couple of new ones ( in bold)
1. Buff On
2. Buff Off
3. Tone 2 / Tone
4. Tone 1 / Tone
5. Fatness / Classic
6. Vintage / Boost
Both tone switches are reported to deliver slightly different flavors of a smoother/darker voice.
Check out the variety of sounds this pedal can produce in the videos below. We added it to our article about the best Fuzz Face-style pedals.
Kingtone Minifuzz V2, Builder’s Notes
The miniFUZZ V2 combines the tones and options of both the miniFUZZ Si and the miniFUZZ Ge, giving you the option to switch between the distinctive tones of silicon or germanium. The miniFUZZ has a plethora of controls which allow you to dial in authentic vintage silicon or germanium tones and much more! The side Dip-Switch gives fast and easy access to the amazing new tonal options. We have added a switchable buffer to the miniFuzz. If you chose to engage the buffer you will be able to drive long cables and complex pedal setups with no loss of tone or change of tone when engaging the miniFUZZ. We have added a four setting tone control for tweaking the texture of the fuzz. Leave it off for bright gritty tones or select one of the options for a smoother, silkier tone. We still have controls for boosting the output or lifting the bass response. Most fuzz pedals can sound poor when using an external DC power-supply but the miniFUZZ’s built in battery simulator makes sure all DC plug in power sounds as good and as quiet as a battery.
Go from massive, sustaining “Violin” type tones, to gritty, fierce, true-vintage fuzz sounds. Go from almost broken sounding “Bender” type tones, to modern glitching, out-of-control big riff sounds
- Top Mounted Jacks
- Carefully Selected Silicon BC183 Transistors
- This current build uses the incredible sounding MP10b, a perfect match for the BC183
- 3 Way Tone Toggle Switch. Fat/Full, Zonk and Vintage
- Internal bridge switch for DC power filtering when using a 9V DC plug. Helps make the DC sound more like a battery
- External switch Vintage/Boost. In the boost setting, the output of the pedal is lifted to allow a stronger boost in volume
- External 4 position switch for tone settings
- External 2 position switch for engaging the buffer circuit
- The Bias Control Knob – Lets You Go From Violin Sustain, To Vintage, Hendrix’esque Mayhem
- Bias Light Indicator. Lets you know when the fuzz pedal is biased correctly. ***Patent Pending***
- 3x LEDs to clearly show when the pedal is active
- Runs on standard center negative 9vdc; no special requirements.
- Hand Wired
- True Bypass
- Small Size 4.7” x 2.8”
- Fat Fat, did I say ‘Fat’ Tone!
- Runs on Standard 9 Volt Battery or 9v DC Jack (standard center negative)
- Fuzz Control – Custom made fuzz control lets you go smoothly between almost clean to full-on fuzz
- Low bias settings will allow from modern or “bender” type tones
- Custom CNC 6061 Anodized Aluminum Enclosure
- Long battery life even when left plugged in
- Beautiful Inside And Out
- Built To Last A Lifetime
- Anti-thread 7/64” Hex Screws.
- 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Germanium vs Silicon:
The miniFUZZ Ge has a warm, almost overdrive like fuzz tone. It cleans up well to a beautiful, bright glassy clean tone.
The Ge is can be sensitive to high temperatures so if you live in a hot climate or do a lot of outdoor summer shows you might want to consider the silicon version.The miniFUZZ Si is still warm but has a more classic fuzzy tone. It also has more lows and highs, more full range.
It also cleans up well with a beautiful, glassy clean tone, very slightly more crisp than the germanium version. The Si is not temperature sensitive.It is easier to get the low bias, gated tones than with the germanium version.
V2 Transistors:
We have chosen what we feel is the perfect match for the BC183, the MP10b. Tonally it is “identical” to the miniFUZZ Ge transistors and is extremely temperature tolerant, so you can use it on hot days with no issues.
Runs on standard center negative 9v. No special requirements.
