We missed this new release by Fuzzrocious from a few weeks ago, but lateness is a minor sin in the world of rock’n’roll!
The Blast Furnace Gated Fuzz is, quite peculiarly, a collaboration with Lehigh Mining & Navigation, an advertising/public relations group based out of Bethlehem, PA. No mention about whether the company has any experience in the glamorous Stompbox realm, but “madmen and madwomen” – as we all know by now – can come up with some darn good ideas related to pretty much any item that’s supposed to go for sale.
If we had to summarize this fuzz pedal, we’d say: “less is more, but we still like options (and surprises).” The fuzz has a very busy and aggressive look but a very simple layout: only two knobs (enigmatically marked with an “R” and a “V”) , two footswitches and one toggle switch.
The word “original,” applied to “Fuzz” is stressed in italics in the pedal’s presentation, to highlight the fact that this is no bloody emulation. The lack of tone tempering options is just an illusion: the toggle switches to a heavier, “semi-mid scooped sound that excels with chords and chugs,” while an internal trimpot allows tweaking of the tone. The right footswitch turns the fuzz on and off.
But since y’all like surprises, and we mentioned about one, we won’t keep you waiting: while the letter “V” predictably indicates “volume,” the “R” stands for “repeats,” which, as far as we know, is not a value that ever applied to fuzz. That’s because inside this stompbox there’s also a short-timed delay triggered via the left momentary footswitch. In the manufacturer’s own words…
When activated, and depending on where the repeats pot is set, the user can add anything from one (1) repeat to swirling, destructive oscillation. By removing one’s foot from the left footswitch, the delay goes away. You can accentuate your sound by adding some girth to the fuzz. There is also a trimpot to adjust the delay time if you don’t like where we set it. It’s cool, you can totally change it.
By the way, the delay can also be used without the fuzz!
Check out all the most relevant YouTube videos of the pedal, below.
