Among the new Maestro line reintroducing to the world the tones of the vintage Gibson pedals from the early ’60s, the FZ-M fuzz is by far the one destined to arouse more curiosity, since it’s inspired by the Maestro FZ-1, which was famously used by the Rolling Stones on the guitar riff for Satisfaction.
The FZ-M is a new, more flexible take on that classic that replicates the vintage unit’s tone goodness in “Classic” mode, but also offers a more aggressive, thicker sound in Modern mode.
Just like in the original, the Attack knob controls the amount of fuzz and the Volume one the output – which in this version can go beyond unity gain if desired. The Tone control is a feature not found in the vintage units, and it lets you adjust the timbre from bright and raspy to warm and wooly and anywhere in between.
For the lovers of details, when the pedal is on, the red, yellow, and blue bugles of the Maestro logo light up.
Needless to say, this pedal went straight to #1 on our article about the Best Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz Tone Clones.
Maestro Fuzz Tone FZ-M, Builder’s Notes
Maestro created the world’s first fuzz pedal – the Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1 – the legendary sound on the Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No)
Satisfaction.”Welcome to the FZ-M. This all-analog pedal boasts two-in-one functionality for increased sonic versatility with both an FZ-1
inspired fuzz sound and a thicker, more modern fuzz tone. Its 3-knob control layout gives you intuitive control. The Attack knob controls the
amount of fuzz. The Tone control lets you adjust the timbre from bright and raspy to warm and wooly and anywhere in between. Use theLevel control to set the output volume; it can go way beyond unity gain when desired. The true bypass footswitch triggers the LED lights in the bugles in the Maestro logo when it’s on, so you’ll always know when the effect is active.Controls: Attack, Tone, Level
Switches: True Bypass footswitch, Modern/Classic Mode toggle switch
LED Indicators: Red, yellow, and blue bugles in the Maestro logoilluminate when the pedal is active
Signal Processing: All-Analog
Power Requirements: 9V battery or regulated 9VDC power supply
(5.5 x 2.1mm plug, wired center-negative)
Current Draw: 21 mAPower On Switch: Incorporated into the input jack. Unplug the input when
not in use to prevent battery drain. Remove the battery when the pedal is
going to be stored for long periods to prevent leakage and damage.
Input Impedance: 32K ohms
Output Impedance: 5K ohms
Switching: True BypassDimensions (D x W x H): 5.04” x 3.45” x 2.5”, including feet, knobs, jacks, etc.
Weight (Including Battery): 1.23 lb. / 557.92 gm.
SKU: MOCFTP
