The Muff circuit, in all of its variations, is a source of never-ending inspiration for boutique pedal builders, and Mask Audio Electronics is no exception.
Their Black Math Fuzz was born after the company owner Alec Breslow had a revelation of some sorts:
I’m a huge fan of the garage rock coming out of Detroit in the early 2000’s. It’s common knowledge among guitarists that all of of that sound came from big old NYC Reissues. I’ve owned several of them over the years, but none sounded quite right. Then I had a revelation, the NYC reissue that was available then is thoroughly different than the one available now
Designed by the amazing Fran Blanche, this version had a bit more compressed and scooped sound. When boosted into saturation it gets an even more compressed, blown out sound. A few adjustments later I arrived to the sound I had heard in so many live videos in one box.
The four controls are pretty straightforward, and a under the hood trim pots let you set the amount of midrange dip or boost.
here are some videos of the Mask Audio Electronics Black Math.
Black Math originally started as a passion project. I’m a huge fan of the garage rock coming out of Detroit in the early 2000’s. It’s common knowledge among guitarists that all of of that sound came from big old NYC Reissues. I’ve owned several of them over the years, but none sounded quite right. Then I had a revelation, the NYC reissue that was available then is thoroughly different than the one available now
Designed by the amazing Fran Blanche, this version had a bit more compressed and scooped sound. When boosted into saturation it gets an even more compressed, blown out sound. A few adjustments later I arrived to the sound I had heard in so many live videos in one box.
Controls:
BOOST: Pre Fuzz Op-amp boost to saturate and overwhelm.
GAIN: Amount of rock. Allows for more treble frequencies to pass at low gain settings.
TONE: Typical tilt tone control. Wolly bass to the left and treble to the right.
LOUD: Amount of loudInternal Controls:
MIDS: sets the amount of midrange dip or boost.Uses standard Boss style power supply (9VDC 2.1mm center negative) and top-mounted jacks. Enclosures are Hand Screen Printed by Pinebox Customs.
