The Umbrella Company Mayonaise Fuzz seems to be the debut pedal by the Japanese distributor of Chase Bliss and Empress Effects among others. It’s presented as a modern and multifaceted “fuzzstortion” inspired by many classic circuits of the past but not necessarily replicating any of them, although sonic references to the Muff are quite obvious.
However, thanks to a couple of toggle switches, the Mayonnaise can expand your sonic arsenal with some more aggressive and rich fuzz tones with a completely different sonic character.
The Doping toggle does something very “anti-muff”: it (tastefully) boosts the midrange, whereas the Muff is known for a lack of mids. This makes the fuzz a lot more present, which allows it to stand out in a dense mix.
The 1979 toggle, on the other hand, has a more radical effect, affecting the structure of the fuzz to deliver a modern fuzz tone that’s more compressed but also airy, without losing the low-frequency impact.
Turning up both toggle at once will deliver a fuzz that’s impactful on all frequencies, compressed and intense.
The three knobs fo Volume, Sustain and Tone give extra variety and room for experimentation in each one of the 4 toggle combinations.
There’s also an internal jumper that lets you change the fuzz tone entirely, by triggering what’s called Back Mode, which emulates the sound of a Russian Civil War Muff.
Hear the sounds made by the Umbrella Company Mayonaise for yourself in the video below.
