Univox Superfuzz (from the 70s): history (post 1/2)

People say that I worship the Univox Superfuzz a bit too much, but they are wrong. If I could, I would already have started a sect about this pedal!

It is simply my favorite pedal of all times! First because of its amazingly cool look with the huge "Super Fuzz" rubber pad, and also for its sound that is crazy loud and heavy. Seriously, best-fuzz-out-there!

After seeing Fu Manchu live in March, I could not resist buying one. After selling a kidney on the black market, I was quite lucky because I found a non-working unit on ebay that I could repair by replacing a few electrolytic capacitors.

The Super Fuzz is really the ultimate fuzz for me, so I decided to honor it by writing the most complete article about it. Here is the first part!

Let's go!

Sovtek Bubble Font Russian Big Muff (1995)

A pedal that I recently fixed and a legend in the stoner/doom scene: ladies and gentlemen, here is the almighty Russian Sovtek Big Muff!

This lady is already more than 20 year old. Not as old as the 50 years old Maestro Fuzztone that I fixed before, but still!

Vintage Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ1-A (1966)

The Maestro Fuzz-Tone is simply the first fuzz ever! I felt a bit like an archeologist when inspecting this effect ! Someone gave me this one for repair, experiencing some issues with the built-in jack and the switch. Here it is:

ProCo RAT White Face (1985)

Here is a pedal a customer sent me for repair: a vintage ProCo Rat from 1985! This 30 year old little monster had some troubles with switching, happens that the switch that had been changed made some false contact with the (rusty but still conductive) metallic enclosure. 

It is a classic RAT2, produced in 1985. It is called "White Face" RAT because of the white background of the "RAT" logo. Later versions have a dark background with white lettering.

Vintage Colorsound Supa Tonebender (1973)

A nice reader of the blog lend me this super cool Colorsound "Supa" Tonebender, from 1973! Someone he knows found it in his garage and gave it to him (true story!). Colorsound is an old English brand that produced pedals during the late sixites. One of the most famous pedals they have produced is the Tonebender.

The Tonebender is a fuzz that existed in several versions: Mk1, Mk1.5 (yes!), MK2 (famous because used by Jimmy Page a lot), MK3 (with a third knob)... All versions are really different, and the circuit changed a lot from one version to another. You did not know the Tonebender? Read my post about the different types of fuzz! This "Supa" Tonebender is a version of the tonebender that appeared in 1973. Here it is:

Boss Hyper Fuzz (Boss FZ2) : wall of fuzz from 1993

1993 is the year when Jurassic Park came out. I think it is no coincidence that another monster appeared this year: the Boss Hyper Fuzz! This pedal, produce from April 1993 to June 1997, is a Univox Super Fuzz clone, with some added features. Mine is from August 1993!

The Univox Super Fuzz is a pedal produce in the late 60s, famous for its apocalyptical sound! It was used by Pete Townshend during live performances of the Who, and then used by many bands with a heavy sound like Kyuss, Fu Manchu or other stoner rock bands. In particular, the Hyper Fuzz is used by Electric Wizard, a band famous for its subtle and thin sound (or not!)... In short, as you understood, this fuzz is a war machine that will crush your ears once activated! It is so evil that legend says: each time you step on it, someone dies...

The FZ-2 is really different from a FZ-3, which is a fuzz with more classic sounds. The Boss FZ3 is close to a silicon fuzz face, whereas the Boss fz2 is really peculiar, really close to a Super Fuzz.

The pedal has 5 controls (the second potentiometer is a double one, and allows you to set bass and trebles). Level sets the volume, second potentiometer sets bass and treble amounts and the gain potentiometer sets the fuzz amount. The last knob lets you choose between three modes: Fuzz I, Fuzz II and Boost that a simple clean boost.

The different types of Fuzz

Fuzz is one of the most emblematic guitar effects. Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones), Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix), Think For Yourself (The Beatles)... The number of great songs incorporating this effect are countless, and have progressively transformed the Fuzz effect into a reference in the electric guitar world!

Today, we can find a lot of different fuzz, with multiple variations around the same circuit... In order not to be lost in this mess, I wrote a small overview summarizing the different types of fuzz that you can find. Of course, it is not an exhaustive listing, I tried to recapitulate the main fuzz, and modern and "boutique" variations that can be found today... Make your choice!

Boss DD2, 1984

I started a collection of vintage pedals, so here is my first acquisition, a Boss DD2 from 1984. This little 32-years-old lady was the first produced digital delay pedal, and almost the first all- digital stompbox ! This is an early version, with a serial number that corresponds to the "blue label" era (Unfortunately, the label was removed by a previous owner like on many old Boss pedals... ) The paint has scratches,  the knobs and boss pad are polished, jack inputs are a bit rusted… No doubts, this is an old pedal !