Boss FZ-3 Fuzz

Boss FZ-3, simple 3 knob layout the way all great pedals should be.'
Very simple to use, plug in and fuzz it up.

I cant vouch for any so called "vintage" fuzzes or "it doesn't should like my 50 year old super conductor fuzz pedal worth 5 million dollars that grandpa gave me". Boss never makes any claims to sould like anything vintage - they sound like Boss. That being said, i feel that this is a great Fuzz Box - I love playing through it. from mild to over the top fuzzes, they are in there. I run it into a Mesa Dual Rec or my Mesa F-30 with great results. Great with humbuckers for soloing and does well with chords too.

DUH

Never had to deal with them - cannot comment

I was searching for one of these for a while. I dig Boss pedals, they always work and they always sound good. Its a one trick pony - but i am not complaining - its a fuzz box and it does it well. Guitar players are at the point now where they care more about the names and how old it is - I say worry about your playing.
the greats sound the same no matter what they play through.

The FZ3 uses the time-honoured three knob design which most Boss pedals have. Therefore it is very simple to use. The manual had two suggested settings which was useful for getting started. As far as I am aware this is the original issue of this pedal.

I play both strats and teles. For amps i have a Fender Bassman re-issue and a Marshall JTM45 re-issue. I like to try out different pedals - my old workhorse fuzzface is my usual pedal, but i also use a Pro Co Rat, Ibanez TS9 and a TYM fuzz all the way from Australia. I bought this fuzz as a backup to those pedals. It is certainly a very reliable, sturdy pedal but it isn't in the same league as any of my other fuzzes. It sounds better with the Marshall than the Bassman. I'd agree with the other reviewers who say that the pedal lacks volume and i also find it hard to coach real sustain with this thing. It sounds fine for leads, but messy and muddy for riffs or chords.

Very high build quality, as are all Boss pedals.

I play everything from Beatles to Pink Floyd Black Sabbath, and have been playing nearly 20 years. This is a cookie cutter fuzz. It doesn't do anything that plenty of other fuzz pedals can't do 100 times better. I'll probably sell it on Ebay once the prices get high enough. Take the advice of an old man - get an old fuzz pedal! Seek out an old Fuzzface, or go to Analog mike or Roger Mayer and get one of their clones.

The easiest - just three controls,like all the best BOSS pedals.

I play a Gibson Les Paul Standard into an Orange 120 head and Orange 2 by 12 cab. For pedals i use a wah and either a Boss SD1 or a Roger Mayer Mongoose(or sometimes both). I like old-school heavy rock like Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult, and some new stuff like Foo Fighters and QOTSA. I wanted a fuzz which would give me super thick vintage sounding fuzz, but this pedal isn't it! The sound quality, in terms of clarity etc i guess is ok, but it has very low output, and just sounds weak with my other gear. I ran it along with my Mongoose and there was no competition!

I sold it on before it got road tested.

Overall i'd say this pedal was very disappointing. it sounded poor with both single notes and chords, and certainly didn't sound like a vintage fuzz to me. A very "transistor" sound - and i mean as in a waspy solid state amplifier sound. I would save the extra few pounds and go get either a Mayer fuzz or maybe a Big Muff.

only 3 knobs...u nimrod..

Yamaha Eg303, Samick Tele Custom Pro, 69'Japanese Jazzmaster -> crybaby wah -> earnie ball volume ped -> vintage pro co rat -> boss fz-3 fuzz -> Zvex fuzz factory -> e-harmonix sovtek big muff [mod true bypass] -> boss CE-2 chorus -> e-harmonix small clone chorus -> ibanez ph7 phaser -> vodoo lab tremolo -> e-harmonix microsynth -> moogerfooger ring modulator -> boss dd-3 -> e-harmonix holier grail reverb -> ibanez lo fi -> ibanez fz3 fuzz [for noise] ----> Fender Twin Reverb / Peavey Blaze 128 connected to another Bassman copy running simutaneously.....

As you can see...im a total gear head and obviously..i play in an experiment / noise / ambient / alternative band...using multiple fuzz and dist. pedals are a necessity to me....and the boss fz-3 is no exception...

Crank up the Fuzz and u can actually hear your speaker rattling and rambling...provided me the fuzz that i needed...if u want to hear comparisons and samples of the fz-3 in action...listened to Smashing Pumpkins - Rocket / Cherub Rock / Bullet With Butterfly Wings....
or if u have Smashing Pumpkins Vieuphoria documentry...check out the part where they play the song "Slunk"...the fuzz is similar to fz-3..
or Sonic Youth's - 100%...

i can bludgeon someone to death with this thing..

never dealt with them...

I play mostly experimental / noise / ambient / stoner / alternative rock band...as u can see from my pedal board...i have multiple of fuzz and distortion stomboxes...the fz-3 is one of my fav but nothing beats the Zvex fuzz factory...

i will definately get another new one if this pedal is stolen or lost...but unfortunately...it's discontiniued...urgh...

Needs little tweaking, but when it's done... fuzzy to the bone.
The manual is, well, thin and not exactly bursting with info. But it does show you how to set-up the unit and suggests some settings for different types of guitars (single-coil, h'buckers).

I'm using it with a Les Paul copy (Roytek), Ibanez Tone Blaster 15R, Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, ZOOM 606. I use it with the amp and BD-2 (for boost & creamy tone). This fuzz sounds amazing. I can get Muse and 60's fuzz. Together with the distortion on the amp - Hendrix (think Star Spangled Banner) and sustain heaven. Great for slow solos. The basses pack a great distortion on this little fuzzer - thick, even wobbly with applied distortion.

Sure, it's very sturdy. BOSS truly excels in this area. A metal chassis that can really take a beating.

Never needed to deal with BOSS. No trouble with their pedals so far.

I play mostly blues, rock and classical, but with this pedal i've startet to get into hard rock, metal and experimental. I've been playing for a year, but thanks to 5 years worth of piano lessons progressing quite fast.

If it were stolen or lost, I'd definately buy another one, because I can get really dreamy tones out of it.

I have compared it to the fuzz on the ZOOM 606, BOSS DS-1, BOSS-MT2 and Marshall Guv'nor. None of them produce such a mid-rich distortion.

It certainly helps me make music, experiment a lot and I'm discovering new musical grounds with it.

If you want some fuzziness to your sound, this is surely worth a try.

The FZ-3 is as straight forward as boss distortion pedal. 3 nobs, dont have impressive range but better than some. comes with a manual but like most boss manuals its not really worth reading! the tone nob gives the best range, and you dont have to have hardcore metal fuzz all the time- the fuzz nob does turn down (but not up enough!)- Extremely easy to get the best sound you want, or can. ive had this pedal for a few months now and i initially thought id work out a favourite sound but its pretty limited control wise, so its probably still on the same settings!

my set up- a crappy squire bullet(soon to be replaced be a brand new jagstang if they ever deliver it!), FZ-3, BOSS DS-2, BOSS SD1, EHX SMALL CLONE, BOSS CS-3, BOSS DD-3, MARSHALL MG50. as you can see i like a range of distortions (and i do use them all!) so the fz-3 is my heaviest. my band plays nirvana, radiohead and are ,originally like placebo.
its as silent as you could want it to be, considering its a fuzz pedal, so is no hastle on stage. i usually have the fuzz on full with the tone about half way. i paid #60 for it- way,way,way too much but happy with it. expected to get sounds like smashing pumpkins- everlasting gaze or muse- stokholm sindrome but its not that fuzzy. its very good sound quality, not really a metal dist like heavy heavy bands use, more for a heavy rock sound.

Would use it without a backup. just drains the batteries a bit, like all my others, so im used to that. never really stomped on it but possitive it could take it. however the paint on boss pedals always comes off so easily???

Never had a pedal fail on me, never a boss one anyway. took me a while to master internet shopping for pedals, started off with danelectro pedals- i absolutely hate those pedals, my distortion was held together by celotape! nope, this was fine, and its probably third hand going by the amount of stickers it had on the box!

was well pleased with the fuzz pedal, couldnt really expect the sound i listen to on territorial pissings or owt like that but it is still very good. paid too much but not bothered- dont regret it, he fuzz is an important sound in my music. like most distortion pedals there isnt massive range in the sounds available but im used to that- thats why i use three distortion pedals! ite ace for just messin around with at home- i usually use the fuzz instead of my ds-2, just coz its a bit more hardcore and it is quite a satisfying sound. if it was stolen, hmmm, im a pretty lazy person so id probably do nothing. id look on ebay and buy it again if it was there, but not for 60 pounds this time. if your in a rock band thats a bit alternative and you want an extra aggression to certain songs then this does the trick.

very easy 3 knobs
volume tone fuzz
if you can't figure out this pedal
i can't help

a funny thing happened on the way to my amp
here's where it get's strange
i tried this guy into a nice low watt class A amp about 8 watts
great defined fuzz--it really startled me
then i ran my 71 triangle bigg muff same setup
same sound! i know it seems weired but then i ran my 73purple big muff
ok that's not fair but still has a killer dynamic germanium fuzz tone
but it has to be the first in your chain no excusses.
sorry english guy below but a 73 sg and a jcm-800 is not the setup to get great tone-jcm-800's sound like bee's traped in a tin can to begin
with and a 73 sg? please! this is a fuzz and using roger mayer as a yard stick err. meter stick is almost funny they ar the grainiest most unpleasing pedals i've heard.
my amps are: 68 Plexi w/68 4x12 and 70 8x10,65 bassman w/2x12,55 4x10 bassman,66 traynor bassmaster(plexi on the cheap),61 princeton,2-62 epiphone pacemaker's blah blah blah. very consistent
unlike a jcm-800. it's a fuzz people

boss

ehhhh!

i got it cheap cause the guy before me couldn't get a good sound
with his jcm-800
i told him it's not the pedal it's you amp-
sorry truth hurts
crap a carvin X100B amp is cooler

as with any 3 knob boss od/dist pedal, the fuzz is a breeze to use.

just got it! i knew they stopped making the fz-3 so I was surprised when my music store had a new one. i realize it's not a fuzz face, a mayer, or big muff pi, but the boss fuzz sounds great to my ears. i don't mind that it's so quiet, i can get plenty of volume and/or fuzz. you do have to set the volume higher than on most pedals but it isn't a problem. personally, i prefer to only turn the distortion up a quarter and no more than half way up and then control amount of distortion from there with the volume knob on my parker nightfly or from the boost on my trademark 60. this is a great fuzz pedal, maybe not the best, but musical and useful. sure it's a one trick pony, but it a fuzz for god's sake.

since i've never had a problem with any of my 15 boss pedals plus loop station or vf-1, i don't expect to have any problem with this pedal.

i'm glad a ran across the fz-3. it provides me with an excellent tone in a durable bedal. i wouldn't use it all the time, but then i don't use any effect all the time with the exception of delay/echo, so i'm very satisfied with my new acquistion. it won't replace your favorite distortion or overdrive pedal, but is can provode a very good sounding fuzz effect. set it where you like it, leave it, and use it when it feels right. can't be any easier of more fun than that.

Very Simple. Just three pots, so very easy.

I bought this pedal for more than i should have paid, based on reviews here and elsewhere. I must say I am very dissappoited - This is a very ordinary fuzz, which lacks the character of the classics. i put it alongside my roger mayer axis fuzz, and knew straight away that i'm not keeping it.I play a '73 gibson SG into a Marshall jcm800, and this pedal makes my gear sound worse!!!

Piece of crap. Anyone who has used a good fuzz (Roger Mayer, Fuzz Face, ZVEX etc) will be dissappointed with this poor pedal. Rubbish!!

SUPER EASY - JUST THREE CONTROLS.

I PLAY A TELECASTER THROUGH AN OLS MARSHALL 100 WATT HEAD AND CAB. I USUALLY USE A USABIG MUFF FOR MY FUZZ, BUT DECIDED TO TRY THIS WHEN I SAW ONE CHEAP. CAN'T SAY I'M TOO IMPRESSED, THIS PEDAL IS SO DAMN QUIET!!! THE OUTPUT IS VERY LOW, SO LOW I THOUGHT THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH MINE (GOT ITCHECKED AND THERE WASN'T). IT'S A RATHER CHARACTER-LESS FUZZ, CERTAINLY IN COMPARISON TO EITHER A BIG MUFF OR A FUZZ FACE.

ABSOLUTELY, IT IS A BOSS.

JUST NOT A GREAT PEDAL AT ALL. THE ONLY USE I CAN THINK OF FOR IT WOULD BE IN THE STUDIO, AND EVEN THEN I WOULD USE THE BIG MUFF INSTEAD.