Boss FZ-3 Fuzz

Three knobs might seem easy enough but they are really very difficult to use. Many of the submissions here look as if the pedal has bad sound but that's really not true. The hidden secret is the most overlooked but effective usage: YOUR GUITAR'S VOLUME CONTROL!!! I had a horrible time until I figured that out. Just turn the fuzz all the way up and use your volume control to manipulate the fuzz.

I'm using an Ibanez guitar through an EH Bassballs pedal, then into the fuzz, and then into a Digitech Rp-3 which I use primarily as a preamp. It's not noisy at all even with the fuzz maxed out. It's a very strong effect and even w/ the fuzz turned all the way down it sounds like farting (in a good way). It also boosts the bass (which all real fuzzes do). With the setting at Volume 3 o'clock, Tone 12 o'clock, Fuzz Maxed out, and my guitar's volume at 2 or 3, I can replicate Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, even though I'm not a huge Nirvana fan, and when I turn the guitar's volume up, Oh man, It's a classic (ala Hendrix) fuzz sound that can SUSTAIN!!!! This pedal is not a one trick pony and is pretty versatile but it doesn't sound so great with my Bassballs, and that's the ONLY reason I'm giving it a 9.

I've never had a problem with a pedal, but I've dropped this little bugger all over the place, and let me tell ya, it takes a lickin and keeps on tickin.

I have no idea.

It sounds great with any style I've played of course not clean though. But I can replicate a Big Muff sound or a Fuzz Face Sound all w/ manipulation of the volume control. I would most probably replace it. My fave feature is that it can go from Nirvana, to Jimi Hendrix, to the Stooges in the turn of the knob. If you need any settings or just wanna trade tricks, please e-mail me.

Easy to use pedal, the three knobs make it very simple to use and its not to hard to get a usuable sound from it. Not very complicated like a Metal Zone or Hyper Fuzz. I like pedals w/ simple set ups cause I don't like too many options cause most sound bad anyway, but this pedal is very easy to use.

I use a Fender Strat w/ lace sensors thru a Crate amp, for pedals i use a Big Muff and various boss pedals. This pedal is pretty quiet for a fuzz pedal but I wouldn't really consider it a very versital pedal tho. I can get about 2 usable sounds out of it. One is w/ the fuzz turned about a quarter up and the tone halfway, and level all the way up, that works well for a good half-distortion, but not overdrive. The other is w/ the fuzz all the way up and everything else the same. It sounds crazy, like the speakers are really breaking up and busted. But its odd cause whenever i hit a power chord on the low strings (like E or the low A's) it sounds like the volume goes down and then as the vibrations fade, the effect kind of swells increasing the volume like a compressor or limiter inside of it. It also doesn't sound very real, you can't hear the chord being hit very well. Also it doesn't work well with the Muff. It sounds good on the high notes, but on the low ones it doesn't work too well. The best thing to use it for is kind of a transition type distortion, i guess kind of like a beefed up overdrive, if that makes sense. All in all, I think its an okay pedal, but if it ever got stolen i'd get something else.

Its a Boss, what can i say, its very dependable.

Dont' know

Its a good pedal, very dependable, but i wish it had a bit more versatility to it. A good example of how it sounds would be the distortion on "Love" by Smashing Pumpkins, but it can get different sounds from it. It'd be a good pedal if you had a good purpose or sound for it to imulate, but just as a fuzz or distortion it can't do too much. I wish i could figure out why it seems to get duller (like i said above) when i hit the strings hard, i dont like the way the lows on it sound like crap, and i wish it sounded a bit more human at intense settings. I wouldn't say its very retro or modern, just very..different. But its fun once u find a good use for it (if you can).

It is very simple to use, but that is because it has a very limited palette of sound. It creates fuzz, like it should. The manual isn't all that useful, and only has like two settings.

I use an Epiphone Les Paul with a Duncan 59 in the neck and a JB in the bridge, which I run into a Fender Blues Deluxe. For a fuzz box, it is not very noisy, until you get to the most extreme settings. Here's the thing with this fuzz box - It sounds like crap unless you turn up the fuzz past 2 oclock. After that it gets progressively thicker and fuller. I personally leave it dimed, and adjust guitar volume when I want less fuzz, which works very well for me. I can't really think of how to describe the sound. It is definitely not your generic sounding distortion. I use it to play Pumpkins' stuff and other fuzzed out "alternative" music. No matter what you do with the tone knob, it produces a very thick sound. With my setup, it's impossible to get a edgey cutting sound without totally destroying the bybassed clean sound. You definitely can't play punk through this thing unless you use a strat and solid-state amp. You can, however get some creamy sustaining leads with it, and a decent modern rhythm sound. By the way, in the name of objectivity, I waited for a year to review this pedal, so I am not experiencing gear hype or anything. My major complaint is that the tone knob doesn't do all that much to the sound, it just adds or takes away an upper-midrange hiss from the tone. I haven't tried a graphic equalizer in conjunction with it yet, but intend to sometime.

If you're reading this, you already know about Boss dependability

Haven't dealt with them ever.

Well, I think it pretty much delivers what you would expect from a pedal named Fuzz. Versatility certainly wasn't a priority when it was designed, but it gives you one good fuzz sound, so I can't complain. I've been playing for five years, and I like alternative and blues music. It works well for the modern rock, but definitely not the blues. It maintains a thick, round, full sound no matter what you do to it, whether that's good or not is up to you. Definitely not for metal. I wish it had a more potent EQ, so I could get some sharper attack out of it. I think if it was stolen or lost I would probably invest in something more versatile and more on the distortion side of gain. Maybe something like a Big Muff or Rat. But, I like the uniqueness it gives me, cause it's definitely got it's own sound.

There is absolutely nothing to it, all straight foward. Fuzz, Tone, and Level..

It sounds great! I run it through a 60 LP Special, a Rickenbacker 330/12 and Yamaha Pacifica 112, and they all sound great. I can nail those great fuzz tones on the Yardbirds Over Under Sideways Down, and In-A-Gada-Da-Vida and thats good enough for me!

its a Boss.. no need for any other comment..

in my 8 or so years of playing, I have *Never* had a problem with any Boss Product, they are built like tanks

I play many Classic Rockish Roots Rock and this pedal is perfect when I want something harsher than my good old overdrive pedal, but still retaining that for a lack of a better word, retro vibe. If it broke, I would probably laugh, cuz that would be the first I have ever heard of a Boss pedal crapping out.. I would definatly replace it

Not much to say here. Typical 3 knobs; volume, tone, fuzz. It was the store demo, so there was no box or manual, but neither is really needed.

I use it with either a Strat or Les Paul (depending on whether I'm trying to be Hendrix or Page at the moment) through either a Fender Vibro-Champ (when my wife and kids are awake) or with my MESA V-Twin with headphones (when they're sleeping). There's a lot of sounds in this box. Turn the fuzz low and your amp is cutting some nasty farts. Turn the fuzz midway to 75% and you have a decent silicon transistor fuzz face type sound. Max the fuzz, and your amp sounds like it's blowing up, very over the top. This unit is fairly quiet, but not as quiet or as sweet sounding as my 70's fuzz face. Since it did sound somewhat similar to my fuzz face, I opened it up to take a look at the circuit. Boy, the circuit is nothing like the fuzz face or any other fuzz circuit that I have ever seen. There are no op-amps or ic's, but there is EIGHT!!! transistors. Also, with the fuzz set about half way you can back off the volume on your guitar to clean up the sound (works better with single coils than humbuckers). Other reviews have said that this isn't a retro sounding fuzz, but more of a contemporary fuzz. Well, I disagree. I make my own fuzz faces, own vintage fuzz faces, as well as a Prescription Yardbox (also very cool) which is a replica of the Sola Sound Tonebender from the 60's, and this box fits right in with them. The only readon it could be considered contemporary is that many bands in the 90's have rediscovered the joys of fuzz, and modern recording technology produces better sounding (in some peoples minds)recordings today.

It's a BOSS. I have a 20 year old BOSS OD-1 that performs and sounds as good today as it did in 1978. The only thing that will ever go bad is the battery!

Don't think I'll ever have to. Besides, if for some reason this happened to be the 1 out of 1,000,000,000,000 that did have someething fail, I would fix it myself since I dabble in electronics as a hobby.

If you want a RELIABLE, great 60's sounding fuzz, you can't go wrong with this pedal. I got this on a whim because I am a fuzz junky and it was basically a brand new BOSS for only $59 (retail $140). Sounds similar to a fuzz face, but different which is good. You can never have too many good fuzzes. Plus, since this is a BOSS, I know it will NEVER die.

Three knobs, old fashioned BOSS-style. They are Level, Tone 'n Fuzz. In other words very easy to use.
The manual looks nice, but you don't really need it.

I use a strat, a wah and a bluesdriver with my fuzz trough a fender amp. the fuzz goes to extreme levels. REALLY distorted and saturated. It sound great with bridge pickup (kinda like hendrix on "killing floor" from Radio One). Not noisy at all (for a strat). On the neck pickup my amp doesn't seem to be able to handle it all. This isn't a bad thing though. It just means an extra source of weird, cool sounds.
Tone control is pretty useful. Shimmering highs, thumping lows. The pedal adds low-end to your sound when not used. It makes my bluesdriver sound even better this way.
However, it somehow completely cloaks the effect of my wah.

I'm gonna skip this question for obvious reasons.

Never dealt with 'em.

I play blues, bluesrock, hardrock and even some metal. this thing sounds like hendrix at his most extreme, Kyuss, Soundgarden etc. i use it a lot at home. in my band, however, I rely more on my bluesdriver cause the fuzz doesn't cut trough very well. I could turn up the level some more, but then I would probably blow up my speakers.
Anyway, I really like the sound, so i'd buy it again. I just wish it had more presence.

Great fuzz sound. Real easy 3 knobs: Tone, Level, Fuzz. The manual only gives 3 suggestions one for Humbucking equipped guitars, single equipped pickups, and bass. But the pedal is real easy to find the sound you want.

I play a Gibson Nighthawk Studio 3PU and a 1976 Bullet through a Solid State Crate stack. This pedal is incredibly quiet even on the high gain settings. The sound the pedal produces is really thick and full. It sounds really good when you play single notes rather than chords. I mostly play Hard rock, Korn, Deftones, Limp Bizkit, etc. But this pedal can produce Fu Manchu's fuzz like tone very well.

It's a boss need I say more

never had to deal with them

Like I said I mostly play hard rock, but I love the Fu Manchu fuzz tone and that is why I bought this pedal. It sounds identical to Fu's tone. I've been playing for over 3 years. I also own Korg Hyper Distortion, Boss: Blues Driver, Metal Zone, Super Phaser. I would definitly buy it again, if it got stolen, because its not that expensive. One thing I love about this pedal is if you play it with a blues driver, and the fuzz you can get great fuzz-tube tone, with both pedals on, that sounds incredibly good and its not noisy at all. And lets face it this pedal looks cool.

this pedal is easy to use, as are all BOSS pedals. you've got the 3 knobs- level, tone, and fuzz. turn the fuzz to get more fuzz (suprised?), and the tone changes, well, the tone. level is volume.

I'm using a Yamaha Pacifica through a rocket 10w tube amp, and the pedal has a fery nice, warm feel to it. it can get really, well, "fuzzy" if you turn the fuzz up too high- sometimes you can't tell when chords change... but only if they're close togeather (like C to C#).
the sound out of this pedal is constant... it never wavers unless you change it yourself. I play "alternative" music, and it's great for that kind of music (soundgarden songs never sounded better! :)

I've always been able to depend on BOSS pedals, and this one is no different. I've stomped on it like hell, and it's still goin strong. I have to go without a backup(all musicians have a lack of $$$, you know), but I don't think i'll need one.

I've never dealt with them... these pedals can't break!

as I stated before, I play alternative music, and it really gets in there and rips those chords to shreds (which can be good, or bad- depends on what you want). I also own a BOSS super overdrive, and it's just as dependable as this one. If this pedal got stolen, I'd have to get another one- i like this one most for the $$$. I think I need to pick up a chorus pedal next- gotta go to the music shop and play with a BOSS chorus.

The Fuzz pedal is well laid out and easy to use. There are a great number of ways to get different, good tones out of it. Unfortunately, there's no manual. That makes it difficut to come up with good combinations of fuzz and tone.

The pedal isn't noisy, even at the highest levels of fuzz and tone combined. It does biz a little if you turn the gain up; but, you can solve that by using your amp for volume. The pedal sounds great. Too bad it isn't versatile enough to give you retro fuzz or a psychedilic fuzz. It never gets punchy enough to hear the tones and it never gets fuzzy enough for rhythm. The way I solved this was to combine it with a Roadkill distortion. That makes it really noisy! Strangely, I don't really think it sounds too bad on leads, if you can keep the other strings from ringing. It has a really round, large sound. Maybe I'm crazy.

Oh yeah! I've stomped on this sucker like crazy. Still works fookin great.

The pedal is great on the terms of ease of use and reliability. The sound quality leaves something to be desired; although, it is passable. I'd buy it.

For all you idiots out there even you should be able to use this pedal. There's tone, level, and fuzz. Get the amount of fuzz you want, then get the tone you want be turning the little knob in the center.

Well, let's see. I have a DS-2 Turbo Distortion also and this pedal sounds just like it does on turbo, just a tiny bit more distortion. If you have the turbo distortion you probably want to try the fuzz out before you buy but if you don't have theTurbo then I recommend it. Fairly noisy, but I guess I'm lucky because I don't care. Best for playing rythm or chords. It's okay for solos, but I recommend using something else that stands out more.

I have 4 boss pedals and not a single one has had a problem what so ever with it. Everyone else likes em.

I don't even know if they have one!

I play all types of music basically. I don't know of any band to compare the sound of this pedal to. I use it with the fuzz all the way up and it's really loud and it's so fuzzy sometimes you can barely even tell I'm playing anything. I like it though. It's works well with MY music!