Carl Martin The Fuzz

This pedal is easier to use than most Fuzz Faces, if you take into consideration that there are seven knobs and not two. What I mean by that is your control of the tone is expotentially multiplied. The instruction manual included gives a few examples which all sound pretty good. The controls consist of seven knobs, Level, Deep, High, Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble. The only thing that may be a problem for some is that it is 110V powered and they may have to locate an outlet, but if they are running a pedalboard using AC power, they should have no problem.

This is where this thing shines, I have a long list of fuzz boxes I could list, but to not bore you I won't list them, if you must know I have over 250 pedals in my present collection and if your really curious email me. The greatest aspect of this pedal is the eq section, you have bass, mid and treble, which allow you to really refine your fuzz. Most fuzz pedals only have volume and tone, which equates to level and amount of snot. On this pedal your can adjust the type of fuzz from a smooth flowing OD/Dist to a spitting reactive fuzz. Of all of my fuzz pedals this is the one I trust with my tone the most, it is not full bypass but there is no tone lost when switched out of circuit. This pedal does not exhibit the same problems as almost of the other fuzz boxes out there, I find most fuzzes seem to be fine with one type of guitar/pickup setting and when you switch to another guitar it freaks out of loses attack or squeals. This pedal is consistently great sounding and I am comparing it to some $300 plus pedals. It will do the early Stones to Hendrix and then some. It definetly does the White Stripes, Cream and Jeff Beck.

I have had this pedal for over two years and haven't had any problems with it. It has been mounted to a pedalboard, so it is pretty save. The case is very stought, but as with many brands and types of pedals the knobs/potentiometer shafts would be my only concern if you play drunk or regularly gig at a punk bar where they slam dance on stage along with your gear.

Since Carl Martin has been distributed in the states by European Musical the customer service has been great! They answered my questions fast and sent me info via fax and email before they got everything on their website (I have 11 Carl Martin pedals)and I have not found a bad one yet)some pedals where bought at a blow out sale where there the shop had thrown out the boxes along with the manuals.

I typically have two of everything that is in my gigrig, so that I don't have to always schlup my gear in and out of my house (minimizes the wrecking of doors, drywall and my ears from the Bosses' screaming) plus I can develope sounds in my homestudio and then just write down the setting and take them to the practice area or gig. Presently I only have one of these The FUZZ pedals but soon I will obtain a second one. I have two of the Compressor Limiter and the Trem O'Vibe pedals, I find myself missing this pedal when I am at home because I have left it at the practice area. I can safely recommend this pedal to anyone who is looking for a great sounding fuzz especially if you have had a problem with the tempermental attitude of most fuzzes. This is not a cheap pedal, but it is very well built, silent when off and excellent when on, so do yourself a favor and check one out!