Den Tone 900 Pound Violin

Very easy to use...essentially 3 controls> volume, fuzz, and tone. What I like about this pedal is that the usable range on the controls is huge. In short, very easy to get the fuzz tone you want dialed in and it is not a one-trick pony. Only downside is that the knobs are on the front of the pedal and it is not easy to see the settings if you want to recall a favorite vibe setting.

I bought this pedal in search of a more liquid fuzz and this pedal nails it. Use it with a Traynor YCS50 through a Marshall 1960 AV cab. You can get an classic edgy fuzz out of it by cranking up the fuzz, but the magic is in the type of warm and super dimensional fuzz you can dial up through the middle of the range. Dial the fuzz down a bit further are you are in ZZ-Top territory. First time I used it live, it turned people's heads! Wow..what is that??? with a grin! Also can nail the awesome fuzz tone on Edwyn Collins "A Girl Like You" with a bit more low end beef. Have had very positive comments from other very discriminating guitar players.

Built really solidly. I opened up the case and the internal construction is first rate. No worrys about this pedal crapping out on me...seems to be bullet proof.

Dennis was top notch in communication before buying the pedal and helped guide me to the type of tone I was looking for. This guy really knows fuzz pedals and by the dimension of the tone this pedal puts out, has spend some very decent amount of time (years) tweaking fuzz tones.

I think this might be my favorite pedal of all time. This pedal is a keeper.

I'm a HUGE fan of fuzz and I really enjoy the EH Big Muff's (not the newest ones though). I was doing the basic "zombie staring at the computer screen for hours" ebay search one night and came across this cool looking pedal. Read about it, checked out the short YouTube video, and jumped on it. Why not? With some fuzz pedals costing well over $300, I really welcome an original looking pedal for around $100. And if it doesn't do it for me, back on the bay it goes. Simple enough process, but every once in a while I stumble on a pedal that makes me stop and think "whoa!!!" And this here little box just spoke to me!
When I experiment with a new pedal, I run it through all my amps and guitars, and basically A/B it with everything instrument and pedal I love. I listen for a "round", warm tone. No glassy, harsh overtones will do it for me. I just think of it as the classic, vintage "analog" tone. I know that most of the older pedals, like pre-1980, are noisy, but if you listen close and A/B them with most newer stuff, you notice this old warmth. That's what I listen for and that's what I like. The Violin has this old, warm, round, tone.
After fiddling round I realized that the 900lb violin is a three knob Big Muff variation. So, no manual really needed and none included. The artwork is very cool, sort of scuffed up black paint and sloppy (in a cool way) stamped graphics. Unlike anything I've seen, very original design. No LED, and the knobs are mounted on the front of the pedal, pointing towards your toes. Weird and different. Takes batteries and adapters.

Being a student of the muff, I realized pretty quickly that this pedal was really going for that sound. The reason I stopped my playing rather quickly is that the fuzz sound is HUGE!!! REALLY HUGE!!! I've played so many clones, mainly just for fun since nothing is replacing my originals, and some pedals got it and some don't, but this one just got "it". Very rich, creamy, huge low end. Not splattery or noisy or sputtery. It's a very musical pedal, and it liked just about all my amps. No muddiness, no "blanket over the speaker" sound. This is a pedal that can finally retire my old ones when I play out.
The pedal's pots have huge range, and dialing in a pleasing sound isn't difficult at all. The pedal can get loud, and very fuzzed out, or it can stay a little calm for those singing lead tones when you need that push over the top. More range than the average Muff or clone.
I'm not one to give "10's" in every category, but a 9, to me, that's pretty damn good.

Build is solid and wiring is neat. Build quality is way higher than average, and solder work shows this guy knows what he's doing. Enclosure is thick, basic box. They're all solid. Knobs are big and I like that, and pots have a smooth taper and feel. Rock solid. Like your basic BYOC enclosure. Nothing wrong with that.

Dennis seems like a nice enough guy. He's doing his thing up there in Vermont, and not charging a ton of money for a great, useable product. After speaking with him, he said the 900lb Violin was "based upon the Triangle era Big Muff, but with a bunch of modifications. It is silicon, both transistors and diodes." Sounds right to me. He ships his stuff out quick, well packed, etc., etc.

Aside from a few muff variations, I rank this pedal right up there. There's only a few current muff-type pedals I like, and all of them have taken the muff and added their own twists. The Hoof from Earthquaker Devices is one that comes to mind. Another is the Euthymia ICBM. And now this 900lb Violin. The Violin is smoother than either, not better, but just creamier, which is why this one fits in nicely with some of my sounds. Granted, I'm not always going for smooth fuzz, but when I do. . .900 POUND VIOLIN!!!!