Product: Frantone Peachfuzz
Price Paid: US $175.00
Submitted
06/22/2000
at
08:46pm
by
Aaron Marsh
Email: bigbigjackson at hotmail<dot>com
Ease of Use
:
9
Well, folks, it's a fuzz. I didn't see any diodes inside the thing when I put a battery in there, so it must use some other sort of circuit to generate the fuzz/overdrive. There are two knobs: "Fuzz" and "Volume."
Sound Quality
:
9
Pretty darned clean...certainly not much noise for a fuzz-type distortion box. There is a little "pop" when you switch it on, but it's not really noticeable. The overdrive (as per the volume knob) is hot and clean, and the fuzz is very, very smooth.
Reliability
:
9
It seems quite solid. The circuitry inside is neat and well-screwed down, the switch is a tough true bypass job, and the outer casing is a metal box for chrissakes. The two pots are smooth...really, this thing is tough and high-quality.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Well, Frantone is out of business. I really don't know much about the mysterious company, other than it's this lady named Fran building this stuff. I'd imagine she's either a tinkerer or an engineer of some sort...anyway, it's truly a shame this company doesn't exist anymore...I must say, this is quite a cool stompbox.
Overall Rating
:
10
Well, damn it, I play my own style of music (mostly) which I'd probably call a "poppy-funk rock." Or something like that. The Peachfuzz works very well as an overdrive, but I really like the fuzz this thing makes. I accidentally switched on a half-cocked envelope filter before this thing, and, oh my...suddenly, with a little palm muting and control, I was Jimi Hendrix or something. Oh Dear God! What a cool little box! The only difficulty I've had is that it requires a 3.5mm, 9V, 300ma power adapter; I plugged my older DOD adapter into it, which is a 10V/150ma unit, and the thing went crazy and hummed like a bastard. I stuck a battery in there instead, which fixed the problem, but I want to get it plugged in soon (I have a feeling this sucker eats lots of current). Anyway, I ordered an adapter with different plugs that will supply up to 500ma from Musician's Friend, and I hope to God that fixes the problem...it would truly suck if this thing made all kinds of noise unless it's powered by a damned battery. I highly doubt that's the case, and tentatively I feel I must rate this little wonder a "10" overall. Pity we won't be seeing more of Fran's handiwork...
