Fulltone 70's Pedal

Possessed 3 knob version of hardcore fuzz. I turn the knobs & they turn back to where ever they were before because it thinks it sounded better that way, it doesn?t listen to me even though I?m supposed to be it?s master & in a little way I get frightened of what it?s thinking behind my back.

Fulltone?s site says that this fuzz ?snarls & spits? which I can vouch for. When I opened the box it was very angry from being confined to such a small space & seemed to think I was the one who put it there. It sprayed a loogie right on my head. I did the usual tricks trying to get in the good books (You know like talk nice & offer to go down on it) but it stayed in the same mood for days, but I must admit that it has lightened up recently.

I would definitely trust this device, it gets very cross when people annoy me and throws itself at their heads. People think I was throwing it and wouldn?t listen to me trying to warn them of its possessiveness.

They knew this one was trouble, but didn?t inform me of its spiratic behavior. When I sleep at night I can?t help but keep an eye on it as it sits on the floor near my Marshall. I think it?s trying to turn the other effects against me too, but I might just be a bit paranoid

It asked me for chicken drumsticks last night after midnight and now theres a big cocoon on the floor in my room. I?m going to have to clean some shit up I guess but I'm curious whats going on in there.

Very Easy To Get A Good Sound. 3 Knobs: Volume, Mids, Fuzz.

I Play Gibson and Fender Guitars With This Pedal, All Sound Fantastic. For A Fuzz Pedal, It's Really Quiet! There Are So Many Sweet Spots On This Pedal...Mids Turned Back To 0 and Fuzz Cranked...That is THE Blue Fuzz Face Sound! I Like To Keep The Fuzz Cranked and Turn Up The Mids To About 11 o'clock. This Pedal Is THE BEST Sounding Silicon Fuzz ( For Me ). I've Tried Many Fuzz Pedals and Chose This One For It's Tube-Like Tone, Fullness, Sustain, And Fuzziness. This Pedal Is NOT Harsh At All...Like So Many Fuzzes Are.

Built Like A Tank. Fulltone Pedals Are Quite Possibly The Best Quality Money Can Buy. I've Owned / Own Other Fulltone Products and NEVER Had Any Problems.

Instead of Spending $40 - $99 For A Piece Of Shit Dime-A-Dozen Fuzz That Is Unreliable and Sounds Like Complete Shit...Do Yourself A Favor And Fork Out About 50 Extra Bones And Get This If You Want A Great Silicon Fuzz!

It's not that easy to use if one doesn't know how to modulate with the guitar's volume knob. I have not used the internal trimmer yet, which appears to add versatility.

Here's where we get to show who is the the most afflicted among those submitting posts: I play a lefty Am Std Strat (it happens to be Olympic White) strung right handed-->Fulltone'70-->Vox V846 wah (needs DPDT switch)-->Voodoo lab Proctavia-->Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe Jr-->Hughes&Kettner Replex-->Marshall 1987X RI plexi 50W. I even have an Ace strap, but no coiled cords. Even my insanity has limts. You can't help but get a certain sound reliably. The other sound you can get is EJ when he "influences" off of JH, especially with the Delay on the Replex. The '70 replaces a BK Butler Blues Driver/Apollo Fuzz (same thing as Shin-Ei Companion Fuzz)combo. While I'm sill learning how to fully use the pedal, it is working like I want it to.

Seems built reliably. I'd gig without backup.

no opinion, although from what's reported, I expect I could get a hold of Mike if I had to.

Like anything worth doing it takes a little work to get the sound out of the pedal. Having tried to get JH/EJ sounds out of Bixonic Expandora, original TS-808, ProCo Rat, Russian Big Muff Pi, Tube Driver, Blues Driver, Apollo Fuzz--didn't think much about the distinction between overdrive and fuzz until now. If you're looking for fuzz, this is a good place to start. Wish I had had this when I started the search for the sound.

it's a fuzz pedal w/ a few cool extra features, but easy enough to plug in and just play.

this pedal sounds great with my matchless clubman and my 18watter, and it sounds good w/ my princetons, but just doesn't do it with my bigger fenders. i guess it was just made to drive that british sound for me.
it's general sound is raunchy and abrassive, just the way a fuzz pedal should be. when i step on a pedal like this i want to know it and everybody in the parking lot too as well.
i do have a major problem with it though. it was always a little testy with me, but would eventually come around. i have had the thing for 5 years, it has seen the world with me. i took it off my board about a year ago, put it back on a month ago, and now it works whenever it wants to. i'm having a problem with this, because i love the sound of this pedal, and i own a few of his other pedals (for several years all w/o any glitches at all.

after 4 years and one year off it died on me at a session. i looked like a dick cause i didn't have a backup. never again. on the other hand it went on and off planes and suffered through horrible ac in lame clubs for years w/o a backup.

i emailed my problem to them several weeks ago, and have heard not a peep. i'm pissed. i have done nothing but talk them up, loan out their pedals to friends and colegues to check out, and played them on countless sessions and gigs. and they can't even email me back. busy is one week at best to not get back to someone. unacceptable.

i am torn. i want this pedal back in working order, because i love it, but i'm pissed at how i have been treated in this matter. if they correct this problem i'll be the first to retract that cs rating and rant, but untill then they lost at least one customer for life. the pedal is great, but i guess it turned out like everyother vintage fuzz ever made. unbelievable sounding, and unreliable. it's silicon, it shouldn't act like this.

um, on/off and 3 knobs so its easy , whats not easy is finding and deciding what you want , but thats a matter of preference


mine has white knobs, easy to see in low light.

The type of fuzz tone Im fond of is found somewhere between Cream's "Sleepytime" and the guitar solo in Steve Miller's "Space cowboy". How to describe it? blown out, fried, psycedelic, mushy, sizzly , blappy, farty, (these are all attributes), almost like a saxophone. If you are a fuzz fan , this thing is ear candy!!


I play a es 355 through a delux reverb, and was a little worried after reading some of the other reviews that I wouldnt get good fuzz results with my Fender amp, but I found the 70 to be fantastic with my rig even at lower volumes. The sound I found is warm, and sustains beautifuly. When I roll the volume on the guitar back, you would never know its on, very nice.

It took me a while to figure out how the 70's controls affect my sound. I ended up tweaking the internal trimpot and found that near CCW is what I like. I also found myself adjusting my pickup height, It has a great effect on how the fuzz acts as well.

built VERY solid.

Fuzztone is a matter of taste , for me I love it and find it inspiring. Its a very crude effect , but can sound very beautiful with just the right mixture of volume , reverb , (string) vibrato, especialy in the context of psycedelic blues. On the same note , fuzz at the wrong setting (and in the wrongs hands) can sound horrible , steril and harsh.

I would remind you to not "falsely expect" fuzz to be distortion, it is not. If you want distortion buy a Tubescreamer or something like that.

But, if you like the fuzz of Townsend, Hendrix, and Page,and Clapton, the Fulltone 70 is pure magic!

Pretty easy, but you should really tweak the knobs. There's a clipping pot inside the pedal that opens up or closes the fuzz too. Haven't messed with it, but will when I'm confident I need to. Stock, it sounds pretty darn amazing.

Not noisy, except that when I turn it on it picks up a Mexican radio station! LOL!

My signal is: A Squier strat (maple neck alder body) with YJM and HS-3 pickups, through theFulltone 70, into a Carvin Bel-Air with Celestion Greenback 25w. Other gear is MXR Phase 90 and Flanger, Vox Wah and FullDrive2.

This is my first real fuzz pedal, and at first play I was like, "Whoa." I played it through the dirty channel with gain at 4 and volume at 4. The pedal cuts through, and really responds to the bridge and neck pickups. i got a pretty fat, chimey tone, when I rolled back the volume a little. I played some Hendrix, poorly imitated some Eric Johnson licks, and sat back and mused on the sound. This is a great pedal, and I'm glad I chose it over the Fuzz Face reissue.

Again, try playing with the pots for awhile and get your sound. This is a fun pedal. Mike Fuller knows what he's doing, that's for sure.

solid. I've had a fulldrive2 for two years and no problems.

haven't had to yet

I just got it, but I really am impressed. It's the last piece of gear I'll need for awhile. I play rock, but mostly bluesy stuff. I like to play ala Blackmore/Hendrix.

I think it's cool that boutique pedals like Fulltone are out there for anyone to buy. It's worth the money for pedals you know you'll use, and you will use the Fulltone pedals, trust me. They're pricey, and hurt the pocket, but I am well satisfied. I can't wait to use it in a gig! If I had the money, I'd buy the choralflange, choral flange and deja vibe. Scary thing is, I'd be afraid of gearheads walking off with them while having a beer.

Bottom-line: Spend the extra bucks and get this pedal. Treat yourself well.

To easy way to easy (well when no booklet is included that makes me happy) I like this one a lot AMEN......

I use an American Tele wired like a 53 Tele with real paper caps (find those) Peavey Delta Blues 15" Speaker.... Very little noise but if some noise was not there than its not a Fuzz Face (Thats how everyone messes them up by taking out the noise)......This is the best pedal Mike makes I have had them all at one point....... I get a real Hendrix to eary Led Zeppelin type sound and maybe Cream (Eric Clapton) so thats cool.....I would like to put my BSM treble booster in front of it and watch it melt YES hahahahahahhahah...........

Mike makes everything to last so no problem....... Very German like with a long lasting forever concept...........You dont need a back up just extra batteries or wall wart hhahahahahahah........

Mike is cool he still answers the phone himself (wow head of company answers the phone still) Mike is there for you and will help you with everything you need......My passed experince is that he kept me from wasting time and helped me get my sound...........

Metal to the Pedal thats all I say here..........

3 knobs, couldnt be much easier.
does take some time experimenting though

using a vintage carlsbro 50 combo (1x12) with a japan fender strat with custom shop fat 50's pickups and also a boss sd-1 overdrive (but not at the same time as the fuzz, tried this, tis mush city)
The fuzz is great for hendrix style stuff, like everyone else said.
I also managed to get some chili peppers type stuff out of it with the guitar tone off (their guitarist uses a big muff)
You can get massive sounds out of it if you experiment with the controlls throught your whole set up, its very dependant on how you set up your amp and guitar.
I'm sure it could be very noisy with some setups but mine is virtually silent, alot of people complain about radio interference, i dont seem to get this, i did for a while through other amps (it sounded rubish through my brother's old marshall jmp 50 half stack)but it's dead quiet with my carlsbroeven with the fuzz controll all the way up, step on it and you cant tell it's on.

this has been covered quite fully in other reviews, virtually indestructable

Mike Fuller really seems to care about his products. i think my brother e-mailed him and got a quite quick reply. that was to do with the distortion pro which didn't seem to work very well with his old martshall

great pedal, sounds great
I got it from my brother, cant remember where he got it. he didnt want it cos he didnt want fuzz. you can get other fuzzes that would sound similar, but unless you get something custom-built and insanely expensive, you'll find it hard to better this.

I give it a 5 only because this is a fuzzbox, which is more difficult to find that "sweet spot" than it is with an overdrive. There are only three controls, so other than the time it takes to dial in your ideal sound that compliments your rig, it is a pretty simple device.

My main ax is a modified Fender MIM Strat. I'm playing it through a solid-state amp because I'm poor (champagne dreams on a beer salary). But let me tell you, this is the finest distortion device I've ever owned. The grit cleans up when you roll back your guitar volume, just like with any good pedal. The tone is warm and organic, and the individual tone characteristics of your guitar and amp remain true. Again, a quality that any good pedal should possess. As far as overall sound goes, if you are a fan of Jimi Hendrix's live album Band of Gypsys, then look no further than this pedal. One caveat- you have to play LOUD to really hear this thing in all its glory (at least turn your amp past 5). Take it from me- bedroom volume does this pedal no justice whatsoever.

It's built like a tank- it's housed in friggin' steel after all! I haven't gigged with it just yet but I wouldn't worry about it dying on me.

I haven't had to contact Mike yet, but the salesman at the guitar shop told me that he is extremely accomodating and more than willing to help you get the most out of all of his Fulltone products.

I don't know that there are better-built, better-sounding pedals out there. The '70 Fuzz has not disappointed. I hope to add more Fulltone effects to my rig, but they are on the pricier side so I have to buy in moderation. However, you get what you pay for as far as I'm concerned. Why would you not want to spend the extra 50 or 60 bucks to get a genuine American hand-built tone machine? Everything else pales in comparison.

Before I begin my review proper, I would like to call attention to the error HC's list regarding the pedal's name. This Fuzz is called "The '70 Pedal," named for the Year 1970-- the last year of Hendrix's life and his "tone circa Band of Gypsies" as Fulltone's website informs. It is not "The 70's Pedal," indicating the whole decade and thus losing sight of the manufacturer's intention... I'm sure it isn't that big of a deal and I'm probably the only person who is irked by this, but I wanted to voice it on the off chance the web master would make what I feel to be a not insignificant change.

On with the actual review--

I've owned this pedal for over a year now and have waited to do this review until I was sure I knew exactly what I wanted to say here. I have given it a '5' in this category because it is NOT easy to use. This says absolutely nothing about how well I like the pedal. If you know how to use a fuzz please skip to the sound and overall sections(if I haven't put you off with my cranky introduction. If you think you're buying an upgrade for a DS-1, READ ON.

The '70 is an update of a vintage fuzz-face type pedal and is inherently quirky. If you don't know how to use a fuzz, getting a good sound can be next to impossible-- or at the very least you won't be tapping into the 70's (singular possessive there, folks!!) full potential. Myadvice to those new to the fuzz game is (as some previous reviews state in part or as a whole): 1) Placement. It likes to be near the beginning of your signal chain, 2)Remember, this pedal has 2 knobs in addition to the ones on its face-- the internal trimmer and your instrument's volume control(s), 3) The type of gear you are running it with will alter the sound radically. It is certainly not impossible, but can be frustrating and feel like a waste of $150+ if you don't know how to play it.

This is one of the most sweet and colorful fuzz tones I have had the honor of having at my feet in over 16 years of playing. It is most certainly a Silicon based circuit, and has a different character from a Germanium-based fuzz, but I don't think Ge-philes will necessarily be disappointed: it isn't harsh or buzzy after the manner of some Si's.

What impresses me most is the sheer range of tones it has to offer. With the pedal's Fuzz set around 4:30, subtle twists of the volume knob yield an array of textures from a little hair on the fringes to bass-induced sustain at higher fuzz setttings. The knobs are very interactive; be careful when arranging more than one at one time. My current favorite setting (I have gone through several 'phases' in the year I've played with it) is Volume just below half, Mids just below 3/4, and Fuzz just past 3/4 with the internal trimmer broken slightly counter-clockwise... with the right settings I've been able to get everything from a pseudo-clean boost (lots of volume on tap in this little box) to a blown-out sputtering Fuzz and most stops in between.

The instrument you use with it will vary your sound tremendously. I can't really say that it 'favors' strat-style pickups the way many fuzzes do, but humbuckers retain their distinctness through it. It sounds absoultely astonishing with a bass, as well. The type of amplifier also makes a dramatic difference, so please be sure your amp is friendly towards it. Modelling amps are quite friendly to it, particularly "older, four-input Marshall" (cf. fulltone.com) patches. Clean and dirty amp tone make a big difference, and I've found it to be at its best through a just-on-the-edge of breakup type tone as opposed to full-on saturation where it tends to just blend in. It sounds a litle the rougher side through a solid-state or solid-state model vs. any tube (or tube emulating) rig. Not bad, just a bit fizzier.

This pedal is also incredibly chord friendly as far as fuzzes go-- both in terms of tone and clarity. Along these lines, it is also extremely transparent. You hear your gear with Fuzz added, it does not mask or overwhelm your basic tone ala a Muff-style fuzz. It is a tricked-out Fuzz Face, and if you need Big Muff tones you may be disappointed. It can definitely sustain, but it always works with the sound of your other gear (okay, AGAINST your gear if you put it second in line--even after a Vox V847 Wah with Mr. Fuller's own 'true bypass' wiring mod!) and never instead of it. But it does sound big. Very big. In fact, if I had to characterize its sound in three words they would be 'additional dirty space.'

Although I love this pedal, I am aware of its limitations and am open to the possiblity that something better will come along. This being said, I have decided to give it full marks for tone on the basis of some previous reviews' low scores. Trying to keep those overall ratings up!

Overbuilt to excess, to such an excess that I worry about it getting a big head and overlooking its own mortality. Gigging without a backup is no problem whatsoever, but I did have one knob crack for no apparent reason....

I have never dealt directly with Fulltone, but I will realte the following: the store from which I purchased it swapped the above-mentioned cracked knob for me witout question or complaint. All I had to do was ask about it; I didn't even have the defective piece with me and they let me take the new knob home on my word that I'd bring the old one to them in the near future. Support your small, local stores, folks!

The '70 is currently the only pedal in the OD-distortion-fuzz family that I make regular use of and has been for over one year. It is never off of my board, and I don't really need anything else 'dirtwise' even though I play an extremely ecclectic variety of music.

I suppose I should mention that mine is a Summer,2003 model with little white-tipped black NPN Transistors, a blue 'rough surface' paint job, red LED and off-white knobs. I recently saw a picture of the guts of a red-chassis 1998 model (It was a '70, not a '69-- I am positive) and it looked COMPLETELY different-- transistors were of the metal-encased variety, for starters. I would imagine the sound to be a bit different from mine on that basis, but I won't be trading the ower of that one any time soon.

For its price tag, I do have one minor complaint: I know this is supposed to be a reworked vintage fuzz box, and that these pedals are very unruly and noisey, but does it have to pick up radio signals like a vintage fuzz, too? With the '70 on, and the instrument volume at '0,' there is either a loud hum/hiss which is not present with the volume cracked even a little bit, or a hum/hiss with AM frequencies streaming through it... okay, so I have made use of this built-in quirk for dramatic flair in some instances, but it strikes me as almost something of a quality issue. Fulltone's only excuse is that it would alter the pedals performance in some other, detrimental way if they put in the higher impedence capacitor or whatever they need to stop RF interference... and I haven't heard them use it....

That out of the way, this is probably my 'desert island' pedal. I could certainly live and perform without it, but it is the one constant in my effects arsenal regardless of the (electric instrument) playing situation. It covers a wide range of territory simply by being an innovative spin on an even simpler design. If you're looking for a fuzz face type pedal or just a new, dirty experience, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.