Fulltone 70's Pedal

very easy to dial in a great sound. if you turn the mid control all the way down, then it sounds like a classic fuzz face. if you turn it all the way up, it is absolutely stunning!!! plug in and play!

this effect sounds great with my prs mccarty, fender strat, dano 56-u2, and jerry jones short horn guitars. tons of singing sustain. so much so that my strat, dano, and short horn guitars sustain like a les paul. The effect cleans up nicely as you turn your volume down, so you can get various shads of distortion. I tried this out next to a '69. This one has tons more gain and sustain. there are also many more shades of distortion as you turn your volume pot down on the guitar. The '69 sounded great, but didn't sustain very well and cleaned up way too quickly. all the gain you would want with tons of available feedback on the '70. it is a litle noisy though, so i'll take one point off.

This effect is built extremely well. I don't own any other fulltone products, but i've tried them all. They are all like tanks. I'l probably add the clyde wah to my setup as well.

I've emailed fulltone in the past and mike is very quick to respond. He gets a bad rap for being a bit short, but people, the guy is busy making some of the best effects in the world.

I own a prescription electronics experience pedal (using mainly as an octave unit and the wild swell function). i also use a sib varidrive and zvex fuzz factory. i wanted something to fit in between these sounds, and boy did i hit the jackpot! i run all this stuff through my dr z rt 66 and i'm in tonal heaven.

This baby rips. That is the bottom line. I plugged it in, set the volume to full, mids to 7, and fuzz to about 9. I couldn't figure out why the fuzz setting of 10 seems to fuzz less than a slight rollback on the dial. I opened up the back and adjusted the internal trim till I found the right sound. The setting I chose was almost the same as the one Mike has pre-dialed in at the factory.

I am using an American Classic Stratocaster with Texas Special pickups and a Jimi Hendrix model strat. I run Monster rock cable to a Fulltone Clyde wah to the 70' pedal to a modified Marshall Plexi reissue(6550's instead of EL34's). It is a powerful effect and will almost instantaneously give a killer feedback howl at full volume. To me any fuzzbox sucks soundwise without your amp at maximum. This fuzzbox isn't much different. You can roll off your guitar's volume knob and get a good bluesy/R&B sound however, it is very touchy between not enough and to much fuzztone. I usually just click it on for leads and let the Marshall Plexi handle all but the heaviest rhythm work. I can get a fairly close Hendrix sound but I still am not Jimi. As far as I'm concerned it's given me my own sound that far exceeds the Boss/Dunlop garbage you find in most superstores and catalogues. The only downside is it can really pick up the radio stations at times. This is the worst when the guitar's volume is all the way down. This doesn't bother me at all. I usually get a kick out of it and can work the pedal and my playing to avoid this during a crucial time such as recording.

I know for a fact that it is dependable because I have gigged countless times and jammed with it countless more times in the two years I have owned it. The only difficulties I have encoutered is a low battery. I don't know how other batteries work in this unit because I have always replaced it with the same greencell batteries. I carry a backup Dunlop Jimi Hendrix fuzzface (a real piece of junk) and a Big Muff fuzz and never needed to use any of them.

Pound for pound the best fuzzbox I've ever tried or heard. I have yet to compare it with a Roger Mayer product but am quite certain that it would more than hold it's own. Wouldn't want to gig or jam without it. The sound inspires me to take the music to the next level, as should any great equipment.

I've had it for over a year, although I haven't used it constantly, I'm pretty familiar with what I want to do with it. This is recreation of the silicon based Fuzzface from the period right around 1970 (three controls outside; volume, mids and fuzz; one internal PC control). In addition to the basic Fuzzface sound, there are a lot of colors within a specific range that can be had. I found it easy to get good sounds out of it, but it is important to remember that what comes before and after it has a lot of effect on the sound you get. In particular, I did not get good results with any non-true bypass effect in front of it. The sound was nowhere near the quality or type of sound that you get when you plug pretty much straight into it. I played around with the internal pot as well. This is useful to really dial in the sound for a particular guitar/amp setup.

The manual was quite helpful getting started, although I am a manual person. You could probably do just fine plugging in and letting it rip.

This is potentially a very versatile pedal, due to the ability to morph the amount of fuzz with the guitar's volume control. I've blues solos with it, then turned up the gas to do the legato Hendrix-Eric Johnson sound.

I use a variety of guitars and amps with my effects. ('90 Strat Plus with a Duncan Little JB with coil split, Lindy Fralin, Van Zandt PU; mid-'90's Mexi Strat with Fender Vintage Noiseless PU; 90 Hamer Special with Duncan P-90's, 94 Hamer Special FM with Duncan JB and 59; mid-60's Fender Jazzmaster with re-wound pu: '64 Fender Princeton; '65 Fender Princeton; Custom Re-wired silver face Bassman (set up like a '59 Bassman)).
Like any high gain effect, single coils are noisy, but not particularly so. There is noise, but I can live with it even when it is set on 10. The humbuckers are almost noiseless.
The sound quality is excellent. It really gets a very smooth silicon Fuzz Face sound as far as I am concerned. It is more of a growling/moaning kind of fuzz, rather than a sharp trebly screaming kind of fuzz. Fuzz to be sure, but it has a more distortion to fuzz sound rather than a Rolling Stones - Satisfaction kind of sound. It is of course important to keep two things in mind. I use nothing but true bypass effects in front of it, such as a Sweet Sound Ultravibe. I don't think in general fuzzes should have anything in front of them, but that my opinion and experience with my stuff.
Pretty much any setting is musical, just different. There is not a wide range of tweaking to be had, but again, within those ranges, this effect is excellent. It is designed to do one sort of thing and does it well. If you like Hendrix or Eric Johnson fuzz sounds, this will do the trick. Of course, a key part of EJ sound in particular is to use a Marshall, which I don't. But you can get the flavors of his fuzz sound, and Hendrix is pretty much on the nose with my Strats. The Hamers are a different flavor all together, but very nice. The effect is quite responsive to guitar volume settings, and the type and amount of fuzz is dependent on the guitar volume. You can get useful overdriven blues sounds with it (like Cream era studio Clapton, not SRV).
The fuzz doesn't seem to be too picky about what comes after it as far as true bypass is concerned. I've use both standard Boss pedals, an Ibanez TS-9, a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, a Line 6 DDM and a Little Lanei Reverb. The fuzz seems not to be affected by whether the units after it are true bypass or not to a large extent. That having been said, you will get good and bad sounds out of the combinations, but I tend to use the fuzz into a Boss RV-3 (for reverb) and switch in and out the Ultravibe. Boss choruses work fine too after it, but there is a special magic to plugging into the fuzz and straight into the amp. So it depends on what sounds you are trying for, and how you want to process the sound afterwards. Live, I think you can do fine with other things after it.
I believe (but didn't try it) that using tube amps with it is a must, but the kind of sound you would use this for sort of demands tube amps anyway.

I have had no reliability problems with it. The battery usesage is excellent. The switch very occasionally seems to catch, but that is always going to be a weak point in any true-bypass pedal.
I would gig without a backup. It as solid as anything I've seen.

Never dealt with them.

I play blues and bluesy progressive rock (Muddy Waters, SRV to Eric Johnson and Hendrix). For the latter type of music, this borders on an essential effect. As mentioned above, if you fiddle with the settings and the guitar volume, there are a whole range of useful solo and comping sounds available (think Spanish Castle Magic here). I have been playing 35 years, although most heavily in the past ten years. If lost or stolen, I would replace immediately.
For overdrive/distortion type things, I also own and use heavily a Fulltone '69 fuzz, Fulltone Distortion Pro, Fulltone Fat Boost, a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive and a Analog Man modified Ibanez TS-9. I have a Russian Big Muff Pi, a Reverend Drivetrain, a Dunlop Fuzz Face reissue and a Visual Sound Route 66. These latter things don't get used much.
I love the fact that this pedal nailed to my ears the classic Fuzz Face sound; the legato distortion, the smooth fuzziness and the sustain. I was pleasantly surprise at how dynamic it was, and this just made the purchase all the more enjoyable. I have found that all of the Fulltone pedals are like that. I buy them for a particular sound, and they exceed my expectations in dynamism and tuneability.
I've fiddled with fuzzes and own a few others still. The '70 and '69 pedals are it for me. They both have different colors. The '70 is less versatile, but has a fuzzier edge to it that the 69 does not get (I'll go into that more in the 69 review I post later, but I've been using the 70 more lately and felt better able to describe it).
It is definitely inspiring and makes me want to play it.
It is expensive and limited in some respects, but it worth the money for the essential Fuzz Face sound, and can deliver a number of other useful distortion sounds as well. It is not the sort of thing you would want to use for metal, since it is very smooth and not a cutting sound (listen to the demo at Musictoyz or Fulltone's web site). The demo really nails the EJ-Hendrix sound, but keep in mind that in my experience, the Marshall is a significant part of that. I use little Fender amps, often with a Marshall 1X12 cabinet for extra lows, and can't quite get that sound. But the demo does give an accurate representation of the overall tonal color that is the true soul of this pedal. Just from my experience with Fulltone sounds and gear, I plan on getting at least the Soul Bender too.
I give it a 10 for value, since it delivers the advertised sound, and more. It is very solidly built both internally and externally. It is also important to keep in mind that this pedal was designed to be an improved version of a very particular late '60's/early '70's pedal, using only a slightly modified circuit. There was a lot a variability in the original pedals (see interviews with Eric Johnson about going through dozens of them to get one that he liked). This is like a pre-selected good one, with the two extra controls to tweak in your personal gear. Sure it is expensive, but to get that very organic quality of the very best gear, that's what it takes. If you want a great Fuzzface, this or the '69 is the place to go in my opinion.

Easy to use, for the most part. However, heed the following advice: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT use this pedal AFTER any effect in your chain that is not true-bypass. I made the mistake of putting it after my Boss TU-2 tuner (which is the first pedal in the chain) and because the Boss is not true-bypass it has a regulated output that screws with the '70 something fierce. If you're getting that squashy, phasey fuzz when you use a pickup with a higher output like humbuckers, you probably don't have this pedal placed properly in your chain. That being said, after I corrected this problem, this pedal is incredibly easy to use.

Wow, there are very few fuzz pedals that I've tried that sound this full and yet have a clarity and bite when you need it by upping the mids knob past 12 o'clock. Sounds phenomenal through old orange heads or 4-input Marshall plexi-style heads. Backing down the volume knob ever-so-slightly allows for a super warm overdriven sound that's great for rhythm. Back the volume on the guitar down further and it's a nice somewhat gritty clean tone. Contrary to other opinions, I don't find this to be a one-trick pony by any means.

It's a fulltone--need I say more? Woe to those who complain about footswitches. Hey, they break occasionally!

I've spoken to Mike Fuller several times, as I own several of his products, and he's been completely curtious and helpful on all occasions.

This is a great pedal overall. I love the dynamic response, the warmth, the clarity, the singing sustain qualities and the many sounds that can be derived from this unit. Way to go Mike.

Twist the little knobs til it sounds good...I have them all on 10 (or 11, whatever that is)..but I'm a bit extreme..

The sample download on the Fulltone site is cranked..realized I had to turn things up in order to simulate what Mike what putting out...The fuzz knob dimed was hissing like a mutha until I opened it up and adjusted the trim pot..As posted, Mike marks the board with tiny dots..mine had two of them, I turned the pot to the other one and the hiss disappeared....This is a nasty pedal but it took me awhile to realize that..

I'm sure it'll be fine..he doesn't cut quality..as reflected in the price of his line..Dealers sell retail because they can..you won't find these in Musician's Friend..

From the reviews in here, one would think the service would be above reproach..not my experience..Emails and phone calls weren't returned..so much for that...I'm sure Mike would acknowledge me if I persisted..I wanted some input on adjusting the pot..It's fine now..

Come to find out, this pedal is over two years old, one of the purple ones..sold as new by Guitar Center..I'm keeping it because it's an unusual addition to what I have..I tried to contact Mike about any upgrades as well, no response..Probably won't do any more business with them..but since this puppy screams at me so nicely, it's a keeper...Make sure you have something made recently..The pedal's a 9, the support is a 2..You pick a number for overall..

3 knobs and a switch.I didn't get the manual with it cause it was used.It's the hammerite blue one.It has the trimmer inside to tailor the tones.

I use it with humbuckers in a Les Paul.It doesn't clean up completly with the volume knobs but it stays in a milder overdrive kind of fuzz that's still musical and sweet.Crank the volume onthe guitar and it just fattens right up!Sounds good too.I've tried it in the store with a Strat and I think it does sound better with single coils but this is not to say it sounds terrible at all with humbuckers,just a little more saturated.It doesn't get along with my Clyde as much as the 69' fuzz.Ya kinda get that "talk box"sorta sound which can be awkward,but I guess that's a silicone fuzz thing that might work for others.Other than that,this fuzz is absolutely fat and sounds righteous!!!!

Looks solid,I have other fulltone stuff and no break downs so far.

Never spoke with Mike.

This thing does have way more fuzz than the 69' and it still has a great tone too.It does remind me of all the Hendrix riffs because it's easy to get those tones with this but it also depends on what you want to play,and what your set up is and so forth.I do wish it did work with a wah a little better but granted it sounds so good,I can get around such a minor thing.I'm not sure how the purple one sounds different from this blue one but it's probably minor and the folks in the back rows of the clubs won't notice(or care).This was a great buy,tons of tone!!

Just three knobs attracted me to this. Wish it worked.

I was not expecting a project when I bought this high-end device a couple of months ago. Now I have to send it back for repairs. I'll have to dig my old reliable Boss out of the closet and hope the thing comes back fixed.
Plenty of volume but no fuzz.

Remind me why I paid so much for a pedal that worked well maybe once....

I will have to see what happens. I am worried because occationally it works, which may make it tough to repair.

I will send in another review when I get the thing back in the mail some day. Meanwhile, I have to borrow one for the next few gigs.

This is the new BLUE color version of the '70 pedal that I am reviewing.
Three knobs- volume, fuzz, and midrange (tone). The mids knob increases the volume output as you turn the knob clockwise, as well as boosting the mids- very nice feature because full counter clockwise is the late 1960's fuzz face tone, and as you turn the mids knob clockwise the tone gets more and more modern. Very nice, as leads explode when the mids knob is set fully clockwise.

Sounds great with my Gibson les paul Standard into a Marshall 50 watt AVT amp.
When you set the fuzz fully clockwise to max and back off the volume on your guitar slightly, the bass cleans up and you get a nice bright tone for rhythm that sounds more overdriven and distorted than fuzzy. Then just crank the guitar volume back up to ten to bring in the intense bass distortions that darken the color of the tone and that make it sound fuzzy again. It was noisy right out of the box but needed 20 minutes to warm up and its quiet now. It was sitting on some dealers shelf for 8 months so maybe the transistors needed to warm up a little. Now its dead quiet when I use it. I get Hendrix tones out of this pedal as well as hard rock sounds. With the guitar's back neck pick-up I get awesome sustain for leads. Mine is #1054 made in July or August on the 22nd day of the month in the year 2001. Signed by Mr. Fuller himself after he checked it out and set the internal trim pot.

Very well built. Fulltone doesnt compromise on components- the parts are all first rate quality.

Pretty good. Michael Fuller always responds to my questions regarding his products, at least after I have purchased one. I also own his Soul-Bender which I like very much.

Great pedal for rock music styles from 1960's to the 1980's as the mids knob can dial in more modern midrange boosted tones. There is an internal trim pot inside the pedal which Mr. Fuller has set himself, and as the pedal sounds great the way it is, I am not going to adjust it any further. Good job Mike! The tone is a little dark until you lower the volume on your guitar slightly, then it brightens up just like a classic 1970 silicon fuzz face would sound. This Fulltone '70 pedal is more reliable than some old original thirty-year old pedal.

Deceitfully tricky. 3 knobs- easy right? Don't forget the internal trim pot. Well not so easy. This thing is tempermental. I put it after my tu-2 and before my hotcake and the thing sounded off...hard to describe. Took those two out(the tu2 & the cake) and there it was the great full fuzz sound I remember in the store when it was by itself second only to the 69 which i also must have;> If you just put this thing anywhere in your effects chain it may not like its neighbors. Other than that how hard can 3 knobs be? Vol, Mids: very cool feature. Makes your fuzz posess many faces heh! and of course the fuzz knob.

Would you like to supersize your fuzz sir? Yep! This thing has got fuzz like you have never heard before. What makes it so great on top of the fact that your fuzz knob seems to go past 11 is the fact that it sounds full. It in no way sounds nasal or pinched unless its next to some effect it does not like. see above!
The mid knob is cool as h#ll. It works quite well at changing the mid level of the fuzz in all settings from full up to full down.
I play an American Standard Strat w/ Tex specs pups through a Fender HRD 4x10 and the 70 just rocks the hell out of my setup. The sound is like a firehose of sound with mucho sustain and yet with remarkable clarity. I can hear all the notes in a full open g chord even when the fuzz is cranked! A dallas arbiter does not even come close to the full fuzz of this outstanding pedal. I love this thing so much. You can definitely get that liquid lead sound you have been searching for and still have plenty of attack leftover to sound crazy-tight with your band when you re-assume the duties of a rhythm guitarist. BTW it has true bypass so if you like your sound it won't mess with it until called for by you!

Brand new. So it is hard to say. I have heard nothing but great things about Mike Fuller and Fulltone. However the thing is built like an M1 Abrams battle tank. I foresee no problems if I were to drop this thing off the balcony of my apartment however, I also don't forsee myself doing that either. I would be willing to bet this thing is going to be around awhile. Thats a very good thing.

I play hard blues/rock with an Alt flair. I have been playing for 14 years and can't believe I have only heard about fulltone just recently. If it were stolen or lost I would get another one for sure. This thing blows away every fuzz I have ever played. with maybe one exception, the fulltone '69, but its a different kinda fuzz. I shall definitely enjoy the inspiration this rich sounding fuzz has to offer me. Definitely worth the money. Did I mention it has true bypass? I did? OK.

Very easy!! 3 Knobs. Standard Fuzz Face Volume & Fuzz, plus a mid control which is a really nice feature. The internal trim pot helps you fine tune the fuzz just how you like it.

I use various strats > 70 > fulldrive 2 > philpott tych > BF Fender Pro Reverb. No noise. I really only look for one thing in a Fuzz, & this pedal does it! Volume:2 o'clock, Mid: 3 o'clock, Fuzz: 4 o'clock.This allows for a nice overdrive sound when the guitar volume is rolled back to about 7, and when the time comes roll the volume to 10, & BAM!!! Full out feedbackin' in your face Doyle Bramhall 2 "Green Light Girl" solo sounds single notes f***ing sing!!!!!

This thing is built like a tank!!! I don't see any reason why I couldn't depend on this. Would,& do use without a backup.

Have never dealt with Mike myself, but have friends who have had less than pleasant experiences with him. If I was as busy as him I'm sure I would have my unpleasant moments too!!!!!I've also heard great things about Mike. I sure as hell won't let the rumor mill stop me from buying his effecs!

I play newer blues rock like DB2, & this is perfect for me & does just what I need it to. If it were lost I might look into the '69 or a Diaz Square face, but would probably wind up with another '70. I like this pedal better than the others because it's more agressive sounding. I've found that traditional Fuzz Face type pedals are a little weak for my taste.