Fulltone 70's Pedal

With all fuzz boxes there are alot of "unhappy" settings where you get horrible amount of either fuzz of scooped-mid terror. This pedal is a little different, you kind of have to try and get a back sound from it, even though there are those bad positions. On the other hand, to get an amazing sound you must toy with it. Finding the right match with the fuzz knob and the mid knob is kind of like trying to hit a 100 mhp fastball with a golf club, nearly impossible but it can be done. Once you get your own sweet spot this thing is hard to beat.

As everyone knows a fuzz box changes with every guitar, amp, cable, battery, even strings matter when trying to get that perfect fuzz tone. I use a Deluxe Strat with Vintage Noisless pickups through a Vox AC/30 re-issue with blue bell speakers. With this setup I can get very close to Eric Johnsons sound. The noise level is lower than the majority of fuzz boxes I have used before. As for sound you still have to take into consideration that this is still a fuzz effect, full on balls to the wall fuzz. With that in mind this pedal is a 10, no fuzz is perfect but this is damn close.

Fuller builts some serious pedals. I own a Fulldrive II also (like the rest of America and half of England) and both pedals are amazing.
I have never had a problem after a years time with either of my Fulldrive pedals.

Never delt with Mike. I bought both pedals used to Im really not sure.

If you want a fool-proof this is as close as you are going to get. If it were stolen I might buy the '69 just to see the difference but I would without a dobut eventually get another '70 if I needed a good raw fuzz. Do yourself a favor and check into Fulltone.

three buttons, as easy as it gets, you'll recieve a cool sound either way your knobs stands, but for your own special, Free, Young sound you'll nee some time and temper to sort it out right.

at the right settle this little purple funny looking thing will sound like your dreams, i ran it through my les paul studio lite, with the neck pick turned in a hill, with the three base strings lying a bit closer to the pick. with the 70's this will give you a real vintage sound, you'll dream your ass back the golden years. i placed it after a v847 into a fender super reverb 65 and i got the sound, indeed.

just got it but i rely on this man, looks tight.

if you want a really fuzzy sound and if you drag it through some humbuckers i'll think it will play you please, on my les paul i got the crunchy thing i love, but through a strat it delivers a more alone in the corner sound.

Only gets a 7 due to a crazy whistling sound you get if you put it right after a wah. With a Vibe unit between the wah and the 70 its great, just never turn off the vibe. Not hard to use, I turn the fuzz all the way up, mids all the way down, and adjust the volume to match the volume with it turned off.

I play a Les Paul standard with both pickups on, bridge pickup with tone on full and neck pickup with the tone all the way down, then through a clyde deluxe wah, dejavibe 2, then the 70, finally through a fender reverb tank into the normal channel of a fender deluxe reverb amp. If I turn the intensity on the vibe all the way down, it sounds a lot like Eric Clapton circa Cream. Turn the intensity up and it sounds a lot like Hendrix circa Band of Gypsies. It has this warm round tone thats hard to describe, and gets as fuzzy as I want it to.
Anyway it freaks out if I plug it into the vibrato channel or if I put a wah right before it, so try it out with your own stuff to see if it works for you. Still gets a 10 because it sounds so beautiful when its in the right place.

Very very solidly built. I doubt this thing will break anytime soon, but I still baby it.

Never had to deal with him, none of my fulltone stuff has had a problem yet. I hear he stands behind his products

I always admired the way Clapton and Hendrix got a real heavy sound that was still fat and round sounding. this pedal really does it for me. Modern distortion is too thin and brittle sounding and some other Fuzz pedals are too weak. I tried it out next to a 69 and liked the 70 a lot better. I dont know why the other one seems to be more popular. If it were lost or stolen, I would definitely get another one. Theres nothing quite like this pedal, and thats the coolest thing about it,it makes you sound way different. when I crank it up with the Vibe and Wah it sounds like spaceships taking off.

Well... I bought it used from Guitarville, Seattle (grreat service - the only shop that would sell pedals to international custommers and without robbing them at that! It was in bad condition, but the price was fairly attractive. It is the purple version (cuter in my opinion !)At first, not being familiar to fuzz boxes I wasn't completely satisfied with the sound, so I tweaked a lot the internal trimmer. I set it wrong and it sounded TERRIBLE. I even considered selling it but since Fulltone is completely unknown in France (all guitar players swear by Boss and Dunlop) I decided to give it an other chance. I plugged it once in a diffrent amp and it sounded better. I realized that this pedal had potential and I had to explore it. I eventual found a setting that I liked. And now I wouldn't part with it. I st it fuzz and mids on full, volume on 3 o'clock. beyond that I get a piercing whistling noise I can't explain. Does anyone else experience the same phenomenon ? Thanks. Findinf a useable setting with a wha is very difficult. So I'll give it a 4.

My setup :
Stock 1998 '62 AV Stratocaster -> RMC-1 wah wah -> '70 pedal -> Fulltone Custom shop mini deja vibe -> Fulltone Distortion Pro -> Fulltone FD2 FM (old version) -> Fender Blues Junior or Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb.

This effect is prety noisy. when you turn the volume on the guitar all the way down you get an unpleasant HMMMMMM. Which disappears if you click in a wha. This helps you to understand how hendrix got his sound. It shows the problems inherent to his gear combination. But along with the wah and the vibe, you've got hendrix. I usally add distortion from my FD2 or the distortion of the Blues Jr to get the right sound. i've got Woodstock and the Fillmore at the tips of my fingers. On its own the '70 with the vibe sounds too trebly and "solid-statey". The CVR doesn't sound very good with this pedal. I mainly use it with the Blues Jr. I wouldn't recommend a Fender 6L6-based type of amp. As said by other users, you can get unlimited shades of distortion. Hendrix, I'm telling you. I wish I had a marshall plexi!

No problems. It is not an essential part of my sound. I can gig without backup. But apart from the switches, i wonder how it could break.

Emailed Mike Fuller twice. Concise answers.

very good for what it was used for. I have to try it with styles other than Hendrix.For the price I paid it (thanks to the exchange rate, I should not complain !

3 knobs, Volume, Mids, Fuzz. On-off button. Can it be any more simple?

Well I've had it for just over a day, and its already a main part of my sound. At the moment im using a rack, Jmp1 preamp and 9100 power amp (I know not the coolest setup, and very different to you other Fulltone users). Im puttin the gain on the jmp1 on 2 and using that as my rhythm sound and for leads using the '70 as a boost and it just sounds awesome, already I don't know what I'd do without it. Its just got this sound I can't describe, almost like a univibe if that makes sense, it just squeezes the notes in the right way, or something. Killer sound.

Only had it a day.

Im playing funk blues rock, been playing 10 years. Id definately buy another if this one was accidentally run over by my drunken grandmother. Buy one, 'nuff said.

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.

3 Knobs: volume; mids; fuzz. Also, has a bass adjust feature inside pedal. Very easy to use. This pedal is a custom pedal that features the BC183L's.

I love the sound of this pedal. I am very confident Jimi is playing one of these up in the skies. I get great sounds from over the top to just a little bit of fuzz (turn down the volume knob on your guitar). I play a Les Paul into a fulltone deja vibe > optional FDII > 70's pedal > Peavey Triple XXX (don't knock it till you hear it, I sold my Marshall one trick pony for it) > Digitech 2021 & BBE 362(effects loop). The thing that impresses me the most is the sounds I get by turning down the volume on my guitar. Wow! Wind Cries Mary, Little Wing, etc. Perfect sounds. I also got a geat Red House tone by adding some delay. My amp has great clean and hi-gain dirty sounds but lacks that elusive in-between sound. We'll I couldn't be happier with the in-between sound I get from the 70's pedal. I play original alternative rock / metal in my band. The tone I get sets us apart from some of the other same old, same old bands in the area. Modern music with a little of Jimi's voodoo.

Haven't had any problems. Built like a tank, and inside the wiring is imaculate.

I have talked to the man himself. Pretty cool to be able to do that. Full life time warrenty on craftsmanship. I have read other reviews stating Mr. Fuller is a prick, but he was cool to me. Mike, if you are reading this, remember you are nothing without you customers, so treat them right.

Great sounds. Great craftsmanship. Good support. A great investment. Some may not like all the tones but as for me, I am definitely impressed. This pedal makes my rig.

Mine is one of the new blue 70's pedals(hybrid BC108/BC183L silicon transistors) This is not your Father's silicon Fuzz Face with 2 knobs (Thank God) You get Volume - Mid - Fuzz controls with an internal trim pot. for fine tuning the transistor response. The instructions page that Mike includes is not necessary, but is helpful in describing what the mid and trim pot do.

I use a Fender Am. Standard Strat with Maple Neck and Custom Shop '54 pickups > '69 pedal > '70 pedal > POD > Power Amp > 1x12 closed back cab with a 25 watt Celestion Greenback.
OK, so I have Fulltone 69 and can't live without it( it's the best Ge fuzz face I've ever heard). I wanted the 70 for the silicon temperature stability and the different sound characteristics of a silicon fuzz. ( I often have outdoor gigs )
There is always considerable and legitimate debate over Germanium vs. Silicon transistor fuzzes. I must admit that until I plugged up this Cobalt Blue Beauty, I was a germanium snob...The 70's pedal has made me rethink this. Everyone has their own interpretation of what sound they're looking for and ways to describe, but here is what I hear:
Very dynamic and responsive to your touch with pleasant rich harmonics. Individual notes seem to bloom and sustain for a fat searing lead sound. Nothing harsh or piercing. Mike sets the trim pot (and marks it) for a killer sound. I like a little more square wave and spit from the transistors. This is easily accomplished by turning the trim pot. counter-clockwise to taste. Another very nice quality to this pedal is the interaction with the guitars volume knob. It has a smooth gradual reduction in gain without loosing the top end frequencies. By comparison, the 69 does this also, but gets much cleaner at about 7 or 8 than the 70. All in all, it just doesn't get any better than this. There is some serious Voodoo in this pedal. So you want a sound like Hendrix,Eric Johnson,Santana,The Guess Who,Tommy Bolin,David Gilmour,Doyall Bramhall...???? This is a great way to start.

Very solid...beautiful work on the inside..I have no doubt about the craftmanship. Will gig without a backup..

I don't anticipate needing help. If I did, I have no doubt Fulltone will stand behind their work. Mike has made upwards of 10,000 pedals by hand...pretty busy guy. He does the best he can to answer questions..etc..All I want are straight answers to straight questions, which he has always provided.

I have to remind myself that fuzz pedals are not for everyone's taste. I just happen to adore them. Good ones that is. There are plenty of dogs out there that pass themself off as a Fuzz Face clone etc...and I've ruined more of them by trying to get the right sound than I care to remember. The 70 and its older brother, the 69, are great compliments to each other. I've not tried the earlier Purple 70 pedal to compare the diffence in the newer Blue one I have, but I'm sure it's minimal at best. Overall the 70 is a trully musical pedal and does what I had hoped it would do for my setup. I can now end my search for a silcon Fuzz Face.. next? maybe a SoulBender would do nicely.

Very simple, but you should know what the internal trimmer does before "fiddling" with it.

I love this fuzz!!! I bought it regardless of some awful reviews(which I rarely listen to anyway), and I'm glad I did! Fat sustained fuzz for days! Very Hendrixian, with the Knobs set as follows Volume w/e, mids 5, fuzz 10...My rig consists of Custom made strat-Teese RMC 3-Octafuzz-Fulldrive 2-'70-Deja 2- then to my Vintage Fender Super Reverb. I prefer the tone of this pedal without anything else on, except for the Octavia occasionally. I set the internal trimmer full clockwise, the stock Dallas Arbiter thing sounds to "flatulant" with my rig, maybe with a $3000 plexi it would sing??? LOL

This thing is built to last, and I especially love the hammerite finish in blue. I wish Mr. Fuller did his products all with hammerite.

I'm playing blues(go figure) and it's great. I don't not like a single thing about it and I feel great everytime I hear it. As a reminder this refers to the NEW model with the trimmer, not the old one set to the original D.A. Fartortion (LOL) If it got lost I'd replace it in an instant and I'll shortly be purchasing a '69 and Soul bender...can never have to many Fulltones!!!

extremely easy!! fuzz on 10, mids at 2 o'clock, volume to taste

smoothest distortion/fuzz/overdrive!! i have the '69, soul bender and fulldrive, and this blows them away!!

yes. its a fulltone. i have 7 fulltone pedals. never had a problem.

very helpful. mr. fuller usually emails back within a couple of hours he recommended the new '70 model that he had made a few tweaks too. glad he did!!

i play blues and rock. been playing for 27 years. i ahev a prs mccarty, 2 relic strats and tele, tokai les paul, robben ford, es-335, jerry jones, hamer 25th anniversary, 1977 dean v, original silvertone, matchless tornado, top hat club deluxe. fender pro jr., fulltone DV2, FD2, soulbender, '69, choral flange, ultimate octave, supatrem, analog mike modded fuzz face, P.E. rx overdriver, way huge green rhino, proco rat, teese rmc 3, original thomas organ wah wahs, Voodoo Lab proctavia, microvibe, bosstone and analog chorus and a crapppy diaz tremodillo noise maker.
I love the sound of this pedal, although it is high gain, with my relic start w/ lindy fralin p/u's it sings!! very smooth and sustainy, i don't sound like eric johnson with it, because i don't have his touch, but a great usable sound for more than just hendrix covers. i would gig the whole night with this if i had too and just obtain different distortion flavors by playing with my volume control.
unlike my '69 and analog mike modded fuzz face, when you roll back your volume control, it doesn't clean up immediately, there is still some lower gain, distorted, bluesy sounds left before it cleans up. coupled with the soul bender which is ruder sounding and the FD2 you can get a ton of sounds!!!

It's a fuzz pedal, but it can be a bit tricky at times. Read on.

I use this with a tele and a mesa DC5. This was one of the few effects I've ever owned that I plugged into and was immediately happy with. Its a very smooth sounding fuzz with a lot of cool transistor fizzle in the background. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but it sounds great.
Two things to be aware of with this pedal. One is that it tends to get lost in the mix a bit if your playing in an acoustically challenged environment, and a lot of the subtleties that make it so great can be completely lost(you want to tell your drummer to shut up so the audience can admire your tone!). Another is that it does NOT like to be after certain other pedals. I had a Visual Sound Rt. 66 which contains a built in buffer which made the 70 uselessly noisy. My boss CS2 also cannot be placed before it. I guess it's very sensitive to the signal its fed. I also had to place it before my wah pedal or it took the effect out of the wah when it was on. Sounds awesome, but very tempemental.

Mike Fuller is usually pretty helpful. I asked him about the problems I had with my pedal placement and he explained why, but when my Supa Trem went out it took a while to get a hol of him.

A little tricky, but an outstanding and complex sounding fuzz.

If you have a Fender Strat or Tele, and want to sound like Hendrix, this is without a doubt the pedal for you. It is easy to get the Hendrix tone via you amps clean channel. Easy to dial in your sound, simple controls.

Use a strat, ot Telecaster. I suppose any guitar with single coil pickups will work good. Don't use a high power humbucking pickup guitar with it, it seems to overload the pedal causing a very undesirable sound. Noisy? you bet, feedback, oh for sure, but isn't that all a part of the hendrix sound? It is supposed to be a better fuzzface and it does that well. I use it with a Marshall DSL 2000, using the clean channel, no need to add any amp overdrive, it just decreases the sweet fuzz. This pedal works best alone!

Mike is prompt with e-mail responses allthough he seems to avoid a direct answer to questions and doesn't seem to take critisism well. I'm sure he would repair or replace anything defective promptly.

I play mostly 60s, 70s, and 90s rock. I wanted to replace my Big Muff (garbage) with a fuzzface type pedal for the older rock ala Hendrix. This pedal is clearly the one for that. I have been playing GTR for 22 years. I own a Fender Strat and Tele. A Peavey EVH Wolfgang, and a Gibson ES335. A Marshall DSL 2000, a Trace Elliot Velocette (great little amp) a univibe reissue, Vox (modified) wah, a boss metal zone (zowie), a ibanez tube screamer, purple haze octive divider, distortion +, MXR phase, voodo tremelo, EH Big (shit) Muff and soon a Carl Martin combinator (not released yet. I would replace the 70s pedal if it were lost since it is my Hendrix tone! None of my other pedals can get that great fuzz. I compaired this pedal to the Roger Mayer classic fuzz(yuk) and the 69 Pedal, this had a great deal more fuzz then the 69 (as it claims to). I also compaired it to the z-vex fuzz factory (more like space factory, weird!) I think if it had a noise gate circuit in it I would like it better. Bottom line,it does what I wanted it to do, and does it well!

Easy to use (only three knobs). The pedal has a very simple layout. All of the knobs do exactly what they say they do.

I am using this pedal with a strat and other Fulltone pedals through various amps (I can't make up my mind). I really like the fuzz of the '70. I have tried several other fuzz pedals and I have not been able to find one that I liked. I tried the '69 for quite a while. I have also tried an Austone Fuzz Nuts (I almost bought that one just for the name!) and some Fuzz face reissues.

I really stuggled with finding a fuzz that I liked for a long time. I began to debate whether or not I even liked fuzz pedals in general. But the more that I tried different pedals out I began to develop an ear for what I was looking for in a fuzz. We all know what fuzz tone sounds like. We all have heard Hendrix or a good Zappa album and the tones are amazing. But playing a fuzz pedal differs so drastically from an overdrive pedal that it initially scares most people away from fuzz in general. But once I understood the beast and knew what I was looking for, the '70 fit my needs perfectly. Compared to the '69, the '70 has far more fuzz and to my ears sounds more refined and not quite as flabby. There are two things that I really enjoy about both of these pedals. I really like the way that they clean up when you back off on your volume knob (very cool!). I also think that they sound great through tube fender amps. The fuzz is really fat and extremly rich in harmonics. Who needs a Les Paul? A good fuzz pedal will turn any single coil guitar into a fat sustain monster.

In many of the venues that I play, volume is a great concern and I am not able to turn up very loud. This can cause sustain problems with a strat player such as myself. I am using the '70 in front of my Fulldrive for wonderful singing lead tones that are otherwise unobtainable will the fulldrive alone. The '70 completed my overdrive/fuzz set up and I couldn't be any happier.
My only complaint is the shielding. Both pedals are very prove at picking up radio stations and this could be a major problem at louder volumes. For this reason alone I can only give it a 9.

Very dependable. I do have a concern with the new switches that Fuller is putting into his pedals. This pedal came with one that is different than the one that is in all of my other pedals. I opened up the pedal and looked inside and it was not a Fulltone switch. I don't know if this switch will last or not but I am really concerned that this might be the first step in diminishing quality in Fullers stuff. I certainly hope not.

I would definetly purchase this pedal again. As I said earlier, I couldn't be any more happier with my set up. I am just waiting for Fuller to come out with an analog delay or a echoplex copy......hmmm.....that would be nice.

Update to my review below.

After careful A/Bing other pedals, I must go ahead and say that this thing is too muddy for me. It dulls most notes that I play and must be for a style that I simply am not after. I own and love a Fulldrive 2, but the whole 69, 70, Soul-Bender lineup are NOT my thing. They are all mud, if a relatively psychadelic cool mud at that. But I can't get them to work. I play everything from modern Southern Blues to Hendrix, and you'd think it would fit in. I got a Menatone Blue Collar to compliment my Fulldrive 2 instead and am happy. Don't have that fidgety need to change settings on the pedal to make it work or justify to myself that just because it was a top name it sounded good! The 70's pedal was not too pleasing to my ear--MUSH! My rating is to balance out my first one.

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The 70's pedal had me fooled that because it was Fulltone "it worked great, sounded like a 'vintage pedal' should, and that was it." But you know what? After some thought and experimentation, it doesn't work. For me at least. It sounds dull and all low-end notes sound like a bad case of flatulence. High notes sound like Boston on steroids. A very muddy stew that could only have potential at very loud volumes to blast a muffled farting barrage at your audience. Not for me. And PS, I tested another 70's pedal--same thing. I even tweaked the internal trimmer to try and fix it. I just don't get this one. The 69 as well as the Soul-Bender had similar qualities. The Fulldrive 2... another story.

Simply--volume, mids, and fuzz. Fuzz only kicks in really strong after 8--narrow range of intense fuzz. Mids knob is subtle but noticeable. More "bit" with the mids.

Seems to like the bridge pickup on my strat the best for a cutting lead but can sound good with the neck pickup too--just a bit more muffled. At first I thought it sounded amazing, then I thought I started to notice a dull, muffled quality, especially on lower strings. But, there is this certain raunchyness to it the whole time that is just so--DIRTY and NASTY--that I love it all the same. Screams on mid to higher notes. Might conceal any complex chords with fuzz though! I use an FD2 with it as well (see below for how I use them together). My gear is a strat w/Lindy Fralins, then (in order), VOX wah w/mod, FD2, Voodoo Labs Overdrive, 70's pedal, Line 6 DL4 delay/looping pedal, Fender Deluxe amp. Fits right in--completes my distortion/OD/fuzz lineup!

Steel and the best quality wiring I've ever seen.

He's alway there if you want to talk to him. Opinionated, but hey, he can afford to be. Just don't ask him about other people's pedals!

Compliments my FD2 nicely. Picks up with the raunch that it starts to give out. In-line with the FD2, with the FD2 tone set to high treble, it helps the 70's pedal not sound so dull in places. When I say dull I mean "flat fuzz" where the notes aren't distinguishable. But overall this thing is super.

as a germanium fuzz...most often turn fuzzfull clockwise. A little
tweaking of the 'mids' knob until you find the sweet spot for sustain
and you're there.

This is an exceptional pedal and has an incredible amount of depth.
I am running this thru dual Peavey Classic 30 tube amps and the
sound is expressive and rich. Have you ever been to Electric
Ladyland?..well I have. Michael Fuller says he borrowed ideas from
Eric Johnson's Fuzzface and I can tell. Add a 'Uni-vibe' type effect
and Trower/Beck/Hendrix sounds are a reality. WOW!

Have only had the '70 a month but have a lot of faith in Fulltone
products as I have 5(Fulldrive2/'69/Soulbender/Octafuzz also)
and once you try Fulltone you're hooked. Circuitry is solid, and
boxes are well made. I have a lot of pedals, but would probably use
this as my only distortion pedal w/o a backup, no worries.

Michael Fuller will almost always answer your questions and does
extend a 5 year warranty(minus shipping).

This is a pedal that lends itself to more than bluesy rock, and is
much more suited to those that want to expand their distortion.
I like it better than my Fulltone '69 and feel it has expanded my
sound ALOT. My favorite distortion by far and I always want this
pedal in my arsenal. If it got lost or stolen I would get another
right away. I love classic stompboxes but would not use a classic
modified fuzzfaze as a 'daily driver'. The '70 gives the same if
not better fuzz and with reliability.