Fulltone OctaFuzz

this is an addendum ot the review below-i thought it was splatty/farty at higher boost settings,but i figured out that it actually swells the notes in a crazy sorta way...basically,it's supposed to do that(provided that you like this kind of thing)...cool pedal!

for me,only a few knob positions work properly,and it didn't take long to figure it out!

not noisy at all,really-does it sound 'good'? yes,BUT...it seems to fart out terribly with the boost knob up past 1:00 or so-i wonder if that's the way it's supposed to be? it's actually pretty tame for single note stuff(very 'classic')-i like the weird overtones you can get by accident the best. playing mostly a tele through a deluxe or mesa amp...

looks real nice in and out.

quick email response always...

i've also had a PE Face Lift(more like the Octafuzz) and a Menatone Chawbox(sorta more like a foxx tone machine)-don't know why i decided to try yet another Octavia type pedal besides hoping this one could be a little more subtle...it would be fun to check out an original or one of the Chicago Iron versions...this can sound pretty cool at times though,and the 'electric blue' casing is a nice touch.

Very easy to use to get a 60's Octavia sound, a little more difficult if you are a higher gain type of person like myself. It took about an hour of fooling around with it to get it where I wanted it.

Sounds amazing. Fat, gonky, dissonant, screaming octave up effect just like the Octavia. The degree of the octave up is very dependent on your picking attack. It's not something you want to overuse.

Seems well built.

I'm doing noise-indie rock and this box is great for that 'way out' effect on the occasional solo. For blues and low-gain rock sounds this thing is abso-fucking-lutely amazing.

Very simply laid out and easy to get your tone with.

I use a custom made strat with noiseless pu's into a Fulldrive 2-Octafuzz - '70 - Deja 2- RMC-3 then to my vintage fender Super Reverb. This is a versatile pedal great for covers New or Old, and great for providing an original sound to create with. I love it!!! just like the $650 Tycobrahe you wish you could own, but I'll just take the sound for now for a mear $150

Very tough, as are most of Mr. Fullers products. The Carling switches used in the past broke (in any pedal...My Teese for instance) way to easily and now he's made his own switch that rocks. I'd never worry about it or have a back up.

Never needed too, but I'm sure he'd be a helpful guy. He's taken some bad shots on this site for other work, but people he can't reply everyone to gab...and so what if other boutique makers email faster...they all don't put out the amount of pedals/products Mr. Fuller does.

I Play Rock,Blues and anything I can manage to work out, and I'm sure I could find a spot for this pedal in almost all styles. Simply Excellent!

two knobs. volume and drive

Awesome sound. it gets real voodoo like. I wish the effect would be more prominent in the lower register of the guitar, like at the very end of "Who Knows". I run a special editon strat w/texas specials into a Vox 847 wah> vintage rat> Octafuzz> Mesa dual rectifier Trem-O-verb. I set the mesa on the Blues mode with the gain slightly up and the master way up for a pretty clean sound with just a bit of preamp warmth while the the effects are bypassed. The Octafuzz sounds a lot better to me when the drive is all the way down and the volume set to equal the incoming signal AND you have another distortion,overdrive,or fuzz pedal before it(i.e. the octafuzz closer to the amp side). It does nail a lot of Hendrix style sounds though. But I want to nail that lower register sound on "Who Knows". I have a '69' pedal on layaway at South Austin Music(Bill is a nice guy)and plan on getting an OD-808. Maybe I need to get a Marshall Plexi re-issue to get closer to Hendrix' Who Knows lower register sound. Anybody "who knows" e-mail me. But this is definately my favorite pedal thus far in my guitar playing career.

It looks sturdy. Bought it 3 days ago.

never dealt with em'

I play blues rock. Played for 16 yrs. I would try a roger mayer octavia first and then I would decide whether or not to buy it again, but one of the two definately. I love the way it just sounds so bad ass when set right. I hate nothing about it really. My favorite feature is its sound.I chose this pedal because of the reviews I read here and really didn't try any different ones. I wish the Octave effect was more pronounced in the lower register. I has already helped me create a couple of new songs.

Two knobs are Volume and Boost. Boost controls level of fuzz. It is quite easy to get a good sound out of this box as long as you have a good tone to start with. I give it 10 because I didn't have to mess with stuff to get the thing I wanted. Just keep in mind that despite the fact that it only does one thing, it does it very well.

I have a Tele going into a Deville 410 with my chain in between. I put the Octafuzz 1st because it sounds better through my Bad horsie if it is before it. My whole chain is Octafuzz->Bad Horsie->TS9->FD2->Uni-vibe->HK Rotosphere. The octave doesn't really resound on any pickup but the neck. It also sounds best when used with no boost dialed in on the pedal, but rather, a separate fuzz box like an FD2 or TS9. The actual sound is a great octave up that sounds almost buzz synth like. It is a very satisfying tone. Below the 9th fret, it is more of a buzzy harmonic overtone, but once you get to the 11th and 12th fret, it really just wails. Very Jimi, Very cool. Purple Haze is yours. Beautiful tone and very simple. Just keep in mind that it can be used to much. Be tasteful with it.

Built like a tank. I think it says like 16 gauge steel or something. Don't know much about it, but I don't have money for a backup, and doubt I would need it. It would break your foot before it broke.

Haven't needed it.

I read through a few reviews before posting mine, and was a little annoyed. It seemed like people were just buying this because it said Fulltone on it and then when it didn't solve every guitar problem they ever had, they were upset. The thing about effects is that they can't immediately give your sound a dimension that it didn't have before you plugged it in. Whether in terms of tone or skills, you can't expect to rule because you buy a Fulltone pedal. I bought this pedal when I wanted a new sound to go with my already good sounding style and setup. This pedal has enhanced my solos with a cool sound and I could not be happier with it. But bear in mind, the reason I like this pedal, is because I can live without it. I am after Jimi's tone and this pedal does it well. But you need a specific use in your head before you buy this pedal. I love this pedal and I would replace it because if it were stolen.

Fairly easy, two controls, volume and boost.

Can hardly hear the octave at first, but let it sustain and you get a good upper octave fuzz. Can seem like feedback at first, but its really the pedal working the magic.

This may sound cliched, but like Boss pedals, and the rest of the cast iron pedal manufacturers, this is a tank. Always bring spare batteries, tho.

You really dont need an octavia, unless you have a "need" for one (cough cough *Hendrix wannabe*....erhhmmm). BUT, master pinch harmonics, and you could save yourself about 200 bucks. More or less, a good pedal.

Volume and Boost only. LED indicator.

Good for octave legato runs, fifths legato runs, and single note runs. Does one thing right.

Very reliable.

I have been playing 20 years. 1956 Telecaster and 1950 Fender Pro Amp. Overall, I would say this pedal is good as a vintage fuzz ala "Wired", but for modern sounds it is not very good. Very difficult to get a consistent sound from amp to amp and from signal chain to signal chain. Ring Modulation effects are introduced, and serious clipping distortion on the note attack. I could not use this for recording because of inconsistency. I think it would be good for a session musician who wants a retro fuzz, and has to nail that sound exactly.

I don't understand why this pedal is so expensive since it is an exact replica of the Tycobrahe, whose schematic is available in the Internet. With about $10 - $15 in parts, where's the justification?

Sorry to pop the bubble on all these 9 and 10 ratings, but criticism is important.

I just wanted to write this review to help you if you are thinking of buying this pedal. My advice: Try it first.

I checked out the Fulltone homepage when I wanted an octave pedal and thought an Octafuzz would be great, especially since it is a replica of the Octavia. Long story short: I got the pedal, and I couldn't make much use of it.

In terms of ease of use...it's really simple...Volume and Boost. Boost kicks in the fuzz in a major way.

Make sure you have a specific need for this pedal or a use in mind for it. I didn't, and after messing around with it I determined I had absolutely no use for a pedal like this (I play blues mostly). I'm not after Jimi's sound, and unless you are...you better try it before you buy it.

However, for what it is, I does the job. No question.

The only thing I noticed is that if you turn both the boost and the volume up, you get plenty of extra noise. I'm guessing some players would really like it, but it's a matter of taste.

For FYI, I used it through a Super Reverb and a Strat. For experimentation, I threw in a FD2 and a TS-9 on the top.

I have several Fulltone pedals and have never had a problem with them. Perfect as far as I can tell.

I've sent a few e-mails....fairly helpful.

Again, I don't want to say bad things about the pedal. If it is what you are into, you'll love it. Just make sure it is something you can use. I recommend trying one out.

Really easy to use, two knobs fuzz and volume. Easy to get a good sound out of my strat rig. Great manual.

This is the best Octafuzz in my opinion besides the real thing of course Tycobrayhe version. Its a clone of the original and the closest clone to me opinion. I tried a few, way huge, voodoo lab, etc. Never had the priviledge to try the tyco but I have recordings of the original and to me this sound more smoother. Which I like. Hendrix didn't really turn me on with the octafuzz sounds he created until I heard SRV use it in one of his last concerts. He used it in his redition of Voodoo Chile and I just loved the sound and how he used it for the song. I am happy this isn't the exact same sounding pedal as the original. When I recorded with this pedal, I had this original smooth octafuzz on my solo and I just love it. So its my main octafuzz. I use it with my 1960 strat and fender super. The sound is awesome. Also its on top of my Jeckyll and hyde and sounds really smooth. Additionally, I use eveready silver carbon 9 volts and that really gives it the smooth sound I want.

I had problems at first with the volume pot, but man theres nothing perfect and defects do slip by once in while. So I sent it back to Mike and he repaired to working order. So its all good now.

Mike is a busy man and he will get back to you in suprising speed. So his support is excellent.

If it was stolen, I would buy another. Its the best out there in its class as far as all clones concern. I wish I had the dollars to buy the original Tycobrayhe and A/B them both. Like I said it sounds different compared to a sound recording of the original and a sound recording of the fulltone version. But thats not really accurate results. However I do love it and its the only fulltone pedal I use. Because to me its great.