Jacques Stompboxes Fuseblower II

Well, you certainly have to twaddle around with the knobs a bit to get the sound desired - it won't do it for you. However, it's not a Zoom 505 or Digitech X-Series crap. It is more than worth all the fuss. This is a tool of the trade, not a beginner's stompbox.

Setup: Ibanez 450 RG to a mixer (recorded directly). Virtually no noise. If you have noise, it's probably due to your set-up. The sound is certainly top-notch for a stompbox. Extremely clear and precise sound picture. One perhaps has to turn up the low frequencies to give it a fuller sound. Great stompbox, it can generate an overall good shredding and ripping sound, which is even good for Metal (but more or less technical types of metal - if your guitar playing capabilities are good and you can hop over a few strings whilst shredding, this is the pedal of choice).

Highly reliable. Built like a brick.

No problem. Jacques is friendly, helpful and extremely responsive.

I play Black/ Death Metal, prefer a clear sound picture over heaps of distorted mud etc. It certainly delivers a load. I've been playing guitar for more than fifteen years (on and off). If it were stolen, I'd probably get a new one or try out a Jacques Batfuzz. It may be cheaper than a Boss MT-2 or comparable pedals, but the sound you get here is a lot better - remember, this is a full-blown analogue pedal, no junk! And if you enjoy collecting effects, this is certainly a good bet. Other gear I use is a Digitech XP300 Spacestation and an old Evans MX-99 Mini Echo/ Delay unit. Next thing on my list is a TC Electronics G-Major. And hopefully an endorser contract in the next few months.. ;-))

There are sooooooooo many good tones here, i drive me crazy changing them around...i LOVE this pedal, and i've been through a BUNCH of them

i've never heard ANYTHING like this pedal...its NOT a clean boost at all, it gives me a tone thats OUT OF THIS WORLD....neverending sustain, controllable feedback, like buck dharma....

no problems at all

jacques is the most unique pedalman i've ever met...get to know him.

i'm saving for more of jacques pedals...like i said, i NEVER heard anything like it

Most manufacturers make their pedals idiot-proof by limiting sonic possibilities and appealing to the lowest common denominator. Not so with the FB2. There are six knobs, and they are all important. Three are the usual volume, tone (sweetly voiced) and amount of distortion. The other three are actually volume levels for three discrete distortion engines voiced low, mid and high. (They are NOT simple EQ's.) So what you have is equivalent to three distortion pedals, each handling a different frequency range, running in parallel into a mini-mixer. It took me an hour to familiarize myself with the sheer range of sonic options and find "my" setting; and another couple of hours to fine tune it. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of great sounds; there is so much flexibility, you can even dial in some bad ones (so what?) I'm giving it 9 instead of 10 because it does take a while to sort through the possibilities. I refuse to lower my rating for those few of you out there who are lazy, inexperienced or tone-challenged. The manual is fine, and the sample settings are good starting points.

My rig is a heavily modified dual humbucker solidbody into a vintage Fender combo (to which I've added a line out) into a vintage 140 watt power amp/speaker cab. It can do just about anything, at just about any volume, except channel switching. So I need a couple of pedals, and the FB2 has become one of them. The design of the FB2 creates a harmonically rich and "clear" distortion--each note in a chord is distinct, and "complex" chords don't freak it out. It doesn't squash or shrink your tone. There is also something I'm not sure how to describe: there's a certain presence, clarity, crispiness, sweetness, attack and QUICKNESS that makes the sound very alive. It's a tone-enhancer rather than a tone destroyer. It won't cover up sloppy playing; whatever you play, good or bad, jumps right out (I wouldn't have it any other way!). Extreme settings can, of course, create some noise, but overall it's a quiet unit. If copping other artists' sounds is your thing, this pedal would be very helpful. If you want to find, refine and enhance YOUR sound (and distortion is part of your sound), try the FB2--you just might give it a 10 like I have.

Jacques gives a 3 year, no questions asked warranty. His stuff is road-tested. He responds to emails. What more could you ask for? I'm giving it a 9 for now; in 5 years, if I have no problems, I'll give it a 10.

As mentioned above, he responds to emails, usually within 24 hours. Not only helpful and friendly, but informed, experienced and funny.

We play so many styles, mixes and sub-categories of rock music (except nu-metal), I won't list them. This is without a doubt the best sounding and most versatile distortion pedal I have ever come across, and I've been playing for 30 years. The sound is downright inspiring. I would buy more FB2's for my pedal board (for different presets) rather than any other distortion pedal--in fact I'm thinking about doing just that. The one distortion sound it doesn't do (which is fine with me) is scooped-mid/no tone/all-sounds-the-same nu-metal. The one thing I wish it had is presets, so that at a gig I could access all it has to offer. I will never get rid of it; I consider it a piece of electronic art.

6 knobs - Blow 1, 2 and 3 - kind of like sweeping low mid and highs. Also volume, tone and fuzz.

Easy to get a good sound, none of the sounds are bad. The suggestions which include a Hendrix strat through plexi, Billy Gibbons, Pete Townsend and Steve Vai, provide a decent resemblence to these sounds. Of course depending on your own guitar and amp.

Accepts a nine volt battery (supplied) or adapter.

I wanted a pedal that I could use to provide an overdrive channel to a solid state Roland cube amp. And also could double as a Fuzz/distortion pedal for my Marshall amp. This pedal has fulfilled that.

This pedal is very dynamic, to me this is it's best quality.. It never gets over compressed or too muddy and squashed. Yet sound very full particularly in the bass. It lacks the annoying buzzsaw sound of a lot of fuzz pedals, yet the character of fuzz is there if you want it. Even on the extreme settings, the sounds don't really overlap and go too far out of phase to use.

Through a clean amp, it has enough presence and wallop that it can be used almost as if it were another channel on an amp. It remains interactive with the guitar volume, a fact I really appreciate.

Through an overdrive channel on an amp, the pedal is so dynamic that it is still useful, and doesnt become too unfocussed like other high gain pedals.

I'm rating this a 10 because it's flexible. It does not do the TS 808 thing or clean boost, but seems to cover the higher gain distortion/fuzz spectrum really well. I've rated other pedals other pedals at 9 and this is noticeably better.

Appears to be very well built. Similar to Boss with a little smaller footprint.

I've had or have PE yardbox, Crowther hotcake, Visual Sound Route 66, early Boss overdrive. I've only had this a short time, but I am initially more impressed with this pedal than I was when I first received any of the other pedals that I have or have had.

The only downside I can see is that it can take a while to dial in the exact sound your after, because the 6 controls are very interactive. Sometimes when I get lazy I wish for a little more compression, and then realize more compression would probably come at the expense of the fantastic dynamics of this pedal.

This box is easy to use. 6 knobs (low/mid/high boost) volume, tone, and fuzz. This is the production model of the Fuseblower, but it is 3 fuseblowers in 1.

I play a Strat w/ Rio Grandes A Raven RP350 w/ Duncan Jazz and Rio BBQ bucker. The effect chain goes like this: Fuseblower, Morley Pro series Wah, Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, Guyatone MD3, Boss CE 2, A/B/Y box to a Tech 21 Trademark and a Crate VC 508 This box rips! It has a wide frequency range, noiseless, true bypass, and endless variations. This box is a shocker!!! I can get vintage overdrive or tapping shred tone. No kidding! OD crunch, grind, and fuzz, mucho boost with tone. Oh yeah, don't worry about your distortion thinning out, this will blow your head off. This is the real deal, folks and a bargain. It deserves an 11

It has a 3 year no questions asked warranty. It is solid metal cased. The switch is not the typical Carling type, kinda Boss-ish.
I believe it will be just fine for a long time

I emailed Jacques about how he made the soundclips on ts808.com. He emailed me back within an hour. Check out his website. He is a real pro who is crazy about making the best.

I have been playing for around 9 years. i have owned a lot of hyped goods, marketing used to work on me. This is great piece of gear that will improve the tone of your amp. This will inspire you to practice more and sound better than your peers. Get one!!!