Phoenix Custom Electronics Fuzz

This Pedal has more knobs than your typical Fuzz pedal. In addition to the Fuzz level and volume level there is a bias knob, an impedance knob and a bass cut switch. It is easy to use and get the sound you need. It is a versitile Fuzz pedal which doesnt short change when it comes to classic fuzz tones. Alex is always willing to answer any questions about how to set the pedal up.

This is a great Fuzz tone. It is very smooth and not harsh sounding like others I have heard. Its classic fuzz with some convienient additions.
Im using an SG through a Marshall amp-the pedal sounds great with my set up.

VERY reliable. Alex backs up his products and is available for any repairs and upgrades you may need. I would gig without a back up-maybe bring an extra battery.

I give this category a 10. Alex is very helpful and gets right back to me if I have any questions.

A great feature of this pedal is that the transistors are socketed,not soldered-so its easy to experiment with different transistors if you are into that sort of thing. I am very happy with this fuzz pedal and would get another if it were stolen or lost. I would get some of alex's other pedals too.

This is a handmade, germanium based Fuzz Face clone made by Alex Anest/Phoenix Custom Electronics. The circuit is the exact same as the famous Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face with a few added features designed to make the fuzz more versatile and reliable than the original. The reason one might consider buying THIS fuzz face as opposed to the current re-issue is found in the quality of the build, the care taken in selecting germanium transistors and lastly, and most importantly, the units are all demo'd before they leave the shop. With germanium transistors, in any given batch maybe as many as half may be flawed, and testing them for leakage alone does not necessarily tell what the transistors will sound like in actual use. It requires that the unit be tested through an amp and guitar to see if the transistors are sounding good together. Mass produced units cannot do this, and this partly explains the 'hit or miss' nature of most germanium based fuzz/distortions. Moreover, you get some added features like: a BIAS setting so that heat differences that often plague germanuim units can be addressed. It is a great idea to help fight heat produced 'farting' or 'slagging' that can occur. It's a subtle control that helps offset the gain increase that occurs with increasing heat. The FUZZ also has a really great little feature contained in the FUZZ control that allows the power to be switched completely off. Many of us have pedalboards and dread battery replacement. However, germanuim units like non-alkaline batteries the best, and so Phoenix installed a power off switch on the FUZZ level switch. Nice. You no longer have to unplug your guitar cable from the input, just switch it off and the battery will last a LONG time. No more amp crackle either when you forget to turn the amp to standby when you unplug. I wish more stompboxes had this simple feature. IMPEDANCE control is a cool feature for people who use a wah after their FUZZ pedal. Controlling the ammount of impedance directly affects the wah's tone in conjunction with the fuzz signal. Nice for people who don't have a Teese and have issues using a fuzz in front of their Vox or Dunlop wahs. A BASS cut switch allows for either the original Fuzz Face sound, or a less 'woolly' tone when flipped. It's a subtle thing, but nice to have. The stomp switch is true bypass. The unit has no LED (a power drain on the battery) and no DC adapter as Phoenix maintains the FUZZ sounds better with a non alkaline battery. There is also a LEVEL control.

I use mostly humbuckers into somewhat 'bright' amps: Fender Deluxe Reverb (blkfaced, 6v6 amp) and a Gibson Goldtone GA15-RV (class A, EL84 amp). The Phoenix Fuzz sounds killer. It is dead silent. No hum, no hiss, no nuttin but what you want to come out: fuzz. It is not as 'over the top' as my 70's Big Muff (what is?) nor my GeoFex Foxx Tone Machine clone. The FUZZ CAN get noisy when you crank it full bore, sure, but the point is being able to use a fuzzbox in a real setting. I have had trouble in the past with getting TOO MUCH fuzz from other fuzzboxes, and thus not being able to use them all that much. The Phoenix FUZZ has controls that seem designed for a guitar player standing on a stage and trying to sculpture their distortion. The tone content of the fuzz is not shrill, nor is it tinny, overly bright or harsh sounding. You can get a very nice, not terribly dense, rounded fuzz tone that has complexity and creates beautiful sonic textures with some nice oscilations when copious volume is added. With tweaking, it is pretty easy to dial in a very useable fuzz/distortion. The sound these germanium transistors make has always been a sonic benchmark; that this Phoenix FUZZ has built in features to overcome some of the nuisances arising from using germanium is just grand. The Phoenix FUZZ sounds even better into a compressor. I use an EBS Multi-comp (Phoenix makes a Dan Armstrong 'Orange Squeezer' clone called Cream Tangerine, and I have no doubt it is an improvement on the original if this FUZZ unit is any indication) and I must say, the FUZZ sounds GREAT coming out of my compressor! More focused, better definition and a more realized shape to the fuzz. Yes, good compressors are great! When I pump that signal into a quality OD (Banzai Fireball 2 or a Vex SHO or a Pharoah CAB) the result is even more impressive. Through this setup, the character of the tone is wonderfully chunky (like a '65 Chevy Impala dropped down a staircase wonderful! HEAVY man..) and can be used in a myriad of applications, from noisy blues to hard rock to punk to alt. rock to noise/experimental, and all the places in between. The FUZZ sounds f*ckin' sweet. Again, mine is dead silent in bypass, and has little to no auxilary noise problems.

(there are no 10's in tone baby)

Admittedly, this is a new unit to me, so I don't have any idea how it is gonna do. From the build quality, the high end components use and Alex's excellent communication, I get the impression that this sucker is gonna last. I did tighten down some of the nuts some as they seemed a bit loose to me. One nice thing though, the Phoenix FUZZ has the 2 germanium transistors in removeable sockets, as opposed to directly sodered to the board. You can switch out transistors should you want to try some more bizarre germanuim transistors.

If it breaks, he'll repair it. If it breaks cause you abuse it, he'll fix it, but he may charge you for your stupidity! The FUZZ came with a very helpful, instruction sheet explaning the various functions and some technical info that I is very thorough.

You can get ahold of Alex Anest at his email:
alexanest@ameritech.net

Admittedly, I haven't had the FUZZ very long. If I find I have erred in anything I have said, I will return and amend it accordingly. This is a fine unit given that: 1) it is custom made with top of the line, oc44 or cv7003 transistors. 2) the internal components are top notch also. 3) it is tested through an amp! 4) features useable enhancements to the original 5) sounds friggin' awesome 6) cost about the same, maybe a little more and thus is a great value 7) custom baked on colors avaliable (selection is limited) but don't expect super boutique designs -- this is a small, start-up business 8) something different than what every other guitarist is using! YEAH Baby! 9) support DIYers and small custom shops and 10) it looks COOL MAN!

I have NO association whatsoever with Phoenix, I just like the style, and sound of this FUZZ. As a pleasant aside, I will be able to sell a number of Distortion boxes because of the Phoenix FUZZ's real versatility and sonic flexibility. I aM A hApPY caMPeR... :)

(there are no 10's in the overall baby)