Univox Super Fuzz

it has 2 knobs, a slide selector and a switch: it's really easy to use, of course.

AND THIS IS WHATEVER YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT THE CONTROLS:
BALANCE- this is the volume knob
EXPANDER- this is the gain knob
TONE- it allows you to select between 2 fuzz voices:
1<-- scooped mids fuzz
not scooped mids fuzz -->2

this is my setup, following the signal flow:

GIBSON les paul custom (black)
BOSS tu2 tuner
UNIVOX super-fuzz
VOX v848 clyde mccoy wah
BOSS dd6 digital delay
HUGES & KETTNER tube factor
FENDER hot rod DeVille 212

EVENTUAL ENTRIES:
ELECTRO-HARMONIX big muff pi (usa, reissue)
ELECTRO-HARMONIX eh 4600 small clone
GREEDTONE distortion
DOD-ANALOGMAN od250 overdrive preamp (mojo and led mods)
BOSS-KEELEY bd2 blues driver (FF-FREAK FUZZ mod)
T-REX mudhoney overdrive- distortion(10th anniversary edition, gold painted, #19 of 25 made worldwide)
T-REX dr. swamp overdrive- distortion
HIWATT custom overdrive
MXR gt-od overdrive
MXR phase 90



i can really get the sound i looked for years, and i can also get as close as possible to the sound of this pedal's heroes (pete townshend playing live in the 70's and anything ever recorded by mudhoney, just to name a few)

if you looked at this pedal you certainly know what it's about :-)
this without any doubt is about HEAD-CRASHERS.
it has a tone that really is CRUNCH WITHOUT STOPPING POWER.
works great with any of my pedals, and of course, like every germanium transistors- equipped fuzz, it doesn't like to be after the wah.

it is absolutley dependable.
i surely use it on gigs, without any backup. (if not, what i got it for?!?)

if it lasted until i got it, surely it will last forever!

mine is a repainted electric blue one with the blue rubber pad.
formerly it was a grey one wit blue rubber pad.

univox became korg, and i don't think that korg would repair/restore this piece of history directly from the 70's.
i don't really even imagine to ever find any of the original parts for a repair.

i play from classic rock to grunge rock, from 1997.
this fuzz is the best match anyone could ever do!!
if it were stolen, it should be a problem: they are amazingly rere and they go at least for us$ 400/450. or even more if well kept and in barely good conditions.

i love everything of this pedal, and this is really inspiring on making music for me.
in fact it's really the basic sound i use for my saturated sound.

I got this pedal around 1967 - mine is the grey/green version shown on the univox.org site: look under Effects> Foot pedals> U1093 Super-Fuzz> Green.

But I use this pedal for BASS. In the 60's, there simply weren't many effects pedals around. This is one of the first, and it has rather limited uses for bass, but when you really want a radical fuzz, this is the one. it's strictly analog with no LED or other indication that it's on..just two knobs (see Sound Quality), a Tone switch and the on/off button.

In the 60's you could always tell when someone got a new fuzz box - they played almost everything through it until the novelty wore off. Not so true today.

As another reviewer noted, the controls are as follows:

BALANCE: the volume knob
EXPANDER: the gain knob
TONE: selects between 2 fuzz voices:
1<-- scooped mids fuzz
not scooped mids fuzz -->2

The #1 setting (I think) is what I use for bass; the #2 is better for guitar. Th4e biggest challenge with this pedal is that the fuzz is extremely aggressive, and on bass it can fuzz the signal out to where it's very difficult to pick up in the mix - it can make your sound use definition. Therefore, moderation is called for and I usually set the gain so that the fuzzed signal is slightly louder than the clean signal.

After 40 years, 20 of it in storage, all it took was a shot of contact cleaner in the Tone switch and foot switch, and this pedal works like a trooper. It doesn't get any more reliable or simpler than this.

There is no AC input to this pedal, so to insure that I don't have a power problem I made a small notch in the bottom panel fo the pedal, added a rubber grommet and then use a snap-on 9V battery adapter from my power pedal board to power the Super-Fuzz. This way I'll never have a battery run out. Total reliability.

Univo has gone the way of the unicorns, but there's not much to break and I believe that all the parts or equivalents are still available if you do some online research. It may take a while to find a part, but you should be able to keep it going just about forever.

I play surf and classic rock, so this is just the right pedal for the music. I don't use it very much - maybe one or two numbers in a two-hour concert - but on something like "Secret Agent Man" it really fills out the sound and tears it up.

If it were lost or stolen, I would dearly to have another but I don't think I could afford to replace it. Street prices on these things run $400 or more. DANG!!!!

This is one reason to consider insurance on your musical equipment, folks.

very easy, two knobs, no brainer, if a pedal needs all kinds of adj. knobs to sound good , that should tell you that is over engineered. Simplicity is a genius in itself.

out of this world fuzz from the 60's or 70's, great with humbuckers or single pups. The fuzz itself is very nasty and spitting with great sustain. Two pedals in one really because of the mode switch, I love both settings. I have about 20 other pedals from custom tonebenders, maestro fuzz phazzer pedal, Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Wah, Vox Fuzz Wah, Foxx Fuzz Wah, Fuzz Face with NKT trannies, Jordan Bosstone clone, Big Muff clone, and various other pedals all analog. It would really break my heart if it were stolen, re-issue's do not even scratch the surface compared to this one.

I brought it online on e-bay , broken for $150.00 dollars, fixed the wiring and battery issues and oh-boy. No reapirs on ckt. card itself, just a good cleaning. This baby is blue and it shows it's 35 years plus of wear and tear, but still works like a champ. If only this pedal could talk about it's jouney's. Simple and 95% original with exception of battery wires. Life resurrected, it lives again. Very dependable after all these years. I thank the U.S. Navy for teaching me the skills to bring this baby to life. Literally , this pedal must have been found in a deserted house or basement. This baby has so much Vibe it's not even funny to joke about.

say what, these are a myth after all right?

I love all music earthly and extra terrestial. This baby is for the latter part. Sorry folks , no other pedal compares with this one unless it's 40 or 35 years old, only my vintage fuzz wah pedals and maestro fuzz phazzer can talk to this one.

No effect is necessarily easy to use. Sit down with it, tweak the knobs, figure out where it should go in the signal chain, what guitars sound better on certain settings, bla bla bla.

Nevertheless, I got a good sound out of it right away.

The Super Fuzz I have is the Orange and Blue version. I don't know how the other 2 versions sound.

2 settings: Boosted Mids and Scooped Mids.

The scooped mids has more gain and retains/boosts bass fequencies very nicely. In this setting, the octave overtones are more pronounced. Especially when you roll of your tone on a pickup. The superfuzz does this cool high attack ultra-compression when you strike a note. I always use this setting.

The boosted mids is more "harsh" and, to me, sounds like there's less gain. It can be overdrive-like on minimum settings. I don't tend to use this setting much.

As with the general population of fuzzes, there will be noise on more extreme settings or with noisy pickups, but not outrageous. I haven't had any tone suckage problems with the Super Fuzz in bypass.

I use humbucking and P-90 guitars and this sounds great with both. It's a very managable fuzz pedal that doesn't compromise your guitar or amp.

The reason I give the Super Fuzz a 10 in sound quality is partly due to how unique this fuzz is. It doesn't sound like a Big Muff, a Fuzz Face, or a Tone Bender.
The other reason is that considering it's a 30 year old fuzz, it completely blows most "boutique" fuzzes away. Then again, tone is subjective.

This is why super fuzzes are still living after 30 years. Little tanks. ( It actually kinda looks like a goofy car from Blade Runner).

I don't buy pedals to let them sit on a shelf. I play (as in GIG) with this. I've already done roughly 10-12 shows with it no problem.

I would love to get another if prices weren't in the 400's or if someone could make a decent clone. I guess the price on these will never decline. However, this pedal IS built to last.

If yours breaks, call up Analogman. If you ask me, he's THE vintage pedal guru. Even Gilmour calls him up to touch up his pedals.

This is THE most unique fuzz I've ever played and I've had the pleasure of being able to play lots and lots of different pedals (only other couple I could justify keeping include a Big Cheese and a Fuzz Factory).

The only other fuzz that ever really stood out was the Maestro Brassmaster (I wish I could've bought it).

Sounds remarkable on bass (along with the brassmaster).

This is my pride and joy.

Just buy it already.

Two knobs and a switch...couldn't be easier to use.

I first came across a super fuzz early on in my guitar playing development. It was in a glass display case and my friends and I inquired into what it actually was. The guy working behind the counter pulled-it-out for us and changed our lives. I have looked long and hard for another; since, I unfortunately did not buy that unit. Needless to say, I have spent almost 20 years searching for something similar and nothing has even come close. Now I have one and things are as they should be.

Hopefully, it will run as long as I have 9-volt batteries to put inside of it.

Unfortunately...none.

The king of all fuzzes. I remember one of us asking the guy that showed it to us if it was similar to a big muff...and he just laughed. He knows, what I now know...there are fuzzes, but there is only one king.

it has 2 knobs and a switch: it's really easy to use, of course.

BALANCE- this is the volume knob
EXPANDER- this is the gain knob
TONE- it allows you to select between 2 fuzz voices:
1<-- scooped mids fuzz
not scooped mids fuzz -->2

this is my setup, from right to left (signal flow):

GIBSON les paul standard (vintage sunburst, 2001)
UNIVOX super-fuzz
VOX v848 clyde mccoy wah
BOSS dd6 digital delay
HUGES & KETTNER tube factor
ELECTRO-HARMONIX eh 4600 small clone
FENDER hot rod DeVille 212

EVENTUAL BACKUPS:
ELECTRO-HARMONIX big muff pi
BLACK CAT superfuzz
GREEDTONE distortion
BOSS-KEELEY bd2 blues driver
DUNLOP jdf2 fuzz face


i can really get the sound i looked for years, and i can also get as close as possible to the sound of this pedal's heroes (pete townshend playing live in the 70's and anything ever recorded by mudhoney, just to name a few)

if you looked at this pedal you certainly know what it's about :-)
this without any doubt is about HEAD-CRASHERS.
it has a tone that really is CRUNCH WITHOUT STOPPING POWER.
works great with any of my pedals, and of course, like every germanium transistors- equipped fuzz, it doesn't like to be after the wah.

it is absolutley dependable.
i surely use it on gigs, without any backup. (if not, what i got it for?!?)

univox became korg, and i don't think that korg would repair/restore this piece of history directly from the 70's.
if you like this pedal drop me a line!!

i play from classic rock to grunge rock, from 1997.
this fuzz is the best match anyone could ever do!!
if it were stolen, it should be a problem: they are amazingly rere and they go at least for us$ 400.

i love everything of this pedal, and this is really inspiring on making music for me!!!

It's a fuzz box, how hard can they be? Two knobs and a tone switch.

Crunch without stopping power.

That's probably a good overview for it. This is the crown jewel of my distortion box collection, but it's not without it's drawbacks. I do lots of really noisy stuff that only barely constitutes as music. With this thing, I just crank up the knobs, flip the switch and lay waste to all I survey. Careful though. Hit more than two strings when it's maxed out and it loses all tonal quality. It's wonderful for simplistic, double-pickin' solos which I am prone to. Great for surf music, not good for metal as it doesn't have that heart-stopping THUD when you mute. Mine loses attack sometimes, which is to say, sometimes, I hit the strings and it fades in. Of course, mine's taken a beating and is ancient. The sound is, in any setting the most distorted thing I've ever heard. It destroys the notes sometimes. The tone switch drops out the mids pretty well. A most driving vintage sound that most young poseur-punks should learn to embrace.

I've used it on a wide array of 6 and 12 strings as well as solid state and tubed amps. No name and big name. The last band I was in, my drummer described my playing to a friend with one word: "clang". This was with a Standel twin with loose springs and tremelo, a hopped-up Charvell and a couple of other distortion pedals.

No! But mine was scored in a garage sale close to twenty years ago. It's seen better days. The attack thing is a concern when buying one of these. Since I've never seen another one up-close, I can't say whether or not the age and condition is a factor here, but mine was lookin' pretty rough when I got it and I often have to resolder the batt. wire, which could explain this.

Also, with newer boxes, you turn the things of by pulling the input cable. Not so here. If it's on or gets turned on with nothing plugged in, then it is still on. Easy to waste 9v's.

They still service this thing? Never even tried. I'm surprised it still workes, given the abuse it's seen before it even got to me.

I do a wide variety of music that calls for little talent and lots of destruction. This includes punk, metal, surf (OK, it was this box that got me playing surf), oi!, experimental, powernoise. Been doing this twenty years.

It's hard to find these mama-jammas and replacing them is costly. I guard this thing with my life and will probably try out some of the newer knock-offs for gigging.

I heard the Sauv Big Muffs were the other badasses of the era. Tried them out. May get one eventually, but the Superfuzz RAPES the Big Muff.

I wish it had a little more thump sometimes or at least a solid attack. A few more knobs to control the thing, but then again, I like to let this ugly dog run. Mine's great when it's working, but you see what I paid for it. Like I said, I started playing around with surf music because of the sound it made and it's limitations (once again, not good for eleborate chords).

"Anything else you'd like to share?"
Yeah, I have one and you most likely don't. If you do, then you paid an arm and a leg for it. In the unlikely event that you scored one like I did, then you know what I'm talking about. It's a gem, but I don't believe it to be useful for most musicians (TOO distorted, if there's such a thing), so if you have one, you should give it to me so I can stack mine.

Very easy - just close your eyes and use your ears

Best fuzz I've ever owned or tried. Very deep and warm sounding with a little touch of octave. Perfect. Just recorded an entire album using only this fuzz pedal! I'm never gonna let mine go! Actually I'm trying to buy another these days - just to have a spare one.

No problems yet.

I currently use this for a heavy metal project that I'm doing. I run my 63 jazzmaster straight into the superfuzz going to my diezel vh4 - sounds fantastic. Get one if you find one. Not many around anymore.

Just plug in, turn on, and play. It has only got a 2 nobs and 1 tone switch so its not very hard to get adjusted.

It sounds ausome. It has got a really great roar to it. But it doesnt sound like a grunge or metal kinduf thing. I use a 2000 gibson sg. That has 2 humbuckers, and a fender blues junior pr-295.

I am not sure, I only got to use it for one gig. A freind of mine had it with him. But it looked old, and he let me barrow it, so i guess he thought it was reliable.

never delt with company sry.

If you can get your hands on one, take the opprotunity.

Very simple. Just an expander knob (fuzz), balance knob (volume, and tone switch. I bought it used and didnt get a manual with it, but you dont need one, takes about a minute to realize how to use it.

HOLY CRAP this is the coolest damn fuzz pedal I have ever heard. It sounds like a big muff on acid. Very deep, growly. This pedal has balls. Both settings on it are killer. I use a '74 and '79 strat with varied other effects and play through a Fender DeVille.

I have only used it live a couple times because I fear it might crap out on me. It never has.

Yeah, I dont think Univox exists anymore.

I play very early 90's influenced rock, so this pedal is perfect. Gets a good Mudhoney sound. Also, can get some good Queens of the Stone Age sounds without having to buy a rediculously priced Ovation GP.

I had one of these back in '73, it broke and some how through my "idiocy" I lost track of it. I do not remember any octave thing going on with this but this distortion pedal, sound wise, gets a 100% rating from me. I later went to a Systech Overdrive, an MXR Distortion + and a Nady Tube Distortion (this one I stuck with and use the MXR only as a backup. This orange pedal w/the blue pad is like the holy grail of distortion if my memory is intact. It wasn't a chord pedal though, I think two notes was usually the max that you would want to play. So it's a lead pedal. Not a minor 11th or 7th suspended 4th dream pedal. This was a hit one note and get chills up and down your spine pedal. I'm still looking to get one again and hopefully someday that'll happen but until then I'll have to just remember.

easy enough...takes 10 seconds playing with it to realize what each pot does...

OK...I have home made superfuzz but It sounds wery mudhoney superfuzz so I suppose It's correct scheme...

this fuzz is EXTREME!!!...don't expect regular fuzz from this...you must check it out before buying because it's not regular fuzz...

It has some strange effect similar to drone effect, or even ring modulator...so it adds extra tones to original tone and then distortes it so you get extreme sound...that strange effect is shoved good on Sonic Youth's cover of simpson's theme (go on Kazaa and get it)...that is the sound of superfuzz with gain set to low...and smashing pumpkins or mudhoney(touch me I'm sick) is sound of superfuzz with gain set to high...if you listen to these you'll get the picture...you can't get clean, little distorted sound!!!

so if you get superfuzz with right picture of it before you buy it you MUST give it 10

don't know...home made

greath for alternative/punk/noise
a must have noise pedal!!!
also great on bass

typical fuzz pedal layout with the addition of the tone switch. All guitars sound pretty much the same through it ( always set your amp to clean, or the overtones get lost).

HUGE FOAMY SOFT NASTY HEAVEN!! Nothing comes close! i get involuntary giggles every time i play it...Octave is very prominent, and almost has a ring modulator quality to it ( but softer, and more organic). Both settings sound equally good, yet totally different; setting 1 has more mids with avery prominent octave up. setting 2 scoops the mids which let the octave and the overtones play with each other in a most entertaining way. this setting is just awesome!! One low note sounds like a whole band turned up all the way! there are both high and low octaves in this setting making anything soud HUGE.

built very cheaply in the early seventies,the switch somtimes cuts out, the jacks occasionally get noisey,as do the knobs, but so what...

as if...BUT, there are many people hip to this pedal that can repair it.

I JUST CANT GET OVER HOW MUCH THIS ROCKS!!!these are very hard to find at an affordable price, but nothing can touch it (and believe me, ive heard them all).This circuit was made under dozens of names so be on the lookout...same circuit as ibanez standard fuzz, roland bee baa, ace tone fuzz master and many others (all made by shin-ei).For bass or guitar it just rocks!!(I wish the two position slide switch for the tone was a foot switch, like on the ace tone, but...)

Very easy to use. Two knobs- blend and expander- and a two position switch. This is an older gray box with a blue logo.

This is without a doubt the nastiest, best sounding fuzz I have ever had the pleasure of trying. I actually like it more than I like my Big Muff Pi, and that's saying alot. It's slightly noisy, but no more than most fuzzboxes.
My guitars are a Gibson Firebird V, a Gibson Flying V, and an Ibanez Destroyer. The amp is a Peavey VTM-60 head into an Orange 4x12 with four 75 watt Celestions. The other boxes on my pedalboard are a US Big Muff Pi, a DOD FX25B Envelope Filter, a Scholz Distortion Generator, an Ibanez Classic Flange, a Fulltone Deja Vibe 2, and an E/H Deluxe Memory Man.

I only have one. If I saw another one around here I would pick it up.

N/A

I play psychedelic and prog rock and also work in a blues/rock band. The Super-Fuzz sounds like GOD. I have been playing 27 years. Other boxes I own include an Ibanez TS-9 (original), a Danelectro compressor and overdrive, and TWO Electro Harmonix LPB-1 Linear Power Boosters. If stolen I would hunt you down and disembowel you with no sweat.

simple...I love the "impossible-to-miss" rubber footswitch pad.

I've only tried it with my Les Paul and Strat but it sounds great with both. I play though an old Univox Blue B-Group 115watt head (plexi copy) with a 2X12" cab containing '65 Jensen speakers.

It is noisy (as it should be) but there is an unusual fading-out of the noise when I stop playing (similar to a noise gate).

The tone of this pedal is incredible...warm and musical. I had a Fulltone '69 and sold it since it gave an odd fluttery sound and unmusical fuzz. My Fulltone Soul-Bender sounds VERY similar to the Superfuzz but the Superfuzz has more high frequency fuzz and less middle than the Soul-Bender. It reminds me a lot of the tone on Hendrix' "Come On (Let the good time roll)" or The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction". I love the internal trim pot on the circuit board. This allows one to max out the fuzz level or tame it down quite a bit so you can fine tune with the "Expander" knob.

Everyone who enjoys a good fuzz once in a while should own this pedal.

it's 30 years old and still works like new...

N/A

I have no grievances other than it could be a bit smaller. this pedal is huge and has a lot of empty space in the housing. Oh well, at least it's built like a tank and sounds really terrific.

Its an easy pedal, everything explains itself.

I play an unmodded Squier strat>superfuzz>CH-1>gorilla tc115 150 Watt combo. Im not sure about the chorus/fuzz thingy coz i jut have the superfuzz.
It isnt that noisy. But nnoise is cool, so...
It ounds cool, vut it has too much gain. When u set the gain to 80% its way too much, but it gives a cool sound. So yes, it rocks.
I like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Placebo, Hole, Muse, Jimi Hendrix and some more.

I like both the norma and notch setting, but the notch setting ddoesnt have mids, and i love them so I have to tweak my Eq with it. And the normal mode isnt as aggressive as the notch mode. But it sounds cool though.

It also gives really really cool feedback and sustain!!!

U shoud check out mudhoney music if you want to knwo waht this pedal sounds like. My rig sounds really like mudhoney, i think its the cobination of superfuzz+single coils.

Its home build so.... My dad build it in a EH electric misstress box. Its quite reliable I think :)

My dad made this superfuzz from the unofficial mudhoney schematic ont he internet. www.unofficial-mudhoney.com And it rocks, it just has too much gain, but thats cool. The whole pedal rocks.

Ive been playing classical guitar for 6 years, but I started doing chords last year and I paly a half year electric, but Im not that bad.

If it were stolen or anything. Id certainly make my dad build me another one.

I love the huge gain, feedback and sustain it gives u!!! The feedback just 0wnz!

I played thorugh lots of DS, OD and FZ pedals, and this one easily wins.

I wish it had more bass in the normal mode, but its alright.

It heklps me making music. The superfuzz gives you a really nice and koel sustain and when u cranck the gain pot it just sounds weird and over-gained. Its cool.

Uhm, build one as soon as possible.

I play through hollowbody guitars predominantly, through a Fender Bassman amp. My Super-Fuzz is one of the early ones (late 60's-early 70's)with the grey sheet metal case and blue logo. The pedal is quite easy to use. One on/off footswitch, one volume knob, one expander (gain), and one two-way tone switch. As you know from the previous reviews, the tone switch allows you to choose between a position 1's midrangey fuzz and position 2's boosted bass & treble/scooped mid fuzz. Position 2 is not my bag but more about that later. The footswitch decided to go out on me the day after I got it, so I sent it to Jeff Doucette at SustainPunch to get it repaired. More about that later also.

It sounded "Super" as soon as I plugged it in. It was pretty hissy and noisy, but no more so than most fuzzes. It did have a problem with resonant squeal when I cranked the gain all the way up, but it sounded so good I didn't care. There was also the aforementioned footswitch problem, so SustainPunch said they would fix it and give it a good once-over. I had them put in a new footswitch and upgrade it to true bypass although it really sounded fine in bypass mode, but it was only 15 bucks extra so I figured why not? They also replaced a noisy transistor with a direct replacement. When I got the pedal it sounded exactly the same but not nearly as noisy, and the squeal was gone (probably the bad transistor). Also, the gain control was more gradual. Before it wouldn't even come one until I had turned the gain up halfway. Now it has a more gradual increase in gain throughout the control's travel. How does it sound? One word: MEAN. It sounds mean, agressive, but not uncontrollably over-the-top, if that makes sense. I only use position one really, the midrangey sound. If you've ever heard the Cramps' "Rockinnreelininaucklandnewzealand" or "A Date With Elvis", it has that kind of sound, an aggressive, buzzsaw kind of sound. Not refined at all. Sounds great for Stooges type stuff also, or Oblivians-style garage-punk. I'd go so far to say that it's versatile, because you can turn the gain down low enough that it's just barely distorting and hit the guitar hard to get that broken-speaker square wave explosion. Or crank the gain up and pretend you're playing a Husqvarna. Sounds great for barre chords, it loves the open-E chord, but it does NOT like minor chords. The Super-Fuzz puts out such odd harmonics that a minor interval makes it go crazy. This can be used to good effect sometimes though. Oddly enough, it handles minor chords better when the gain is all the way up. If I needed to combine combine fuzz with discernible minor chords I would use my Prescription Electronics Yardbox, which handles chords extremely well, it just doesn't sound as nasty as the Super-Fuzz. I do not care for the Position 2 scooped mid sound. I like Black Sabbath and the Misfits, but I'm not after that sound at all--perhaps that's because of my amp, which leans toward the bassy end of the spectrum, but the scooped-mid death fuzz isn't pleasing to me. I like the fuzz trashy and garage-y and rock 'n' roll-y, and position 1 does that very well.

I had the problem with the footswitch, but we're talking about a 30-year-old pedal here, so problems like this are to be expected. Now that it's been repaired and upgraded, I expect it will last another 30 years. I'd gig without a direct backup, although I have other fuzzes I could use to get by.

Univox is history, and I doubt Korg would touch this thing with a ten foot pole. There are plenty of places that repair these things and supply schematics.

I play garage/punk/rockabilly/surf/blues stuff. The Super-Fuzz is particularly useful for the garage/punk part of that equation. If anything happened to it, I would try to find another one, maybe one of the later ones with the colorful die-cast frame and big rubber footswitch, but I like the simplicity and the layout of the knobs better on the early model like mine.

It's pretty easy to use and versatile. You have 2 knobs, balance (volume), expander (amount of fuzz/gain) and a little tone switch to switch between settings 1 and 2. Setting 1 kinda sounds like the crappy distortion you get from cheap fender practice amps (only ever owned fender amps) and setting 2 has a boosted scooped midrange sound to it. Mine is used so it didn't come with a manual. If you open up the back up you'll also find the internal trim pot inside, it's a metalish looking knob you can turn and adjust the way the super fuzz behaves.

I use a Fender strat with 2 single coil pickups and a single humbucker through a fender champ. It's a great sounding pedal but with mine, if turn the expander all the way up and play at low volumes, when you play a chord the sound comes out soft and gets louder...it's really irritating. Anyone had this problem before? Well who plays fostly anway!?!? Honestly the best fuzz pedal in the world!!!

It's kind of an old pedal so I don't know if it's that reliable. So far so good, but I'm not going to do something stupid. The frame is pretty sturdy, die cast I think. It died on me once before but it's never happend again thanks to a few engineering skills.

Company went under a while back. I think it was bought out by Korg?? Look around the internet or go to these sights, they can repair em dirt cheap:
http://www.analogman.com/ http://www.smashing-pumpkins.org/sustainpunch/index.html

I play mostly punk/grunge stuff, like Nirvana and Mudhoney. I'd say this pedal is a great mix with my playing style because I get the sounds I like and the bands I like use one too or use a lot of fuzz/distortion. I love everything about this pedal except for the price...these things can get real expensive. Of course it is a vintage pedal so vintage=$$$, so why not build one. I'd recommend this pedal to anyone!!! Listen to the intro for the song "Touch me I'm sick" by Mudhoney, this is basically the sound setting 2 will give you.

Agree with all of the above, but none have mentioned the internal trim-pot. If you open the Superfuzz you will find a trim-pot on the lower middle of the print. Its brownish with a metal thingy to turn. If you experiment with this pot you can customize your Superfuzz sound. Middle position has an unbelievable amount of octave. Turn it right, and you loose much of the hissing-noise. Turn it left and you will saturate the fuzz even more. Just fool around with it and dont worry about loosing your favourite settings. You cant get lost in there.

Two knobs and a switch. My unit had no labels on the controls so I figured them out back in 1980. Gain,Fuzz Level,and a flat tone or a sweet ass midrange scoop for the switch. This unit is a no brainer control wise. you don't need a fuckin' manual for this one.

The TITS! I play bass and every guitar player that hears it just about busts a nut over its sound. I play it through whatever bass amp is in the vicinity. I wasn't going for any particular artists sound when I stumbled across this mother 18 years ago, other than I found out I could play the intro to MONTROSE song "Rock The Nation" better than our current gitarist at the time. This has got to be one of the best,if not the most wicked distortion sound on the electric bass. So you guitar players better grab these while you can, before us bass players snatch em all up and give you fools a run for your money.

Hell yes, I've drug this little bastard all around the world and back in the last 18 years. Only a little puss would worry about reliability. My unit is a good size grey die cast enclosure with a huge pedal. The light grey rubber cover on the pedal spells SUPER-FUZZ on it. The only problem I have had with it is that the DPDT footswitch went out on it this year, but Analog Mike fixed me up with another one when I bought a couple of MuTron pedals off of him. Not a bad record for 18+ years ehh? I've been using this unit without a backup for almost 19 years, and I got it used in 1980.

Other than RG Keene and the internet I didn't have any support. Luckily I am an electronics technician, so I can now repair it myself, due mainly to all the postings of the schematic I've found on the www. Even if you are not electronically inclined I know for a fact that Radio Shack sells the 2N2222A transistors this monster uses dirt cheap, also they sell the 1N914 diodes that are at the heart of the square wave production of this device. So buying most of the parts required for repair at R/S could save you some money if you should ever need service on your unit.

My Super Fuzz was given to me by an employer when I was working in a music store in my late teens. All because I was the only person to touch it in 5 years. The owner just wanted the display space to put another Morley pedal on display. Are these pedals worth the money being asked for them today? That is truly a subjective thing. I myself believe there is no finer sounding FUZZ pedal available. You have to realize that this unit has its own distinct sound and absolutely rocks. It may not be for everybody, but you bass players better take note. This is the crunchiest, it also seems to have a "compression" effect built in, nastiest distorted bass solo voice around. That is with the mid-soop engaged, otherwise it sounds like your bass being played through any old distortion pedal readily available today. Bottom line for me is that this is the most killer FUZZ to be used with the bass. And yes I would pay the current asking price for one of these if I could not revive mine.

I don't know how old my super fuzz is. I'ts orange and blue. It's got two knobs; one for fuzz, and one for level. There's also a switch between the two that basically just scoops or boosts midrange. I bought mine used, so no manual. Real easy to get a good sound.

I use a SG standard and a Fender champ. It's not really that noisy for an older pedal, which can of upsets me because I love noise. It's always real fuzzy, but if you crank the fuzz knob all the way and play a chord in rapid succession, it will just lose itself. It's hard to explain, it like takes a split second for a chord or whatever to like, fade in. Anyway's it has two sounds, setting 1 is black sabbath, "Tommorrow's dream". Setting 2 with the scooped midrange sounds more like the Misfits. I also use this setting for "Paranoid".

reliable, simple construction.

who knows.

I love it. That's all I can say. I use it more than any vintage big muff, tubescreamer. In my opinion, the best sounding fuzz, but a close second is the maestro "fuzz tone". Good luck finding one!

This pedal is VERY easy to use. All it has is a balance (volume) control, expander (gain) control, and a tone switch. Both tones are great, the best fuzz I have ever heard. The tones are scooped mid range, and boosted mid range. They are very dependant on the amplifier tone control. Using the amp EQ you can get almost any distortion tone wanted. This is over 20 years old, so there is no manual. It cant get any easier for the versatility, if you use your amp with it right. The gain control does almost nothing, its always very fuzzy.

There is not a bad sound in this. This is the ultimate fuzz pedal, and I have tried a ton of fuzzes. It is kinda noisy when the gain is on max, but not too bad. I use it with a Fender Strat into a Fender amp, plus a dunlop crybaby, ELH Deluxe Electric Mistress, and ELH Deluxe Memory Man. This pedal is used by Mudhoney, Dinosaur Jr., and Smashing Pumpkins just to name a few. There is no bad sound on this.

Its lasted 20 years I think everything will be just fine. Really thick die cast steel. If you can actually find a second one to use as a backup, dont bother getting it anyway cuz this will not break down.

Univox became Korg, but there are schematics on the net if you need to make small repairs. There is no customer support from the company but maybe the store you buy it from.

I play punk rock and indie rock. Its good for any rock or metal or anything requiring very high gain. I've been playing for 4 years. If it were stolen I would have the person hunted down and shot, this pedal is too kool. Not a bad feature on it and nothing else I wish it had. I got it at AnalogMan Vintage Guitar Effects, he has a lot of great stuff if your looking for this or other older pedals - http://members.aol.com/AnalogMike/stock.htm I had been looking for the perfect fuzz forever, and I found it in this.

Not much to figure out - two dials, a sliding switch, and an on/off stomp switch.

The most MONSTEROUS fuzz ever made. Two different tone settings. The first tone setting is thin, and is great for that 60's garage sound. The second setting scoops the midrange, and sounds HUGE. All sounds are chock full of octavia-like overtunes (i.e. octave-up, caused by full-wave rectification). It sometimes sounds like the thing is ready to explode. Strange buzzsaw harmonics dominate - far more so than any of the old fuzzes, or the new boutique fuzzes. Nothing else is more aggresive than the Super Fuzz.

Mine was shredded for many years, until I paid $60 to get it repaired (at the time, there were no schematics on the internet for this box). Even after getting it repaired, the on/off switch broke right away. The box is thin, and made out of sheet metal (I have the older grey SuperFuzz, not the colorful diecast ones from the 70's). As much as I love this box, I would hesistate about using it live.

Univox became Korg, as far as I can tell. I doubt there is any customer support on this ancient box.

The greatest fuzziest fuzz of all time. I have heard many of the contenders, and have over a dozen fuzzes of my own, and this box still rules. The newer boutique pedals, as cool as they are, still don't sound as aggressive as the Super Fuzz. Nothing out there has the killer combination of octave up and midrange scoop that makes the Super Fuzz sound so huge. The Prescription Electronics Outbox tries to do this, but doesn't sound nearly as nasty as the Super Fuzz. The Boss HyperFuzz sounds similar, but is neither as harsh or as smooth as the Super Fuzz (it is, however, a cheap substitute, and gets you 90% of the sound for 1/3 of the asking price nowadays). Would I buy this at the current asking price of $300? No. However, if you can find a bargain on it, get it right away.
A few helpful hints for getting a Super Fuzz on the cheap:
- The same circuit was sold under many different names: Jax, Apollo, Ace Tone, and other names which I can't remember (Kent?). Try out any weirdo Japanese fuzzes in ugly boxes you may find. If the fuzz has two dials, and a two-position tone switch, and sounds like Mudhoney and the Cramps, it may be a Super Fuzz circuit. Often, these boxes will be sold for far less than a "real" Super Fuzz. - Learn how to solder, and check out R.G. Keen's site at http://www.eden.com/~keen. Keen has reverse-engineered many classic, long-gone fuzz boxes, and has made the schematics available, as well as new circuit board designs. If you are electronically inclined, you can build a Super Fuzz for far less than the prices being charged nowadays.