12 Degrees of Saturation - 2020 Key Fuzz Categories Edition

As I touched on in the introduction this Fuzz Edition is a somewhat different approach to the 12 Degrees as it is not a linear scale of gain progression. As mentioned - each category ear can have very wide margins of differences in gain range, volume, saturation etc. Some of these circuits are very dynamic and work well with the Volume and Tone controls on your guitar. You can typically identify a Fuzz fanatic by the type of guitar they play. We need at least two pickups and we need variable controls to get the most interactivity out of the fuzz. It's a rare sight to see a fuzz aficionado with a single pickup single volume style guitar!

So each category can vary and range pretty wildly - and by pure happenstance we have selected 7 Regular fuzzes as such and 5 Octave fuzzes of different styles. There's no room here for a WEM-Rush Pep Box (1966), Lovetone Big Cheese (1995), Function F(x) Clustetfuzz (2015), or any of those more unique and distinct fuzzes - some have clones, most do not - say like my very recently added Demedash Spidola Germanium Fuzz Device.

So the advise here as always is to treat this more as a map of landmarks to navigate through - you will likely have your own preferences here, and it's highly likely that our tastes will match up exactly. But hopefully this exposes you to a few more varieties you otherwise would not be aware of!

The first fuzz category is pretty much the origins of the effects pedal industry as we know it. 1962's Maestro FZ-1, famously used on the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". There are a number of modern reproductions around with that same sort of original sloped box with the controls facing away from you - including one pricey one from Pigdog. I'm not a fan of those unergonomic and impractical enclosures - and considering the compact nature of the circuit - no need for those oversized shells really.

As with a few of the categories here - I have just one example of this type - courtesy of Basic Audio's excellent Gnarly Fuzz. You should know by now that I typically like a minimum of three controls on my own fuzz pedals - so the only other one here that really fits the bill for me is Australia's Mozztronics FZ-1 which comes with a 3rd Tone knob, as well as a Contour (Mids) toggle-switch - to that would be the one to get next.

These others sound great and are authentic to the circuit - just not quite as versatile as I would want them personally - should also mention the George Engineering (Greece) Maestro FZ-1B which just missed out on the listing. The Reuss take is assuredly great too - but please give me a Bias or Tone Knob to seal the deal! I had a choice of two Mini pedals here - the BYOC Li'l Black Key Mini, and the KOAmps The Key Fuzz Mini - I have a few Mini fuzzes by Canadian Kevin O'Reilly / KOAmps - including an excellent Skreddy Mayonaise clone - he makes some fantastic pedals in the mini category.

• Basic Audio Gnarly
• Reuss Vintage Three Volt Fuzz
• Mozztronics FZ-1 Classic Fuzz
• Bigfoot FX Spaghetti Western Fuzz
• Chicago Stompworks Black Fudge
• KOAmps The Key Fuzz

Expresso FX Custom MKI Demo

This is really quite a complex category - and consists of no less than 9 key varieties - including MKI, John Hornby Skewes Zonk Machine, Marshall Supa Fuzz, MKI.V, Vox Tone Bender, Professional MKII, Baldwin-Burns Buzzaround, MKIII, and MKIV! There are other nuances and varieties here, but generally the category is mostly those 9 types, in fact in my selection we cover MKI, Zonk, MKII, MKIII and MKIV - with my selecting my favourite favourite ones overall - so not a major overlap on this occasion - some magnificent sounding fuzzes in this group - which are all in my collection. Including the Mini 3-Knob Professional MKI which Dave Friesema of Function F(x) / Pickdropper fame just made for me. I feel that I will end up with one of each type from him in the end. Currently in the Tone Bender category I have 3 of Dave's pedals - the MKI, MKIII and Hive/Buzzaround!

I genuinely am a big fan of this category - and probably have a little more catching up to do as I have only 30-odd of these versus the 50+ each for the Fuzz Face and Big Muff categories. Right now I'm going though something of a Mick Ronson / Ronno phase - which means I'm leaning slightly into the MKI format these days - while I also really love the MKII's and MKIII's!

• Expresso FX Custom Fuzz Bender MKI
• DanDrive Secret Machine (Zonk)
• Expresso FX Custom Dual Fuzz Bender MKII
• Basic Audio Scarab Deluze (Multi-Bender)
• PigDog Pedals JuJu Fuzz (MKIII)
• ProAnalog Devices MKIV Vintage (MKIV)
• Function F(x) TB MKI Mini

I have never owned one of those discus-style mic-stand type original format Fuzz Faces - I find both versions somewhat impractical really (and yes even the round minis) - and in that sense not one pedal in my collection is fully authentic as far as that goes, as near enough all my Fuzz Faces - bar the SUF Hellephant, have at least 3 controls - including typically an external Bias knob.

We must not forget that Fuzz Factory, and by extension Chase Bliss Audio's new Bliss Factory are really just rather souped up Fuzz Faces - and in its latest guise just a superb example of the craft - with about as much versatility as you can imagine. My 2nd and 3rd listed choices are really listed in order of when I acquired them - but are both fantastic Dual Germanium and Silicon Switching Fuzz Faces with extra controls - both sound phenomenal, and both have fairly rare transistors onboard. Next is the almost as versatile King Tone MiniFuzz, and then the recently reviewed Super-Smooth Sitek Fuzzie - not just a great selection of Fuzz Faces - but a great cross-section of what the Fuzz Face can do - each of these has its own personality.

The mini pedal on this occasion is one that took me a while to hunt down a year or two ago - the El Musico Loco Wee Beaver Fuzz - which is actually an Os Mutantes Regulus VIII variety - or a pretty high gain version of Silicon Fuzz Face. Interestingly and as also reported on this site - the Wee Beaver Fuzz is the core circuit in the Chase Bliss / Abracadabra Audio Ayahuasca Trem-Fuzz! I think you would be hard pushed to find a better selection of Fuzz Faces than these 6. There are several decent alternatives for the Mini variety - including the recent Dunlop / MXR '69 Psych Series and Schu-Tone Mutation (also Regulus VIII). I was also going to include the superb Vemuram Signature Josh Smith Myriad Fuzz and JHS Series 3 Fuzz, but they got edged out by the Bliss Factory and another preferred choice when that suddenly arrived on the scene.

• Chase Bliss Audio Bliss Factory
• DanDrive Austin Pride Dual-Switching Silicon/Germanium Texas Square Face Style Fuzz
• Expresso FX Custom Dual-Switching Silicon/Germanium Fuzz Face
• King Tone MiniFuzz Germanium
• Sitek Fuzzie V2 Germanium Fuzz
• El Músico Loco Wee Beaver Fuzz (Regulus VIII)

I have long owned the Catalinbread Moseley Fuzzrite - while all he time meaning to pin down an Analog.Man Peppermint Fuzz which I really love and have come so close to landing on several occasions now. In this category I will definitely go for a Peppermint Fuzz too and a Basic Audio Fuzz Right - before calling it on my reference selection here.

The other varieties are decent - including the wee Sizzorfite Studio Mini Fuzzrite with bullet-casings for knobs. I could also have added the Schu-Tone The Loner here, amongst others. This is often quite a brash sounding fuzz, but you can tame that by dialling it in appropriately. Quite a distinctive fuzz variety which doesn't always get much of a look-in.

• Catalinbread Fuzzrite Fuzz
• Analog.Man Peppermint Fuzz
• Basic Audio Fuzz Right
• Reuss Rite On!
• Fredric Effects Foxrite MKII
• Sizzorfite Studio Fuzzrite Mini Clone

For lots of players the Analog.Man Fuzz to have is one of the Sun Face varieties - while I'm all about the Peppermint Fuzz and Astro Tone Fuzz in particular - also known as the Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx (sic). This is a generally quite underrated Fuzz which has a huge degree of versatility and incredibly music ability. The Astro Tone is followed by the alas discontinued Vick Audio Astro Fuzz, and Moho Hand FX Zephyr - which are both discontinued, but pop up every now and again on Reverb.com.

Next we have some lesser known brands - Bulgaria's cool Mojo Gear Cosmic Ash and Roerick Effects 36 Fuzz, and then the RonSound Ashtro Fuzz. There are various other varieties some fairly rarefied - the BJFE Fuzz 66, Northern FX Astrotone Fuzz, and Germany;s BSM Spectrum Fuzz Booster, and Australia's Klinger Astron Fuzz. So quite a few varieties around - but some of those distinctly tricky to pin down.

I really struggled to find a Mini version in this category - I came a cross an unnamed and unmarked speckled version on Ebay (long since sold) which was purported to be an Astro Tone variety, but had no distinguishing makes or proper reference to original builder! So there's likely a gap in the market here!

• Analog.Man Astro Tone
• Vick Audio Astro Fuzz (discontinued)
• Mojo Hand FX Zephyr (discontinued)
• Mojo Gear Cosmic Ash Fuzz
• Roerick 36 Fuzz
• RonSound Astro Fuzz (discontinued)
• *NoName Custom Mini Astro Fuzz

So the 6th category is the first introduction of Octave style fuzz - in fact one of 5 such categories in this overall edition. This though was the originator of the Octave Fuzz style, and was much emulated and copied by all and sundry.

The only one I have in this selection to date is the Dunlop Hendrix Octavio - which kind of breaks my rule on minimum 3 controls! I have always intended to get the Fulltone Octafuzz, and more recently the fantastic Vahlbruch Octavia - but simply not got around to it yet. I also really rather want the King Tone Octaland which is the priciest on offer here - but looks rather gorgeous in its new blue livery - that's probably at the top of my list of acquisitions now for this category - even though a touch pricey at £299 - but still probably one for early next year.

The mini pedal shake-up was really between the Function F(x) Octavus Mini, Schu-Tone Bitter End, and Pigtronix Octava Mini - which I decided would be better suits as a C.O.B. candidate as there was no obvious shoe-in for that category. So another win as such for Dave 'Picdropper' Friesema. Other varieties considered in the overall category included the Fuzzrocious Octavos, JHS Pedals "Vintage Loft" series Tychobrahe Octavia, KR Musical Products The Doubler, and the slightly over-sized Beetronix Octahive which I have and totally love. So no shortage of candidates here generally.

• Fulltone OF-2 Octafuzz
• Vahlbruch Octavia Fuzz
• Dunlop JHM6 Jimi Hendrix Octavio Octave Fuzz
• King Tone Octaland Mini
• Catalinbread Octapussy
• Function F(x) Octavus Fuzz Mini

I've lumped both Shin-ei FY-6 and FY-2 varieties into the same category here even though they are somewhat different. The Companion is somewhat more intense and spiky, while the Super is more dynamic and blooming - yet some Super Fuzz varieties definitely get you well into Companion territory.

I initially had the Boss FZ-2 in this listing too, but truth is I have a number of favourite Super Fuzzes that are a little more versatile than the Boss - so that just misses out here. I have all the pedals in this selection - and all of them get a pretty regular rotation. The Anasounds melds 2 fuzz circuits together - pushing Fuzz Face into Super Fuzz - for a particularly rich and rounded harmonic fuzzstortion. My copy of Fjord Fuzz Fenris is due any week now - just waiting on Daniel really - I have a predecessor to this - which is the 5-knob, 2-footswitch Gjallarhorn - the Fenris has even more of everything on tap. The Bearfoot FX Candiru Gold Fuzz is a rare Germanium Transistor variety of that circuit, and I pretty much love the SolidGoldFX '76 and Sitek Pandora equally. These are all really versatile and a notch up from the more standard Super Fuzz varieties. That said, the Danelectro Eisenhower is another decent choice in similar territory - and it kind of straddles Foxx and Super Fuzz territory to a degree.

There was some competition for the Mini slot too - between the Malekko Omicron Fuzz and David Evans's (Dead)fx Can't Feel MyFace Super-Fuzz - oh and of course the Schu-Tone Accomplice and Shatter Machine Fuzzes. The DeadFX takes it in the end by virtue of its greater hands-on controllability and the fact that I own it! - actually about the same degree of control as the Schu-Tone Accomplice and Shatter Machine. The Omicron has options - but they are firmly under the hood as such!

• Anasounds Crankled Bitoun Fuzz (FF > Super Fuzz)
• Fjord Fuzz Fenris Fuzz (Gjallarhorn Max)
• Bearfoot FX Candiru Gold Germanium 5K Fuzz
• SolidGoldFX '76 Octave Fuzz
• Sitek Pandora Fuzz
• DeadFX I can't feel myFace Super-Fuzz

Another category where I own just a single candidate - the first listed Bearfoot FX Burgundy Bosshorn which looks and sounds fantastic. Correction! I forgot about my recently acquired KMA Audio Fuzzly Bear - that makes 2! I've long wanted a Basic Audio Texsur - that is on my list too - probably along with an Animal Factory Baron Samedi. I actually really like the look of India's Animal Factory pedals - and I fully intend to track down copies of its Baron Samedi and Chemical Burn (Super Fuzz / Companion).

Monsterpiece makes some great pedals too, and while I only have one of theirs to date - a special 6K version of Scratchy Snatch, I intend to pick up at least a couple more including the Angry Dick 2000 and MKI Fuzz. 'Jordan' seems to have bought the brand, but not the licence - as its Boss Tone is rather a Buzz Tone!.

Schu-Tone comes once more to the rescue for the Mini pedal variety - with its Back Stabber edition. Would that there were a few alternatives!

• Bearfoot FX Burgundy Bosshorn
• KMA Audio Fuzzly Bear
• Basic Audio Texsur Fuzz
• Animal Factory Baron Samedi Fuzz
• Monsterpiece Angry Dick 2000
• Jordan / Mahoney Buzz Tone
• Schu-Tone Back Stabber

Considering that Big Muff is my most significant collected category volume-wise - with over 60 representatives now in my collection. It's rather tricky to pick out just a handful of favourites here. As per my recent piece on Big Muff Pi Ranges - I have 7 Muff types which I consider key - Triangle, Ram's Head, Opamp, Civil War, Green Russian, Black Russian and NYC Pi.

I was a little more broader and circumspect for my Tone Bender roundup, while here I'm just straight up going for my favourites which means several Triangle style varieties - which do have individual personalities - but some may feel I could have gone with more diversity - nevertheless these are my all-time favourites.

Most of the deliberation was for the Mini Fuzz - where the action was stiff between the OneControl Baltic Blue Fuzz (Björn Juhl), the D-Sound '73 Ram's Head Mini, Ibanez 850 Mini, and Custom Pedalboards Muff War Mini. My first and most-used Mini Muff to date has been the OneControl Baltic Blue - which is surprisingly versatile for its 3 controls.

• Basic Audio 5K Tri/Ram (rare)
• Skreddy Pedals Mayonnaise II (discontinued)
• Vick Audio 73 Ram's Head Fuzz
• ThorpyFX Fallout Cloud
• JAM Pedals Red Muck MKII Fuzz
• OneControl Baltic Blue Fuzz

There have been quite a few new takes on tis format recently in a variety of different enclosure sizes - and including of course the Danelectro 3699. I have the Danelectro, Basic Audio Foxton, and an earlier single-knob dual footswitch version of the Fjord Fuzz Odin. The new variety of Odin started out as a custom build for a particular customer, but is now joining the main range - with proper dual-channel functionality and tone and gain-shaping dip-switches on both sides. I need to wait for Daniel to send me mine!

Also in this selection is the excellent discontinued Keeley Wolff - which I'm definitely trying to track down a copy of, and I will probably scoop up an MXR La Machine too some day.

For the Mini selection it's between the Tone City Fuxx Fuzz and Schu-Tone Harpy - where I usually award to the more boutique and hand-made variety.

• Fjord Fuzz 4K Dual Channel Odin
• Danelectro 3699 Fuzz
• Basic Audio Foxton Fuzz
• Keeley Wolff Octave Fuzz (discontinued)
• MXR La Machine
• Schu-Tone Harpy Fuzz

Considering how much I love my Anarchy Audio Baa Bzz, it's a wonder I don't have more this type. I will definitely be getting a Basic Audio Beeb-Ah while those particular ones seem largely made to order. And I quite like the look of the Maxon FF10 Fuzz Elements Fire - will probably call it a day on my own selection when I get to 3 or 4.

The discontinued SUF Son of a Bee is great too as is the discontinued Black Cat Wee Buzz Fuzz - and the Brazilian Trefilio Pedais Black Bee. Not much choice in the Mini department on this occasion - where Schu-Tone comes to the rescue again with its Tigerjaw variety.

This is a great sounding fuzz and actually was the starting circuit for the Fjord Fuzz Embla too - although that is much removed from its source material now. Definitely one of my favourite fuzz varieties!

• Anarchy Audio Baa Bzz Silicon Fuzz
• Basic Audio Beeb-Ah Fuzz (rare)
• Stomp Under Foot Son of a Bee (discontinued)
• Maxon FF10 Fuzz Elements Fire
• Black Cat Wee Buzz Fuzz (discontinued)
• Trefilio Pedais Black Bee Fuzz (rare)
• Schu-Tone Tigerjaw Fuzz

And so to one of the more recent fuzz derivations which nonetheless has quite a number of decent alternatives. The original box is a medium BB enclosure - so not really suitable here - I though I spotted a few Compact editions - but those are rather serviced replicas and were never made by Prescription Electronics.

The two best-know varieties of this currently are likely the Mythos Argo and DanDrive Austin Blender - of which I have the former in the earlier livery. I don't like the looks of the new Argo as much with its black knobs and slightly less lustrous enclosure! The DanDrive Austin Blender has been under consideration for a while, and yet I'm probably more likely to pick up a Basic Audio Clean Octave Blend or Blammo Slob - note that some of the earlier Blammo varieties were more authentically branded as such - but changed to 'Slop' once Prescription Electronics was revived. All the Prescription Electronics pedals are available again - but they've not really moved them on, and are in slightly and relatively impractical enclosures all things considered.

There have been a lot of discontinued pedals in this category - and the King Tone Octaland actually sits as happily in this category - with its Blend knob - as in the Octavia category above. Other notables include Butterfly Effects Aces & Eights, George Tsomokos / Tsomokos Audio C.O.B. Clone, JAM Pedals COB octave fuzz clone, .PSHC Pdls. Piggy Octa-Fuzz-Boost, RS-Pedals C.O.B Clone, and Super Electric Octaver Clean Octave Blend.

I really struggled to find an exact COB Mini equivalent here - and went therefore for the Pigtronix Octava Mini in the end - which does have a Blend knob - and while it's not exactly the same thing, it kind of qualifies in my book, even though I had it initially assigned against the Octavia category!

• Mythos Pedals Argo Fuzz
• DanDrive Pedal Austin Blender
• Basic Audio Clean Octave Blend
• Blammo Electronics the Slob
• Distortion Ltd C.O.B. (discontinued)
• Pigtronix Octava Mini Octaver + Fuzz