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15 Notable Trem-Fuzzes and Oscillating-Fuzzes

Abracadabra AudioAnalog Music CompanyBasic AudioBeetronics FXCatalinbreadChase Bliss AudioDreadbox FXFjord FuzzFuzzFuzz Face Style FuzzGermanium FuzzLastgasp Art LaboratoriesLife Is Unfair AudioMidValleyFXnoiseKick FXOctave FuzzOpAmp FuzzOscillating FuzzPedal PartnersRainger FXSide EffectsSilicon FuzzSizzorfite StudioStone Deaf EffectsSubdecay Effects+-
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2024-GPX-15-Trem-Fuzzes-VX-700.jpg

So it’s been quite a while since I last covered this subject - indeed you have to go back to a August 2018 feature, which covered just 6 pedals. And where the then mentioned 770 Circuits seems to have wholly gone to ground in the interim, and there is no sign of its Komparator Trem-Fuzz anywhere anymore!

 

This time around I cast a slightly wider net - do note that these are a mix of LFO-assisted - therefore more Trem-Fuzz, and more natural feedback fuzz-oscillation. Essentially these are are wobbly or pulsating fuzzes to some degree. Some with a lot of depth of character, with others being rather more subtle in their output. Two of these are circuit-bending types also - the Evil Pumpkin and Super Oscillo Fuzz.

 

This article has been on the cards for a while - and I keep chopping and changing and iterating the selection - until I finally ended up with a version I felt was representative. I wasn’t sure whether I should also include my inbound Mattoverse TremStortion here, but decided in the end to treat that separately.

 

A few of these are discontinued or hard-to-find now, but most are more generally available - albeit often as part of periodic small-batch manufacture.

 

So here is my Selection of 15 for this occasion :

  • Abracadabra Audio / Chase Bliss Ayahuasca Trem-Fuzz - $399 [discontinued]
  • Analog Music Company Circuit Bending Evil Pumpkin DS-1 - $250 [discontinued]
  • Basic Audio OSCIX Germanium Oscillating Fuzz Factory - $220
  • Beetronics Zzombee Filtremulator - $349
  • Catalinbread Antichthon Otherworldly Oscillating Fuzz - $180 [discontinued]
  • Dreadbox Spacemen2 Double Oscillating Fuzz - €199 / $205 [discontinued]
  • Fjord Fuzz Hedda Dynamic Bias Fuzz with Feedback Oscillation - $189
  • Lastgasp Art Laboratories Super Oscillo Fuzz 88 - $350
  • Life is Unfair / Pedal Partners Violet Oscillation - £220 / $275
  • MidValleyFX Mad Robot V3 - $150
  • noiseKICK FX Diabeetus Trem-Fuzz - $235
  • Rainger FX DFST-1 Stealth Mini Modulated Fuzz / Distortion - £229 / $285 [discontinued]
  • Side FX Oscillator Fuzz - €108 / $121
  • Stone Deaf FX Rise & Shine Octapulse Octave Fuzz - £265 / $285
  • Subdecay Harmonic Antagonizer Fuzz/Oscillator - $169

Of those 15 I own the Ayahuasca, Evil Pumpkin, Filtremulator, Antichthon, Hedda, Super Oscillo Fuzz, Violet Oscillation, a V2 Mad Robot (vs V3 featured), the DFST-1, Rise & Shine, and Harmonic Antagonizer - so around 10 1/2 of the 15.

 

Those most likely to be added in the near-ish future include the Basic Audio OSCIX, and MadValleyFX Mad Robot V3. As mentioned up top - I also have a Mattoverse TremStortion inbound currently - which is in a very similar ballpark!

 

Here follow the usual individual pedal details :

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Abracadabra Audio / Chase Bliss Ayahuasca Trem-Fuzz - $399 [discontinued]

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Controls - Output (Ramp), Input (Fuzz), Color, Rate, Depth, Balance (Mix), Mode / Tap : Standard | Both | Harmonic + 1 / 2 / 4 or 3 / 6 / 8 Tap Divisions, Left Wave : Sine / Triangle / Square, Right Wave : Square / Triangle / Sine, Presets : 1 / Manual / 2, Bypass Footswitch, Tap Tempo Footswitch.[+16 Dip-switches]

 

This is essentially a combination of El Musico Loco Wee Beaver Fuzz (Regulus VIII) plus a choppier version of the core Gravitas Harmonic Tremolo. I was very fortunate to be in on the first run of these which was made available to overseas buyers - which was actually the 8th run - #71-80! This is wonderful benchmark TremFuzz with really richly flavoured core Fuzz in combination with a choppier Gravitas - which all-round just sounds magnificent. These are long since discontinued now - but the occasional one does turn up on Reverb.com - while there don't seem to be any available anywhere right at this very moment!


Analog Music Company Circuit Bending Evil Pumpkin DS-1 - $250 [discontinued]

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www.instagram.com/p/B_Cvs49Hi_Q/?igshid=176xinvb2y2dk

 

Controls - LFO Rate, Tone, Level, Distortion, LFO Switch, Light Sensor, 3-way Circuit Node switches #2 - #12 (switch #1 is the LFO one).

 

So a Boss DS-1 Distortion at its core, but circuit-bent to the next level - via those 11 (#2-#12) Circuit Node Switches. Those switches are off in the middle position, and connect different nodes in either direction for  literally thousands of possible combinations! So with all switches off - you pretty much have a standard Boss DS-1 at your disposal, but are then able to take it in myriad interesting directions. The output that you are able to generate here - includes Bitcrusher, Distortion, Fuzz, Glitch, LFO / Oscillation / Tremolo, Overdrive, Sample & Hold, Synth and Theremin style voicings / actions. It's like the Lastgasp Super Oscillo Fuzz - on acid! A hugely impressive device, more recently replaced by its larger Ghazala sibling.


Basic Audio OSCIX Germanium Oscillating Fuzz Factory - $220

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Controls - Vintage : Off/On, Fat : Off/On, Level, Starve, Fuzz, Gate, Pinch, OSC.

 

Essentially - a Germanium Fuzz Factory - with extras - including Oscillation! I'm a huge fan of Basic Audio's John Lyons - and it's the brand which has the most fuzzes to date in my collection. I've long been contemplating this OSCIX - there's about 4 or 5 Basic Audio fuzzes that are on my wishlist - with this one probably the priority acquisition among those!


Beetronics Zzombee Filtremulator Multi-Fx - $349

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Controls - Filter Type : Ramp / LFO / Mad [PAR - X - BEE], Buzz : Dry / BZ (Overdrive) / BZZ (Fuzz), Parasite (Wet Signal) : Level / Mix / Tap Division / Ramp Up Speed, Wingspan : Depth, Bee (Dry Signal) : Level / Mix / Rate / Ramp Down Speed, Filter Mode : Octave / Off (Amplitude) / Honey, Presets : 1-5 + Live, Tap Tempo / Ramp / Momentary Expression Footswitch, Engage / Alt / Invert / Stop Modulation Footswitch.

 

A touch of an outlier here - as a sort of Filter / Wah / LFO / Tremolo / Fuzz and then some! Where a TremFuzz output is just one of numerous possibilities. Possibly the most complicated one to use here, and one that really needs the manual to be handy - to get the most out of this - as there is so much going on - plus alternative and secondary Parameters! If you get the dial-in just right though - this sounds magnificent!


Catalinbread Antichthon Otherworldly Oscillating Fuzz - $180 [discontinued]

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Controls - Gravity, Time, Volume, Space.

 

A cool quirky highly sensitive fuzz - where you really need to work both your guitar controls - volume and tone - to deliver the full range of what this fuzz is capable of. A pretty unique fuzz, and one which requires some pretty series hand-to-eye coordination.


Dreadbox Spacemen2 Double Oscillating Fuzz - €199 / $205 [discontinued]

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Controls - Fuzz 1 Level, Fuzz 2 Level, OSC 1, OSC 2.

 

A smart dual blended fuzz with twin Level and Oscillation controls. Really simple but also pretty potent! This is long since discontinued now - but you get the occasional one turning up on Reverb.com every now and again - definitely worth a punt!


Fjord Fuzz Hedda Dynamic Bias Fuzz with Feedback Oscillation - $189

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Controls - Master Volume, Bias : Classic/Fat > Brassy/Thin, Feedback Footswitch, Engage / Bypass Footswitch.

 

Another sensitive type - this is Fjord Fuzz's Daniel's main always-on gain voicing - where he wholly controls the level of gain from his guitar volume control. Depending on how you set the Bias - the Feedback Footswitch can generate a lot of natural feedback oscillation when you crank the Bias up.


Lastgasp Art Laboratories Super Oscillo Fuzz 88 - $350

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Controls - Level, Adjust (Tone / Gain / Pitch / Feedback), 6 x Node Switches (Tone / Character / Oscillation / Feedback), CV Pedal Input on left side.

 

A fantastic journey into circuit-bending with a very responsive oscillating fuzz - each of those 1-6 switches - switches in a different node of the circuit - and you combine 2 or 3 of those in very interesting ways. You need to be careful about not generating too much feedback / squeal - while you have some incredibly tonal and textural possibilities with this fuzz.


Life is Unfair / Pedal Partners Violet Oscillation - £220 / $275

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Controls - Volume / Output, Fuzz [Glitch / Gating], Bass [Pitch], Treble [Octave Down / Oscillation], Oscillate Footswitch, On / Fuzz Footswitch. Oscillate Params in [parenthesis].
 
Internal Controls - Twin Dip-switches Latching / Momentary modes per footswitch, and Trim-pot for Oscillate Channel Output Level - can boost if required!

 

Beautifully engineered Shoegaze style fuzz - with exceptional output capabilities. A great concept really brilliantly executed - this one also has extensive range on each of tis controls.


MidValleyFX Mad Robot V3 - $150

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Controls - Master, Low, Gain, Octave, Tone, OSC, Mad Footswitch, Robot Footswitch.

 

I have the V2 edition of this, while the new V3 is really where it's at - these are now properly UV-printed and have more refinement in their finish - to match the improved quality of output. The V2 was already hugely impressive - while the V3 is even more so - really flavourful!


noiseKICK FX Diabeetus Trem-Fuzz - $235

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Controls - Shape : Smooth / Choppy, Speed, Depth, Fuzz.

 

It's great to see that one of my original 2018 recommendations is still going strong. This one is incredibly easy to use, and has a great sounding choppy output fuzz texture!


Rainger FX DFST-1 Stealth Mini Modulated Fuzz / Distortion - £229 / $285 [discontinued]

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Controls - Altitude (EQ), Overtone (Harmonic Overtones), Speed (Modulation Rate), Silence (Output), Awareness (Envelope Sensitivity), Pad : Guitar / Line-in, Mode : Step Modulation / Envelope.

 

Very much a cool mini take on the legendary core Dr Freakenstein Chop Fuzzz with some slight differences - really potent though, but sadly a limited run, and so long since discontinued. The form factor for this pedal is absolutely unique with blue 'wing' lights which really elegantly back-light the pedal.


Side FX Oscillator Fuzz - €108 / $121

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Controls - Gain, Volume, Choke, Oscillation Switch.

 

One of the great unsung Greek brands - I have 2 superb pedals from this imprint - the Il Mostro Multi-Drive / Distortion, and compact Woolly Mammoth 7 take. I've been contemplating adding this one too - based on how great my existing ones sound. Another really simple but extremely potent / flavourful TremFuzz.


Stone Deaf FX Rise & Shine Octapulse Octave Fuzz - £265 / $285

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Controls - Volume, Tone (See-Saw EQ), Dry>Wet Mix, Fuzz Saturation, MODE : Fuzz - Standard / Latching [orange] | Fuzz- Momentary Octave [green] | Fuzz - Momentary Bypass [cyan] | +Trem - Standard Division [magenta] | +Trem Custom Division [white], VOICE : Bright Tone [orange] | Fat Tone [cyan], Bypass / Fuzz Engage Footswitch, Analog Octave / +Tremolo Engage Footswitch, Expression / Tap Tempo socket on side.

 

The newest kid on the block here - and definitely the smartest execution in many ways. Beautiful intricate enamel facia here, and some really smart controls - which help you move up though the gears from plain glorious fuzz, to octave fuzz, and onto pulsating Octapulse Fuzz. Plenty of range on all the controls - and the perfect marriage between modern function and richly textured vintage sounds.


Subdecay Harmonic Antagonizer Fuzz/Oscillator - $169

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Control - Frequency, Sense, Volume, Blend, Sustain.

 

Actually my earliest acquisition in this selection - dating back to 2017 I believe. A somewhat extended range OscilloFuzz in many ways - this pedal has featured a lot on this site over the years - in so many different categories.  Obviously well-loved as it's still going strong!


2024-GPX-15-Trem-Fuzzes-VX-700.jpg
Stefan Karlsson
Posted by Stefan Karlsson
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Stefan Karlsson
Stefan Karlsson
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