2024 Best New Fuzz Pedals of the Year

Controls - Trim (Input Gain / Gain Stage 1), Level (Master Volume), CMP / Hi-Cut : 570 (Most) / 100 (Least) / 200 (Moderate), PAD (Passive Attenuation Device) : Off (Most Gain + Brightness) / On (less gain, low-cut / tighter) / Bright (On with Bright Boost), Gain Stage 2 : Hi Gain / Lo Gain / Lo with Bright Boost.

A pretty unique take on a fuzz which mice up IC's and Transistors to get that beautifully textured breakup. The output takes you from Overdrive, through Fuzzy-Drive and onto some pretty full-on mid-gain fuzz. There's a really unique control topology at play here which makes this pedal really easy to configure! Mostly just a matter of mixing up the different options for different impact points and degrees of brightness and tightness!

Controls - One Knob Master Volume / Gain.

This one came so close to winning one of the top seats. A fantastic 3-Transistor Silicon Fuzz - which straddles both Tone Bender and Fuzz Face flavours - has a really full on fuzz texture - an amazing fuzz at an amazing price point!

Controls - Whocta (-1 Octave), Hell (-2 Octaves), Honey (Fuzz Level).

This was the last one to meet the cut-off point - in fact mine probably won't have landed by the time this one goes live - I snagged one of the super rare Black and Gold ones. A cool Babee edition take on the Whoctahell Sub Octave Fuzz - Beetronics has had a really strong year this year!

Controls - Gain, Volume, Bias, Pulse Width : Narrow / Wide, 800Hz Freq EQ, Filter / EG Switch, 5kHz Resonant Filter.

This one's based not the Sam Ash Fuzz-Stainer - which is a much lesses known varian than its AstroTone Fuzz sibling. Cachalote have massively expanded the range of that fuzz with smart additional controls. They are on Reverb.com too - while this fuzz is currently out of stock - I'm waiting for further batches to be built!

Controls - Volume, Gain, Comp (Parallel Fuzz to Gladio Mix / Temperament), Tone, Bias 1 (Gritty > Smooth / Fuzz > OD), Bias 2 (Gritty > Smooth / Fuzz > OD), remote - Bias 1/2 switching port.

Cornerstone is another brand that has had a brilliant year - almost amazingly so - while the amazing looking Nucleo Reverb seems to be delayed into the new year. We did though get this fabulous Nero Dumble Fuzz and the Antique V3 Dual Channel Overdrive - which are 2 of the prettiest pedals launched this year. This is a really smart take on the Classic Fuzz - for those who prefer that voicing tempered with a little overdrive action too!

Controls - Gain, Level, Tone, Mode : I Crunch / II Overdrive / III Distortion / F Forbidden Fuzz, Dip 1 : Stock Si / LED Clipping, Dip 2 : Bass Boost On/Off, Remote switch and cable to separately activate F Forbidden Fuzz Mode.

The ultimate Expandora as far as I'm concerned - with the LED and Bass Boost options taking it a step above, and then having the Remote switch to kick in the Fuzz voicing is just genius - sounds so good!

Controls - Gain, Level, Tone, Mode : I Crunch / II Overdrive / III Distortion / F Forbidden Fuzz, Dip 1 : Stock Si / LED Clipping, Dip 2 : Bass Boost On/Off, Remote switch and cable to separately activate F Forbidden Fuzz Mode.

The ultimate Expandora as far as I'm concerned - with the LED and Bass Boost options taking it a step above, and then having the Remote switch to kick in the Fuzz voicing is just genius - sounds so good!

Controls - Fat (± Bass centered @ 80Hz, 5.06 Q), Muscle (± Mids centered @ 875Hz, 5.5 Q), Air (± Highs centered @ 1550Hz, 4.58 Q), Exhaust (Volume), Vacuum (% Ring Mod Upper Octave), Power (Drive).

So this is an interesting concoction of Drunk Beaver's earlier Fluff Fuzz, and its Mykolaiv Grunge Boss PW-2 take - for a boosted opamp style Muff with upper octave action. One of my very favourite fuzzes for sure - delivers something much more than a big muff - a sort of Muff - Life style Pedal I suppose!

Controls - Level, Fuzz, Compression / Sustain, Active Bass, Active Middle, Active Treble.

So my now good friend Ben Carlin teams up with Jamie Stillman of EQD for an adapted take on the 9-Transistor Carlin Compressor Fuzz - with additional 3-Band Active EQ. Another one of those truly expansive Overdrive / Fuzzy-Driver pedals - and even touching on different Muff tones - but is a very distinct fuzz and very much its own thing really!

Controls - Sustain (Gain), Colour (EQ : Dark > Bright), Balance (Q3 Volume / Gain), Volume (Master Volume).

A magnificent take on the G.P. Electronics Harmonic Generator - made with a cool mix of AC113 and GET113 Germanium Transistors - it really lives up to its moniker - in delivering beautifully rich harmonic textures.

Controls - Tone, Fuzz, Level.

Part novelty obviously but actually delivers some wiry / buzzy / spitty flavours of fuzz. A little raw around the edges and can be somewhat sharp in profile - but still delivers significant satisfaction. I'm certainly glad I snagged one.

Controls - FILTER } Filter Cutoff, Filter Type : Band Pass / Resonant Low Pass, Engage Filter Footswitch; FUZZ } Fuzz Gain, Fuzz Type : Low Gain, High Dynamics / High Gain, Low Dynamics, Fuzz Level, Engage Fuzz Footswitch.

A really amazing Filter Fuzz with a tonne of interesting textures onboard - kind of retuning Fjord Fuzz to its earlier rawer fuzz pedals. Conceptually really smartly conceived, and beautifully engineered - one of my favourite Fjord Fuzzes for sure!

Controls - Vibe Speed, Vibe Depth, Fuzz Level, Engage Vibe Footswitch, Engage Fuzz Footswitch.

This combines Fjord Fuzz Daniel's favourite take on the Fuzz Face - with a variation of his Frei Uni-Vibe. Both are absolutely honed to Daniel's own performance preferences, while I prefer other Fjord Fuzz variants. The Sol sounds gorgeous for sure - but the Fuzz side could do with a little more volume for my preferences!

Controls - Volume, Gain.

A beautifully calibrated hybrid upper octave fuzz. This one is built exactly to my liking - with massive amounts of volume and gain onboard. Joe really got the Transistor blend perfect on this one - delivers beautiful octave fuzz textures.

Controls - Volume, Clipping : Ge-Si Asymmetrical / Si Asymmetrical / Si Symmetrical, Gain, Tone. 

This is a very distinctly Fuzzstortion - or Fuzzy Distortion - being relatively high gain in nature, but for me with a very obvious fuzz edge - somewhat akin to those really high gain Fuzz Face types - say like the Regulus VIII and Meathead. You further have a 3-way clipping selector which significantly changes the clipping output. This is a beautiful singing sustaining distortion!

Controls - Clipping switch on top : Silicon [1N4007] / None / Germanium [D9E], Fuzz (Gain), Tone, EQ Profile : Flat / Mid-Cut, Volume, Octave Up Footswitch, Fuzz Engage / Bypass.

An amazing evolved Hello Sailor mod on the Joyo Voodoo Octave Fuzz. Joe's mods really elevate this fuzz - my edition is sheer perfection - with amazing artwork and some really complex searing octave fuzz textures. Joe's Monmouth Octave Fuzz is far more elegant, while this one is more searing and more aggressive - both sound fantastic - and depending how wild you might want things - you may just prefer the Voodoo Sailor!

Controls - Output Curly Cable Capacitance Simulation : Light (short) / Off / Dark (long), Input Curly Cable Capacitance Simulation : Light (short) / Off / Dark (long), Power Sag (Starve) : 5V > 9V, Volume, 12-way HPF Input Filter (c. 3Hz > 2kHz), 12-way HPF Output Filter (c. 3Hz > 2kHz - different set of capacitors!), Bias (Character & Gain) : Cold > Hot, Cap Defeat Footswitch (for Harmonic Overtones, Octave & Oscillation), Main Bypass Footswitch, Buffer On - Gain Boost Footswitch.

This is such a brilliant engineering achievement - for the ultimate in Classic Fuzz Flavours - straddling both Tone Bender and Fuzz Face tones - with Harmonic Octave and Oscillation. The 7-strong control topology alongside 3 footswitches really gives you all flavours of Classic Fuzz. A truly magnificent fuzz - and a worthy winner of the top accolade here!

Controls - FUZZ } Fuzz (Gain), Volume, Fuzz Footswitch, ENVELOPE } ENV : On/Off, Attack (Rate of Onset), Send (Sensitivity / Trigger Threshold), Decay (Rate of Fade Out), Sweep (Movement) : Low-to-High Intensity > Null < High-to-Low Intensity, FILTER } Frequency, Resonance, Level, Filter : Low-Pass / Band-Pass / High-Pass, Filter Footswitch, FX LOOP } Send, Return, Activate Footswitch.

I missed out on the Collision Devices TARS last year for a variety of reasons, while this 19 42 is so much the better filter fuzz with vastly extended feature set. This is quite a large enclosure, but it's fully justified based on everything on this pedals - which is neatly arranged and colour-coded in 3 main section, with 3 footswitchs. 11 controls all-in, and a really expansive fuzz which delivers all manner of tones and textures.

Controls - Bass (±18dB), Mids (±18dB), High (±18dB), Boost (+36dB), Gain, Level, Grind (Boost EQ / HM-2 Curve), Depth (Input Saturation), Comp (Clipping Style Fuzz/OD/Distortion), Boost Footswitch (+36dB), Bypass Footswitch, Internal Doom Switch (↑ UP).

Surely the king of doom fuzzes now. Not as resonant as the Blackhawk Balrog in some senses, but far more expansive - with more controls and a greater overall granularity. This is such a fantastic fuzz - and you really can run it much lower gain - without a hint of doom to it at all! Otherwise is can be as deep sounding and pounding as you like!

Fuzz Controls - Fuzz/Gain, Level, Tone, Low End EQ : Punch (Bass Boost) / Psi (Max Undertones), Scoop (Scooped), Fuzz Footswitch (Press-Hold to flip between Octave Latching and Momentary Ramping Modes), Press-Hold on Power-up to flip between True or Buffered Bypass.
 
Octave / Pitch Controls - Blend (Pitch and Interval Levels / Interval Blend / Alt Interval Selection), Octave/Pitch Mode : Up / Dual / Down, Pitch Interval : DY (Detune / Chorus), M2, M3, P4, P5, M6, OCT, 2 OCT, Octave Footswitch - press-hold and then press-twist Blend to adjust Ramp Speed, works beautifully for Momentary Ramping (enabled by press-holding Fuzz footswitch!)

This was at one stage the runner-up in this category, but I decided that since we're in the Fuzz category - and the Fuzz part of the Bad Machine is far more expansive than the Big Muff variant on this device - that the Bad Machine probably just deserved to take the higher position. That said this Octa Psi is an amazing pedal too - with a very decent Big Muff voicing married to a most exceptionally accurately tracking Pitch-shifter. Everything about this execution is top notch - and you're kind of getting a more expansive Big Muff here, combined with a sort of DigiTech Whammy. Format, enclosure size, function and tones are all top notch for this pedal - on a different day this could have pipped the Bad Machine, in fact I originally had those two orders reversed, and swung back towards the Bad Machine right at the end!

Controls - Level, Active Bass, Active Treble, Gain, Boost, Bass Frequency : 105Hz / 86Hz, High End : 3.2kHz Shelf Filter / 960Hz + 1280Hz HM-2 Twin Peaks, Reverb = Fuzz into Boost, Modes - as below :

MODES

• I : Signal is routed through the input gain stage & EQ, bypassing the clipping & filter sections to operate as a Boost / Overdrive
• II : Thick Mid Frequency Fuzz with subtle Upper Octave
• III : Mid Scooped Fuzz with more Prominent Octave Artefacts
• IV : Combination of Modes II & III
• V : Additional +5dB boost at 105Hz & +10dB at 4.9kHz for a metallic edge (MT-2 profile)

This is such an exceptional multi-gain pedal - a kind of Boss greatest high gain hits - being a mix of FZ-2, HM-2, and MT-2 elements. And then having that expansive independent Boost - with further EQ Mods to get you into extra nooks and crannies. Takes you from Boost, through Overdrive, Fuzzy-Driver, Fuzz, Fuzzstortion and High Gain Distortion - really superb every which way - you could definitely build a whole board around this pedal! It was obvious fairly early on that the Horrothia Lütz would take the highest honour for this category - while it was neck-and-neck as to whether the second spot would go to the Bad Machine  or Keeley Octa-Psi, and I changed my mind at the very last minute - to elevate this one above the Octa-Psi - on a different day we might have gotten a different result!

Controls - Loud (Level), Bias, Gain, Tone, On/Bypass Footswitch, Full Footswitch (Gain & Tone Bypass).

A warm and rich sounding Classic Silicon Fuzz Face with some serious smarts onboard - including secondary Full Footswitch which Bypasses Gain & Tone controls for maximum intensity and impact. Such that you can easily set it up as a 2-voice fuzz - have the defaults set fairly moderately - and then kicking in the full gain and frequency impact.

Controls - Sample Rate, Bit Reduction, Volume, Warble Speed, Warble Amount, Aliasing, SR (Sample Rate) / BR (Bit Reduction) A/B Mode Switch, Aliasing A/B Mode Switch.

A really unique Sample Rate Reduction and Bitcrushing Fuzz with unique warble and Aliasing impact. This is quite a distinctly different fuzz - and does require some delicacy on dial-in - certainly not for everyone - and a lot of the time you need to be in safecracking mode - as discovering the ultimate textures usually involves the tinies movement of knobs!

Controls - Volume, Fuzz (Output Gain), Hot (Input Gain), Presence, Body.

One of the best ever Fuzzy-Drive pedals - with so many in-between shades between the Overdrive and Fuzz voicings at either end of its range. It's a lot to do with the balancing of the Fuzz and Hot controls - and the extra Body and Presence helps render so many more harmonics for!

Controls - Fuzz (Output Volume), Rumble (Bass : Tight > Fat), Bite (Gain), 3 x *|= switch : 3-way variable Bias + Compression + Presence options.

I had wanted the original Rumblefuzz for the longest time - so I was delighted when Spaceman reissued it in an improved edition. This a gorgeously textured extra thick and fat fuzz - which voicing is entirely to my liking. I'm delighted that I finally got my hands on a version of this!

Controls - Level, Mode / Voicing : Fz1 / Oct / Fz2, Tone.

I already had the MKI version of this, so I wasn't as keen on getting one of these in. While I do have one of course - not quite as impressive as the Rumblefuzz for me, and only very subtly improved from the the MKI edition. This one was a nice-to-have, where I'm overall glad that I snagged one in the end!

Controls -  GAIN / Pre-Comp, TONE / Pre-HPF, OFFSET (Bias)| MIX / Pre-LPF, VOLUME, EDIT MODE : PRE / ANALOG / Shaper, FUZZ TYPE : 1-11 / Chorus & Flange, Hold Footswith to Save Preset.

A really unique fuzz variety, and one I would have gotten in already - had these been stocked by my friend Joe Light's Joe's Pedals Boutique. We're still waiting for the Subdecay restock to come in - which should happen early next year!

Controls - FUZZ } Level, Attack, Fuzz Footswitch, TREM } Speed, Depth, Trem Footswitch.

A really cool Andertons 60th Anniversary pedal - featuring a Tremolo designed by a 14 year old Dan Coggins, combined with Thorpy's preview of the Silicon Edition Boneyard - where he kind of prevued the MKI voicing from that. Both circuits sound amazing - with really unique decay on the Tremolo, and an authentic dry and reedy sounding MKI voicing - this one is very much a vintage style circuit - which needs to be at the front go the chain - where it sounds amazing.

Controls - TIC TAC TOE (Silicon RangeMaster) } Range 2:30 o'c, Boost 3:30 o'c; GLOBAL THERMO NUCLEAR WAR (AtomIC Fuzz) } Sustain @ 2:45 o'c, Volume @ 1 o'c, Treble @ Max, Bass @ 12:30.

An excellent evolution of the Thorpy Fallout Cloud and Silicon RangeManster from the Veteran. Here with the Fallout circuit entirely re-designed around a more potent central OpAmp - so quite different from the Triangle style Transistor Fallout Cloud. There is some discrepancy in output volume for each side - but they both combine beautifully for some truly rich and complex harmonics - delivery a really decent sustaining liquid distortion, as well as Tone Bender style voicings also - really versatile!

Controls - Sustain (Gain), Balance (Bias), Timbre (Tone), Level (on side).

A fantastic take on the combined evolutionary might of the G.P. Electronics Harmonic Generator, Baldwin Burns Buzzaround, and Elka Dizzy Tone. This is actually somewhat distinct from my Farmer Factory Harmonic Generator already in this listing - some degree of overlap - but the different transistor selections in each produce slightly different timbres - while mostly evident that they're from the same family.

Controls - Fuzz, Voicing : MKI / Nice / Zonk, Swell.

My very favourite take on the John Hornby Skewes Germanium Zonk Machine. Where my highly positive review kind of triggered a somewhat feeding frenzy. These sold out very quickly at Joe's Pedals Boutique, and another batch had to be ordered in almost immediately. These are so vibrant and searing sounding - they really sound exceptional - and especially on the unique in-between 'Nice' Mode - this one came so close to being in the highest accolades - but incredibly there were some even more impressive candidates in this selection!

Incredibly there is still no demo out yet for this pedal alas!

Controls - Volume, Stability (Bias / Starve / 9V CW), Drive, Gate (Threshold), Tone (LPF), Compression, Body (< More Low End | Less Low End >).

I have a number of Fuzz Factory style pedals in he collection, some original, some evolved, a few Silicon, but mostly Germanium like this one - with its 2 x ASY33S MilSpec AC128 variants. This Homework Series Fuzz is closer to the Fuzz Factory 7 - with a fairly similar, while not identical set of controls. This one is warm, rich and fat - a fantastic sounding fuzz for sure!

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