Dan Goldberg's Buzzing Bugs Audio Devices makes an incredibly impressive debut with its Vox-inspired BB01 Fuzz Preamp and BB02 Percolator Fuzz pedals
I had a great experience of meeting Dan at the recent Brighton Guitar Show and FX Expo, and was hugely impressed by just how polished his operation is this early into its history. The two official initial releases from his Buzzing Bugs imprint are thoroughly well considered from every angle, and smartly put together.
It’s quite evident that Dan is a properly detail-oriented guy and I feel that he’s got so much right on first attempt. I love those geometric sort of spirograph style graphics - they look really elegant and distinct. And are UV-printed in the style which has those very satisfying textural ridges. Everything about the production values here screams quality. In fact the only observation I could make was that I though the pedals would probably look even better with suitable quality aluminium knobs - which would better fit the high standard set by all the other elements of that assembly
Of course we have modern top-mounted jacks here, and really adept component selections which perfectly deliver those intended textures. Both pedals are very simple to operate - where the BB01 has the classic 3-knob topology of Volume, Hi-Cut (Tone), and Gain, and where the BB02 has the more vintage-centric twin controls of Gain and Volume. I wonder why there was no consideration for adding in a further tone control on the BB02 - a Mids control would have been a really cool addition. In any case both pedals sound amazing just as they are - so they don't really need any further embellishing.
I picked mine up at the Brighton Show and I'm delighted to have them in the reference collection - both have wonderful harmonics and dynamics, and are very attractively priced. And of course available for order right now from the Buzzing Bugs Webstore.
I told Dan that I thought the pedals would look even more attractive with my favourite Love My Switches 'Magpie' Aluminium knobs - and I kind of think they do (as above) - of course you're entitled to disagree! I tend to be quite fussy about knob choices - particularly on high quality builds - where the right choice of knob can really lift the overall quality appeal / look and feel of the pedal/s.
Here follow the individual pedal details :
BB01 Vox-inspired Fuzz Preamp - £129
Controls - Volume, Hi-Cut, Gain.
I find for both pedals that gain onset is extremely rapid, and for me the sweet spot is kind of between 8 o'c and 10 o'c on both pedals. Once the gain goes over the midway point you're largely just adding to the pedal's compression - while most of the gain shift happens in the left hemisphere of the gain control.
It took me a while to decide whether I preferred the texture at 8 o'c to 8:30 o'c on the Gain dial - where the latter one won through in the end. I don't like the Volume much above 3 o'c as that can pile on too much compression too. And as I mostly play with humbuckers I have the Hi-Cut set all the way back or with Max Highs in effect.
You get a fantastic fuzzy drive sound with those settings - one of my very favourite types, and the guitar volume knob can clean up the gain to a fair degree - not as much as with a Fuzz Face or a Blues Driver but a decent amount for sure.
With lots of pedals of this kind - I kind of set the maximum kind of gain I may be likely to use and then dial back the guitar volume knob to taste. You do need to be careful to not set the Gain or Volume dials too high - as the output will over-compress and you will loose some of those exceptional harmonics. The degree of volume is also determined by how far back you want to wind your guitar volume - so if you're winding back a lot - then volume needs to be high - but I find I get too much compression for my liking at Max or near Max - so it needs to be knocked back a fair bit.
As mentioned, the gain can ramp up very quickly and for me it's at its maximum desired value at around 10 o'c - where the maximum harmonics occur a little lower down the sweep. For the BB01 my favourite settings are definitely Volume at around or just over 3 o'c, Hi-Cut fully CCW, and Gain at around 08:30 - it really sounds glorious at those values.
BB02 Percolator Fuzz (Harmonic Percolator) - £119
Controls - Gain, Volume.
The BBO2 is fantastic Harmonic Percolator - a gainier and far more classic fuzz circuit than the more fuzzy-drive of the BBO1. Both have that really rapid gain onset - where for this Percolator - I'm already good at just 8 o'c. Again same as with it sibling, the sweet spot range runs from 8 to 10 o'c, while you get even more gain here earlier on.
For the BB02 I get my favourite harmonic textures with the Gain dial at just 8 o'c, and the Volume at around or just before 4 o'c. Similar to its sibling once you go past a noon, you're just loading up more compression mostly. Where the sweet spot range here is almost identical to the BB01 - while this BB02 has significantly more gain and aggression than the aforementioned mostly fuzzy-drive.
I have a few Harmonic Percolators in the collection - and this is truly a very find representative of that genre - where I actually find it hard to pick a favourite between the two debut pedals. I supposed the greater openness of the BB01 might just push that one slightly ahead - which each excels at its intended task. Possibly the only constructive criticism, here would be to adjust the sweep / taper of the gain curve - as so much happenes early on in the sweep of that control.
Overall though both these pedals have glorious fuzzy textures with a decent richness, excellent feel and pretty decent cleanup dynamics.
These certainly sound as good as they look - while my personally would be tempted to throw in another control - to extend the range and refinement of the harmonic texture sweet-spots.
It seems like most early customers to this brand are more interested in the Percolator, I guess that is a more familiar circuit, while the Voxy Fuzzy Preamp is possibly more of an acquired taste. I really like both, but if I really could only have one - I would do for the BB01 Vox-inspired Fuzz Preamp.
