Totally Wycked Audio spins the Brassmaster Bass Octave Fuzz into the even more stellar Krytical Mass

Most are familiar with the classic Maestro Bass Brassmaster Octave Fuzz BB-1 and there have been numerous smart takes on that over the years - including Malekko’s B:Assmaster. While TWA have gone even further in really getting the most out of this circuit - adding a variety of smart mods and additional controls - which yield even richer harmonic content.

Original Brassmaster Controls - Brass Volume (Output), Brass (EQ) : 1 (Bite) / 2 (Mids), Sensitivity (Dry > Wet Mix), Harmonic 1 / 2, Bass Volume (Bass Level).

Controls - Sensitivity (Fuzz Intensity), Dry (Blend), Level, High Pass Filter, Low Pass Filter 1, Low Pass Filter 2, Mids : augmented / flat / scooped, Edge (Brightness / Sharpness), Bias, Phase : Positive / Negative.

So the TWA Krytikal massively expands how much you can shape the output of the fuzz - where the second row adds significantly more granularity to the EQ of the Fuzz. Obviously you have a really handy external Bias control to shape the character of the fuzz breakup too.

The earliest Brassmasters were supposedly wired with negative polarity - and so the Phase switch - allows you to flip between Positive and Negative wiring.

Where the lower EQ row really doubles down on the original’s Brass (EQ) and Harmonic Switches. Each of those essentially delivered a different flavour - and where the Brass switch has Bite and extra Mids - on the Krytikal Mass you have the Edge control and a 3-way Mids toggle-switch. The HPF / LPF1 / LPF2 switches then essentially give you one further Harmonic flavour - versus the 2 of the original.

I of course would have preferred this pedal in a compact enclosure - while I really like how this one has turned out in its BB-size format. The main knobs are cool, and so is the 21-segment LED.

The original Brassmaster sported Germanium Transistors - while the descriptive text does not indicate what type of circuit the Krytical Mass is. It was launched at NAMM, but doesn’t seem to have an official release date yet. The TWA Website states Pre-orders are opening soon ($299) and you can email info@godlyke.com to get on the wait list.

I’ve not definitely decided how much I want this pedal - it really does sound fantastic though - really doomy and splatty and squelchy! While it’s relatively pricey, and TWA pedals haven’t been particularly accessible in the UK for a while - so we shall see!

UPDATE! - There seems to be some discrepancy between the advertised version and the one demoed at NAMM. The one in the below NAMM YouTube demo - has the following labelled controls :

Demo Controls - Effective Neutron MLP Factor, Neutron-Reflective Substance, Nuclear Chain Reaction, HRC, PCC, Neutron Flux, Allotrope - α / ø / δ, LBC (Lower Bass Control), Supercriticality.

Obviously mostly referenced for opaque and comedic effect. While I’m still a little unsure about the nature of the Edge Control specifically - as typically Edge is quite different to a Low-End control - which is what seems to be the case per the demo.

In any case - what I heard sounded great - and we will not doubt get further clarification and a manual hopefully close to launch!