Unsound Circuitry scores another hit with its Kato Glitch Fuzz - a fairly unique combination of Octave Fuzz and PLL Modulation

Unsound Circuitry has birthed a monster! And while I could do without the oversized enclosure - I love enormous sound that emanates from this fuzz. Circuit-wise it’s right up my street - and I always love when there is ample range on tap - particularly Volume / Level and Gain - so many pedals get let down on that side - so I aways really celebrate those that have more extended range.

Conceptually fairly straightforward - a squelchy / choking Octave Fuzz combined with a PLL circuit essentially. While it’s been executed really superbly - and delivers those immense sounds that really fuzz fans so delight in.

You can use the main Octave Fuzz side independently, while the PLL side is not independent - only additive. I’m a huge fan of PLL circuits and clever simplifications of that format - which still deliver the core tones - but in a more user-friendly manner - and this one totally nails that.

All the little degrees of granularity and variability here are what further make this fuzz so special - in that there’s always another 10% you can eke out of the pedal - it sounds immense to me!

Controls - (OCTAVE-) FUZZ SIDE } Level, Kill (Octave > Squelch > Choke), Gain, Sensitivity (Input Gain Sensitivity), Pedal Bypass Footswitch, (PLL) GLITCH SIDE } Level, Drift (Tracking > Divebomb), Amok (Glitchy/Fragmented) / Drone (More Continuous), Depth (Amount of Low End in Signal), Activate PLL Footswitch.

This is the second Unsound Circuitry pedal to go on my wishlist after the equality excellent Woes Dual Band Superdriver - need to make a more concerted effort in the new year to collaborate with Unsound Circuitry.

The Kato Glitch Fuzz is available for order from the Unsound Circuitry Webstore - where it goes for €185.

I really like everything about this pedal - knob choices included - apart from the large size of enclosure - which is going to make it more difficult to accommodate this pedal easily in the chain. I actually had a similar surprise with the Laowiz Cyst Mode - which is the same size - and in fact the Fuzzrocious Electric Ocean before that!

This pedal would be even better in a BB-size enclosure - but I would probably make a concession towards its current format - as it really does sound that good. Props to my good friend Phil at Pedal Experiments - who is proving to have a real knack for unearthing really interesting pedals - well worth keeping an eye on what he gets up to!