Vick Audio In Memoriam
Around the same time last year as Luca Romanelli announced the retirement of Mastro Valvola, my good friend Mike Vickery announced that his Vick Audio would cease pedal production too. Not many know that Mike was my Big Muff Mentor really, and I really got the full grasp on what distinguished one Big Muff variety from another - via a series of highly involved chats with Mike back in 2020.
Mike is / was one of the very best producers of Big Muff style fuzzes - with the general acceptance that his ’73 Rams Head is probably the most beautifully calibrated / great sounding Ram’s Head variant out there. All his Muff types are special, but the ’73 Ram’s head especially so. And each has a really audibly distinct sound signature. I thought for a long time that I preferred fully variable Mids controls on my Big Muffs, but the Vick Audio 3-way Mids (Boost/Stock/Flat) switches have their own kind of genius!
I've arranged the Big Muff varieties right at the start of the visual - as I feel those are the absolute must-haves from within the range. And from this selection I own all 4 of the top row, all but the LV Fuzz in the middle row, and the V-2 in the bottom row also. Meaning there are 4 here that I don't have. I currently don't feel the need to add the Mount Pleasant (Breaker) or Tree of Life Overdrives (ZenDrive/OCD) to the reference collection - but I would still quite like to add the elegant LF Fuzz (2-stage Muff), and slightly raw sounding and beautifully textured Midnight Sun Fuzz.
Much like with Mastro Valvola - there are hardly any of these still in circulation - in fact just 3 second hand varieties listed on Reverb.com - a '73 Ram's Head, Violet Ran's Head (Sparkle), and Tree of Life Overdrive - all are very worthy of acquisition.
These pedals are highly understated and have been largely under the radar for a while now - which is a shame really, as they each sound superb. Mike very much has a great ear for tone, and all his pedals are beautifully calibrated for maximum sonic impact. I'm so glad that I managed to get in all his Muff pedals in particular, as I would definitely not want to be without any of those. My whole 2020 Vick Audio experience was incredibly formative for me - and I had all 5 of those Big Muffs in the chain for an extended period. Each of those sounds exceptional - with of course the '73 Ram's Head being particularly special.
Mike Vickery certainly deserves to be celebrated here - he was most definitely one of if not The King of Muff! And moreover he prided himself on being one of the very best value brands out there - he could easily have put more margin onto those pedals, but evidently had very Scandinavian Value-Led Principles as a core mission statement at all times! So - not just some of the best sounding pedals, but the best priced too!
I picked out 12 favourites of his for this selection, as detailed individually below!
If you want more details on the History of Vick Audio - then please refer to my previous Vick Audio Overview Article!
V1 Triangle Fuzz (Muff) - $144
Controls - Volume, Tone, Sustain, Mids : Boost/Stock/Flat.
The Triangle variant is usually my favourite style of Muff, while on this rare occasion I prefer the 2 Ram's Heads from this lineup. The Triangle since sounds beautifully searing, but there is something extra special in how Mike has calibrated his Ram's Heads. I have a few preferred Triangle variants - even though this is truly a fantastic version of that.
'73 Ram's Head Fuzz (Muff) - $144
Controls - Volume, Tone, Sustain, Mids : Boost/Stock/Flat.
This will likely go down as Mike's all-time best circuit - it's so beautifully calibrated, and where usually the Ram's Heads varieties are second to Triangle for me - here these 2 Ram's Heads just sound next level - with this '73 version in particular. Everyone who's come across this sings its praises!
Violet Ram's Head Fuzz (Muff) - $144
Controls - Volume, Tone, Sustain, Mids : Boost/Stock/Flat.
The Violet edition has a little more gain / sear / stridency to it - and near enough takes the Ram's Head up to Triangle levels of gain - while it has a slightly sharper and wirier profile. Most likely the best for cutting-through in the mix, while the '73 variant still has something a little more about its profile and texture.
1861 Fuzz (Civl War Muff) - $144
Controls - Volume, Tone, Sustain, Mids : Boost/Stock/Flat.
The first of the Sovtek variants - I previously thought that the Russian Muff variants were more in-your-face gainier - while they are the opposite - smoother and milder really - with an increasing degree of softness as you progress through Civil War, Green Russian, and Black Russian styles.
Black Russian Fuzz (Muff) - $144
Controls - Volume, Tone, Sustain, Mids : Boost/Stock/Flat.
The smoothest, softest, least sustaining of the Muff Variants - has a beautifully very slightly muted tonality at its core. Very obviously a Big Muff - but very much a smoother take vs the more strident Triangle and Ram's Head varieties in particular.
Lotus 2K Harmonic Overdrive Ltd Edition - $144
Controls - Volume, Drive, Texture (Grit) : Heavy / Light / Medium, Voice (EQ Emphasis) : Dark / Bright / Medium.
I've called this pedal a 'Harmonic Overdrive' on account of its beautifully harmonically textured breakup. This originally started off as a Tweed variant - before going down its own specific path. Has quite a bit of gain on tap, while I mostly prefer it as a Mid-Range Textured / Harmonic style Overdrive. One of my favourite Harmonic Overdrives for sure!
Lucky No.13 Fuzz - $99
Controls - Level (Master Volume).
My very first Vick Audio pedal - and the very start of my 2020 Journey into all things Mike Vickery! This was a reissue of a previously discontinued Vick Audio pedal - where Lucky 13 represents the fact that both Mike and his wife were born on the 13th of the month, and married also on the 13th. My own sister was born on the 13th too - so Number 13 is lucky for me too! This is what I wrote when I originally reviewed this pedal :
"In terms of pedigree and provenance, the Lucky 13 circuit is a fairly high-gain 2 x Silicon Transistor type which sits somewhere between and adjacent to Dick Denney’s Colorsound Fuzz Box (BC109 + BC108C) and David Main’s D*A*M Meathead (2N3904 + BC182L). All three circuits are sufficiently differentiated and have somewhat different core characteristics and voicings - where Mike’s 2 x BC549 Transistor combination produces an expansive smooth and sustaining distortion - while the other 2 are slightly more textured, and the Meathead in particular has a significant lean towards Low-end frequencies."
LV Fuzz (2-Stage Muff) - $144
Controls - Level, Fuzz.
This started out as a project to see what sounds would be derived when you halved the number of Big Muff gain stages. The idea was to bring things down to the classic 2-transistor voicing and see how much of the signature Big Muff experience was retained. This is very much a hybrid design - which kind of sits between Big Muff and those classic earlier 2-Transistor Fuzzes. And the tonality here is very much a hybrid of those too - producing a somewhat softer / milder more vintage fuzz sound signature - but very much and in-between voicing! As Mike is Mr Big Muff - I thought that this somewhat experimental pedal had to be in the selection too. It also has just the controls as a further homage to those earliest 2-Transistor variants!
Midnight Sun Fuzz - $144
Controls - Level, Fuzz
I believe this slightly raw sounding fuzz is very much classic 2-Transistor Fuzz territory - but with a slightly differentiated profile for a somewhat more grittier signature sound. I really like its texture, while I've seen some very amusing comments on its texture - obviously by non-fuzz-centric types. Not everyone appreciates the rawer / rougher sounding fuzzes - while I certainly do! I had been intending to add this to the collection - but they're as rare as hen's teeth seemingly!
Mount Pleasant Overdrive (Breaker) - $144
Controls - Level, Gain, Tone, Hi-Cut : HC-1 / No Cut / HC-2.
A great take on the Blues Breaker format - does everything you would expect for that genre, and is beautifully calibrated as all of Mike's pedals really are. For whatever reason though I never felt the need to add this one to the reference collection. It's something I would look to add somewhat opportunistically if I ever came across one again!
Tree of Live Overdrive (Zen/OCD) - $144
Controls - Level, Tone, Gain.
If I ever got another of Mike's overdrives - then this would most likely be the one I went for - a really smart mix of Zen Drive (Dumble) and OCD voicings - taking on the best of both those circuits for a really intriguing hybrid. Pretty much performs has you would expect - with a fairly expansive range on board, and very much representing both the inspirations.
V-2 Distortion (Cornish G-2) - $144
Controls - Volume, Tone, Sustain.
A fairly straightforward take on Pete Cornish's G-2 Pedal - which I've always referred to as a somewhat Rat-Muff, but also with certain Marshally Overtones - so in many ways a Plexi-Muff also. Beautifully combines those crunchy break-up textures with long-tail sustain - for perfect David Gilmour style tones. A great take on the G-2 for sure!
