"Blue Velvet" | Germanium Fuzz | Blend TB MK1.5 to FzzFce

The classic 2-transistor fuzzes, Fuzzface and the Vox Tonebender (aka “Mk1.5”, “Italian Tonebender”), share a lot of circuit features, but sound quite different.

The Vox Tonebender is known for midrange bite and presence in the mix, whereas the Fuzzface gives you that “bloom”, saturation, and beautiful full cleanup we crave on our psychedelic rock adventures.

Each one has it’s place, but oh, how I must have both. I want to stomp on fuzzface/mk1.5 sounds, but don’t want to add a handful of pedals to the board!

So we started with our flexible “Fuzz 292” pedal with it’s 3 gain voicings, and developed the “Velvet” control. Now you can start with the mid bite of the Mk1.5 and dose it with velvety lows, melting your guitar’s sound into unpredictable waves of gooey acid fuzz loveliness. We select a pair of vintage germanium transistors for each pedal built, tuned for accurate FF & Mk1.5 tones.

For Tone Purists: At the left extreme of the “Velvet” control, this pedal is a TRUE Mk1.5 style circuit. As you blend up the “Velvet”, the circuit morphs into a fuzzface style fuzz, and again has a TRUE, fully original fuzzface response at the maximum “velvet” setting. This is a complicated bit of gear to assemble, but worth every bit of effort. Now you can finally access the skanky midrange sting of the Mk1.5, the full blossoming acid fuzz of the fuzzface, and a wide spectrum of tones in between to match what your arrangement calls for.

The “Blue Velvet” uses our 3-way voicing switch introduced with the Fuzz 292. It’s fine tuned for this Germanium-driven circuit, and along with the Bias, Velvet, and Gain controls, you’ll cascade down waterfalls of classic fuzz sounds, from shimmering germanium-soaked “clean” tones, stabs of honking midrange mk1.5 fuzz blasts, or dime all the controls for fanatically fuzzy full-range fuzz-in-the-face freakouts.

The 3-knob, side jack version lives in a standard 1590B enclosure. Controls: Volume, Vibe (Bias control) and Velvet as well as the 3-way voicing switch.

The slightly larger 4-knob “Blue Velvet” is housed in a 125B enclosure - 122 x 66.98 x 39.64mm (4.8 x 2.64 x 1.58"), allowing top-mounted jacks. The additional “Gain” control enables a wider range of sounds. Crank for straight up full fuzz, or back it off for a more overdrive-like growl. Compare the “lo” gain switch position with “Gain” control cranked to “hi” position with the “Gain” control rolled back – the first is classic fuzz, the second creates a smoother fuzz voice that can, of course, go to 11 with the gain control dimed. Roll back your guitar’s tone, and kick in the treble switch to create a unique EQ curve, conjuring both violin-like warmth and sustain along with an extra glassy clarity on top. Ooh yeah!

As Germanium transistors skyrocket in price, we work to keep a "standard selection" of vintage germanium transistors, with proper gain, low noise and great fuzz performance in stock for our "standard" model. Currently, this is often a blend of unlabeled European manufactured and Soviet-era military transistors. Naturally, we audition the selection to be sure it sounds "like a fuzz should!". We've added some most requested variations, the 2N404 (known for beautiful cleanup with the volume knob on your guitar) and Toshiba AC121 which have low leakage but higher gain, for a thick psychedelic fuzz. These AC121 VI are very close to the venerated NKT275.

If you would prefer a different transistor type, or to mix and match, just ask us. We have a wide variety available, including 2N1305/1307 (same as CV7003/7005), AC128, NKT274 & NKT275, GET872, OC43, OC44, and OC71. Ask for prices.

best, 

joe