As someone who holds dual citizenship in the Pro Guitar Shop and Tone Report realms , I ’ ve heard much ado about Pettyjohn ’ s designs , and I ’ ve had the opportunity to play each one of them at length . I ’ m a big , big fan of carefully curated part selection as evidenced by my plethora of DIY pieces , and Pettyjohn scratches that itch extremely well . Its newest pedal — the Fuze — is the company ’ s first foray into anything not related to overdrive . The Fuze advertises itself as a hybrid distortion and fuzz unit — a claim that many have made and yet few have delivered on . Can the folks Pettyjohn crack the code ?
The first thing I do when I get a new pedal in my hands is crack it open and get a feel for the build quality . Just like all the other Pettyjohn units , the Fuze passes the eye test . A very thoughtfully laid-out PCB peppered with WIMA caps , a voltage doubler and high-level design greeted me . Perhaps most impressive was the Auricap , a single high-end audiophile capacitor that costs about 12 bucks . The Fuze contains just one , and its inclusion wasn ’ t coincidence — the PCB lettering underneath it reads “ AC .” This attention to detail heightened my expectations .
The most important aspect of understanding the
distortion-fuzz hybrid ( or “ duzz ” as Pettyjohn calls it ) is wrapping your head around the core set of controls : Gain 1 , Gain 2 and Mix . Gain 1 contains a blistering distortion , while Gain 2 ( a toggle switch ) offers three different clipping voices in the unit ’ s knobless fuzz circuit . The Mix control thoughtfully lets you , well , mix the two . When the Mix knob is set fully-counterclockwise , distortion is all you get , and conversely , 100 percent fuzz is heard when set fully clockwise . Anything in between is just gravy , giving you a true hybrid unlike several other pedals
PETTYJOHN ELECTRONICS
FUZE
REVIEW BY NICHOLAS KULA STREET PRICE $ 249.00
As someone who holds dual citizenship in the Pro Guitar Shop and Tone Report realms , I ’ ve heard much ado about Pettyjohn ’ s designs , and I ’ ve had the opportunity to play each one of them at length . I ’ m a big , big fan of carefully curated part selection as evidenced by my plethora of DIY pieces , and Pettyjohn scratches that itch extremely well . Its newest pedal — the Fuze — is the company ’ s first foray into anything not related to overdrive . The Fuze advertises itself as a hybrid distortion and fuzz unit — a claim that many have made and yet few have delivered on . Can the folks Pettyjohn crack the code ?
The first thing I do when I get a new pedal in my hands is crack it open and get a feel for the build quality . Just like all the other Pettyjohn units , the Fuze passes the eye test . A very thoughtfully laid-out PCB peppered with WIMA caps , a voltage doubler and high-level design greeted me . Perhaps most impressive was the Auricap , a single high-end audiophile capacitor that costs about 12 bucks . The Fuze contains just one , and its inclusion wasn ’ t coincidence — the PCB lettering underneath it reads “ AC .” This attention to detail heightened my expectations .
The most important aspect of understanding the
distortion-fuzz hybrid ( or “ duzz ” as Pettyjohn calls it ) is wrapping your head around the core set of controls : Gain 1 , Gain 2 and Mix . Gain 1 contains a blistering distortion , while Gain 2 ( a toggle switch ) offers three different clipping voices in the unit ’ s knobless fuzz circuit . The Mix control thoughtfully lets you , well , mix the two . When the Mix knob is set fully-counterclockwise , distortion is all you get , and conversely , 100 percent fuzz is heard when set fully clockwise . Anything in between is just gravy , giving you a true hybrid unlike several other pedals
56 GEAR REVIEW // PettyJohn Electronics Fuze