8 ONE Knob Fuzz Pedals You Need to Try
The premise of this article is pretty simple. Basically, I’m going on the record stating that any fuzz pedal with more than one knob sucks.
Utterly. Completely. Unequivocally.
How could I say something so controversial yet so brave? Well, we jammed through eight of my favorite one knob fuzzes, and the results speak for themselves. You’ll want to go back and watch the jam’s in this week’s episode if you want to get the full experience, but you can read on for my breakdown of why these eight one-knob fuzzes are fantastic.
Mattoverse Electronics Bad Passenger Fuzz MKII
First up is the Bad Passenger Fuzz MKII, from Mattoverse Electronics. This pedal is essentially what happens when you stack a bunch of gain stages on top of each other. Per the episode title, it has one knob, as well as a toggle that allows you to switch between a bright aggressive grind or a darker compressed filth.
Personally, I like setting the knob to get a bit more midrange push out of the pedal, but you’ve got plenty of options here.
Mythos Pedals Golden Fleece
Next up is the Mythos Pedals Golden Fleece. There are actually two versions of this floating around on Reverb, the original (which is kind of a wild, scary-looking pedal) and a newer pedal with updated graphics (which is more classically beautiful and classy). I prefer the new design. Whichever way you package it, I’m a big fan of the Golden Fleece, which is based on a fuzz circuit designed by Alan Yee called the Fuzzy Nuts.
**I’ll take a quick pause here to let you guys the giggles out of your system. Good? Okay, moving on.**
My good friend Zach Broyles at Mythos Pedals took the “Fuzzy Nuts” circuit, tweaked it and created a really awesome send-up in the form of the Golden Fleece fuzz. It’s basically a Fuzz Face without any of the shortcomings and it’s $139. You’re welcome.
Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff
The year is 1978, and Electro-Harmonix releases a one knob fuzz called the Little Big Muff. Circuit-wise, it’s the same as the OG Big Muff which was released in 1969. Essentially, the Little Big Muff is a one-knob op amp Big Muff with a fixed fuzz and a fixed tone control.
The Little Big Muffs were a steal when we first dropped this episode (I’m talking like $9 apiece), but please do me a favor and don’t send me emails complaining that I caused the price to go up by mentioning this pedal on The JHS Show. The Little Big Muff was released in 1978. You’ve had roughly 44 years to buy it before this episode came out, and if you decide you want one now, cool, but don’t blame me for any potential increase in price. Cool? Cool.
Earthquaker Devices Erupter
The two knob Fuzz Face was invented in 1966. It’s a fantastic circuit (there’s a reason Jimi Hendrix had Fuzz Faces on his pedalboard consistently through the late sixties), but I’ve got one complaint. The Fuzz Face has two knobs, which is two knobs too many. After all, the best (read: only) way to play a Fuzz Face is to max it out on the fuzz and volume knobs, which makes an adjustable knob for either one pretty superfluous.
Jamie Stillman at Earthquaker Devices said, “I've had enough of this nonsense. I'm removing the volume and fuzz knobs, and I'm putting in one big honkin’ knob to adjust the bias for the Q2 transistor.” This is $149, y’all. When you compare it to a vintage Fuzz Face, which has two completely irrelevant knobs and regularly sells for $7000+ on Reverb, it’s a no-brainer. Get the EQD Erupter.
Colorsound Fuzz Box
Dick Denney is a genius best known for inventing amps like the AC30, the AC15 and the Vox 816, but one of his biggest contributions to guitar history was actually a fuzz pedal: the Colorsound Fuzz Box. This one knob pedal was popularized in the early seventies, but unlike most other one knob fuzzes, the case is still pretty big. You can snag a reissue on Reverb for about $350, which is a decent chunk of change but 100% worth the investment.
Frost Giant Electronics Massif
For $125, you can buy a pedal from what I consider to be one of the greatest brands active in the guitar pedal community today: the Frost Giant Electronics, more specifically, their Massif Fuzz. Their website describes it as “a savage wave destroyer.” The Massif is tuned for lower tunings and baritones, things like that. Coincidentally, it is a very modified version of the Colorsound Fuzz Box, which just adds to the chain that started back in the seventies with Dick Denney.
Weird Noise Pedals Fuzz It
Next up is a super cool pedal from Weird Noise Pedals called the Fuzz It, which is another throwback to the Colorsound Fuzz Box topology.
What I love about this pedal is that it also includes a toggle which, when flipped, cascades the sound from the Germanium fuzz box into a Silicon fuzz box, creating this gnarly, more overwhelming tone. And it’s only $150. You can swing that. That’s like two cups of coffee.
Union Tube and Transistors Third Man Bumble Buzz
Last one the list is the Union Tube and Transistors Third Man Bumble Buzz. It’s based on the original, no knob, single treadle Kay fuzz. To reiterate, this pedal has no knobs, which is frankly the only thing better than one knob. It's also $325. I bet you could pull that together by searching your couch cushions for loose change.
Basically, if you take nothing else away from this article, please take this: what the world needs now is less knobs and more guitar. Do yourself a favor. Just rip all the knobs off every pedal you own. Throw 'em in the trash and go buy one of these pedals instead. You won’t regret it.