Finding the best fuzz pedal to add to your guitar effects pedal board isn’t easy. There are about a million different types of fuzz effect pedals out there, so the choices are endless.
You have to think about what you want your sound to be like and what type of playing style you are after. Some fuzzes are more aggressive and metal sounding while others are more classic like Hendrix.
That’s why we made this article. We review the most popular fuzz pedals on the market, so you can figure out which one is right for you and your tone.
Let’s check them out the most popular fuzz guitar pedals on the market today!
Click Below to Compare the Top Fuzz Effect Pedals in 2020
Contents
- 1 Click Below to Compare the Top Fuzz Effect Pedals in 2020
- 1.1 Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker
- 1.2 ZVEX Fuzz Factory Vexter Series Fuzz Guitar Pedal
- 1.3 Dunlop JDF2 Fuzz Face Distortion
- 1.4 Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz
- 1.5 Wampler Velvet Fuzz V2 Guitar Effects Pedal
- 1.6 Death by Audio Fuzz War Effect Pedal
- 1.7 EarthQuaker Devices Hoof V2 Hybrid Fuzz
- 1.8 Black Cat Super Fuzz Effects Pedal
- 1.9 Fender Blender Custom Fuzz Pedal
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here is a list of the best fuzz effects pedals that you should add to your pedal board sooner rather than later.
- Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker
- ZVEX Fuzz Factory Vexter Series Fuzz Guitar Pedal
- Dunlop JDF2 Fuzz Face Distortion
- Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz
- Wampler Velvet Fuzz V2 Guitar Effects Pedal
- Death by Audio Fuzz War Effect Pedal
- EarthQuaker Devices Hoof V2 Hybrid Fuzz
- Black Cat Super Fuzz Effects Pedal
- Fender Blender Custom Fuzz Pedal
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker
Specs, features, and benefits
With the history of Electro-Harmonix pedals, this pedal is a no-brainer for guitarists that wanna play the “big guitar tone” game. As we all know, Electro-Harmonix and the “Big Muff” played a huge role in rock’n’roll music. From Santana and David Gilmour to Jack White and beyond, the “Big Muff” can be heard on almost all the great rock records. Just like it’s predecessor (Big Muff Pi), this pedal has three knobs: Volume, Tone and Sustain, plus it has two switches, Tone and Wicker, which ads a whole new world of versatility. With the Tone switch ON and the Wicker switch OFF you’ll get the original Big Muff Pi sound. With the tone switch OFF you are basically removing the Tone control completely, which gives dirty Muff distortion sound. With the Wicker switch on you will activate 3 High Frequency Filters, which will give you brightness and tons of other coloring options with muffing power!
Pros and Highlights
- Affordable – With the price under $100, you can get a variety of fuzz guitar sound, from 1960 and 1970 Rock guitar sound to Grunge and modern-day Metal sound
- Sound variety – This is the Big Muff pedal with the most tone coloring you can get up to this point in space-time. The Wicker switch opens a door to brave new worlds of fuzz sound color
- Sturdy construction – These pedals are built to last for centuries of stomping guitarists .
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Loud switches – The switches tend to make a loud “Click” when they are engaged, and some guitarists consider this as a flaw .
Bottom Line
This pedal is considered to be the best “Big Muff” pedal of them all by many players. Not only you will get the original Big Muff Pi Sound, you will also have a ton of different sound options too. And all of this for a great price!
ZVEX Fuzz Factory Vexter Series Fuzz Guitar Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
The “ZVEX Fuzz Vexter Series” pedal is hand-assembled fuzz pedal with two new old stock ’60 germanium transistors in a hand-polished and hand-painted aluminum case. From classic 60’s Fuzz sound, to crazy noises like shortwave radio sounds, quenching, pinching and even octave fuzz sounds, this pedal can produce lots of fun when it comes with experimenting guitarist. It has five control knobs on it: Volume, Gate, Compress, Drive and Stability, which gives the player a lot of sound options to play with. The Volume knob controls the output volume. The Gate knob suppresses the noise, squeals hiss and buzzing after the played notes. The Compress knob can create attack or pinches. The Drive knob is pretty much like distortion gain and tone fatness. The Stability knob controls the feedback pitch and creates oscillation madness. This pedal should be played and experimented with so a guitarist can find out how to get and use the sounds that this pedal can produce.
Pros and Highlights
- Unique – This pedal has a lot of inspiring, unique and interesting, psychedelic sounds to play with
- Hand-built – Hand-assembled with germanium transistors, hand-polished aluminum case and hand-drawn
- Great Size – Don’t get fooled by the small design, you could be blown away by the sounds this pedal can produce
Cons and Potential Flaws
- You might be surprised – Don’t buy this pedal if you want a classic Fuzz pedal, play it first and decide if this pedal is for you. Not everybody wants to get crazy with out of space cool noises .
Bottom Line
This is great pedal for the guitar player that wants to experiment and be unique in his guitar sound. Maybe it’s a little bit pricey for a guitar pedal, but surely this guitar pedal is worth its price .
Dunlop JDF2 Fuzz Face Distortion
Specs, features, and benefits
The Fuzz pedal that was famously used by the biggest guitar legend of all times, Jimi Hendrix! It was also used by the other BIG names in Rock, like Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Pete Townshend, David Gilmour and many, many others. If we are talking about a classic fuzz sound, we must be talking about the sound of the Dunlop JDF2 Fuzz Face Distortion. And that says it all, right? The Fuzz Face is very easy and simple to use. Two knobs, Volume and Fuzz. And one footswitch. The metal casing gives the round design a rugged look. The circuit in there is also very simple, two germanium transistors do all the work that needs to be done. This pedal is highly sensitive to the magnets of the guitar, and makes a huge difference how the control knobs on the guitar are set, especially the Volume control knob. Also the sound can be very different if other effect pedals are put together in a set with it.
Pros and Highlights
- Legendary sound – Legendary as it can get, imagine sounding like the biggest guitar name ever
- Simple and easy – This pedal has only two knobs, volume and fuzz.
- Affordable – This pedal costs just as any other pedal that does not have history like this one has
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Very sensitive in set with other pedals – This may not be a problem for every guitarist, it depends on the style of the guitar playing and the pedals you are using. However, some guitar players are pretty much annoyed with this fact .
Bottom Line
This pedal served one of the best ever. And can be perceived as one of the most important one in the history of guitar pedals. However, not everybody tends to like it. There are a lot of guitarists that like to play with more of a modern sound. If you are into blues/rock and 60’s rock guitar sound, this is a no-brainer for you.
Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz
Specs, features, and benefits
The Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz pedal has the reputation of the BIGGEST sounding fuzz pedal out there. And with all due respect to all the others, that is true! This pedal is like if the “Big Muff” had drank Asterix’s magic potion. Has three big control knobs on it, Loudness, Filter and Sustain. And two small knobs, scoop and crunch. Actually the small knobs really make the difference! Although some guitarists find it hard to set the right tone immediately on this pedal, you just have to do a little messin’ around it, and you’ll get where you did not even imagine you can go!
Pros and Highlights
- The biggest of them all – That’s right! You’ve read this correctly! This pedal is Way Huge in comparison to the other fuzz pedals
- Affordable – This pedal won’t break the bank, and you will be amazed by what you have bought for the price
- Rugged Design – This thing is built in a hard metal case, and it will last for a long, long time
Cons and Potential Flaws
- You might get confused – There are some guitar players that will find it hard to set the right tone for them right away, however you should just play with the thing for a while and you will get everything you ever wanted from a fuzz pedal (Is that a flaw? 🙂
Bottom Line
Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz is here to stay. The sound that this pedal can produce is amazing! From a smooth warm fuzz to a big round one, this pedals has a lot of different fuzz sounds in it. If you still haven’t, you should probably go and try it for yourself. Shoegaze, Stoner rock, Grunge, Metal, Classic rock. This pedal will fit in every guitarist’s pedal board.
Wampler Velvet Fuzz V2 Guitar Effects Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
This pedal has the old school Fuzz sound in it and makes it sound cool with probably any type of guitar and amp settings. This is great pedal for all the guitarists that are new to Fuzz Boxes. The pedal has three control knobs: Volume, Fuzz and Brightness, and a two-way switch, Big and Tight. When the switch is set to Big, you will get the classic Fuzz sound, and when the switch is set to Tight, the pedal gives a distortion-like fuzz. It’s basically still a fuzz, but more tight one. Awesome for newbies in the fuzz world.
Pros and Highlights
- Great Tone – Great big tone in the low frequencies but can be controlled. The knobs are very precise and they can give you full control on your sound.
- Works with every kind of settings – This pedal is “plug’n’play”, whether you’ve are playing on a little practice amp, or you are using a lots of pedals in your pedal board, this pedal will never make you a problem, it’s always polite and can be tweaked to please every ear
- Two in one – You can use this box both as a fuzz and distortion effect
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No controllable noise gate – Some players are going to complain on the fact that this pedal does not have controllable noise gate
Bottom Line
The Wampler Velvet Fuzz is a great pedal for those guitarists that are new to fuzz boxes, but also for the experienced ones. The fact that this pedal is pretty much the most tight fuzz box ever, makes it unique, and suitable for every rock guitarist.
Death by Audio Fuzz War Effect Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
Small pedal with HUGE Fuzz sounds in it. The pedal is packed up in a hard metal, rugged case and has a interesting, minimalist design. Definitely not a fuzz pedal you should begin with. It has three knobs, Fuzz, Volume and Tone. The Fuzz Control knob is the most interesting one, it’s aggressive and wicked. As you turn it up, it begins to take you for a ride. Lots of different distortions are kept in this unit. This pedal is definitely a no-brainer for the Sludge genre players. It can Wake up the gods of war very easily and it will explode in the most aggressive way. This is one of the craziest fuzz pedals ever made.
Pros and Highlights
- Destruction !!! – The pedal that will bring madness even in the tough ones, it will bring you on the ground with the craziest Fuzz sound you’ve ever heard
- Rigid design – The pedal is made out of metal, and can hold beatings every day without breaking
- Versatility – This fuzz box has all the three, fuzz, distortion and overdrive
Cons and Potential Flaws
- The knobs are hard to deal with – Just a small turn on a knob, and it goes way big step in sound change.
Bottom Line
Death by Audio Fuzz War pedal is not a pedal for everybody. Just for the chosen ones: Punkers, Sludge Metalheads, Grunge, Stoner rock guitarists. They will find their way around it. It’s too much aggressive!
EarthQuaker Devices Hoof V2 Hybrid Fuzz
Specs, features, and benefits
Great guitar pedal with great sound. The “Hoof” has both germanium and silicon diodes inside. Very nice sounding pedal with big versatility. The pedal that can go from warm, crispy fuzz to big and crazy fuzz in seconds. This pedal has four control knobs: Tone, Shift, Level and Fuzz. The Tone and Shift Control are both basically Tone controls, and they work in tandem very much. They give this pedal the huge amount of versatility it has. The sound colors of the pedal are very stable, which is a rare characteristic of Fuzz Pedals.
Pros and Highlights
- Easy to use – This pedal is very intuitive in it’s design which makes it perfect on stage
- Very Stable – The use of both germanium and silicon diodes in the circuit are creating the most stable Fuzz pedal ever!
- Sounds Amazing – You have to try this pedal, it’s amazing how it can produce every kind of Fuzz out there.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Becomes noisy – Can become noisy when is put in use alongside some other pedals
Bottom Line
The “Hoof” is a great pedal and can be put in every single pedal board out there. It’s a versatile pedal that has a very big palette of fuzz sounds inside. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s worth every dollar. Awesome for players that play multiple genres.
Black Cat Super Fuzz Effects Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
Not Famous as the other pedals mentioned above, but still very competent. The Black Cat Super Fuzz is actually a recreation of the “Univox Super Fuzz”, the Japanese guitar pedal that ruled the 70’s Rock world. There are thousands of bouquet guitar pedals on the market that are trying to emulate the sound of the Univox Super Fuzz, but nothing comes even closer to the “Black Cat”. Just like the Univox, “The Black Cat” has dual germanium diodes and square wave clipping which gives the pedal it’s recognizable sound. The melting face super-massive Fuzz sound also comes with just the right amount of the upper octave. This sound can be heard throughout many Rock records. The pedal has two control knobs, Balance control knob and Expander control knob, and a Tone switch. The input and output, as well as the power supply input are placed on the top.
Pros and Highlights
- Great sound – This is one of the best sounding fuzz boxes on the market, face melting and aggressive fuzz!
- Solid/Rigid Construction – This pedal and it’s metal design is made to last for centuries
- The Best of them all – If you are looking for the Univox Super Fuzz sound, and you are aware that these pedals are really old and pricey, the “Black Cat” is all that you need. Not any other pedal will get even closer with the sound you are looking for
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Pricey – The price of this pedal might be a little bit higher than of the other fuzz boxes out there, however it’s worth every dollar
Bottom Line
This pedal deserves more attention from the guitarists. The quality of the sound this pedal has is very much the same as the Univox Super Fuzz. This is definitely one of the greatest fuzz boxes on the market. And probably a lot of players will have it in their pedal board soon.
Fender Blender Custom Fuzz Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
The “Fender Blender Custom Fuzz Pedal” was made in 2005 after the original “Fender Blender Fuzz Pedal” was made popular in the 90’s rock scene from guitarists like Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins and Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine. It has the same looks and very similar sound like the original pedal from the 60’s and 70’s. The “Fender Blender Custom Fuzz Pedal” has the same Control knobs just like the original: Volume, Sustain, Tone and Blend. The Blend knob it’s just the same as dry/wet knob on some pedals, and it’s the most powerful weapon of this pedal. The other knobs are pretty much self-explanatory. Also, the pedal has two footswitches, ON/OFF and Tone Boost, which means you can use it as a boost pedal too. It’s rugged case has the original look of the sixties, and has the rare vintage beauty only a few pedals have.
Pros and Highlights
- Colorful – This is a pedal that has a lot of different fuzz sounds in it. Using the blend and sustain knobs, you can produce a wide palette of sound colors
- Rare – You won’t see this pedal in your local venue a lot of times, many guitarists are afraid to play with this kind of monster
- Two in one – You can use it like a boost pedal for soloing, and still keep a clean tone on your guitar
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No Led Indicator – The pedal does not have led indicator for ON and OFF
Bottom Line
This pedal is definitely not just like the other fuzz pedals out there and deserves a special place only in the hearts of a few guitarists. If you are into buying this pedal, you should probably try it yourself, many players stick to this pedal for their whole life. Some people absolutely love this pedal, while others think it’s a total disaster.
What We Recommend and Why
This is a really tough one, but we must do it. You should definitely go for the Way Huge Swollen Pickle Jumbo Fuzz. It is very affordable, it has a lot of versatility in it, can fit in many different pedal boards, and it’s way huge in sound quality than all the others.
From warm fuzzy and bluesy sound, to wild Hendrix and the 60’s. From Queens of the Stone Age to Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine. From the Beatles to Sludge. This pedal can do it all! Won’t break the bank and you will probably never sell it.
