Z. Vex Fuzz Factory - Is it possible to control this monster

[Floyd Pepper]

I wandered over to the Z Vex site earlier and the Fuzz Factory http://www.zvex.com/fuzz.html looks completely nuts in the video http://media.zvex.com/fuzzfactory.mov

Reading Harmony Central and other reviews it seems like it sound great but it next to impossible to control.  I also saw that the bloke in Muse has one built into his guitar.  http://www.liquid-fire.co.uk/musegear/mattsilver.html

HotRox has them for £125 for the none hand painted version.  In the mood for an insane pedal I'm having problems keeping my credit card under control.

Any reason why I shouldn't get one?

[indysmith]

My friend has one - it's broken, it doesnt stay on- that seems a good(ish) reason.
It's quite insane and fun when yu do get it working tho - and i love that it has the built in compressor and noise gate! THAT IS AWESOME. Zvex don't have a reputation for being shabbily made - knowing my friend he's probably just gone tooo far with the abuse!

[Brow]

They have a control labelled 'Stab' which stands for Stability :)

If you keep this all the way up, the epdal works as a standard fuzz box. It's when this control is turned down that all hell breaks loose  :twisted:

From my experience anyway :D

[t3h haze]

I own the even more insane Fuzz Probe, it's very simple to use, just there are so many sounds in there, I've had for 2 years now and still finding all sorts of new sounds.
They're loud though, not really useful for low gain fuzz, you can an overdrive/fuzz sound out of it, but you'll be better off with something else for that really, you have to have them first in the chain, or after true bypass pedals, otherwise they go even more noisy and don't function in their normal way, they pick up radio, make weird noises and generally $%&# up your sound behind anything you can imagine.
But it's still my main distortion unit though  :lol:  :twisted:

[willo]

John Frusciante in the Chili Peppers has one too.

I really would like to buy one, I love John Frusciante and Nels Cline (my current favourite) has one too.

But at the moment I have the Catalinbread Teaser Stallion which is a pretty insane pedal itself, so as far as oddball fuzzes go, I'm fairly well covered!

I really would like to check a Fuzz Factory out though...I know one day I'll end up buying one! I think that new shop in Newcastle, GuitarGuitar, has them (it definitely has some Zvex), I'm sure Custom79 (he works there) could let us know for certain whether they stock them or not!.

It sounds like the kind of pedal it would be worth trying before buying! On the subject of crazy pedals, I found some really crazy LFO things made out in Peru; very very interesting. I also want to check out Mid-Fi electronics, but their site doesnt work.

I'm rambling, aren't I?? :lol:

Anyway, here's an interesting website I found with information on noisemakers:

http://www.harshnoise.com/

[Miracle Man Matt]

That Fuzz-factory sounds like some much fun!! 8)

[Davey]

that video is brilliant!!!


have fun figuring this thing out! LOL

[Floyd Pepper]

I've coughed up my £125 and should be the confused owner of a Fuzz Factory any day now.  I'll let you know how I get on.  :)

[Drac]

Hey-
 I'm interested in acquiring some Z-vex swag...
 could you drop me a link to that site ( hotrox?),
 or any other dealers in the UK?
- thanx!- cheers from Drac

[Brow]

Hey-
 I'm interested in acquiring some Z-vex swag...
 could you drop me a link to that site ( hotrox?),
 or any other dealers in the UK?
- thanx!- cheers from Drac

Here ya go:

http://www.hotroxuk.com/store/erol.html

[tewboss]

Hotrox are amazingly quick when it comes to delivery. They are also the cheapest place in the UK for EH pedals too.

[Floyd Pepper]

Hot Rox is quick alright.  My Fuzz Factory's arrived.  Next day delivery every time with them.

I'm going to getting the fuzz for Christmas so have only had a quick bash "To check it works".  :)

It's a great fuzz pedal.  There's some really good fuzz sounds in there both thick and thin.  There's theramin like setting where changing th Stab knob changes the frequency of the squeal.  On this setting you can play the guitar but as the guitar fades out the squeal starts.  The squeal sounds like tuning in a radio.  There's also weird gating sounds where the things can either cut off suddenly as it fades or at random intervals while you're playing.

It doesn't seem as hard to control as some of the Harmony Central reviews make out but it's a great fuzz.

Looking forward to playing those Christmas carols round the tree.  :)

[Drac]

Update from the soggy North-

I have acquired 5 Zvex pedals since my last reply on this thread-

1.WahProbe-My favorite-permanent addition to my rig-favorite action of any wah I've tried-drive is kewl  in moderation-confuse  the audience with yer invisible wah pedal-"What the hell is he doing with that foot!?"

2.the MACHINE-Sounds TERRIBLE, in a charming way-doesn't matter what you plug into it, sounds like a radio broadcast from another epoch-the opposite of alchemy, "turns gold into cr@p"-BRILLIANT!-the  1st box in my pedal chain ( ZV say's it needs clean/direct guitar input ),  & 2nd personal favorite-using it every day.

3.Wooly Mammoth-Also very popular at my studio, my bass player loves this thing, and uses it all the time now- Clean boost is very musical, and the drive is very useful in multiple settings-Pinch does crazy zipper/bass syth sounds that entertain for hours!-highly recommended regardless of price-a very musical box.

4.Fuzz Probe-bizarre crowd tormentor, punish your band, more offensive than trapped wind in a 2 man elevator-dangerous at all volumes, much less onstage...Very kewl novelty noise maker.

5.Fuzzfactory-Less frills, set-&-forget version of the FuzzProbe-hard to go back to after Probe exposure, but still very entertaining-least charming of the lot.Also does good things for bass. Maybe the onboard "muse" treatment would make this more fun- annoying to spend so much time on the floor twiddling knobs to 'play' this pedal-on/off doesn't do this circuit justice.

As stated I'm using the Machine/Wahprobe in my live rig-direct into my Triaxis, and it sounds great! ( to me,anyway...) I play extreme detuned death metal, and these pedals are animated additions to my everyday sound. Love 'em!

The other fuzz devices are less useful for metal guitar sounds, and actually better suit playing through clean amp channels-This way they sound very nice, but again, it doesn't matter what you plug into them it'll sound like these boxes on the other side...-they do not create deathmetal distortions. Great for Rock/Stoner/BlueCheer style  "amokracy",though.

They are all rather spendy, but charming handmade sounds, well worth it for some, and noveties for others-

Try before you buy, if possible, but note that these boxes are very collectible, and you can often get ALL your money out in resale, as the demand exceeds availibility-

I really want a Nano amp-to wear around my neck as jewelry-or as a belt buckle-yeah, to shred through, too, hehehe...

too bad ZV doesn't make 'em in black & red...


Really insanely fun BOXES-HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

regards from Drac