effects pedals and music production @ fuzz-effect-sounds-and-more.com

Maestro Fuzz-Tone :

Gibson Maestro FZ-1A Fuzz-Tone — Reissue : FZ-1A Model

Prior to the year 1962, there were no commercial versions of a fuzz effects pedal in the marketplace. At that time, clean/ linear sounds were generally preferred. 1962, Gibson Musical Instruments marketed the first-ever fuzz effects pedal : Maestro Fuzz-Tone (model FZ-1). As result, most electric guitarists initially deemed this “musical” accessory unit as an unnecessary gadget—until 1965, when the Rolling Stones charted a # 1 hit single with the song “Satisfaction”. From that point onward (ca. 1965-1975), the fuzz-laden sound had become a popular guitar TONE; ultimately, helping to shape the sound of Rock music.

In a relative manner, the advent of the Marshall Mk2 guitar amplifier (circa 1962) also played a major role as well in respect to harmonic distortion. Similarly (1963), the Vox AC30 amplifier featured a newly-revised circuit to include a Top Boost feature—thus, increasing treble frequency, and boosting gain (distortion). That said, British musicians were of the first to combine the aforementioned sonic voices (“high gain” amplifier + “fuzz”). By 1965 (following the commercial success of the Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone), other manufacturers began to market their own versions of the fuzz effects pedal—i.e., products such as Tone Bender, and Fuzz Face.

NOTE : My video (as provided below) of the Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone, mistakenly refers to the unit’s original production date as 1963 (the year was actually, 1962). Nonetheless, during 1963 the Maestro line of products had been introduced, beginning with the Maestro Fuzz-Tone effects pedal (model FZ-1). The 1966 reissue (as heard in my video) is the updated version (FZ-1A). That said, model FZ-1A has an “improved” circuit and also requires only a single “AA” battery to operate—as oppose to the original design, requiring double the amount of voltage (3VDC).

2020 Market Value : I typically, see the Gibson Maestro FZ-1A Fuzz-Tone (as well as the reissue) trending @ approx. $600 on eBay. Otherwise, I have also seen model FZ-1 having been sold for approx. $2,000. Incidentally, the reissue was originally marketed for only $99.

Audio engineering techniques employed for the following video :

1.) My musical performance was recorded (16-bit resolution/ 44.1 kHz sample rate) to a digital multi-track unit : Korg D888.

2.) Recorded audio tracks/ .wav files (drum loop + guitar + bass) were then transferred over to PC via USB connection, provided by the aforementioned D888 unit.

3.) Mixed said tracks (individual volume levels, equalization, and pan adjustments) in the digital domain, employing a DAW/ digital audio workstation : Vegas Video by Sonic Foundry. The audio interface employed was the Tascam US-1641.

4.) Created a stereo .wav file of the balanced mix of audio, employing the aforementioned DAW.

5.) Imported said .wav sound file into another DAW software application (T-Racks by IK Multimedia), which is designed to master-engineer audio. Moreover, I had thus maintained 16-bit/ 44.1 kHz, so as to help preserve the initial sonic integrity of both the recording and mix-engineering stages. The virtual audio process’ incl. modeled vintage tube gear in the following sequential order : multi-band compression & equalization—ultimately, having created a sonic illusion being perceived as louder, smoother, and with greater dimensional depth.

6.) After having master-engineered the final .wav file, I then converted such (“saved as”) into 2 compressed file formats : .mp3 + .wma7 (128 Kbps/ CD quality). That said, .mp3 is used for this website’s audio player section, and .wma7 (incidentally, my favorite sounding file type) is used for my video soundtracks. Both compression types provide a manageable file size for Internet purposes (i.e., converting 30 MB to 3 MB). The software application employed to create the compressed files was that of the aforementioned Vegas Video. The original master-engineered .wav file is saved for archival purposes.

In order of sequence/ guitar signal chain :

* Epiphone Flying V (’67 reissue)
* Ernie Ball 2223 Super Slinky guitar strings (gauges : 009 – 042)
* Mogami Audio Cables
* Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone/ FZ-1A (’66 reissue)
* MXR M76 Studio Compressor
* MXR Six Band Graphic Equalizer (’78 vintage)
* TC Electronic Sentry Noise Gate
* FX Loop : EHX Holy Grail Max Reverb
* Line 6 POD HD Pro (v.1)
(personal program preset, based on a ’72 Marshall 50w Super Lead amplifier + ’64 Fender Deluxe Reverb speaker cabinet)

In order of sequence/ bass guitar signal chain :

* Epiphone EB-0 Bass (’60s reissue)
* Mogami Audio Cables
* Compression & Equalization : Line 6 Bass POD (v.1)
* Line 6 Bass POD (v.1)
(personal program preset, based on a ’73 Acoustic 360 amplifier)

In order of sequence/ “drums” signal chain :

* Line 6 JM4 Looper effects pedal (drum loop, only)
* Mogami Audio Cables
* Origin Effects Cali76 Limiters (2x orig. units/ stereo pair)
* BOSS GEB-7 Equalizers (2x units/ stereo pair)

Suggested audio playback : High quality professional headphones (i.e., Sony MDR-7506), and a high quality pro audio interface are preferred. This way, the listener will hear the intended results of my music production efforts, inherent within the provided video presented below.

NOTE : There may be a delay for the video to download from my YouTube channel. Please, wait !

Epilogue :

I hope that what I’ve provided as an essential overview of my personal recording techniques, has helped inspire you to craft your own unique sound mixes. To the average home studio enthusiast, what’s been mentioned herein, must seem rather involved. As you realize by reading this post, such is NOT merely twiddling knobs on effects pedals. Rather . . such is to show how effects pedals enhance music recordings, along with pro-audio gear.

This Website :

The intention of fuzz-effect-sounds-and-more.com is to provide a reference resource; virtually sharing my gear collection, so that readers are made greater-aware of particularly good-sounding (and, in some instances), potentially collectible effects pedals. Otherwise, to also help those whom might benefit from my recording/ engineering techniques. Ultimately, as I continue to build and design this site, I will gradually introduce additional collection-based content—such as blog posts, image galleries, audio, video, and official manufacturer web links for your convenience. The information provided herein, is based upon biased opinion. Please, do your own research.

Ebooks :

Later . . I will offer for sale Part 1 of a series of self-authored eBooks, in relation to fuzz effects pedals; subsequently, also offering additional volumes regarding other effects types—boost, overdrive, distortion, etc—all via my private, independent collection. Moreover, these tomes of tone will include audio examples, color images, (in most cases) close-up circuit views, and generalized spec. information. Otherwise, said eBooks regarding fuzz effects pedals will additionally incl. generalized historical information as well. For details, please read this site’s eBook advertisement page.

THANKS for your interest of fuzz-effect-sounds-and-more.com

– Michael.

Disclaimer of Copyright & Trademark :

Product names, trademarks, and artists’ names (incl. the names of builders and designers) referred to, and/ or depicted herein are the property of their respective owners, which are in NO way associated or affiliated with fuzz-effect-sounds-and-more.com. Said, names and trademarks are used solely to identify products whose sounds were studied during the audio production efforts for this reference resource. The use of said, names and trademarks does NOT imply any cooperation or endorsement. NO copyright, nor trademark infringement intended. Any errors, omissions or variations in the subject-matter details are unintentional.

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