CMC Effects Super Fuzz

[blacktiger]

If you are in the market for a Super Fuzz, I cannot recommend this pedal highly enough. My first fuzz was a Univox Fuzz Face that I paid $50 for in the early ‘90s. I loved the sound, but it just didn’t really work for me, and I ended up selling it in the early ‘00s. I’ve been chasing that Super Fuzz/Shin-Ei vibe on and off ever since. So far, I’ve owned the following:

OG Univox Super Fuzz
Frederic Effects Unpleasant Companion
Fredric Effects Super Unpleasant Companion Nouveau
Behringer SF300 Super Fuzz

For one reason or another, none really worked for me. I got the jones again in November and ordered a Super Fuzz from CMC on Reverb. This one is perfect. In fact, it might be the best fuzz I’ve ever owned, period. One thing that makes a big difference is that this pedal has a tone knob instead of just a slider with two settings, so it’s much easier to dial in the sound you want. It also has both germanium and silicone modes for even more flexibility. This thing sounds great on pretty much every setting. One thing it does not have, though, is the octave of the OG Super Fuzz, but personally, I like it better without it. Ok, enough prattling, here’s the pedal porn:



The guy makes a variety of other pedals too, and I’m very much thinking about going back to him for an Italian Tone Bender…

[Veitchy]

I was on board riiiight up until you said no octave. The diode switch is particularly interesting too. Price is pretty agreeable even with the currency conversion. Good luck to him either way.

[MechaBulletBill]

there's probably a trimpot inside so you can dial in the octave. but yeah, my favourite superfuzzes have been ones with a little extra something - either a pot instead of a tone switch (octane 3) or a LPF to dial out the harshness (lal 46).

[Veitchy]

there's probably a trimpot inside so you can dial in the octave. but yeah, my favourite superfuzzes have been ones with a little extra something - either a pot instead of a tone switch (octane 3) or a LPF to dial out the harshness (lal 46).

That's a good point - probably worth asking the dude actually.

[fuzzjunkie]

A Superfuzz without an octave element isn’t a Superfuzz. It might sound great, but it’s just not. That’s a major component of the sound.

The other issue I have is that after looking at his products, a lot of them aren’t simply clones of common vintage circuits, but they’re clones of currently available pedals offered by his competitors.

If he were cloning pedals that are no longer in production; because the original builder had discontinued them, had closed down operations, or had died, then I wouldn’t have a problem. That’s no different than copying an older circuit like most pedal builders do.

However, to market products as being clones of pedals that are still available and are hand wired with carefully selected components when he’s using cheap machine wired circuits is beyond the pale to me. I don’t care that they sound good. That’s just an asshole move.

[blacktiger]

there's probably a trimpot inside so you can dial in the octave. but yeah, my favourite superfuzzes have been ones with a little extra something - either a pot instead of a tone switch (octane 3) or a LPF to dial out the harshness (lal 46).

I asked, and there is. I haven’t messed with it yet, though.

[blacktiger]

A Superfuzz without an octave element isn’t a Superfuzz. It might sound great, but it’s just not. That’s a major component of the sound.

The other issue I have is that after looking at his products, a lot of them aren’t simply clones of common vintage circuits, but they’re clones of currently available pedals offered by his competitors.

If he were cloning pedals that are no longer in production; because the original builder had discontinued them, had closed down operations, or had died, then I wouldn’t have a problem. That’s no different than copying an older circuit like most pedal builders do.

However, to market products as being clones of pedals that are still available and are hand wired with carefully selected components when he’s using cheap machine wired circuits is beyond the pale to me. I don’t care that they sound good. That’s just an asshole move.

As noted above, there actually IS an octave, which is adjustable through an internal trim pot. As for the cloning issue, I’ve only looked at circuits that he offers that are 40 or 50 years old. I have no idea what the deal is with currently available pedals. Ethically, it doesn’t seem great, but as a practical matter, it seems unlikely that a clone built more cheaply would really compete much with a hand wired original. People who balk at pedals costing hundreds of dollars will either buy a cheaper version or nothing. People who are willing to pay a premium for handwiring, etc. will buy the original. That doesn’t change the ethics of it, but I think that’s the reality.

EDIT: I went and looked at what was on offer, and some of them just don’t make sense to me. There are a couple of pedals that aren’t particularly expensive or can be had pretty cheaply used (which the maker wouldn’t profit from either). Ethics aside, those seem like an odd choice. As a certified cheap-ass mofo, I would buy a used OG over a new clone if the prices were comparable…