Don't worry if you've never seen one before, or even heard of one as this fuzz pedal is so rare that this is the first one I've actually seen after keeping an eye out for 10 years. They were made in the mid 60's early 70's for the Rose-Morris music shop in London, and by the time they were popular, the shop had packed up and gone and left fanatic fuzz fans searching for one of these beauties from that moment on. Steve Hacket of Genesis was one of the lucky few to find one. Have a listen to ' Watcher of the skies' for a great example of its wonderful harmonically rich tone.
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a what?
Fuzz has been with us for a long time. It's basically what happened when guitarists couldn't get enough overdrive just from turning their amps up, so electronic boffins the world over started coming up with these circuits to put between the guitar and amp that would cause severe clipping of the guitar's signal. The fuzz pedal was born and it has changed the sound of popular music as we know it today. Without it we'd probably all still be playing Shadows songs. What sets the Duo-Fuzz apart from any other fuzz pedal is how musical it sounds. What does that mean? Some of the fuzz circuits created way back when made your guitar sound like a buzz saw, which is fine but very harsh. The Duo-Fuzz has this amazing quality of actually working with the tone of your guitar enabling you to squeeze every nuance from your instrument. It's a sound that is so enjoyable you immediately stop over playing. The simplest blues lick played through this thing makes you sound like an axe toting deity. There is an emphasis on the upper harmonics, especially the first octave, so notes just jump out at you. I can honestly say I've never had so much fun with a fuzz pedal in my life.
How much should I pay?
An objects' worth can only truly be measured by what someone is willing to pay to acquire it. I can tell you that a major rock star (name rhymes with 'Fryin Madams') offered £800 for this example, and was turned down. Now that may seem over the top, but guitarists just will not sell them because they are irreplaceable. It all comes down to the value of tone to you. What are you willing to pay for it? In the words of the great philosopher Homer, " I've always had a hole in my life, a sort of emptiness that I've tried to fill it with friends, family, religion and all to no avail. I think this might just do it!"
|
|
