A 1965 Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1A, one of the first commercially available fuzzboxes. We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It (shortened to Fuzzbox for the U

A fuzzbox (or fuzz box) is a type of effects pedal comprising an amplifier and a clipping circuit, which generates a distorted version of the input signal. An effects pedal (or a " Stomp Box " is an electronic Effects unit housed in a small metal or plastic chassis used by musicians usually Electric A distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic of an object image sound waveform or other form of information or representation As opposed to other distortion guitar effects pedals, a fuzzbox boosts and clips the signal sufficiently to turn a standard sine wave input into a waveform that is much closer to a square wave output. Guitar effects are electronic devices that modify the tone pitch or sound of an electric guitar or condition or reroute the signal in some fashion Clipping is a form of Waveform distortion that occurs when an Amplifier is overdriven which happens through attempts to increase the voltage or current A square wave is a kind of Non-sinusoidal waveform, most typically encountered in Electronics and Signal processing. The sound of almost creating a square wave gives a "Rough around the edges" effect that creates the classic fuzz tone. This gives a much more distorted and synthetic sound than a standard distortion or overdrive. Fuzz sounds also tend to have lower Mid frequencies than other distortion types. The term "fuzz box" is often used generically to refer to any effect pedal that produces a distorted sound.

As clipping is a non-linear process, intermodulation will occur, leading to the generation of an output signal rich in extra harmonics of the input signal. This article describes the use of the term nonlinearity in mathematics Intermodulation or intermodulation distortion ( IMD) or intermod for short In Acoustics and Telecommunication, the harmonic of a Wave is a component Frequency of the signal that is an Integer Intermodulation distortion also produces frequency components at the various sums and differences of the frequency components of the input signal. In general, these components will be not be harmonically related to the input signal, leading to dissonance. For this reason, power chords are often used when using fuzzboxes to reduce dissonance. In Music, a power chord (also fifth chord) is a note plus the note a fifth above usually played on Electric guitar.

History

In 1960, a Nashville session musician, Grady Martin, accidentally stumbled upon the fuzz sound during a recording session for Marty Robbins' "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", due to a faulty guitar amplifier. Session musicians are musicians available for hire as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical outfit or who have acquired fame in their own right Grady Martin ( January 17, 1929 in Chapel Hill Tennessee – December 3, 2001 in Lewisburg Tennessee) was a noted Martin David Robinson ( September 26 1925 – December 8, 1982) was an American singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist The fault soon reproduced by an electronic circuit, which was first marketed as the Model FZ-1 under the "Fuzz Tone" brand name.

Early fuzzboxes used germanium transistors. Germanium (dʒɚˈmeɪniəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Ge and Atomic number 32 By the end of the 1960s, these were replaced by silicon transistors. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 Silicon (ˈsɪlɪkən or /ˈsɪlɪkɒn/ silicium is the Chemical element that has the symbol Si and Atomic number 14 Silicon transistors are desirable for a number of reasons. They are generally less affected by changes in temperature and offer more reliable performance than germanium ones. Warm conditions (such as the heat generated by stage lights or sunlight in outdoor performances) can adversely affect the tone of germanium fuzzes. Also, fuzz boxes that employ germanium transistors do not work well when placed after another effect pedal that uses "buffered bypass. "

This is because the buffer on effect pedals converts the guitar's signal from high to low impedance (to retain high frequencies and signal strength). Low impedance signals that pass through germanium-equipped fuzzes tend to suffer from a pronounced drop in volume and bass response. In the 2000s, some boutique fuzzbox builders offer pedals with germanium transistors. Additionally, some units employ both silicon and germanium transistors.

In 1962, The Ventures, having heard the earlier Marty Robbins cut, asked friend Red Rhodes, a steel player and electronics wizard, how they could obtain that sound. A couple of months later, Rhodes presented them with a custom fuzz box, reportedly the first, which The Ventures used to record '2000 Pound Bee'. That song charted in December 1962 and is identified by multiple sources, including The VH-1 Music First Rock Stars Encyclopedia, as the first single to use actual fuzz box guitar. The story of The Ventures use of that custom box is conveyed in the April 2007 edition of Guitar Buyer magazine in an article titled 'Caught By The Fuzz'.

Fuzzboxes gained wider popularity after a distorted sound was popularised by Dave Davies of British Invasion band The Kinks. This is about the English musician for others see Dave Davies (disambiguation. The British Invasion was the term applied by the news media — and subsequently by consumers — to the influx of Rock and roll, beat and pop performers The Kinks were an English pop and rock group formed in 1963 and categorised in the US as a British Invasion band He played through a small amp whose speaker cone had been slashed with a razor blade, distorting the signal. In 1964 he plugged the doctored amp into a Vox AC30 to record You Really Got Me, the band's first No. The Vox AC30 is a guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox and known for its "jangly" high-end sound " You Really Got Me " is a rock Song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band The Kinks. 1 single and the first popular rock & roll song using a distorted power chord riff(Walser 1993, p. Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African 9). Fuzzboxes became popular as a much easier way to create a distorted sound.

In May 1965 Keith Richards used a Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone to record "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943 is an English Guitarist, Songwriter, Singer, producer and a founding member of The Rolling The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar ^[1] The song's success so boosted sales of the device that all available stock had sold out by the end of 1965. ^[2]

Clean and fuzzed guitar

Several power chords: 1) "clean" (without distortion), 2) with bass-heavy fuzz, and 3) with treble-heavy fuzz.

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Types

Other examples of fuzzboxes include the highly-sought Mosrite FuzzRITE, the Fuzz Face (originally made by the Arbiter Group) used by Jimi Hendrix, the Big Muff Pi (made by Electro-Harmonix) and the Vox Tone Bender, used by Paul McCartney on George Harrison's composition Think for Yourself. The Fuzz Face is an Effects pedal used mainly by electric guitarists and by some bass players James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix) (November 27 1942 – September 18 1970 was an American Guitarist, Singer and Songwriter The Big Muff is a Fuzzbox produced in New York City by the Electro-Harmonix company along with their Russian sister company Sovtek, primarily Electro-Harmonix is Vox is a musical equipment manufacturer which is most famous for making the Vox AC30 guitar amplifier, the Vox Electric organ, and a series of innovative Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001 was an English rock Guitarist Singer - Songwriter, Author " Think for Yourself " is a song by the 1960s rock group The Beatles which first appeared on the 1965 album Rubber Soul. Colin Greenwood of Radiohead uses the Shin-ei Companion FY-2 and a Lovetone Big Cheese. Colin Charles Greenwood (born 26 June 1969) also known as Coz is a member of English rock band Radiohead. Radiohead The Shin-ei Companion FY-2 is a discontinued Fuzz box which was made by the Shin-ei company in the 1970s in Japan. The Lovetone Big Cheese is a discontinued true bypass fuzz pedal which was made by the Lovetone company in England from 1995 to 2001

See also

• Distortion (guitar)
• Overdrive (music)
• Guitar effects
• Effects pedal
• Guitar amplifier

For the 1980s rock band see We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It

References

External links

• History and Photos of Vintage Fuzz Pedals.
• Tons of Tones !! : Technical site with information on distortion stages in Guitar Amplifier Models and Effect boxes