It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:28 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 2 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: What Am I Missing Here?
Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 6:38 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2014 7:30 pm
Posts: 14
In my maddening quest to decide which fuzz I'm going to buy, I've seen that the '60s grey Univox Super-Fuzz is considered the Holy Grail and is being sold on ebay for up to $600. A friend and I each bought one new for $20 in 1968 (20% discount through our junior HS music teacher). I sold it about 10 years later for $10 or $15 (still with the orange box and the vinyl pouch but without the ugly blue metal name plate that I peeled off and threw away) because I HATED it. I still remember the tone because I did use it a lot over those 10 years and I only wish I still had it so I could sell it today at a ridiculous price.

I'm curious what others may think about this pedal's revered status. Neither I nor anyone I lent it to ever got a good tone out of it regardless of the guitar or the amp. And there was nothing wrong with it. My friend's sounded exactly the same.


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: What Am I Missing Here?
Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 7:26 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:50 pm
Posts: 4602
Location: ˚ɷ˚
As the saying goes, it is easy to draw nostalgia from old devilment.

Old fuzz pedals were popular because they were something new at the time, not because they were invented in full perfection. And they're popular now mainly because of nostalgia mixed with a fair dose of hero worship.
I find newer analog fuzz pedals to be far superior to the ones of yore. Granted, there is a lot of crap out there too, but that's just Sturgeon's law. But in my opinion, a Univox Super Fuzz, Rotosound or Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face is going to be crud compared to a modern pedal where the flaws and limitations of the older ones have been rectified.

Take a Keeley Fuzz Head as an example - it's an improvement on the RAT, which in turn was an improvement on the Fuzz Face - and it comes with both silicon and germanium, so you can have the best of both worlds. For a third of the price. Then there are pedals like the Zvex Fuzz Factory, which takes fuzz to whole new levels. Imagine what Hendrix could have done with one.
My personal fave is also relatively new, the Spaceman Sputnik. All germanium, and it can do everything the old ones could, but much more, both on the well behaved and the wild side.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 2 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: