the Dizzy Tone—a germanium fuzz in a
gargantuan metal lump of an enclosure.
Italy, as you may know, was quietly pumping
out classic after classic in this era, and if
there were a pedal hall of fame, the Echorec,
Vox wah and Vox Tone Bender would be
first-ballot inductees. Perhaps the Dizzy Tone
will be akin to Arvydas Sabonis of the
Portland Trail Blazers—an inductee despite
entering the public eye well past his prime.
Ballyhoo aside, the sound is something else.
Imagine, if you will, a cross between a Tone
Bender MKIII and a Mosrite Fuzzrite that got
bitten by a radioactive spider and given
super powers, and you’re close.
Unfortunately, finding an original may prove
a fruitless endeavor, but luckily, Jext Telez is
the certified Indiana Jones of
semiconductors and regularly wrangles small
lots of transistors that belong in a museum.
Jext Telez uses these to make certain that
the legacy of the Dizzy Tone forges onward.
GS WYLLIE MOONROCK
It’s not exactly vintage, but it sure is out
there, and since its creator—G.S. Wyllie
himself—has passed away (R.I.P.), they’re no
longer made. The Moonrock is named as
much because the enclosure is shaped
like an actual rock. If that wasn’t strange
enough, the circuit itself is certainly
akin to some manner of lunar artifact.
The Moonrock simply resembles
nothing else out there, both in sound
and circuit topology. Notably absent
from the unit is a fuzz control, in its
place is a simple control: “Adjustment.”
This Adjustment knob is a very unique
control indeed; many fuzzes “bloom,”
that is, they “open up,” so to speak, when hit
hard, almost like a very short envelope
control. The Moonrock’s Adjustment dial
turns that bloom into a control whose
bounds are beyond anything reasonable.
Cranking the knob turns the Moonrock into
a full-on attack-decay machine, where the
octave-tinged notes beautifully wash in after
a second or so. Thanks for the memories,
Mr. Wyllie.
HONEY SPECIAL FUZZ
The Super Fuzz and Uni-Vibe are absolute
classic effects. They’ve appeared on
hundreds if not thousands of hit records,
and either one’s sound is instantly
recognizable. These two effects were
manufactured by Shin-Ei, whose name is
synonymous with these two. However,
before Shin-Ei was Shin-Ei, it was Honey, and
the Honey company only cranked out weird
effect after weird effect. One such effect
was the Special Fuzz, a pedal that is as
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