Click to hear my new clip! More info below.
New from Lowbrow Effects, the Fz-1 Fuzztone, vintage style germanium fuzz.
Based on the legendary daddy of all fuzz pedals, the Maestro Fz-1 Fuzz Tone. Lowbrow Effects are hand made by myself from top quality components right here in the U.S.A. The Fz-1 is built using NOS vintage 60's RCA germanium transistors. A voltage converter and regulator has been designed so that this pedal can be daisy chained with all your other effects on your pedal board, no battery needed. It operates at 3 volts just like the original and was built and tuned in comparison with a carefully crafted to match a vintage RCA 2N270 powered clone I built after extensive study and experimentation. My Fz-1 nails the tone of the original beautifully.
All my effects employ quality switches, Neutrik jacks (my personal favorites), carbon film resistors, ceramic capacitors (when the originals employed them) or otherwise modern high quality film and electrolytic are used. The 5mm high brightness LED is violet, the jacks are top mount, the effect is true bypass and all wiring is accomplished with stranded 24 gauge routed in a neat and orderly fashion to keep it safe, out of harms way and take advantage of the slight faraday cage effect afforded by the enclosure. Each circuit is hand built on vero board and fully tested and tuned before being offered for your perusal.
Lastly, each effect I build is also hand painted by myself using high quality enamels that are baked on for a high gloss finish. Each one is different and while one effect might always get the same girl, sometimes she will be a blonde, other times a brunette and always in interesting color combinations. This allows me to combine all my interests into one endeavor, a love for vintage technology, music and art. Each little box is a labor of love and art in both a visual and sonic sense. On the inside of the box lid, each effect is serialized. dated and hand signed.
I offered my pedals through Harmony-Central and The Gear Page for a while, but hope to be offering them through ebay exclusively from here on. I generally do not like to take orders. I build what I want, when I can and will offer them here as they are available. That means no waiting for you! Web site to follow soon.
Warranty - All Lowbrow Effects Pedals carry a 1 year warranty from the date of purchase on parts and labor to the original purchaser for the repair or replacement of any non cosmetic components not as a result of misuse or improper powering.
I use a fairly primitive method to do my clip recording. It's the best I have figured out how to do given the equipment I have, at this time. I'm using a Edirol digital recorder (R-09HR portable recorder) set about 1 foot in front of my late 80's red knob Fender Champ 12. The amp EQ is set flat and the bright switch is off. I'm using a "musician's grade" 1973 Gibson SG Standard with Burst Bucker Pros.
The first clip I had posted was with the recorders limiters and compression all on maximum. I've since dialed back the volume on the amp a lot and have turned all the compression, limiting and bass cut off on the recorder to try to get a truer representation of the pedal's sound.On this new clip I play the same lick ten times in a row. First time is clean, then with the "Attack" knob set at: 7, 8, 9, 10:30, Noon, 1:30, 3, 4 and finally, full up at 5. Lastly, I torture you further with a few riffs and noodles with the Attack set at full up and later half way. I hope these give a better idea how awesome this pedal sounds, plus the wide range of fuzz, sustain and compression that is available on the Attack knob.
Some comments from recent customers:
"This pedal is freaking awesome! You outdid yourself, man. Perfect fuzz from the past… Rolling Stones and all sorts of tunes. I love it! Thanks ever so much for it."
"I just got my Lowbrow effects Fz1 back from Chris and all I can say is I am floored! I got the original pedal about a year ago and already loved it as it was a very good interpretation of the maestro fz1 with some nice improvements. First of all there is a charge pump so I can run it in my daisy chain for power which is a big plus. Also the fuzz control on the Lowbrow pedal is really effective and let's me go from a gritty overdrive to all out sonic assault. I have played am original fz1 and I have to say this has all the mojo of the vintage pedal but with a more useful range and it fits nicely on my board. Anyone interested in one of these fine pedals lookup Chris at www.lowbroweffects.com or lookup lowbrow on here."
