Hot fuzz

3 min read

Walrus Audio puts a valve in a fuzz box for all to see, plus a special Harmonic mode, and invites you to dig into the Silt

Words Trevor Curwen

1. You can see the ECC82/ 12AU7 valve doing its work through its backlit window in the middle of the unit. We have the black version of the pedal, but it’s also available in red 2. The Harmonic footswitch engages a frequency doubler before the drive section, giving you an upper octave. You can switch it in and out when the pedal is engaged or choose to leave it active so you get the full composite sound when you engage the pedal

We’ve been seeing more fuzz boxes released than any other kind of pedal lately, several with a claim to having special characteristics. The latest from Walrus Audio is no exception, but its special characteristic is plain for all to see: a valve lit up in a front-panel window. The idea behind the pedal was to create a fuzz with the rich, harmonically complex texture that a real valve can provide, so Walrus Audio teamed up with valve expert Jim Hagerman to develop this design based around an ECC82/12AU7 preamp valve. It’s a tidy-sized pedal, with sounds dialled in by three knobs and a three-way toggle switch, and it sports an extra footswitched Harmonic mode for some octave action.

Starting with the Gain knob at zero we get a nice crunchy drive tone, and with unity gain around noon, there’s plenty of scope for delivering a boost with the Volume knob. The Tone knob, post-fuzz, is a tilt EQ that’s basically flat in the centre, cutting highs and boosting lows to the left, and boosting top while rolling off lows clockwise. Small deviations either side of centre work great for matching the tone to various amps, but there’s plenty of range if you want to get more extreme, especially if combined with the three-way contour switch that, besides a flat setting, offers either a high-pass or a low-pass filter to tweak the tone before it hits the fuzz stage. Extreme sounds aside, the Contour switch’s attenuation of bottom- or top-end is a practical asset in compensating for different pickups.

Advancing the Gain knob takes you through various shades of distortion to fat fuzz, always with harmonic richness, decent string articulation and volume knob clean-up. There are some excellent sounds to be had here in standard nine-volt operation, but running the pedal at 12 volts squeezes out extra gain. Switching into Harmonic mode gives you another voice as a frequency doubler before the drive transforms the sound, adding throaty octave harmonic overtones. This thickens up dirty chordal work and delivers a distinctive tone for

This article is from...

Guitarist Magazine

26 April 2024

Total Guitar

“in the heat of the battle, when we’re playing bohemian rhapsody live and that riff comes along, i’m excited, but i’ve got to keep apart of my brain cool just to handle where the fingers have to go. it’s one of the most unnatural riffs to play that you could possibly imagine!”

In aworld exclusive interview, Queen’s guitar genius Brian May recalls how many of the band’s most famous songs were created, what inspired his magical solos in Killer Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and more, and why the band cooked up apunk-stye version of We Will Rock You. He also reveals why he didn’t play the funk rhythm on Another One Bites The Dust, and why that heavy riff on Bohemian Rhapsody is still one of the hardest things to play…

Guitar World

The works

THE YEAR KICKED off with a significant moment in instrumental guitar history, as 24-year-old Steve Vai unleashed Flex-Able, the first studio offering under his own name. The record was recorded at Stu

Guitar Player

Water under the bridge

Talking with Mark Knopfler about guitars — what else? — is a bit like speaking with an unrepentant kid and a hardened member of GAA: Guitar Aficionados Anonymous. “I STILL STOP AND LOOK in a guitar sh

Guitar Techniques

Geoff tyson

For numerous 80s/90s rock fans, T-Ride’s debut album from 1992 is a sparkling jewel in the hard rock genre. While the trio only released one album, its blend of huge vocals, sophisticated band arrangements, unique chord changes and precise guitar performances still stands strong today. Jason Sidwell caught up with the band’s guitarist, Geoff Tyson to look back at the album that put his name on the map of virtuosic rock guitar playing.