The Univox Super-Fuzz was a
fuzzbox produced by the
Univox company, primarily for use with the electric guitar or bass.
History
Origin
The circuit was designed in the late 1960s by the Japanese company Honey, in the form of a multi effect called the Honey Psychedelic Machine. Later on, Honey was taken on by Shin-ei, who produced the effect separately (who also produced another well known fuzz box, the
Shin-ei Companion FY-2 The Shin-ei Companion FY-2 is a discontinued fuzz pedal, made by the Japanese Shin-ei effects pedal company from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. The pedal is known for its raw, distinctive, gated fuzz. FY-2 pedals are now rare.
Different versio ...
) and imported in the USA by Unicord. The first Super-Fuzzes were made in 1968, and production continued until the late 70s.
Design
The first units were made in a simple stamped sheet metal box, painted grey, with a blue metal Univox sticker on the top. Around 1970 production was changed to a die-cast metal box, with a large pedal featuring a rubber cover that had the words "Super-Fuzz" embossed on it. The first die cast units were either grey or black, with a green or black foot pedal. Around 1973 or so, they were all produced with an orange pedal, with a green or blue foot pedal. The later models also featured an internal trim pot for controlling the octave balance.
Alternative manufacturers
Although the Univox units are the most well-known incarnation of this circuit, Shin-ei licensed this circuit out to dozens of manufacturers.
Sound
This fuzz is an octave fuzz using two germanium diodes to produce the square wave clipping.
The controls are 'Balance' (volume), 'Expander' (fuzz amount), a two position 'tone' switch, and an on/off footswitch on top.
There are two unique features of this device that set it apart from other distortion and fuzz pedals. The first is that the full-wave rectification of the circuit produces an upper octave as well as a slight lower octave. This also gives the sound a lot of compression and gives a mild ring modulator effect. The second unique feature is a tone switch that engages a 1kHz filter that "scoops" the mids, giving a very fat, almost bassy tone, unique to this circuit.
Super-Fuzz users
Notable musicians who have used the Super-Fuzz include:
*
Adam Yauch of
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
*
Billy Corgan
William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only permanent member of the rock band the ...
of
Smashing Pumpkins
Smash may refer to:
People
* Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler
* Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above.
* DJ Smash, DJ and music producer
Art, ...
*
Billy Cox of
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
*
Chris Walla of
Death Cab for Cutie
* Elliott Frazier of
Ringo Deathstarr
*
Gary Louris of
The Jayhawks
*
Hillel Slovak of
Red Hot Chili Peppers
*
J Mascis of
Dinosaur Jr.
* Joe Denardo of
Growing
Growing may refer to:
* Growth (disambiguation)
* Growing (band), a noise band based in Brooklyn, New York
* ''Growing'' (Sleeping People album), 2007
*Growing (Rina Chinen album)
* Growing, a children's song sung on the television program Barney ...
* Jon Niederbrach of The Untold Fables
*
Joe Preston of
Thrones A throne is a seat of state for a potentate or dignitary.
Throne or Thrones may also mean: People
* Throne (surname)
Arts and entertainment
*The Throne (group), collaboration pseudonym for rappers Jay Z and Kanye West (as on Drake's "Pop Style")
* ...
*
Josh Homme
Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...
of
Them Crooked Vultures,
Queens of the Stone Age and
Kyuss
*
Jus Oborn of
Electric Wizard
*
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
of
Nirvana
*
Mark Arm and
Steve Turner Steve or Steven Turner is the name of:
Sports
* Steve Turner (rugby league) (born 1984), Australian rugby league footballer
* Steve Turner (Australian rules footballer) (born 1960), Australian rules footballer
* Steven Turner (born 1987), Canadi ...
of
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...
*
Pete Townshend of
The Who
*
Poison Ivy of
The Cramps
*
Scott Hill of
Fu Manchu
*
Steve Hackett of
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
(rebranded as the Shaftesbury Duo-Fuzz)
*
Dave Stewart of
Hatfield and the North (rebranded as the Shaftesbury Duo-Fuzz)
*
Tony McPhee of
The Groundhogs
*
Paul Vinegar of
Jahbulong
*
Josh Hamby of
From Zero To Zed
References
{{Reflist
External links
Effects Database page on the Super-Fuzz
Effects units