Equipment: my fav Strat, a D’Pergo Aged Vintage Classic w/ aged ‘50s pickups in the well, neck position. This guitar is slightly on the bright side with a one piece maple neck and swamp ash body, and the pickups are a relatively low output wind. It has a really nice chime with a JHE-"Are You Experienced-Wind Cries Mary" quality as a reference. Then into a Carr Mercury w/ NOS RCA 6L6 set clean, into my fav old Fender (open-back) 2x12 w/ Cele Gold and UK G12H30…a lovely combination for picking up all the details.
So first some time with the AWF on its own. Each of the three knobs (vol, tone, fuzz) behave like you’d expect. The fuzz is not overbearing, but very nice in that it seems to be a deep fuzz, yet not dark, and it retains individual note clarity well. I liked the tone a bit more to the treble (CW) around 2:00 than usually (around 1:00-1:30). Rolling the guitar tone knob was not as drastic as some fuzzes. Rolling the guitar volume knob cleaned up nicely with very good response to picking dynamics. I am also very pleased to report that it plays well with my Wah (RMC3).
Now put it side-by-side with the Pink Purple and the Candy Apple:
First impression, AWF is the “fullest” sounding of these fuzzes. The best way I can describe it is that it sounds to me like the fuzz is acting on a deeper (lower) range of frequencies in the composite signal, but not muddy like I’ve found with other fuzzes. So it made me wonder about a fuzz face comparison. I plugged in the MJM London for some side-by-side, which quickly refreshed my dark fuzz reference. But the AWF is not dark like the fuzz faces (I’ve played) and retains much better note clarity.
Now back to the other BJFs…the AWF is a much deeper fuzz than the PPF or even the CAF in its CW Nature side. In order of apparent “most” fuzz (this is different than “deepest” fuzz) it goes CAF, PPF, and then AWF. Maybe I’d better define my words a little better here. By “deepest” I’m referring to whether the fuzz is more like a buzz riding on the top higher frequencies or something that is cutting much deeper into the frequency content. Maybe others would say “fuller” or “meatier.” Then when I use “most” it is more like a comparison of the “strength” or gain of the fuzz…kind of like Muff is the most. Maybe these two concepts are more tied together than I know, but anyway, my ear hears some kind of differences in these two separate notional realms. So I see the AWF as the “deepest” but the furthest from “most.”
So, now when I work the guitar controls, the tone roll is pretty consistent with all 3 and not as drastic as some other fuzzes. The guitar volume-roll cleanup of the AWF is noticeably better than the CAF and even the PPF. It is also the quietest of the three with no guitar signal.
Well, so those are my early observations. I really like the pedal! I see only minor overlap, if any, with the other two…three if you want to count the Fuzz1. OF course this unfortunately means that I "NEED" all 3.
I’m a little hesitant to try to provide more specifics because so much is dependent upon your other equipment and playing style, especially with the finicky things that are fuzzes. Plus, it is really hard, for me anyway, to describe sounds with words. But if there is something more you’d like me to explore, please let me know. Nothing can replace eventually playing one yourself with your favorite setup. I hope this helped. Have Fun!!!
Now after some more-relaxed playtime with my new fuzz-buddy, I will go read the SWF reviews to see if I am surprising anyone.
Oh, and of course the artwork on the inside...nice!! (Taking that cover off for the first time is always a kick.)
Also, I'll put up an update on depth and fullness of fuzz once I get the nod for 18 volts.
GREAT REVIEW,,,,,,,,,,
