Mystoury Fuzz

[EyeFly]

Mystoury Fuzz

The following are my impressions of the mystery pedal that is currently circulating. It is most definitely a FUZZ.

My Sparkling Orange Overdrive findings comparing it to the Sparkling Yellow will follow in my next post.

In the immortal words of Buffalo Springfield, ?for what its worth??..

RIG: PRS Custom 22, treble p/u, into Tonefactor Eeyore A/B (with tests participants) into THD Flexi 50(with 6v6?s) into THD 2X12 cab with Lead 80?s.

ERGONOMICS: Unfinished silver box sized as per previous BJF products, AC tap on top, in/out access on the sides, three knobs with index markings, middle larger than the other two, nice blue LED in upper left corner. From left to right, the knobs control volume, ?tone?, and fuzz so far as I can tell. No internal trimmers. No picture.

COMPARISONS: I made the comparisons at useable volumes for my empty house..ie?I used volume settings from 10 to 12 o?clock so as to preserve what little hearing I have remaining. The volume was certainly sufficient for anything other than a stadium venue and neither pedal was ?noisy? at the volume settings I used. Well, the CAF can be but I didn't test it long.

First, I tested the Mystoury Fuzz (MF) with the CAF. Don?t, they are certainly not in the same family. The CAF is nasty, the MF is not.

I next tested the MF against my Folk Fuzz (FF). I tried to get an overall feel for the similarities and differences in specific settings given that the permutations for testing are unlimited.

With both pedals set to: 11 /12 / full (clockwise) ? the FF has a more ?in your face? fuzz, the MF a bit more subdued, but they are not worlds apart. The MF has a bit more of an overdriven sound combined with a nice fuzz.

Settings to: 11 / full(clockwise) / full (clockwise) ? the FF has a more ?gritty? sound, more ?bacon frying? ambience, the MF has a lot of fuzz on tap but is more ?singing? in nature?the FF is more trebly, but the MF has plenty of grit.

Settings to: 11 / full (counterclockwise) / full (clockwise) ? the FF has more bass here and seems more ?compressed, the MF is still very useable and maintains clarity even with the tone backed all the way off. Overall, the ?tone? knob on the MF seems more linear, the FF has a more ?extreme? response curve at both the ends of the center knob.

Settings : 11 / 9 / full (clockwise) ? again, more bass response in the FF.

Settings: 11/ 12 / 12 ? the MF was ?tighter?, the FF more loose with loss of bass and compression. Again, the MF maintains a more overdriven sound with, I?m not sure more, but certainly different, harmonics.

All of the above were done mainly while chording, some power chords and some open. With single string, both pedals have good sustain and pick dynamics. It is more difficult to detect the nuances between the two when playing single strings versus chords.

Overall, the two are quite comparable and, given that I own a Folk Fuzz, I would likely just keep using in as I?m not a fuzz nut, but, I would opt for the MF if I chose between the two. Similar levels of fuzz on both with a smoother delivery by the MF and more in the ay of OD/fuzz which makes it a bit more versatile.

One last note, backing off on the guitar volume is not good with either as they tend to get a little ?fizzy?.

I did not stack the pedals with any others. I'm certain the MF would stack well with the HBOD as my FF certainly does and you could add some versatility to it with a bit of SBEQ or PGC.

Looking forward to feedback from other users. Sorry for the tome. Sparkling Orange review later today or in the morning. Had to go to a local coffee shop to input this as my net at home is out.

Donner, thanks for including me on the list. All, have a great day!!

cork

[Donner]

Excellent detailed report cork !!!

Do you by chance have the treble retention mod on your volume control ? (cap/resistor combo that retains treble when rolled-off) ?

I have this on a couple strats and it effects the fuzz rolloff, the old style treble sucker would also smooth out the fuzz when the volume is backed off.....

just a thought........looking forward to t eh SOOD report as well...

[Robapov]

awesome review, thanks for taking the time to write that...sounds really interesting, i have been on such a intense fuzz binge it shall be nice to hear something different...cant wait for the other reviews!

[EyeFly]

Excellent detailed report cork !!!

Do you by chance have the treble retention mod on your volume control ? (cap/resistor combo that retains treble when rolled-off) ?

I have this on a couple strats and it effects the fuzz rolloff, the old style treble sucker would also smooth out the fuzz when the volume is backed off.....

just a thought........looking forward to t eh SOOD report as well...

Donner,

I don't, to my knowledge, have the treble retention mod on my volume control. Sounds like something I should look into...

I'm finally back on line at home...Sparkling Orange later tonight or first thing in the AM... finished formatting my hard drive....now have to put the software back on....computers are so great, until they break!!

cork

[Robapov]

just got the tourbox! i have been playing for about an hour or so...where did this fuzz come from!? it is stackable beyond compare! i have not had this much fun with a dirt pedal in a long time...it seems to melt with everything i try it with...AMAZING!!!!...ahhh thanks for the chance to play these pedals, bringing them to a HUGE jam later today...ill let everyone know how it turns out in a live band situation

edit.....this fuzzzzzzzz keeps getting more intense, it has incredible singing sustain that has a punchy horn flavour to it....its a perfectly carbonated soda that begs to be drank while floating in the sky....

do i hear Shawn Lane in the distance...........

very distinct sound to this box...haunting harmonics and whistling feedback...it is very comfortable and natural to play, it has a stern sense of power behind its voice...LARGE range of usable sounds (every knob in every position produces something beautiful), it seems to accompany every note played in the sustain...it certainly has a glowing glaze around it, when the box is engaged you certainly notice a difference instantly...

[Robapov]

This pedal is truly something special...i think its sound has consumed my soul...I have had it on for 2 days now! Donner please tell more about the design/future of this pedal...any info would be appreciated!

[cabo]

Robapov,,sounds like you are in love

some quick thoughts,,setup was usual Tele>MP amp>MP cab. Abnormal channel with mid Focus. Tested at full band volume.

This was a really enjoyable one,,,i thought this one had a touch of PPF as it did OD sounds well with the fuzz down, some bigger low end fuzz capabilites like the CAF, and some Folk qualities too that reminded me of a good fuzz face.

Very warm and oraginc feeling,,and the dynamics of this pedal are unbelieveable too.
Sensitive to the picking touch and from the guitars volume. With one setting and using the vol knob on guitar,, it can go from a clean distinct note finger pickin to a big grinding open fuzz sound and lots of goodness in between. It could cover alot of musical styles.

I kept the fuzz maxed and controlled it with the guitar and picking.
I had wished there was more treble out of the middle knob as I found I always had this cranked too.
It did sound nice with a LRT or RRB after it. I didnt try to many OD stacks.
I really liked it with 18 v.,,the mid knob had more clarity thoughout and the useable range for me grew. The control with the guitars volume knob seemed to blend smoother, more gradual too. It also allowed the lower vol settings on the guitar to become clearer and overall more useable, allowed for even cleaner tones that at 9V.
I could see leaving this on all the time as it could go thru clean, clean boost, OD, dist break up,,and big Fuzz.

I would definately be interested if this makes it into the line up.
Only suggestion might be more high end out of the middle knob for lower voltage use. Other than that,,damn impressive.

[Robapov]

yes! that is the only improvement i could think of also...great review we share many of the same thoughts about the pedal...this one would certainly have a space on my board

[Teahead]

Those are some great descriptions, I'll name that pedal in one.

[cabo]

hmm, if I had to name the pedal in one word,,,it would be dynamics.