Fuzz incoming

[Agileguy]

So maybe you saw this on the Duncan forum (as I've said before, I literally only go there to brag about new gear purchases and occasionally see if there are any interesting gear threads) but I bought a new fuzz pedal. I've actually sold off a bunch of pedals lately, including my Analogman Sunface that just wasn't getting any use. Since I only have 2 fuzzes at the moment, I decided to use the cash I got from selling the sunface to buy something awesome and fuzzy.





And awesome and fuzzy is exactly what I got.  I just fucking love that sloped, hammered enclosure. And look at the amazing wiring job on the inside! Tagboard for the win. And it's a really nice touch to have an on/off switch for the battery built into the volume (bias) knob, especially since it only runs on battery power.

Anyway, it's a clone of a Baldwin Burns Buzzaround - one of only 13 made due to using the apparently very difficult to source NKT213 transistor. You don't hear much talk about these if at all, because the originals were made only from 1966 to 1968 and in limited numbers, which means that most people don't even know they exist. But if it sounds anything like the buzzaround clone in the video below, I think I'll be very happy.




I'll definitely be making some clips soon.

[Dr. Vegetable]

From the thread title, I expected you had stopped shaving.

That looks awesome and built like a tank. Step on it!

[Oinkus]

Very nice quality work. If it sounds half as good as it looks to be made you should be getting some great sounds out of that new toy.

[LesStrat]

Congrats. That's a fine looking pedal.

[Securb]

That sounds cool as fuck

[Agileguy]

So the Arcane NKT213 came in a day early - joy of joys! I played it with a bunch of different guitars into my Mesa Mark IIB Coliseum on the clean channel.

HOLY. SHIT. This thing is amazing. Even though I probably played this thing for a few hours, I'm not going to try to do a full review of it because A) I didn't play it loud enough to really let it open up, and B) I'm going to shoot for making some clips tomorrow.

For now, I'll say that it has some muff-ish characteristics - mainly the overall level of gain and how huge it can sound. But it's a different kind of huge from a big muff. It doesn't have the booming low end of a triangle muff - it's more lean, like a ram's head muff. It's got way more mids than any stock big muff, and the mids are just ripping. And the top end isn't smooth like a muff - it's not overly bright, but it's got an amazing clarity that lets chords shine through in a way that many other fuzzes can't manage.

Hopefully I'll get to make some clips tomorrow - I also want to compare it to the other fuzzes I have on hand, so that should give a good idea of what this fuzz is capable and where it sits in the world of fuzz.