A lot of times, you can tell if you and a pedal are going to gel from the first minute or so of playing it. Today’s featured pedal took us about 8 seconds before we knew it was a keeper. The White Widow Silicon Fuzz comes to us all the way from Brazil, and it was well worth the wait. Based on a special version of the Big Muff Pi from the late ’70s, this one has a couple more options and tones than its classic predecessor.
The big knobs present on the White Widow are Fuzz and Volume, defined by a cool squiggly line. Although not immediately identifiable, it didn’t take us too long to figure out what it controlled. In addition, there are three smaller controls directly below, which really make up the meat and potatoes of this pedal. Your classic Tone knob has a big range and is super expressive, sweeping from a sharp, crisp EQ to a fuller, deeper-bodied low end chunk.
The Tone knob works really well with the Mid control, which lets you dial in the vintage mid-scoop of the Big Muffs, OR gives you the ability to boost the midrange as you see fit. Experimenting with these two allows the White Widow to open up, and unleash a slew of sonic options you never knew you needed. In another special pairing, the Pre knob jives perfectly with the aforementioned Fuzz control, acting as an input pre-gain, setting the stage for some powerful overdrive, distortion and fuzz combinations. Crank up everything on the control panel, and this dynamic effect becomes an insane noise-making wonder, perfect for irritating neighbors and impressing the folks in the crowd.
One of the more flexible fuzzes we’ve come across recently, the White Widow (despite being black in color) is a monster waiting to be let loose, and the additional of a few much-enjoyed controls make it possible to create and innovate fuzz sounds like never before. Harkening back to classic distortion tones of some classic songs and albums, but with its own spin and modern tweakability, this is a fuzz for the ages. Shout out to the crew at Stomp Audio Labs for letting us attempt to tame this guy – we’ve got some more pedal reviews of theirs coming for you soon, but be sure to head to their website and check out all the gear they’ve got in the meantime (and don’t forget to watch the demo, too).
GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES, CONTEST INFO, SEE OUR LATEST DEMO VIDEOS AND MORE:
