JHS Pedals Legends of Fuzz

The Legends of Fuzz series from JHS Pedals is a tribute to the world’s most historic, rare, and sought after fuzz circuits. Since the originals are extremely hard-to-find, extremely expensive when you do and prone to the problems electronics might have after 50 years, this series brings these sounds and tones to the masses, for all to enjoy. There are four pedals in all, and we’re going to run through each one, what they can do and top it all off with a 4-pedal demo video at the end.

First up, we’ve got the Bender, a replica of the 1973 MKIII Tonebender. This pedal is aimed to recreate a specific ’73 model, actually, the Silver/Orange “Onomatopoeia” version, which featured three special germanium transistors and tons of mojo. Volume, Tone and Attack are the controls up top, along with a special “JHS Mode” button on the side. Push this guy in, and you get more gain plus a mid frequency boost to send your leads soaring through the mix. Looking to conjure up Zeppelin, Jeff Beck or My Bloody Valentine tones? This is your pedal.

Up next is the Crimson, based on the 1992 Mike Matthews Red Army Overdrive. Warmer, clearer, and more defined than any of the Soviet Big Muffs that followed, the Red Army is extremely rare, with only a small number of units manufactured and still left in existence. This faithful recreation is an exact replica of the original, with Volume, Tone and Distort controls. There’s a “JHS Mode” button here as well, which acts as a mid frequency boost to slice and dice. Think Smashing Pumpkins/Sonic Youth/Dinosaur Jr. for this one.

The third pedal of this series is the Smiley, which follows in the footsteps of the early-silicon version of the Arbiter Fuzz Face. Famously used by Hendrix, Clapton, Gilmour and many more, this fuzz features searing sustain, sustaining low end and crisp mid-range bite. Volume and Fuzz controls are all you need here, but they tossed in the “JHS Mode” push button on this one as well. This sends the Smiley into a high gain, gated fuzz-type territory, really ramping everything up and crushing everything in its path.

Finally, we’ve got the Supreme, which replicates the 1972 Univox Super-Fuzz. An octave-fuzz that’s loud and screaming but rich and vibrant, The Who, the Black Keys, the Beastie Boys and Mudhoney, among others, utilized this one in their music. Volume and Expand are the controls, and there are actually TWO push-buttons here on the Supreme. “Tone” engages a mid cut that flattens out the attack, like a preset scooped mid EQ control. “Mode” activates the “JHS Mode” setting, giving you a much more pronounced octave up effect, thicker mid-range, and more available volume/boost.

Basically, these four pedals cover all the fuzz territory you’ve been hearing for decades, but may not have been able to pinpoint or recreate. No longer do you have to pour over vintage pedal sites and eBay, endlessly searching for a wildly expensive, perhaps problem-ridden piece of gear that’s unreliable at best. You now have access to four incredible fuzz circuits that should pretty much cover any fuzz jones you’ve got, and since they’re built with JHS quality, you’ll have for years to come. Amazing job by Josh and the JHS crew getting these replicas created so precisely and impeccably – we’re going to run through each of the JHS Pedals Legends of Fuzz for you in the demo below. In keeping with the times, too, we used an early 1970’s Ibanez Pre-Lawsuit Les Paul, which sounds like it fits perfectly with these pedals – be sure to give ’em all a good long listen, cheers!

Use these links to purchase these pedals on Amazon and support us:

Bender: JHS Pedals Bender Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal (JHSBENDER)
Crimson: JHS Pedals Crimson Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal (JHSCRIMSON)
Smiley: JHS Pedals Smiley Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal (JHSSMILEY)
Supreme: JHS Pedals Supreme Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal (JHSSUPREME)