We’ve been ensconced in the throws of Chase Bliss Audio products for years now (see CXM 1978, Preamp MkII, Blooper, Gen Loss, MOOD, etc), and are always excited when they put out a new piece of gear. The first run of today’s pedal sold out pretty quickly, as did the second, of which we were lucky enough to snag one, and are so glad we did. The Bliss Factory Fuzz is a collaboration between Chase Bliss and ZVEX Effects, who you should also be very familiar with (if not, do your research, you’ll thank us). Not your ordinary fuzz pedal, no sir, this one is gonna rip off some faces, for real…
One of, if not THE, most popular of ZVEX’s pedals is their Fuzz Factory, which is where the circuitry for the Bliss Factory began. Taking that classic sound, adding on a low pass filter, along with all of CBA’s digital wizardry, has produced an amazing fuzz pedal whose options are just about endless. Presets, MIDI control, expression pedal and CV compatibility, crazy dip switches and more – there’s nothing not to love about this monster of an effect.
Like the Fuzz Factory, the main controls here are Volume, Drive, Gate, Comp and Stab, with the added LPF as knob #6. There are toggle switches for selecting the type of Filter you want, the amount of sub frequencies present and what the AUX Stomp switch controls. Along with the classic Chase Bliss dip switches, which adjust ramping, expression pedal functionality, bypassing and more, the Bliss Factory Fuzz is a super-customizable pedal, letting each player dial in their own specific settings. The MIDI/AUX jack can be used to interface with a Chase Bliss Midibox, while on the other side you can use 0-5V Control Voltage as well (see the full manual here).
There’s no shortage of tones available here, but you’ll want to be sure and read through the manual to take advantage of everything this pedal can do…if you are lucky enough to find one. The Chase Bliss Audio + ZVEX Bliss Factory Fuzz is an extremely powerful tool to have in your arsenal, and while the wild, sometimes out-of-control fuzzy stylings might not be for everyone out there, those of us who love these types of tones won’t be able to let this one out of our sight. Thanks to Chase Bliss Audio and ZVEX Effects for this wicked rad collaboration, which was created in support of Reverb.com‘s first feature-length documentary, “The Pedal Movie,” on the history and culture of effects pedals. The demo video below is not short, but if you only listen to the first minute or two, you’re gonna miss out on so much that we were able to coax out of this machine. We suggest you grab a beverage, toss on your best pair of headphones and enjoy the ride!
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