Fuchs Audio Technology Plush Phone Tone

Sometimes, the simplest pedals can be some of the coolest and most fun, and a lot of times can be used in many different ways. Lots of buttons and knobs and bells and whistles are always fun, but sometimes you just want a pedal that you can only turn on or off, with no controls and virtually nothing to think about. A prime example of the marriage of simplicity and usefulness is today’s wacky signal processor pedal from Fuchs Audio Technology, the Plush Phone Tone.

Created to emulate the old telephone filter sounds found on old studio gear, and produces an extremely unique but useful sound, one that can be applied to many different musical applications. Starting out on guitar, the Phone Tone added a haunting yet familiar blanket of sound over my original tone, creating an old-timey, super-retro sound that I hadn’t yet heard through the use of a pedal. Since there are no controls or knobs on the Phone Tone, I just used different pickup configurations and played with the Volume and Tone knobs on my guitar to come up with strange and wonderful new noises, all powered by this vintage looking and sounding black box.

I then decided to test it out in a couple more applications, with super-fun results. Throw this thing on a vocal mic and you’re whisked away to the 20s or 30s, getting that Vaudeville-type vocal tone and range, almost as if the vocals are all supposed to be in the background, but present at the front end nonetheless. Another use for the Phone Tone was on my little keyboard rig, and that was a blast as well, especially with my MicroKORG, as it added a whole new dimension to the synth sounds coming out of my amp. This pedal has lots of potential for use in multiple ways on very differing setups, instruments and other studio applications, and is a blast to just sit down and play with.

Big thanks to Andy and everyone at Fuchs Audio Technology for letting us mess around with this cool and unusual pedal. They make incredible amps, as well as a whole line of rad pedals, a bunch of which will be reviewed here on Pedal of the Day in the near future. So while you wait for our reviews, make sure you go check out their site, and immerse yourself in the world that is Fuchs Audio Technology!