The V1 Buzz Bomb is a very dynamic and expressive fuzz pedal, with a huge range of sounds possible, from classic 60's fuzz to raging stuttering chaos! The V1 now incluides an internal low end blend control so it sounds as good on bass, vocals and keyboards, as it does on guitar!
The controls are Gain, Frequency, Volume, Freq. Knob/Photocell select, and Frequency effect switch. Additional features include an internal low end blend control, true-bypass footswitching, on/off LED, and photocell control. The effect can be powered by a 9V battery or optional standard 9V DC power supply (negative tip).
The Gain knob controls the amount of fuzz. Turn it down for a gated fizzy fuzz sound, or crank it for seething face melting fuzz! The Frequency knob controls the frequency sweep of the effect. You can use your foot over the photocell to control the frequency for a fuzz-wah type effect. The photocell allows for a very expressive fuzz sound, unlike any other fuzz pedal. The Frequency effect switch is another unique feature only found on the 3Xfx Buzz Bomb. Turn it on and turn the frequency down for a stuttering fuzz effect. The notes you play will sometimes stutter in response to your playing. This effects varies from instrument to instrument. With the Frequency effect switch on and the Freq up you will get an octave down fuzz effect with an active or boosted instrument. Last but not least is the Volume control which is very important on this pedal as it can be extremely loud. Start out with the volume all the way down and slowly make your way up from there, and don't say I didn't warn you!
The sounds of this pedal are more descriptive then I could ever be, so I tried to record many different possible sounds and describe them in the paragraphs below. Be sure to listen to all the sound clips and videos, and listen through speakers with good bass response, especially for the bass clips.
At first the soft playing and low gain in clip 1 breaks up beautifully. Then with the gain up the seething burning fuzz could almost damage your ears. The feedback at the end shows off the vastly rich harmonics that are present in this fuzz making it sound like multiple tracks instead of the solitary track that was recorded.
Clip 2 begins with a nice stutter sound. At the end of the clip is some nice feedback and stutter end.
Clip 3 shows off some of the nastiest, fartiest, splatiest sounds this pedal makes!
Clip 4 has the gain turned down a bit, but still high enough to make those harmonics ring out! The frequency effect switch is up and the photocell is used to vary the stutter effect in real time, showing how expressive this fuzz pedal can be!
Clip 5 shows off the stutter effect again, at first with a mid gain setting then with higher gain. The stutter effect is responsive to your playing!
Clip 6 shows off my favorite bass setting. The Gain and Freq. knobs are all the way up and the frequency effect switch is up, giving a very thick octave down fuzz sound on and active bass! In the middle the Freq. knob is turned all the way down for a nice, expressive stutter sound. Then it is turned back up for more massively thick fuzz.
Clip 7 demonstrates the photocell in action for a fuzz wah effect which sounds great on bass!
