Post Your Personal Gear

It is the way.

"No it isn't!"

Yes it is!

That Jolana's a freakin' FrankenTele! - I love it! I bet it could tell a few stories too; it's lived through interesting times.

Does your own one look like the one illustrated? There's a lot going on with its Jazz/Jag style trem and Mustang looking pickups and I particularly like the the two strap buttons at the back; like twin tail pipes on a pimped up kit car! I do like oddball guitars. I almost pulled the trigger on an interesting Czech take on the Mustang before I found my Fender going cheap.

I read your guitar review - my Squier "Musuar" fulfills a similar role to your Iris. I got it specifically for the trem too and It looked the perfect guitar for playing all the S'es: Sixties surf, spy, spaghetti and psychedelic sounds. Plus, the shape is a bit 'out there'.

Speaking of Psychedelic sound, today is a New Pedal Day for me! :-D

I've managed for years without fuzz... that's not strictly true. I still have the Ibanez SoundTank "60's Fuzz" that a friend randomly gave me in the late 90's long before I even owned a guitar. I think he was hoping it might improve the sound of my Harmonica playing - it didn't.

Quite how the soundtank got its 60's Fuzz moniker I'll never know. It's a modified Big Muff circuit that sounds every bit as huge as listening to Siamese Dream through a transistor radio! Turning the knobs on it or on the guitar varies the tone from wool to static.
It' also a Schrodinger's pedal in that whenever you step on it you can never predict if it'll be alive or dead! I'm told it is a core component of the Mark Arm/Mudhoney tone but even Mark rehoused his for a better switch and stacks it with... fuzz... I mean, why bother!?

So the point of that rant was, I realised that the psychedelicious spaghetti fuzz sounds I was seeking would never be found in this bug-ugly so called '60's fuzz' monstrosity. Alas, even the supposed Fuzzface built into my beloved MS-50g delivers not the slightest hint of the dynamism and cleanup the real deal is famed for.

So I've indulged in my first Boss pedal - a Waza! the FZ-1w. It's actually my first ever 'new' pedal although with that said, it came as an Amazon warehouse deal with £30 knocked off for a slightly crumpled box. I'm such a cheapskate! but hey, it'll never be going back in the box!

This thing has far exceeded my expectations, there's not a bad sound in it. Vintage mode has the dynamic fuzz face qualities I was hoping for. Cranked up in modern mode gets me "comfortably numb". Winding back on various settings gets me from a ratty racket to Hound Dog Taylor filth. I couldn't ask for more from any drive pedal.

It's not quite there for bees in a can/Satisfaction/Spaghetti Western/Portishead"All Mine" tones but I'll get by. I genuinely believe it'll be my forever fuzz - in fact if I'm not being particular it feels like it could stand in for all my dirt needs; certainly it's all I'm using for the time being.

Yeah the Jolana Iris is a pretty amazing guitar, love it! I've just uploaded a couple of photos now to my page, one with my two Jolanas (I also have a Jolana Kolor bass), the other pic is of the Iris' soundhole which is pretty interesting. Mine is the same as the one illustrated, finish and everything, except that the selector switch has been changed (they were originally made with 8 way selector switches, the previous owner changed it to a regular 3 way telecaster switch... this is probably better, the bass still has the 8 way selector switch, I can get any sound I want on it, but it sometimes goes silent with a couple of the settings). I also painted the pickguard black (on sunburst finishes I prefer black pickguards over white ones). It's all in perfect condition, even the finish is perfect! (Whereas the Jolana bass needed a re-finish as the original paint had come off, but it looks much better in black now).

Oh nice, I'm curious about the Boss Waza FZ-1w, checking it out on YouTube now, wow it's certainly versatile :D Goes anywhere from clean to full on dirt, love that! The fuzz I have is a Cuvave fuzz, it cost something like $25 when I bought it, and that thing is insane! Even on the lowest setting it adds a huge amount of dirt to the signal (it's not for adding subtle fuzz though, only if you want full-on fuzz)

Adrian of Portishead uses a proco rat for a lot of those weedy 60s fuzz tones, at least live.

Edit: the old fz1 circuit is like 75% lifted from the univox superfuzz. The transistor based output stage of the univox is replaced with a dual opamp which if I recall correctly takes over output duty and has a baxandall 2 band eq between the 2 inverting opamp stages. Either that or it's set up non inverting as 1 output stage and the 1st opamp stage is used to drive the octave section. I don't have the schematic in front of me. The whole fuzz generating part is the same as the superfuzz although I don't think it uses the same panasonic transistors which are really generic soundingdespite what anyone may tell you. It still has the same diode full wave rectifier to produces that signature octave effect and is really a gainier descendant of the Octavia with a more elegant octave generating section... not unlike the foxx tone machine. This type of circuit never goes out of style as it gives you the fuzz and octave in one box as opposed to the individual pedals Hendrix used...

Boss say their FZ-1w is their own original circuit, developed apparently from lessons learned on the previous FZ-2w Tonebender project - seems like a great all-rounder for someone like me who's not too fussy... (cough!)

My understanding is that the Danelectro French Toast nails the Foxx fuzz tone... A typical drunken midnight eBay buy where brain wanted the toast but stomach said fries is how I now have a Danelectro French Fries AutoWah in a drawer somewhere. If only I'd been craving Fish & Chips instead, at least I'd've gotten a useful EQ pedal.

Funny you should mention Utley's Rat. After I'd found a favourite tone on my new Fuzz, I of course put my Multistomp after it for modulation. and discovered the general distortion patch I had already configured on it sounded pretty much the same - The Boss sounds 'a bit better' of course and has the dynamic response I was looking for but in terms of sonic texture I was surprised how much they overlapped - and it was the Zoom's RAT emulation that I had settled on. I guess my ears know what they like!

A reason I've managed for so long without a "proper" Fuzz is that my Little Bear R.attack covers all bases too. Its LED clipped turbo mode also makes a favourite slightly gnarly light overdrive. I should just stop coveting dirt pedals now. I'm happy enough with what I have.

I didn't expect boss would use the fz1 designation for a new circuit. Huh. Just to he clear, I don't think you can have an original fuzz design. The whole idiom has been explored pretty thoroughly at this point. Even the weird ones from zvex, devi and death by audio are like broken versions of 60s designs, most typically a screwed up fuzz face. I think the most interesting design of all time is probably the the mosrite fuzzrite. It's not always that useable but it really is it's own thing, especially the way the tone control works to change the character of the distortion rather than being a 1 knob eq. It really changes the tone, which is a wild idea even today.

Anyway, reading the description for the fz1w I'll bet it's a fuzzface/tonebender3 circuit. Mode 1 is probably a silicon fuzzface and mode 2 probably engages the leaky input transistor from the tonebender 2 and 3 for that gnarly zeppelin boosted singing fuzztone. Does the tone control work in vintage mode?

I've always had this love/hate relationship with the rat. It's a jack of all trades, master of none. I wouldn't be without one but it never quite satisfies me either even though I always come back to it. I want to sing its praises but the sound also totally lacks sparkle through a good tube amp, which is a drawback of all those early diode clipping pedals like the distortion+ and od250, ds1 whatever.

Does the tone control work in vintage mode?

Yeah, but it functions differently between the two modes.

Boss says: "The powerful Tone knob simultaneously adjusts the high and low frequencies, allowing you to dial in a variety of different fuzz colors." - It's got a see-saw thing going.

About modern mode: "The Tone knob offers a different tuning that lets you tweak the brightness without altering the midrange, ensuring your sound always cuts through. And when used as a boost, Modern mode dishes a heap of girth with rich, mid-driven character".

I also read elsewhere: "Boss admit to being inspired by historic circuits, but the FZ‑1W doesn’t purport to replicate a specific vintage device. Instead it sets out to capture their general essence in a modern pedal that behaves consistently"

I'm sure there'll be one disemboweled somewhere on YouTube.

of course there is ...but life's too short - 12 transistors though, from glancing at the comments.

of course there is ...but life's too short - 12 transistors though, from glancing at the comments.

12? A bunch if thosemust be buffered switching. Because you can get mild fuzz from 1 (dime a range master into a clean amp some time and prepare for fuzziness... the lpb1 will produce its own dirt too with a hot humbucker driving it, not linear at all lol)

It is the way.

"No it isn't!"

I came here for an argument, you're just contradicting me.

It is the way.

"No it isn't!"

I came here for an argument, you're just contradicting me.

Oh this is futile

The bluesy lookin 3 Colour Sunburst second edition Mustang Special is rarely seen in the UK.

I've been waiting years for one to become available over here... aaand "woot!" here it is! 😁

Ain't that jus the purtiest thing...?

So, what with this new Sunburst Mustang being the one I always wanted and undoubtedly a 'lifer' I have every intention to pimp it out with a pair of 'proper Wide Range Humbuckers; PAF sized from Jaime Campbell's Creamery.

The knobs on this MIM version (Maligned In Mexico) are a bit bigger and feel better quality than my Red Rocket MIJ, the pots aren't scratchy and the electronics don't hiss like the MIJ either. Plus, the truss is directly accessible from the headstock without taking the guitar apart.

It feels, plays and sounds every bit the MIJ's equal to me... perhaps even better? 🤷

The Red Rocket alas, must boldly go 🚀

The newly acquired Boss FZ-1w and faithful old Zoom Multistomp also pictured presently fulfil all my dirt and modulation needs. I could almost get away with just the Zoom but it doesn't do the sweet guitar volume cleanup thing like the Boss.

Aren't those music masters or Broncos or whatever? The stang has that wonky vibrato system.

Proper wide ranges are really cool. I'm a sucker for weird magnet materials.

Aren't those music masters or Broncos or whatever? The stang has that wonky vibrato system.

I wasn't too familiar with those guitars beyond the names but now I've checked them out I can see the connection and perhaps the inspiration behind Fender's "Pawn Shop Series". The marketing blurb went along the lines of a premise that re-imagined their classic designs as they might have been had they been modded by some wacked out guitarist and then rediscovered in pawn shop. The result was a mildly bonkers set of uniquely off the wall instruments that are now getting quite collectible. They are definitely 'marmite' instruments; folks either love 'em or hate 'em. I'm guessing Fender's marketing gurus developed the range into the Paranormal and Parallel Universe series' since the forums were full of buttheads sniggering over the name "Pawn Shop" (Uh hu-huh)

These Mustangs though are real gems. The Strat hardtail bridge is clearly a stability fix. A popular mod on these things is to swap in a Toronado bridge which neatly fits the outline of the pickguard, it's effectively a six saddle musicmaster bridge. They also contoured the body and shortened it slightly so the proportions look right with the smaller bridge. The resulting guitar is lightweight and somewhat 'petite' so it tends to be the one I carry about the house, play on the sofa, take down the garden with the pignose. I do still love my new Tele, but it's a hefty brute and it sure ain't hammock friendly!

Proper wide ranges are really cool. I'm a sucker for weird magnet materials.

The Creamery PAF sized WRHBs can now, for a modest premium, be specified for CuNiFe pole pieces and some rather tasty H covers. He previously did a good job of getting the original WRHB sound using just regular non magical poles but now that CuNiFe has become available again he's somewhat reluctantly I think, relented and now offers it as an option for suckers like us who can't resist the pixie dust.

Oh yeah baby!

I've never been into hot humbuckers, which the stock enforcers are, These WRHBs are more like doubled up but splitable single coils. I think you can see the direction I'm taking it.

Don't do the gretsch style pickup covers, they always bother me on PAF sized pickups and you should make sure your guitar doesn't bother an equipboard moderator! Lol

Be really careful with the cunife pole pieces, I've seen them chipped on vintage teles from people tweaking the heights aggressively. Once that slot gets broken you're stuck with the height it broke at.

Is this model a 24" short scale like a mustang?

Don't do the gretsch style pickup covers, they always bother me on PAF sized pickups and you should make sure your guitar doesn't bother an equipboard moderator! Lol

Aww dude. I've gotten a bit fed up with the chrome humbucker covers and was thinking the H covers would accent the rosewood neck and break up the bright expanse of the pickguard - I think I get where you're coming from from the perspective of 'authenticity' but it's such a mutant guitar anyway. If there's just one thing that does actually niggle me about it, it's that the body is so petite that to my eye the headstock looks over-sized! My sense is that that the dark H's on the sunburst would help balance that.

I'd agree though that the H's would most certainly look wrong on the Candy Apple Red. I'm in two minds what to do with that one. I could probably sell it for what I paid for the Sunburst - This was the sensible option I promised myself 😇.

However... 😈 it's since occured to me that a not so sensible option would be to swap in a pair of inexpensive GFS coil splitting lipstick humbuckers and maybe add in the Toronado bridge. This would roll with the Retro-futurist Atompunk theme I've got going with it, me being a huge fan of Man Or Astroman and their particular brand of Space Surf - I'd be doing it entirely for the 'Art' It would be a fitting tribute I think but I'm also curious as to how it'd sound! and OMG! I've just discovered they have returned to our earthly dimension and released new material in 2023

Be really careful with the cunife pole pieces, I've seen them chipped on vintage teles from people tweaking the heights aggressively. Once that slot gets broken you're stuck with the height it broke at.

Good to know 👍 I was considering maybe, if they're actually brighter than the regular old Creamery WRHB design, just putting a cunife in the neck only so this could be another reason. Incidentally Jaime offers both the larger WRHB as well as smaller paf sized versions

Coincidentally Chris Buck has just done a Friday Fretworks piece on CuNiFe then and now: If you're not familiar he's an phenomenal player to watch - He screwed up his right hand index fingertip early on through over-zealous practicing and so has subsequently had to develop his own hybrid picking style.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN51gOLvz0A

Is this model a 24" short scale like a mustang?

Yep, that's what makes it my sofa/travel guitar. My smallest lightest guitar besides my parlour acoustic; it's invitingly grab-and-go-able and such fun to play whereas my Tele's a different experience altogether... harder work and more intense.

There's a non-aesthetic issue with gretsch pickup housings versus Gibson. Gretsches expose some bobbin which disrupts the RFI shielding of a metal pickup housing. Not a big deal in 1960 but on the age of smart phones you need all the shielding and humbucking you can get. A pickup coil is an excellent antenna. If the H part of pickup cover has more metal and it's just decorative then fine. I think its ugly but it's still rejecting people's tweets. If there's exposed bobbins then you're sticking a air of little smart phone tower in your guitar and relying on the phase cancellation between the coils fir all your noise suppression... which is only so good. The traditional covers absorb more cell phone transmissions and shunt them to ground.

24" is just too small for me... otherwise I would own a jaguar.i don't know how you're playing on it. Kudos!

Badly, that's how.

Having talked through my thoughts and then slept on it I've resolved to hold fire till I've completed some more pressing projects. Funky pups can wait. I don't need em and I won't have time to enjoy them for a while yet.

Just don't wait too long. God knows how long creamery's cunife supply will hold out and how long it could take him to get another shipment once he's out if polepueces! I can't even by a 5 dollar voltage regulator from mouser anymore. Everything's backordered.