michael's Pedalboard

Before committing to the carbon copy, I did try quite a few different delays. I landed on this one for a few reasons.

The first is it sounds great. Although it is a little dark and not the clearest delay out there, I prefer it that way. I usually play rock and blues, and the sound of this delay just meshes with that music incredibly well. Personally, I rarely go beyond a quarter note delay, but the Carbon Copy adds a thickness to my tone that I very much miss if it is absent.

The second reason I like this pedal is because of how easy it is to use. Three knobs; mix, regen, and delay. Couple those with a modulation button and you have a very intuitive pedal. This was an important consideration for me given my use of delay, but I can see how some folks may want more features.

The MXR Carbon Copy is heavy for its standard-sized case, and feels very robust as I’ve come to expect from all MXR pedals. I’ve owned it for years and it’s been incredibly reliable.

The carbon copy is phenomenal. It is my always on pedal, and if you are looking for a simple warm sounding delay, check it out.

This beauty was my first electric. I bought this guitar when I was 15 year old after many visits to Guitar Center. I love strats, and this one feels great in my hands. It's the California Series, which means it was constructed in the US, and painted and finished in Mexico. I overpaid for it (again, first purchase at Guitar Center before I learned they negotiate more than used car salesmen) and paid around $500.

The finish and appointments seem great, and I especially love the neck. I did lower the action a little, but all in all, a very playable guitar.

I'll never sell her, but I'm probably just being sentimental.

The Fuzz War is intense. The sheer amount of gain on tap is unreal. It is a take no prisoners wall of sound. And that is the reason I love it.

The controls will look familiar to anyone that has a 3 knob fuzz pedal; volume, fuzz and tone.

First thing you’ll notice upon plugging it in is that it is a loud pedal. Start at zero and slowly roll up unless you want to blow out some windows.

Now for the Fuzz. It sounds so gnarly and aggressive anywhere past about noon. But to my ears, it doesn’t sound too squishy with my setup the way some other fuzz pedals have in the past. You get a very dynamic sounding fuzz that just can’t beat.

The tone knob has a really wide range on this pedal and I have to say that while my favorite is over the top fuzz, the tone maxed out sounds cool while rolling back on the fuzz. You get the sound of a small watt blown practice amp that can work well for classic rock tones.

I’ve had this pedal for years, and sometimes the foot switch hasn’t engaged when clicked. It is a pretty infrequent occurrence and Death By Audio have a lifetime guarantee, so if it ever becomes more problematic I’ll send it in for repairs. The only thing I actively dislike about the pedal is the large footprint takes up too much real estate on my pedalboard. It’s still worth the space, and it does have top-mounted input and output jacks to save a little space.

All things considered, I absolutely recommend this to someone looking for a versatile fuzz that can do extremely high gain.