2 Vibrant Extended Range Fuzz Pedals - KHDK Unicorn Blood II and Wren and Cuff J Mascis Garbage Face

I was trying to figure out how best to cover the new Wren and Cuff J Mascis Garbage Face Fuzz with Germanium Treble Boost, when along came the equally cartoonish graphic’d KHDK Unicorn Blood II - another Dark Matter Coffee Octave Fuzz collaboration.

In fact only the general aesthetic approach here is the same - similar form-factor and similar number of controls, but the internals being quite different. The KHDK one is a Dark, Fat, Octave Fuzz, capable of some really sludgy tones, while the Wren & Cuff J Mascis collaboration I believe is based on a Ram’s Head style Muff circuit with Germanium Boost and Dual Volume Settings.

I was quite intrigued by the Garbage Face when it came out and thought it should go onto the wishlist. While the Unicorn Blood II is probably even more to my liking with that combination of controls. It too has a Boos - albeit one activated by toggle-switch.

At the offset I would say that I am probably more tempted to seek out the Unicorn Blood variety, but the proviso is that getting pedals from the USA currently is incredibly difficult. It looks like USPS has lost my package with 3 Menatone pedals - which was dispatched on March the 18th, but for which there is no tracking update beyond March 28th - which puts the package in some North Carolina depot - likely buried under a mount of other internal packages which seem to have been curbed by the current Pandemic. It appears national postal services are particularly badly impacted, while the other professional courier services seem a degree more reliable. There are some pedal companies that I have made commitments to, but which the current circumstances are severely hampering.

As a pedal blog - it’s kind of difficult to function when those essential references and resources just aren’t getting through. The exercise becomes somewhat nebulous and superficial to a degree - but that is what we have to contend with.

There’s obviously severe financial constraints for many individuals here too, as even though various companies are ticking along - it does not necessarily mean all the bills are getting paid. So we are all having to deal with some significant challenges - and these little boxes of delight which keep so many of us contented and entertained are proving ever more difficult to get your hands on.

My pedal acquisitions are largely on hiatus at the moment - and those pick-me-ups I went for have somewhat failed to materialise thus far. Lots of these pedals are not getting through to dealers - and certainly not landing on these shores anytime soon!

Here follow a few more details on each of the above featured pedals :