And the 20th Basic Audio Acquisition is ... the Kay Octave Fuzz
Back in May I asked ’Which Basic Audio Fuzz should I get next?’. And we had lots of suggestions and recommendations - thanks for your participation! - the leading ones included :
- Bye Bias
- Fuzz Right
- Super Fuzz
- Texsur
Some of these were already on my Hitlist. While I have around a dozen Super Fuzz varieties in my reference collection to-date - so I’m not necessarily looking to add to those any time particularly soon - I also have a fair few Fuzzrite types now - while the Bye Bias and Texsur are more likely pedals for me to pursue.
I noted at the time that I was also in contact with Basic Audio’s John Lyons himself and he had offered to review my existing selection and make recommendations based on that.
He was in the process of building a new batch of the Kay Octave Fuzz - based on the 1968 Kay F-1 Fuzztone Fuzz Wah - the original of which had just an On / Off switch as its only control - besides the treadle of course (Wah Format). The Kay Fuzztone is an octave fuzz along similar lines to the Foxx Tone Machine and Super Fuzz, but is typically lower gain, and coarser / rawer in feel.
The Basic Audio Kay Octave Fuzz batches happen fairly rarely these days - so it’s certainly worth getting in on one quickly as soon as you’re made aware of it! It’s a particularly versatile fuzz which combines no less than 6 different controls in the latest Basic Audio edition - 3 fully variable knobs and the same number of Toggle-switches - so very significantly evolved from the original!
Controls - Level, Fuzz, Tone, Octave : On / Off, Diode : Lift / Engage , Fat : On / Off.
Level, Fuzz and Tone are very self-explanatory - they have plenty of range and a fairly even and predictable taper - lots of volume particular. The top switch is the Octave On / Off option, the switch on the left allows you to Lift the Diode for a slightly thinner lower gain voicing, and the right-hand switch of course provides added fatness!
My preferred settings are currently - Level @ 12:30, Fuzz and Tone @ Max, Diode Active (down), Octave On (Up), Fat On (Up).
Kay Octave Fuzz Demos
20 Pedal Basic Audio Capsule Collection (alphabetical)
- Alter-Destiny Fuzz (All-Rounder Modern + Articulate Big Muff)
- Foxey Lady Fuzz (Guild Foxey Lady Muff)
- Foxton Octave Fuzz (Foxx Tone Machine)
- Futureman (Colorsound Power Boost / Overdriver)
- Fuzzmondo (Fuzzrite-ish Silicon Fuzz)
- Fuzz Mutant (Os Mutantes Regulus VIII)
- Gnarly Fuzz (Maestro/Tone Bender)
- Gypsy Fuzz (KR Musical Products The Gypsy Fuzz)
- Kay Octave Fuzz (1968 Kay F-1 Fuzztone Fuzz Wah)
- Marq Won Germanium Fuzz (Tone Bender MKI)
- Nonts Fuzz (Silicon Baldwin-Burns Buzzaround)
- Orpheum II Germanium Fuzz (Germanium Fuzz Face)
- Scarab Deluxe Fuzz (All-Rounder Silicon Tone Bender)
- Shore Bird Fuzz/Distortion (ProCo Rat)
- Spooky Tooth Fuzz (Neil Young Fuzz)
- Supa MKI Fuzz (Marshall Tone Bender MKI with Mids push)
- Tri/Ram 5-knob Muff Fuzz (Triangle/Ram’s Head Big Muff)
- Willdcat Fuzz (Gretsch Control Fuzz)
- Zippy Fuzz (Shin Ei Fy-2/Reedy/Saxophone/Horn Fuzz)
- Zonk Fuzz (Si) [II] (JHS Zonk Machine II)
Most likely next Basic Audio Targets - Lucky 7!
The following lucky 7 are my most likely next targets - I sometimes grab some of these second-hand - it just depends on timing, pricing and availability! :
- Beeb-Ah Fuzz (Roland Bee Baa Fuzz)
- Bye-Bias Germanium Dual Bias Fuzz
- Double Beat Fuzz (Roland)
- Knight Fuzz Hybrid Fuzz
- Low Volt Fuzz (Germanium Zippy Companion)
- Oscix 6K Germanium Fuzz Factory
- Texsur Fuzz (Jordan Bosstone)
Generally I tend to hunt down the 5-knob varieties first - which means that the Beeb-Ah Fuzz, Bye-Bias Germanium, and Oscix have priority!
For those of you who didn't get in on the last round of recommendations - the floor is open again for the next round!
Here follow pertinent demos for the next few - where available! (nothing yet for the Beeb-Ah) :
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
