Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Blind Panic Devices' Reactor Nuclear Power Station Fuzz is the most incredible Crushing and Grinding Weapons-grade Fuzzstortion - it's the very definition of Uncompromising in the best possible way!
The Reactor Fuzz is the most incredible custom-designed noise-maker - with 4 different styles of 3D-Printed tactile knobs. Matt’s design language here is very unique and distinct, and really elevates the nature and appeal of this crushing and grinding fuzz/stortion - which starts off pretty extreme and then just ramps up that intensity to apocalyptic levels!
There is so much to get stuck into here - where the 4-way Reactor Power Rotary is essentially a sort of Gain control - which combines different gain structures too - it’s not just a case of a liner ramp-up - as the Orange mode sounds distinctly different - and each has its own combination of crushing gain and compression - but also a certain textural quality that distinguishes each one.
You start off by select your appropriate Reactor Power Gain level - from Destructive to Apocalyptic (200W > 117mW) - and then you tackle all the other shaping controls - Energy, Fission, Bass, Treble, and Stabilize - which I explain below! Before expserimenting with the fluoro green footswitch Fusion and Meltdown modes.
It’s a pedal you need to spend some time with - to fully sculpt and shape the output to your preferences - and to find out what works for you - and which Distortion mode is possibly too crushing and too compressed for your sensibilities. The nature of each of those settings means that you need to tweak the other controls most every every time you level up the Reactor Power Dial! The differences in Gain Structure mean that different shaping settings optimise the output for those options.
It’s a classic ’Goldilocks’ pedal in hat you need to find which of those modes works best for you. Or you can be like me - and just go full out on all 4!
You should definitely start on the Green 200W Mode in any case! While I tend to favour the Yellow and Orange Modes - with Yellow being my overall favourite. Each of those has an incredibly richly textured distortion / fuzzstortion with a different degree of gain and sustain. Those modes are so texturally complex - they have a very industrial quality to them - and at time have and element of clang in their signature sounds. It’s like a sort of futuristic sci-fi sonic weapon! But inherently musical too - although that does depend on how you dial it in!
The Controls and Rear Ports
Contols - Output Level (volume), Energy (input level), Fission (gain filter), Active Bass, Active Treble, Reactor Power Selector : 200W / 400kW / Uranium-235 / 1117mW, Stabilize (Green Fusion Mode only), Fusion / Meltdown Footswithc, Power Up / On Footswitch.
Rear Ports - TS Input, Fusion Stabilize Expression, 9V DC [-] 100mA, TS Output.
Essentially your Expression controller here takes over the Stabilize control - which only works on the Green Fusion Mode, not on the Red Meltdown Mode.
REACTOR POWER
- GREEN : Chicago Pile-1 - The world’s first artificial nuclear reactor [Output Power = 200W]
- YELLOW : Experimental Manhattan Project Plutonium Reactor [Output Power = 400kW]
- ORANGE : K-25 Uranium Enrichment Power Plant [Output = Uranium-235]
- RED : AP1000 PWR - the world’s most advanced and efficient commercial reactor [Output Power = 1117mW]
I have tended to dial in the top row of controls first - which preferences I will reveal in the next section. Where I largely just used the Stabilize control to adjust the output - that seems like a kind of Bias - and it really shapes the nature of the distortion - both in terms of Dark > Bright, but also in terms of Dense > Open.
There are infinite variations just on that one knob - and in combination with the 5 other shaping controls - you are able to shape the fuzz in so many interesting ways.
The Reactor in Use
Incredibly I like all 4 modes - while at times I find the RED Max mode - the 1117mW one - a little overly dense and crushing and compressed for my liking. For me there is something really special about the YELLOW and ORANGE Modes - those really sing for me - and while he ORANGE has a touch hollowness to its output it nevertheless has superb sear and sustain, and sound exceptional too.
As mentioned I start by adjusting the top row of knobs - where I prefer them with the Level @ 3 o'c, Energy @ Max, Fission @ Noon, Bass @ 3 o'c, and Treble @ 3 o'c.
I then mostly Max out the Stablize control - which means that I almost entirely stick to the Green Fusion Mod - where the Stablize control is active. With Meltdown Mode engaged everything just gets a little too compressed, dense and crushing for me. The Fusion side of the pedal is more open and singing for me - and delivers the more interesting textures and harmonics.
The YELLOW is my most favoured Mode - it has a lovely sear and openness to it. Where my runner-up is the ORANGE Mode - which sounds slightly more hollow and clangy too - with a similarly incredible sear and sustain, but a denser and more compressed texture.
Final Thoughts!
This is an exceptional Fuzz pedal - quite brutal and uncompromising at times - but still searing, sustaining and musical. This is the very much the heaviest Industrial Distortion side of Fuzz - what I normally refer to as Mostortion. This is everything that us Fuzz Fans / Fanatics love about this genre - and those fragile souls that can't deal with such a strong brew of ultimate crushing fuzz - those are advised to steer clear.
If you really hate your neighbours - then this fuzz will do the maximum sonic damage and send them to the loony bin. If however you love you neigbous you will need to slightly temper the excesses of this pedal - by not playing it for more than 30 minutes at a time!
I'm fortunate currently in that neither of the neighbouring properties are currently occupied - so its maximum sonic destruction for me as long as I like.
If you're in the market for an Industrial weapons-grade Fuzz Anihilator - then this is exactly the weapon of choice I love it for its brutality and its searing singing musicality. Matt has created a future classic here - this one deserves to be celebrated as much as the DBA Fuzz War. This is the full nuclear fallout side of that equation.
The Reactor Destructive Power Station Fuzz / Fuzzstortion is yours for the incredible price of just £179.99 ($240) via the Blind Panic Devices Webstore. If you love wall-of--sound Fuzzes - then this is an absolute must-buy. But definitely not for the faint hearted - they won't be able to handle this beast!
One for all the genuine Fuzz lovers out there - and particularly for those who like it Heavy and Full-on! You're in for a treat - and this will wholly blow you away!
Bonus Round - More Customised knobs - a GPX Deviation!
I told Matt that it might be cool to have his Blind Banic Ident / Motif carved into the two big knobs. He said I should to a mock-up for how I hough they should be executed - and here is that classic GPX Deviation!
The string / band of the eyepatch becomes the pointer therefore!
Demos
