BSRI Audio Pitches its TFZ Fuzz as the Ultimate Everyday Fuzz

This is the second BSRI Audio / Baltimore Sonic Research Institute pedal I feature on this site after the FZZ Hyper Octave Fuzz take on Boss’s FZ-2. For the TFZ you have 4 knobs here alongside 2 x 2-way voicing toggle-switches and a 1 x 3-way clipping switch.

The 7 Controls are - Level (Output), Voltage Range : Lower/Higher, Texture (Voltage), Frequency Range : Tuba/Megaphone, Voice (Tilt-EQ), Clipping : More / Less / Most, Attack (Input Gain).

I find this arrangement very reminiscent of my Paul Trombetta Bone Machine GTX which similarly has high and low ranges and produces excellent horn sounds. This is a proper extended-range fuzz which will take you into all sorts of interesting areas - very much like indeed the BM GTX. I’m a huge fan of these extended-range fuzzes, while I typically prefer a more compact enclosure size - but the numerous controls here probably justify it overall. Usually when I see a BB-size enclosure I kind of expect to see dual footswitches - and the designer here could easily have shifted one of the toggles to a second footswitch - for more easier on-the-fly switching.

This goes straight in on the wishlist - and I will try to secure one of these as soon as I can. Weirdly October is already busy - so I need to see where my various commitments lie before I take on more. This may happen this month - and will surely happen before long! The circuit has 3 really cool Silicon metal can transistors - including at least one BC109 - and looks like one of those rounded black types that Markus Reeves is such a fan of. I can also see a Yellow and Red LED and what looks like 3 Silicon Clipping Diodes.

There’s certainly plenty going on here and a very wide range of tones and textures - suitably aided by one of those smart Tilt-EQ’s.

A great looking fuzz - I look forward to getting some hands-on as soon as I can. These are available for $199 from the BSRI Audio Webstore - with a typical turnaround of 7-10 days.

Any BSRI fans among you?