Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Citadel Electronics' Vector Hybrid Octave Fuzz is a super shapeable killer sounding Fuzz of that genre
Key Points
Citadel Electronics (Santiago Alvarez, ex Marshall; Tommi Otsavara, ex Darkglass Electronics; Torsten Woelle, ex Hughes & Kettner) makes the Vector Hybrid Octave Fuzz. They’re active in UK and EU but not yet in the USA—possibly after NAMM.
Controls: Tone, Octave (Intensity), Level, Fuzz/Gain, Wear (Dying Battery / LoFi / Dampen). Five-knob layout with a mini Wear knob and a right-side start-up switch (adjust with a tiny screwdriver) to set Active or Bypassed.
Suggested setup: Fuzz first (Level, Fuzz, Tone), bring in Octave, then use Wear to soften; start with everything at Noon. As of the article, the price was £149; also at Thomann for €169; initial 7-pedal range £149–£269 at Andersons.
Citadel Electronics is Santiago Alvarez (ex Marshall), Tommi Otsavara (ex Darkglass Electronics), and Torsten Woelle (ex Hughes & Kettner) in a very formidable new partnership - with an excellent mid-priced full-range offering! Quite a pedigree really in terms of the principals involved.
They seem to be active currently in UK and EU territories - but don’t seem to have spread to the USA yet - possibly that will happen after NAMM - where they’re sure to have a stand!
Their initial offering consists of 7 pedals - which range in price from £149 to £269 at Andersons - indeed where I got my Vector Hybrid Octave Fuzz from.
Controls - Tone, Octave (Intensity), Level, Fuzz / Gain, Wear (Dying Battery / LoFi / Dampen).
The Vector has an excellent 5-knob control topology - with a mini-knob for Wear / Dying battery.
It also has a start-up switch on the right-hand side of the pedal (adjust with a tiny screwdriver) - where you can set to start-up in Active or in Bypassed Mode.
All in all a really superb sounding and functioning Octave Fuzz at a very attractive price point of £149.
Based on my experience of this pedal I will probably order a few more from the range in the coming months - with the Particle Drive High Gain Overdrive likely the next target.
As is usually the case for Octave Fuzzes - I would have liked a second footswitch to bypass the octave part of the fuzz - while the pedal works really well as is - with a fabulous broad searing range.
I recommend you set yo the Fuzz First (Level, Fuzz and Tone), then bring in the Octave, and finally use the Wear control to soften the output - which smooths out the octave a degree. Works really well for me - and is a wonderful sounding full range fuzz - with exceptional scope - and very well priced indeed.
A great starting point is with everything at Noon - but you might also want to wind back the Wear control to FCCW and go from there - I experimented from a variety of starting points - and Noon works really well for sure!
I bought mine from Andertons in the UK for £149 as mentioned - while it is also available at Thomann in EU / Germany - where it goes for €169.
Demos
