Daniel Thornhill's Fjord Fuzz perfects the Ultimate in hassle-free grab & go Fuzz - The Berserk V2
We’re truly at the start of a new Era for Fjord Fuzz - as Gold Hued Facias now replace the previous Copper varieties, and Daniel himself switches allegiance from the Embla as his favourite grab-and-go fuzz to the new Berserk V2.
This project started really with the former Berserk V1 - which had the same core 3 control knobs - but in different arrangement - with two additional facia button functions and three internal trimmers - which was evidently a touch too fiddly and complicated for some - while I mostly loved it!
At its core the Berserk platform set out to overcome 3 classic weaknesses of the Fuzz Face circuit - namely inconsistent Gain / Impedance handling, Low Output Volume, and Thin-sounding tone / texture at lower levels of Gain / too much low-end at higher output. So on the V1 we had several different calibration settings to precisely adjust the pedal to your rig - while keeping the essence of the Fuzz Face topology intact.
For the V2 - Daniel totally went back to the drawing board and threw out the rule book as such. He wanted something that captured the full-fat essence of Fuzz Face but without any of that one’s inherent flaws and weaknesses - and no faffing about with additional settings and trimpots. As a result, the new Berserk II is totally WYSIWYG - with just those 3 controls - which give you enormous range - without the need for further props. It has been engineered for Daniel to use as his primary always-on gain-stage - where he can then stack other pedals and mix and match as the situation demands.
The new V2 has enormous extended range - and best-in-class dynamics and volume cleanup - where the pedal’s output takes you from light overdrive / fuzzy-drive though to full-throated fuzz.
As the launch poster below states - this was designed to be the perfect Affordable Everyday Fuzz - with total hassle-free deployment. It can be placed pretty much anywhere within you signal-chain - and retains its quality of output no matter what you throw at it!
Don't go throwing away your Embla just yet though - as that still has additional granularity and further fine-tuning capabilities - should you prefer those. While like Daniel though most likely - most people will prefer the elegant simplicity of the Berserk II.
It's really just those 3 dials - Set Output Volume, Degree of Thickness, and Level of Gain and Go!
I have rarely encountered a fuzz which is as instantly satisfying as this one - possibly the Boss FZ-1W also comes close. The Berserk II is generally warmer and smoother and more consistent than its predecessor - and of course much easier to deploy. I tend to have the Volume Dimed and Thickness and Gain at around 3 o'c Max - and then just mostly ride the Guitar Volume - which cleans up exceptionally well.
If you dial back the Thickness you get into sharper and more searing tones, but for humbuckers things can get a touch flubby above 3 o'c - and especially after 4 o'c - so I find 3 o'c is mostly right for me. Similar with the Gain - but to a lesser extent - where you get a little more compression than I would like at the very highest levels.
Generally for me I had Level maxed out all the time, and moved the Thickness and Gain dials between 9 o'c and 3 o'c mostly - where every combination yields superior tones.
This is the most effortless and instantly gratifying fuzz I've probably encountered to-date. I thought for a while that Daniel was overdoing it with his effusiveness about his new circuit - the poster art etc. - but he's bang on - the Berserk II is magnificent - and takes the mantle of Favourite Fuzz in that Range in fact one of my very favourite fuzzes of all time - the Fjord Fuzz Golden Era is upon us!
Available right now for $179 and equivalent from the Fjord Fuzz Webstore, and very imminently at dealers.
I don't think anyone will be disappointed with one of these!
Fjord Fuzz To-Date
I thought it an opportune moment to recap on all my copper-hued Fjord Fuzz pedals to-date - all 15 of them (plus this new one!) - which above lineup features a couple of different Berserk moniker experimental earlier limited releases (based on Colorsound Jumbo Tone Bender and Stripped down Embla), the Bifrost V1 (my first Fjord Fuzz), the Bjørn V3 (Sub-Octave Fuzz), early edition Embla, and Gjallarhorn (Foghorn Super Fuzz), alongside an early edition Odin. So 14 copper hued examples, the limited edition Black Kvasir, and now the new Golden Berserk II - quite a collection!
Berserk V2 Demos
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
