Fender unleashes intriguing Godzilla Opamp Distortion with Active 2-Band EQ and cool wrap-around artwork

Fender evidently likes this licensing malarky - and adds Godzilla to its brand collaborations. It’s had a lot of success with Hello Kitty over the years, and this is another Japanese collaboration that really makes sense! Japan’s Toho Co currently owns the copyright and all rights to the Godzilla property - so there is a licensing fee to them within the $149 / £145 price tag!

This is a limited edition, and the USA Fender Allocation is already gone, with the UK one running low - but some dealers still due to get stock - including Andertons in the UK. I sprung for the Fender Hello Kitty Fuzz, and I felt I should have this Godzilla too! And ordered that direct from the Fender.com site.

The big question is of course - is this exactly the same as the $109 Hammertone Distortion - just with a different skin job? The details seem pretty identical - which means in that you’re paying $40 for the artwork! Still worth it for me though.

Controls - Active Treble ±, Active Bass ±, Level, Gain.

The demos sound very decent - it’s seemingly a pretty full-range and suitably throaty distortion - with a really pleasant core character. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it sounded. Sonically - this is better than the Hello Kitty Fuzz - and probably has a little more all-rounder appeal.

I would have preferred it if the eyes lit up also in the same colour of LED - that normally happens - when Godzilla breathes fire, or spews out that blue atomic beam - the eyes normally match that hue.

I would also have gone for the James Stokoe illustrative style for Godzilla - he’s done a few of those graphic novels - and his take on Godzilla always looks a cut above the rest!

In any case a really cool and affordable pedal from Fender - with super high appeal! Very nicely done indeed!