Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Hangman fx's Atomic World Ender is an incredibly lively and visceral multi-mode Fuzz with exceptional complementary Chopper and Drone effects
I originally referred to this as a Trem-Fuzz, which is not exactly correct - it has the most amazing and versatile 3 x 3 mode Fuzz, supplemented by a secondary Chopper Circuit - a sort of signal slicer / stutter which with Speed at peak levels delivers Drone and kind of Ring Mod tones - which you then can tune into a particular note / frequency with the Fine-Tune control. The 2nd channel cannot be engaged independently - as it has to chop the fuzz signal to produce an output.
The main left-hand fuzz side is absolutely incredible and exceptionally versatile. I mostly keep the clipping option in the Middle - on ’None’ as that delivers the most texture - and I’m of course all about flavour and harmonics. And while I mostly just use the Middle clipping option - I still find the LED clipping useful, not so much the MOSFET - where that delivers slightly softer tones - which will suit some. Generally the Clipping toggle is set in the middle, the EQ/Voice toggle is mostly set to the left - Hi option (for my Humbucker loaded guitar), while I also use the Low and Mids options occasionally. And I use all 3 of the Fuzz Modes - which are all excellent.
Generally the EQ/Voice switch is to the Left, Clipping is in the Middle, and Fuzz Mode mostly on Octave or Non-Gated Fuzz Mode options.
For the variable Fuzz controls - the output can get incredible loud - and I rarely feel I need that at more than 9 o’c or so, where Tone is largely set @ 3 o’c, and Gain is at 2 o’c for my favourite settings.
Controls - FUZZ } Output, Tone, Gain, Voice / EQ Focus : Hi / Low / Mids, Clipping : LED / NONE / MOSFET, Fuzz Mode : Octave, Gated, Non-Gated, Fuzz Footswitch, CHOPPER / DRONE } Speed, Speed Fine-Tune / Frequency (particular for peak Drone settings), Depth / Intensity, Chopper Footswitch.
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Internal Controls - Fine-Tune Range Adjustment Trimmer, Dry Blend Trimmer, EXT. Remote Channel Option : Left <> Right.
Side Ports : Expression (for the Luma Express), EXT. Remote (for Switch Box).
I feel that the EQ / Voicing toggle is mostly dependent on your rig / guitar - so different modes suit Humbuckers or Single Coils - for instance my favourite setting for my main HB guitar is the Hi focus mode - Mid and Low focus can sound somewhat overblown - but can be fun under certain circumstances. I do actually find myself making use of most of those EQ / Voicing setting - but you need to dial in the variable Fuzz controls somewhat differently each time. particularly the Tone dial.
For the Clipping options - I mostly live on the most potent central No-Clipping option - which is loud and visceral; LED is slightly softer and quieter; and the MOSFET is softer still in its aggression, and has a fairly significant volume drop compared to None. The Output dial has so much range - that is easily copes with the lower output options - and you still have a significant amount in reserve. In most cases the Middle / No-Clipping option is my absolute favourite.
I genuinely love each of the 3 Fuzz Modes - with a slight preference for Octave and Non-Gated - but all 3 are excellent. Largely the Top switch in on Hi, the Middle is on None, and the Bottom switch is typically on either Octave or Non-Gated as mentioned above.
I’ve already declared this a most fantastic / magnificent fuzz - that combination of 6 controls gives you such an expansive range of tones and textures - this is several fuzz pedals in one - most definitely a Multi-Fuzz - and the onboard range is incredible. The Fuzz side is definitely a complete joyride - it’s an incredibly versatile pedal - particularly for fans of full-on raw and unfettered fuzz - it sounds and functions superbly.
The Chopper
Controls - Speed, Speed Fine-Tune / Frequency (particular for peak Drone settings), Depth / Intensity, Chopper Footswitch.
The right hand channel is a Signal Chopper / Stutter Effect - which needs to be loaded with the Fuzz signal to work - as the Chopper kind of shreds up the Fuzz Output - and when you crank the Speed control you get into Drone / sort of Ring Mod territory - where the Fine-Tune knob has a more significant impact on the Drone Frequency - you can essentially tune in the Drone Frequency which we will cover in the below Drone section.
Speed and Fine-Tune are somewhat used fully variably - depending on the output you need. I also tend to have the Depth dial fairly high - say around 3 o'c - if you go too high with that it starts to take away too much Fuzz - there is a balance for that Depth dial where both the Fuzz and Chopper element are at ultimate balanced levels - normally between 3 and 4 o'c. As a rough default I often start with the Speed and Fine-Tune controls at Noon, and then I typically dial the Fine-Tune up a fraction or around to 1 o'c or so. You can definitely hear when the Fine-Tune kind of slots into place with the appropriate frequency response - as you get a a somewhat clearer / crisper output at that point. I often talk about deploy safe-cracker technique when dialling in sensitive controls - which can be the case for the Fine-Tone on occasion - you just need to be fairly economic with your movements - and it's very obvious when you hit the right spot!
The Fuzz is amazing as already ascertained - and the Chooper / Drone adds further textures to your output - for that amazing fluttery / jittery fuzz sound. I have a real affinity for Trem-Fuzzes in general - with more than a dozen in the reference collection - and this is one of the best in that larger category. You need the slicing action to be extra aggressively choppy to deliver the best textures. And the Speed control has a vast range to deliver those Drone effect textures at its peak.
The Drone
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To get into Drone Mode - you essentially crank the Speed and Depth controls to Max, and then use the Fine-Tune to dial in the appropriate note frequency. The Full span covers slightly more than an octave - where in the above example the Lower 'E' is at 9 o'clock, and the higher 'E is at circa 3 o'clock - with a couple or so notes above an below those settings. My Guitar is mostly tuned to E-flat - so I'm a semi-tone down on the scale - with a slightly different interval position for the full octave range.
The lower note sounds somewhat doomier and somewhat more muffled - with a lot more clarity higher up the scale. I typically don't use Drone effects too much - but this one is particularly fun to deploy! And relatively easy to configure. Remember to apply safe-cracker style micro-movements to that dial!
Using the Luma Express Light-Sensitive Expression Pedal
Controls - Mode : Light Sensing / Manual, Resistance : High (Hangman pedals) / Low (most other pedals)
Initially I wasn't sure what impact this had on the Chopper Speed - and it seems that it can occasionally be temperamental (dependent also on ambient lighting conditions) - but mostly worked really well for me. The Super Fun Awesome Happy Time Pedal Show guys kind of totally glossed over the use of the light sensor as they supposedly had issues with it under the studio lights - preferring just to use the Luma on Manual Mode - for adjusting the speed by hand.
I actually had quite a bit of success with the light-sensing automation, while there's some confusion as to the setup / calibration side of it - it worked pretty well with the Luma's adjustment Knob set quite high. Then when you shade / cover the Light sensor with your foot or hand - you get a slow-down effect - much like the Brake effect on a Rotary Speaker Pedal. It didn't seem to do an theremin style distance sensing - more of a blackout trigger really - which triggers the effect Slower or Faster depending on where the Resistance toggle is set.
Much like the Drone Effect I kind of quite liked using the Luma - but I ended up like the Super Fun Awesome guys just mostly in the end using that as manual remote Speed control. For a time I thought it would be cool to have a 2nd Manual Mode to adjust the Fine-Tone from this pedal - while I'm not sure how feasible that is.
As far as an expression pedal it has fairly limited use for me - and as I have very dextrous big toe - I'm mostly fine to adjust the Speed and Fine-Tune knobs from a standing position. The Luma is cool, but not really essential to your Enjoyment of the Atomic World Ender. Very much an optional extra therefore.
I also had the Switch Box attached to the EXT. Remote port for a while - but the pedal is in my front row and I can very easily access both footswitches - so it's surplus to requirements - in fact I've put it on the GermFet again which is a touch further back in the second row.
Both of those are really nice to have - while I'm not sure most home players would miss them!
Final Thoughts
The Fuzz side is utterly amazing, with the Chopper side a really nice addition for those more jittery textures. The Drone is kind of fun - but has limited applications for me and my style of play.
Generally the dial-in is fairly straight forward - with the main challenge initially just remembering all those Fuzz Voicing, Clipping, and Mode Type Options.
This is just as impressive as the Lord GermFet - in some ways even more so. It has more black in its enclosure artwork - and is just as attractive as its siblings - it has the same visibilty challenges, with the somewhat illegibility of the function labels - particularly for the toggle-switches.
It's beautifully made inside and out - with super smart controls, particularly on the fuzz side. This pedal would be wholly worth it just for the Fuzz, while the Chopper / Drone adds further Textures and Tones which will be useful for most.
When I detailed the GermFet, I did not go into much detail about the domed White LED lens cap (Fuzz side) - which features historic fragments in suspension. For my pedals those are fragments from a medieval suit of armour, while for earlier editions they were dinosaur bone fragments or tiny shards off a meteorite. It lends a cool mythology / lore to these pedals, but doesn't really add much to the ownership experience for me - it's certainly not a significant incentive to buy, and you would not miss it if those were just air bubbles - at least that's my reaction.
I've said before that these are super smart circuits - brilliantly engineered with so much attention to detail - including those cool Gold accents - knobs, washers, output ports, and serial number plate on the front edge.
I feel that the Atomic World Ender is incredibly well priced at $240 from the Hangman fx Webstore. As before - the Webstore mostly only works for those based in North America - where overseas buyers will need to contact Paul direct - like I did though his Instagram page - www.instagram.com/hangmanfx .
As a final note - I didn't ever feel the need to adjust the Fine-Tune or Dry-Blend trimmers - everything sounded pretty perfect for me with the factory defaults.
Demos
