Mad Professor Releases Limited Edition Hand-Wired Germanium FUZZ32 with Modern Circuitry and Switchable Boost

Of course everyone needs at least one Germanium Fuzz Face style fuzz - as a full-on fuzz fan I have several - yet there is usually room for 1 more! On this occasion Mad Professor have gone with a modern circuit which does not require the traditional centre-positive power supply, and they have done something to remove the need for biasing - likely through their choice of Germanium Transistors - which is annoyingly not referenced.

I don’t really mind paying a decent amount for rarefied pedals - but if I’m paying a premium - which is the case here - €290, then I really want to know the key ingredients. When you buy an extensive steak - you want to know everything there is to know about it - how long it was hung for, which specific joint it is, from which species, locale etc. I feel fairly similarly about fuzzes - if it’s relatively low cost then I’m a little less fussy about its provenance - while I usually need to be able to justify something more premium.

There’s no doubting the credentials here - you get a great sounding controllable fuzz with Volume, Fuzz and Tone knobs alongside a Boost toggle-switch. Mad Professor say there is already plenty of extra volume on-tap which is usually not the case with more traditional Germanium Fuzzes - while the Boost switch ramps things up yet another level.

The FUZZ32 moniker comes from 32 being the periodic table element number for Germanium - and as mentioned this is part of Mad Professor’s Custom Shop / Hand Wired range. The name is also significant in that only 32 pedals will be made in each of Blue, Red and Turquoise enclosures - so 96 in total. And similar to the original EQD Life Pedal it looks like each colour variant is being released in turn - with the Blue the only one available right now - and with Red and Turquoise to follow presumably.

At a slightly lower price this would have been a must-buy for me, instead it’s very much a nice-to-have choice. I have a lot of priorities to juggle for 2020 so we’ll see how that goes. I really would not be adverse though to having this in the collection. While there are similar pedals that can be had for significantly less.