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Built By Ryan Pedals
If there are any two things in the world that I love, they are: boutique guitar pedals – and fuzz. When Pedal Haven first began, I came across the Instagram account for an Arizona pedal builder, Built By Ryan, and I was immediately astounded by the pedals that Ryan produced. If you take a look at the Built By Ryan Reverb Shop, you will see that they have created various fuzz pedal clones, preamps, EQ pedals, and they currently have heavily modified wah pedals in their store – and they are all insane! I knew I needed to have one of these Built By Ryan pedals in my collection.
Well look what came in the mail!
Ryan from Built By Ryan was nice enough to send me a pedal which he calls “The Fuzzzz”. Inside of the pedal’s enclosure there was a note from Ryan; which had a rather in-depth description of the pedal’s inspiration and its inner workings.
“Fuzzzz is loosely based on the Green Russian Muff. More bass & DC blocking in gain stages. Plus, I added some of the muffs’ greatest hits – like the depth mod, mids mod, wicker, and tone bypass. Transistors selected: In & Output recovery have BC550 transistors for loud and high content. Gain stages are vintage 2N3019 transistors for their less aggressive, silky fuzz. They allow the muff to have the best of both worlds: Low gain, responsive dirt, and creamy full-on fuzz when sustain is turned up!”
This note was helpful in letting me know what to expect with the pedal, but I don’t think that any note would prepare me for this glorious fuzz pedal by Built By Ryan – The Fuzzzz.
First Impressions of Built By Ryan’s “The Fuzzzz”
When I took the fuzz pedal out of the box, I noticed that it feels incredibly sturdy. It has quite a bit of weight to it (likely due to the insane amount of components inside – see below), and this weight, alongside its size, make this pedal look and feel very rugged and powerful. This fuzz pedal looks badass!
To add to this fuzz pedal’s rugged vibe, it is painted with a beautiful glossy black paint and features 6 massive knobs and two small toggle switches. This fuzz pedal looks like it should belong on a spaceship!
What Do All of These Knobs Do?
Luckily the folks at Built By Ryan included a hand-drawn guide to this pedal’s knobs, because I may have gotten lost! However, you can never have too many options when it comes to your tone! Here is a rundown of what these 6 knobs and 2 toggle switches control on The Fuzzzz by Built By Ryan.
Volume, Tone, Sustain
The top row is easy. Just like your classic Big Muff Pedal, The Fuzzzz offers volume, tone, and sustain knobs to dial in that Green Russian Big Muff tone that we all know and love. Built By Ryan did a good job at capturing this!
Depth Knob
The leftmost knob in the second row controls the “depth” of your tone. This knob adjusts the bass signal of the pedal’s first stage, which allows you to thin out or thicken up the low end of your tone. This knob makes this pedal incredibly versatile for using with different instruments.
Mids Knob
In the middle of the second row is the “Mids” knob. This knob adds yet another versatility factor to this fuzz pedal. Ultimately, the mids know allows you to scoop or boost the mids in your tone. We all know that fuzz pedals tend to get lost in the mix, but this knob helps combat this!
The Clipping Rotary Knob
The rightmost knob in the second row, and perhaps the most interesting, is the clipping rotary. This knob allows you to select one of the four clipping options in this pedal.
Clipping 1: Silicon to Silicon – A classic, smooth fuzz setting.
Clipping 2: BAT to LED – This clipping option provides a slightly less aggressive fuzz tone.
Clipping 3: Silicon to LED – This clipping option offers a more open, yet still smooth tone.
Clipping 4: LED to LED – The final clipping option has an LED in both stages, creating an awesome, loud, and splattery fuzz tone.
Tone Wicker Toggle Switch
Left Side. This switch lets you choose between a crisp, vintage fuzz tone, or a more modern fuzz tone.
Tone Bypass Toggle Switch
Right side. This switch simply bypasses the tone knob of the pedal, which results in a nice, warm fuzz tone. The pedal’s output is significantly louder with this switch set to bypass.
What does The Fuzzzz from Built By Ryan Sound Like?
The Gutshot of the Fuzzzz by Built By Ryan
It wouldn’t be a Built By Ryan pedal review without including the obligatory gut shot! This really shows how much work Ryan puts into these pedals. There is so much going on inside of this fuzz pedal. The octopus artwork is definitely a nice touch! This is definitely a shot worthy of the GutshotCulture account on Instagram.
Final Thoughts of Built By Ryan’s “The Fuzzzz”
Overall, the Fuzzzz is an incredible boutique fuzz pedal that offers a wide range of tones. Whether you are a guitar or bass player, we would definitely recommend picking up one of these builds by Built By Ryan. However, beware! This fuzz pedal is capable of rattling paintings off of the walls, waking up the neighbors, and could force you to join a doom band.
Be sure to check them out on Instagram and follow their Reverb store! Ryan is always creating amazing boutique guitar effect pedals!
Shop Built By Ryan Pedals below!
If you like Fuzz Pedals, be sure to check out these affordable must have fuzz pedals!