It’s always a good sign when I want to spend two hours playing through a new pedal before even thinking about writing it up! T‑Rex don’t give away too much regarding what is inside their new FuzzTopia other than that it is based on analogue circuitry — but whatever they’ve done, it not only sounds good but turns out to be incredibly versatile too.
If you’re used to seeing fuzzboxes with two or three knobs, don’t let Fuzztopia’s busy front panel intimidate you, because what you have in your hands is actually a two‑in‑one pedal that offers separate controls and bypass switching for both fuzz and distortion. The upper row of knobs controls the fuzz section and the bottom row, which has an identical layout, controls the distortion. As you’d expect from T‑Rex, the pedal is very solidly built and it operates from a standard 9V DC power supply (or battery), requiring just 60mA. A button on the rear panel keeps the two sections separate or activates both together, regardless of which footswitch is pressed. While a little wider than a typical single‑function pedal, the connectors are all on the back panel, so you can place this pedal right up against others to save space on your pedalboard.
T-Rex Fuzztopia rear panel.
T‑Rex describe the FuzzTopia as a hybrid between retro fuzz and warm distortion and, as I discovered, it can recreate anything from mild overdrive, through blues and classic rock to multiple shades of fuzz. Both channels have a drive control (labelled Fuzz and Distortion, respectively) and an output volume control, but between them is a tone control and, importantly a blend, for balancing the driven and dry sounds. The tone control only affects the driven sounds, so any clean sound you mix in is unchanged by the tone control settings. When a section is active, the knob functions are backlit in red. Each section has its own footswitch.
Looking at the Distortion section first, this has a very wide range of adjustment, from virtually clean to heavily saturated classic rock. Using the blend knob to mix in some of the dry sound can help maintain note definition and picking dynamics, and the tone control goes from warm to biting. By balancing the drive and blend functions, the FuzzTopia can get close to the Tube Driver sound popularised by David Gilmour, but really it can do anything from slightly hairy country to AC/DC meets Free to... well, any long‑haired guitarist from the 1960s to the present day!
Flip to the Fuzz section, which we’re told references the sound of earlier germanium pedals, and what soon becomes apparent is that the tone control works differently from that in the distortion section, and is the key to recreating fuzz tones that go from the raspy ‘Satisfaction’ and Jeff Beck Yardbirds tones to the Fuzzface or more fluid EHX Big Muff sounds favoured by Hendrix, Jack White and, again, Mr Gilmour. As fuzz circuits go, this one is very well behaved, with none of that spluttery, mis‑biased noise at lower drive settings that some older fuzz units are known for. At its extreme anticlockwise setting, the tone control delivers that raspy ’60s fuzz sound, while moving it clockwise passes through a number of useful tonalities, with warm, fat fuzzes at the fully clockwise end of the scale. Again, the blend control can be used to dial in extra note definition if needed. For most purposes, a fuzz drive setting of around a quarter of the way up does the trick, but if you like the sensation of a fuzz that’s trying to wrest control away from you, Hendrix‑style, then maxing out the drive will do just that.
It’s possible to use both sections at the same time but, unless the gain settings are reined in, the background noise becomes noticeable and the amount of drive can get somewhat unruly. Nevertheless, there are some great tones to be forged here. When using the sections separately the distortion section is very quiet, while the fuzz exhibits some audible circuit hiss. This type of noise is a function of the high‑gain circuitry used in fuzz circuits, and it could be argued that it’s part of the character of fuzz; pretty much all fuzz circuits generate some hiss.
In the studio, this pedal can help coax a wide range of guitar sounds from even a fairly basic amp modelling plug‑in.
The FuzzTopia is such a deliciously versatile and tonally satisfying pedal that I had expected it to come with a boutique price tag, but it actually costs less than some fairly basic overdrive pedals. I like that the distortion section can be run as a natural‑sounding overdrive for that pushed‑amp sound, but it has enough range to deliver those big‑hair solos too. And the fuzz section is capable of delivering just about any fuzz sound you might desire — unless you are a fan of the spluttery, dying battery sound! In the studio, this pedal can help coax a wide range of guitar sounds from even a fairly basic amp modelling plug‑in (though I might be tempted to use a gate to tame sounds recorded via the fuzz), while for live performance it offers all the drive and fuzz tones you might need in the space of a single pedal. I can feel a rework of my pedalboard coming on, as the FuzzTopia really is one great‑sounding piece of kit!
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£129 including VAT
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