The Guitar Magazine – September 2019

F

uzz pedals have been responsible for

some of the most visceral, primal

guitar sounds ever committed to

tape (or indeed hard drive) – and as a

direct result of the work of guitarists such as

Jack White, Annie Clark and Dan Auerbach,

the past decade has been replete with fuzz-

driven monolithic riffs and a corresponding

spike in fuzz-related activities.

Fuzz-pedal designs range from Swiss-

watch intricate to blunt-force-trauma

simple. The new Fuzz Bender from Keeley

Electronics promises to hit the sweet

spot between those two extremes, with a

sophisticated combination of two modern

silicon and one vintage Japanese germanium

transistors and an intuitive five-knob layout.

Presented in a landscape format with top-

mounted jacks, retro-style knobs and orange

lettering on its white case, the Fuzz Bender

is an attractive unit with looks that hint at

the tonal quality to come.

IN USE

With the bias knob fully counterclockwise

and the remaining four knobs at noon,

we’re greeted by an aggressive whirlwind

of fuzz. Muff-like in character, but with

more definition than the average Pi, it’s

confrontational but controlled.

Rotating the bias knob clockwise brings

out more spitty, spluttering voltage-starved

flavours which work particularly well

with a bridge humbucker. Things become

increasingly random the further you go

on the dial, with plasticised tailspins and

throttled sounds leaving your notes clawing

for the safe word.

This is not quite a gate as such; instead,

it regulates the shape of your sound from

square wave overload to spikey, sawtooth

chaos. Many ‘twin transistor’ fuzz pedals

offer a switch to toggle between voices,

but in this case, a knob-based blend makes

for a far smoother experience. While the

bias knob may play a vital part in the Fuzz

Bender’s sound, man of the match has

to go to the pedal’s active equalisation,

which offers +/- 20dB at 100Hz and 10Hz.

Together with the level and fuzz controls,

this is the true heart of the Fuzz Bender.

The amount of ‘push’ on offer makes

for a hugely versatile unit. If you’ve never

punished your amp with +20dB of bass,

then we can wholeheartedly recommend

you try it at least once. It’s a huge sound!

The Fuzz Bender’s treble voicing is focused

at around 10k and the more you boost it,

the closer it gets to an octave effect with

KEELEY ELECTRONICS

FUZZ BENDER

WORDS MICHAEL WATTS

A versatile, hybrid fuzz with active EQ and some angry tones that go way

beyond the retro stylings. Could this be the one fuzz to rule them all?

REVIEWS

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