The FB-1 Jujiya Fuzz Box (as Google Translate calls it) was a two-knob fuzz pedal with controls for volume and gain, and housed in what appears to be an enclosure heavily influence by/is a complete ripoff of the Mosrite Fuzzrite. And basically, that's all we know (other than it was "used by top players" of course)! So we'll have to look a bit deeper and see if anything else from this single image can give us clues as to what it could be, or at the very least, what it is not.
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Jujiya FB-1 Fuzz Box (New Grail Unlocked)
The FB-1 Jujiya Fuzz Box (as Google Translate calls it) was a two-knob fuzz pedal with controls for volume and gain, and housed in what appears to be an enclosure heavily influence by/is a complete ripoff of the Mosrite Fuzzrite. And basically, that's all we know (other than it was "used by top players" of course)! So we'll have to look a bit deeper and see if anything else from this single image can give us clues as to what it could be, or at the very least, what it is not.
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Wah-What? The Univox Uniwah is Weird
So why this article? And why now?
I was working on another post earlier today and had the realization that I've always just assumed, like the Super Fuzz, that the Uniwah was obviously related to Honey Co. Ltd. But then it hit me; the Uniwah looks nothing like any wahs Honey ever made. But what if we could find photos to see if either the circuit or the build styles matched up, and show that it was possibly just a unique enclosure made for Univox? So to the databases, old hard drives, and abandoned websites I went...
*if, like me, you get instantly bored when people bring up wah pedal history, DON'T WORRY! I promise this actually gets pretty interesting and tells a much bigger story by the end :)
What makes it somewhat confusing when looking through photos is that the pedal didn't seem to change at all from its earliest days to the end. Same enclosure, presumably the same size, and at least from what I have been able to find, they all employ the same general build (even using the same, and very unique power source of three "C" batteries).
This is all to say that it's been quite difficult to pin down which units are from the initial run (1968-1969) and which are from the switchover/post-Honey period (1970-1976). And to make things even more difficult, it doesn't look like many owners have taken theirs apart; at least not in public view anyways.
I decided to see if I could find any photos of a white-logo Uniwah, and then I came across this entry in a 1969 distributor's supply catalog. It showed a nice clean image of a grey Super Fuzz and a real nice detailed image of a Uniwah that you can see above.
Above are the only units I have been able to find with available gut-shots. Unfortunately because the outside of Uniwahs all look the same, it's impossible to know if any of these are earlier or later versions based solely on what we can see here.
The LRE Uniwah appeared in catalogs, alongside the other 70's-era Univox pedals, until 1976 where it became known as the "Deluxe Wah-Wah Sound/Volume Control". Another thing to note about the later LRE catalogs is that they dropped the "Roto-Vibe" name and simply used the Univox model name of "Shiftee Uni-Vibe".
Saturday, August 16, 2025
Manny's Fuzz 1968 (Clark, Orpheum, et al.)
In that article I guessed that they most likely came out between 1966-1968, based on pot code dates and the fact that they are modified copies of the germanium Mosrite Fuzzrite (which itself came out in 1966). But just a few days ago I did a bit more digging and came across three separate newspaper ads for different East Coast fuzzes!
Although a bit blurry, this first example comes in the form of a classified ad for various pieces of gear, but most importantly an Orpheum Fuzz. This was found in the September 13th edition of the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper, giving us a wider view of the distribution of the pedal.
Earlier this year I was lucky enough to be connected to a gentlemen who owned the above Manny's Fuzz. When I reached out to him he told me that he got it in either 1967 or 1968, from DiFiore's Music House in Cleveland!
Friday, August 8, 2025
Guyatone FS-3 - The Other Super Fuzz
But what's the story with it? And what's going on inside that familiar looking enclosure?
*Update: while I was working on this post, my good friend Marcelo hooked me up with the missing 1972 catalog! And inside we see basically the same pedal lineup from 1973.
After taking into account that the pedal was available for at least a year and a half, it's surprising just how rare it is to come across one. Scanning through the 1971 catalog, it shows that they were still selling the FS-2 Buzz Box, and then in the 1974 catalog the FS-3 was replaced by the new, Big Muff inspired, FS-6 Fuzz Sustainer.
So while we lack some of the better hard evidence, like magazine ads, Guyatone really hooked us up by publishing accurate catalogs that pictured their available gear in proper chronological order.
Alright, so that part was fairly easy, but what about the enclosure? At first glance it probably reminds you of the Univox Uni-Fuzz. And that would make sense because they're exactly the same shape. There is a significant difference in size though, so it might not be related, or could simply be a generic enclosure.
But there is a better suspect; the Honey Special Fuzz. The Special Fuzz came out in 1968 and was made for probably less than a year, as Honey went out of business in 1969. And while Shin-ei continued to build the Honey Baby Crying Fuzz (as the FY-6 Fuzz Master), they did not continue with the extremely unique Special Fuzz.
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photo by: Cult Pedals Blog |
When it comes to the sound of the Guyatone FS-3, it's been described as a beefier version of the Super Fuzz; with a bigger low end, more pronounced upper octave, and it's just a bit more gated than its cousins.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Ideal Fuzz Master - A Mystery Solved!
Unfortunately there was no brand label (that I could see at least), and while it did share many characteristics of those classic Japanese wedge fuzzes, it was different enough that I couldn't confirm exactly what it was. So I made the post and waited, hoping someone who knew something would eventually come across it and message me...
Well two years later, and sadly, not one email.
But! Just a few minutes ago, while looking for photos of a completely different pedal, I came across a long-finished auction on a Japanese site for an Ace Tone FM-1, and in the background was my mystery Fuzz Master! The photo was very blurry, but luckily, right there in the description was the name of the hidden gem: the IDEAL "Fuzz Master".
So obviously my very next step was to search online to see if I could find anything else about this pedal, and sitting right there for over a decade was an entry for the Ideal Fuzz Master in Effects Database!
I reached out to Bart, who runs the site, and he was able to track down the origin of the photos to an ebay auction from all the way back in 2012. But other than that, it doesn't look like any other Fuzz Masters have popped up since.
Something of note to point out, is if you compare the images above, three differences emerge from the pixelation; the bottom pedal has no brand label on it (which we even see in many of the classic Sekova wedge fuzzes), the Ideal pedal has two hardwired cables for both input and output, while the other pedal seems to have been modded at some point with jacks on the sides (I say this because it still has the graphics at the top for "Guitar" and "Amplifier"), and one pedal seems to have a rivet on the front plate, most likely for the battery holder (but again this could easily be a modification done some time after it was built).
Well upon further inspection of all the Ideal photos I discovered that the build did indeed match what was inside the FZ-1A version of the Sekova Fuzz. Same PCB, same components, same bottom plate and more.
Now while I was able to find a lot of examples of Ideal branded guitars, there was little to no information beyond those photos. But what we do have is a thread that seems to run through many of the Sekova fuzzes and guitars, including the other brandings (Apollo, Greco, Tele-Star, etc.), and that connection is the infamous see-through knobs!
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Baby Fuzz / Distor Wha (70's France)
So as always, we seek to discover more and more. And if you happen to have any additional information about the Baby Fuzz line, please feel free to reach out via Email or Instagram