Super Identity Crisis...

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Most pedal nerds know some history about the legendary Super Fuzz and that it got its humble start in 1967 as a stand-alone unit called the "Baby Crying" Fuzz, made by the Japanese brand Honey. 

What is a bit less known is that, 

A: the original designer of the Super Fuzz is still a mystery! (yes, Fumio Mieda, designer of the Univibe, did NOT also design the Super Fuzz) 

B: production of the Super Fuzz circuit ran for 10 years in total! And, 

C: in that time they were licensed to an almost endless list of brands, small shops, importers, and distribution companies.

So part of my ongoing (and super nerdy) research into the true history of this pedal is this little photo list of some of my favorite (and lesser known) variants, in a somewhat chronological order of Super Fuzzdom throughout the years. I hope you enjoy! 🙏

Honey Baby Crying Fuzz (The original, made from 1967-1969. The earliest documentation I have been able to find of the Honey is from October of 1967)

LRE Super-Fuzz (It's starting to look like the LRE might be the first OEM, made by Honey, Super Fuzz. But I have some pieces of evidence I still need to find to confirm that)

Univox Super Fuzz (the Univox version either came right after or right before the LRE. Also note that these are the only two with that oval-shaped logo plate, and the only two made in a gray enclosure. As of now it looks like the Univox was built for a single year, from 1968-1969)

Tempo Fuzz (This is the first version/logo of the Tempo, that features the earliest iteration of the circuit [that you can also find on the previous 3 examples]. Not only was it renamed the TR-6 Fuzz in 1970, but the logo changed at least two more times during its run. *also please disregard the weird mod someone clearly did to this one)

Crown Super Fuzz (I recently discovered advertisements for the Crown Fuzz going back to October of 1968! And while they continued to make these into the early 70s, they are at least one of the earliest OEM brandings of the circuit)

Shaftesbury Duo Fuzz (The only version with a left-leaning badge! And the longest running. These arrived some time in 1969 and were made well into the mid 70s)

Apollo Deluxe Fuzz Tone Expander (The Apollo is another odd one. It appears to have been initially made in 1969, and possibly during the transition between Honey and Companion. They continued to make these until sometime in 1971)

JH Experience Fuzz (This is the first version of the JH Experience. They were made for the Canadian market and began to appear in local ads as early as November of 1969)

Factone - Fuzz Machine (One of the rarer examples, and seem to be a Japan-only affair. These have an odd mixture of parts and construction, that leads me to believe they possibly bought remaining deadstock from Honey after the bankruptcy in 1969) 

Companion FY-6 Fuzz Master (While the details are still unclear, it appears as though Shin-ei decided to create their own house brand and launch it in early 1970. This brand was called "Companion" and they re-introduced, and renamed the Super Fuzz circuit as the "FY-6 Fuzz Master". The earliest units date to March of 1970)

Mica-Tone Super Fuzz (the Musical Instrument Corp of America, aka MICA, imported and sold three different fuzzes in the mid 60s through the early 70s. The MICA Wailer [same as the LRE Fuzz Sound] the MICA-Tone Fuzz [which was a rebranded Manny's Fuzz] and this. The earliest units date to March 1970)

JH Experience Fuzz (The 2nd version of the JH Experience arrived toward the end of 1970, and apparently caught the "brand" off guard, as it features this hilariously janky sticker instead of a metal logo plate.) 

May Fair Model No. 9540 Super Fuzz (Another branding, from the end of 1970. At this point, Shin-ei seemed to be on a roll with their OEM deals)

JAX Fuzz Master Unit (Jax was one of the longer runs you will find in the FY-6 world. With the earliest units dating to 1971 and the latest to 1976. They also seemed to go through at least 3 logo changes in that time)

Mana FY-6 Fuzz (I know little to nothing about this brand, but this particular unit is dated to August of 1972)

Shin-Ei Companion FY-6 Fuzz Master (In January of 1973 Companion was rebranded as "Shin-ei Companion" and with it came the most ubiquitous FY-6 variant you can find today. These were made roughly until 1978)

Hohner MF-50 Master Fuzz Control (The Hohner version was either released in late 1973 or early 1974, as I found an announcement for it in the March 1974 edition of Music Trades magazinie. Hohner would become known for contracting out their effects, going from a full lineup of Shin-ei pedals to a completely different lineup of Applied Audio made pedals just a few year later)

Rands FY-6 Fuzz (Another version I know very little about. This particular unit was dated to October of 1976, putting it towards the end of the FY-6 lifespan.)

In addition to the handful of brandings I have posted here, there are plenty more I have been documenting, and even a couple that I didn't know existed until this past year! But my main goal for putting this article together was not a comprehensive OEM list, but to help begin to change the narrative that the vast majority of Shin-ei fuzzes were made in the 60s. Not only is this incorrect, it's actually quite the opposite.

So far the oldest date I have found on any Shin-ei fuzz is from 1978, but they do appear in catalogs until the end of 1979 when Shin-ei seemed to go out of business. Additionally I hope that we can begin to refer to the circuit as the "Baby Crying Fuzz" or the "Super Fuzz", as opposed to the "FY-6" which was a designation that didn't begin until 3 years later.

I have been working on tons of Super Fuzz related history and content that I hope to get out over the next couple of years, so hopefully this was a nice teaser and somewhat informative for you all. And definitely let me know what your favorite version of the Super Fuzz is or what crazy obscure branding I may have missed. 

*and if you would like a quick reference to figure out the production date of your Shin-ei pedal, I wrote an article here that can help with that.

Thanks for reading,

-ed