Applied Fuzz and Treble Booster FT-100

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By 1970 two states held claim to the majority of fuzz pedals being produced in the US; New York and New Jersey. A fact that tends to surprise a lot of people, but one quick Reverb search will undoubtedly bring up literal tons of vintage effects all built within a hundred mile radius of Newark. A few months ago we discussed one of these behemoths in this post about the legendary Manny's Fuzz, but today we're looking at the other giant, located just 7 miles down the road; Applied Audio Products Inc.

For a long time (and even still a bit now) the history and personnel behind Applied Audio was something of an enigma. And for many collectors, knowing that Applied was the actual manufacturer behind these ubiquitous 60's fuzzes was a mystery in and of itself. So today I want to lay out everything I have been able to find over the last few years and see if we can both, add more facts to this story and hopefully motivate some of you to reach out with some new info we have yet to discover. :) 

If you've been into vintage fuzzes for more than a year then there is a good chance you have seen the pedal above. If not labeled "Applied", then you've certainly seen it under one of it's many OEM re-brandings (Vivant, Crown, and Lou Rose, etc.).

Seemingly built by the thousands, and with pot date-codes generally ranging from 1966-1968, the Applied Fuzz and Treble Booster is definitely one of the more common pedals of the vintage world. But who was making them, especially at this scale? And when did they actually come out?

The two advertisements above come from the distribution catalog St. Louis Music Supply, both about six months apart in 1968. And while there may be an earlier mention of the Applied Fuzz in print, I have yet to find one. So as of now, an "early 1968" start date seems plausible. 

The pedal above is most likely this same early version, going by the knobs and battery-tester lamp style being a close match to the advertisements (see the very first photo in this post for what is probably a "later" unit). 

But was there an earlier incarnation?

The Kadent Treblefuzz is clearly of the same builder, but is also obviously different! The only example (yet found) of a 2-knob version of the Applied fuzz, the Kadent also has some other unique aspects that could point to an earlier build, pre-1968.

In addition to the circuit itself being somewhat different (one could say a "more primitive" version), the Kadent also featured a hard-wired output cable, an On/Off "Fuzz Intensity" pot, and an input jack directly on the front panel next to the knobs. 

And when it comes to the placement of that input jack, and the curious "Treblefuzz" font that happens to be fairly unique for the time, I am instantly reminded of another pedal that I know for sure was released in the Spring of 1967... the Goya "Panther Box" Fuzz-Tone and Treble Boost. 

So while we don't know exactly when the Kadent fuzz shows up in the Applied timeline, the circuit does suggest that it was potentially BEFORE all other variants. Although it is important to note that there are at least two other examples of the Kadent that do NOT have the On/Off pot. This could suggest that while they may have been "first" in the lineup, that they had also been made concurrently with the other variants through 1968, as there are examples of brandings like "Giulietti" and "Vivant" that have the On/Off pot but with a 3 knob setup instead. 

But as of now the only hard evidence we can point to is squarely in the corner of the Goya Panther fuzz. I happen to have two of these insanely gnarly 60's splatter boxes (see above). And in addition to sounding a bit different from each other, and using very different components, the one on the left employs the same On/Off switch that's in the Kadent. Lastly, if you take a quick look back at the photos of the Applied Fuzz catalog ads, you may notice that the pedals show a layout that's only ever been seen on a Goya Panther, with the battery tester bulb ABOVE the little red switch! So until we find some real solid documentation that those actually existed, or that the Kadent came out in 1966, the Goya may be our true introduction to Applied Audio.

By 1967 Goya had been bought out by Avnet Inc., a large conglomerate who had also purchased Guild the previous year (and additionally they had Guild's founder, Al Dronge, on their advisory board). So in early 1967 there was something of a change with the Goya catalog, labeled as "The International Sound" it featured guitars made in both Italy and Japan, while the accessories were made by third-party manufacturers elsewhere. 

And after looking, for what would probably be considered an obsessive amount of time, at all the documentation out there, I have no doubt that the Goya effects and their amps post-1966 were made right here in the US by Applied Audio Products Inc. The circuit, the build style, the type fonts, many of the components, and even that weird battery tester, are identical to what you find in virtually all of the known examples of Applied-related products. 

In 1968 Goya would go on to add other Applied effects to their lineup; like the Boom Box, the Fury Box, and the following year, the Power Box (an early LPB-1 copy). But what we don't know is just how long the Goya/Applied partnership lasted. Sadly, the trail goes cold after 1969. But there's still way more to be learned; starting with the biggest question of all...

WHO was "Applied Audio"?

To answer this I had to get super sleuthy, and even still, found myself reaching for connections that may or may not actually exist...

But what we do know is that Applied was started by an engineer with years of experience in amplifier construction and design, his name was Jack Gentul (see photo above). Gentul had spent the previous portion of his career as the founding member of Hilgen Amplifiers, and before that he worked for the Sano Corporation building and designing their amps. In 1967 Gentul's business partner Jacques Silva decided to end both the partnership and the brand, liquidating all inventory in the process. *check out the amazing Hilgen Amplifiers site for more details on this early history. 

And until recently it really appeared as though Applied Audio sprang up in the wake of Hilgen's demise. But I recently came across a Music Trades magazine from February of 1967 that shows both, an ad for the new Goya Barracuda Amplifier (which was unquestionably made by Gentul and houses what could possibly be the original version of the Applied fuzz?) but also features an announcement for the consolidation of Hilgen's manufacturing plants to a warehouse in Hillside, NJ (which was home to Radio-Matic, Jacques Silva's other company). Which leads me to believe that Applied Audio was either already in the works as the "sister brand" of Hilgen, or the Goya contract was with Hilgen, and Applied Audio had yet to become a separate entity.

And while the exact details are still a bit foggy, as stated above, at some point in 1967 Hilgen was finished. But being equally adept at business as he was with electronics, Gentul quickly pivoted to his new brand, going all-in on Applied Audio Products Inc. He even used the same factory at 111 Market St. in Kenilworth, NJ that Hilgen Amps had called home for the previous two and half years. The evidence for this particular time period is a bit hazy, but I was able to find a wedding announcement for an Applied Audio technician from September of 1967. So it wouldn't be until the following year that we would get our best lead on what was going with Applied Audio and who else might have been involved.

From this point I am not sure how, when, or where the connection was made, but in June of 1968 there was an article announcing a new factory that was being built for the Trans-Tek Manufacturing Company, previously of Garwood, NJ.

This new plant in South Plainfield, NJ would not only house Trans-Tek but also Applied Audio, which was referred to as their "associate organization". The article went on to state that in addition to small consumer electronics and educational kits, the workers of the factory were also going to build amplifiers and effects pedals (with the Applied Big Fuzz being named explicitly). What's really cool is that the same article confirmed that Applied Audio had already been working with brands like Goya and Sano, building their amplifiers and effects! And while it goes on to imply that both Applied and Trans-Tek were based out of the new plant, we can easily confirm this as well, as there are examples of Applied Audio fuzzes with their original boxes. And on those boxes, it clearly says "South Plainfield, NJ" (or in this case, it blurrily says that).

My assumption/best guess is that Trans-Tek had a previous relationship with Jack Gentul / Hilgen, possibly supplying him with electronic components like transistors, potentiometers, capacitors, etc. which Trans-Tek sold in bulk. But again, that's just a guess.

What I do know for sure is that in the years leading up to May of 1968 both companies were listed under completely different addresses, but only 5 minutes apart from each other. So a prior relationship is very possible (and even, likely?). Either way the connection was made, and at least until 1970 it would appear that both brands were located under one roof. *in 1970 Applied seems to move to Manville, NJ. And although their partnership with Trans-Tek becomes unclear at this point, it is possible that they continued the relationship, and possibly throughout the rest of the decade.

With the Applied/Trans-Tek alliance it's now much easier to see how they were able to keep up with so many orders, and also build at a level where managing such a wide range of OEM partnerships was completely doable. One of the big questions when it came to Applied Audio has always been, who was building all this stuff??? And this is partially because there aren't any other pedal manufacturers in the US who produced at this scale, that we know almost NOTHING about! And even though we now have way more information than ever before, I would love to talk to someone who was actually involved. Because sadly, some big unknowns are still out there, just floating in the abyss.

Now that we know a little more background, let's get into the pedal itself. The circuit has been described as a "Fuzz Face with a boost attached", and other people have pointed out that it also borrows some functionality from the Fuzzrite. To me it sounds like neither of those, but instead turns the obnoxiousness up to 11 and produces a super nasty/nasally/hairy 60's fuzz tone. (*tip: if you have one of these, try it with a boost pedal slamming the input)

When it comes to the outside of the pedal it's pretty easy to see some of the more unique features of the Applied fuzz; the battery tester switch, the corresponding lamp (which is literally its only function), the fact that it's a super early fuzz + treble booster combo, the two switches, etc. But maybe the aspect that's stuck out to you the most is that you've seen it pop up under a bunch of different brandings.

Above is a "Crown" labeled version. I can tell it's fairly early in the run because it has that oddly large battery-tester bulb and also uses those metal top-hat knobs. Another way we know it's early is that it has an On/Off switch for the "Treble" pot (please disregard the replaced electrolytic capacitors in this example). But the one thing we do not know here, is which "Crown" this is... The logo itself doesn't seem to match any Crown Guitars that I'm aware of, but this doesn't necessarily mean it's not one of them either.

The Lou Rose version is an interesting one for a few reasons. The first, is that it was made for the opening of a music shop (Lou Rose Music Center) in Edison, New Jersey, which happened September 6th 1968. Apparently only 10 units were available that first weekend, but we don't know if they continued to make them afterwards. Either way, the Summer of 1968 does give us a nice date to potentially show that they were still being made with those large battery lamps.

Another really cool thing I noticed is that the knobs on the Lou Rose fuzz are exactly the same ones you'll find on the Goya "Barracuda" amplifier we mentioned earlier; further strengthening the idea that it too was made by Jack Gentul.  Were these knobs just leftover from the Goya project? From what I have seen, the Barracuda amplifier was only available in 1967, as it was replaced in the 1968 catalog by the Goya Vocal Amplifier (which is also where we see Applied's "Dimensional Reverberation" show up for the first time).

photo by: John Bannon / Hilgenamplifiers.net

Another early example would be the Giulietti Corp. Fuzz and Treble Booster. Known mainly for their accordions, Giulietti was a New York based company who also sold a range of amplifiers throughout the years. With a long history of using other manufacturers to build their electronic offerings (Ampeg, Magnatone, etc.), they also had a contract with Hilgen at one point. And even though we haven't been able to put a date on the pedal, it too features the large battery bulb and On/Off pot found on the earliest examples. 

I think we can safely assume that Jack Gentul successfully managed to take his OEM relationships with him from one venture to the next. And as I dig in even deeper, this fact becomes much more apparent; especially with this next example.

Sano, another legendary New Jersey amplifier brand (who we now know was Gentul's first major employer) also had their very own Fuzz and Treble Booster pedal. I find this pretty interesting because it shows that Gentul must have continued a working relationship with them even after he left to start Hilgen. 

The pedal itself is yet another early example with an On/Off pot. And when compared to a similar-era Sano amplifier, it's pretty clear they were made by the same hand/in the same factory. You can also draw a straight light between some Sano amps, Hilgen amps, and the Goya Barracuda amplifier; tying this all together pretty well! And seeing this list of early OEM deals that stemmed from previously held relationships, it's no wonder that Applied Audio was able to achieve the type of pervasiveness they had by the end of the 1970s.

In 1969 the David Wexler & Co. distribution company released a set of "Conrad" branded effects, all built by Applied Audio. The Fuzzy Fury, the Bass Hawk, and the Sky Hawk. Now I have never seen a physical example of the "Sky Hawk", but the Fuzzy Fury and the Bass Hawk have popped up quite a few times over the years.

I can tell by the photo that it was most likely a later style unit, similar to what you usually find when you come across the "Applied" branded versions. But otherwise, we're flying blind on this one. The weird thing about never seeing one of these pop up is that they appear in both the 1969 and 1970 catalogs. This could suggest that if you ordered a "Sky Hawk" you may have actually just received an "Applied Audio" branded version? But it could also suggest that they were just THAT rare?

Vivant was a brand that, from all best guesses, seems to have existed in name only. I'm not sure if it was associated with a particular distribution company, but I haven't been able to find any historical data whatsoever. And the surviving examples of "Vivant" branded gear is all rebranded, mostly from Japan. So it's even more intriguing that this version of the Applied Fuzz and Treble Booster lasted through both iterations of the effect.

We again see an earlier unit with the big bulb and the On/Off pot. But with Vivant we also see the only other non-Applied version that has a later example too. So I'm really curious to find out who Vivant was associated with, because they must have been big enough to release this pedal over a span of at least three years, if not longer.

Now this is a really cool one that hasn't surfaced until now! A good friend of the blog sent me a photo of what looked like a "Scott" branded Applied Fuzz and Treble Booster. But if you look closer, it seems like the logo is either a sticker or a metal plate, similar to what you see on Shin-ei pedals. So was this actually the brand associated with it, or just a random sticker placed on there at some point in the last 50 years?

After following a trail for the completely wrong "Scott", I came across the image above. In the July 1968 issue of Music Trades magazine they ran an article on the their own trade show the previous month. And right there, with the exact same logo staring me dead in the eyes, was a mention of Scott Music Supply, Inc. Based in Louisiana of all places, they served the southern US through a wholesale business dealing in all things musical instrument related.

The final version above actually came to my attention from our good friend Bart of effectsdatabase.com. We were discussing the Scott Fuzz and I guessed that if it was the actual logo, then there's a good chance that Applied made blank version.

This is something you'll see with other OEM manufacturers of the time who gave direct clients, like local music shops, the opportunity to have their own branded gear at a lower cost. So instead of silk-screening logos at the factory ahead of time, they would send unbranded instruments and allow the stores to put their own business name right on the front. 

After searching for a bit, Bart was able to find this awesome example of an Applied Fuzz with no logo at all! And when I thought about it for a couple days, I was reminded of a pedal I personally own that was also made by Applied, called the Rogue Fuzz. For a long time collector nerds thought that "Rogue" was the brand name because there were no other logos present, when in fact it was the name of the effect itself! Just last year I found a "Nomad" branded version, and we also know of a "Kadent" version that exists. And this is all to say that Applied had a history of unbranded pedals, so the existence of the Scott Fuzz and the blank fuzz both make sense.

 

Now before we wrap this up, I have to at least mention the Banshee Fuzz. They were available under the Nomad and Applied brands, but unfortunately the manufacturing dates are currently unknown. The circuit appears to be just the fuzz portion of the FT-100 with a few modifications (or was it "pre-modification"?). 

Because of this, a lot of collectors have assumed that they came first in the timeline. But we honestly don't know. What makes it really difficult in dating the Applied pedals is that they were essentially using surplus parts, and even gear made well into the 70s might have pots that date to 1967.

But what makes the Banshee Fuzz so intriguing (specifically the Nomad version) is that Nomad was something of a "house brand" for LIMMCO (Long Island Musical Merchandise Co.), who was a bigtime wholesaler/distributor. And we know that in the Fall of 1966 LIMMCO's other house brand, Kimberly, released a fuzz called the Buzz Box and Volume Expander, that according to LIMMCO's owner, Bob Seidman, were initially made in their warehouse on Long Island but the process because such a drain on resources that they ultimately hired a 3rd party to build them. And in a May 1967 advertisement in Music Trades magazine (see below) they even highlight this "New Improved Circuit Design!". At some point, not long after this initial change, the Kimberly fuzz went through another redesign, most likely at the hands of Long Island-based, UMI (United Musical Industries), who would go on to produce the pedals through the end of the run.

Why this all matters is that in the interim between LIMMCO and UMI was (almost certainly) Applied Audio Products! Which is what I believe the advertisement below is referring to. We also know from a 1966 LIMMCO catalog that they were one of the larger distributers of Hilgen Amplifiers in the US. And from what we've seen with how Jack Gentul was able to maintain his previous business relationships, going from Hilgen to Applied Audio, it makes sense that he would be tasked with not only building the Nomad effects, but also the Kimberly Fuzz (which interestingly enough share the same 2N613 germanium transistors as one of the three known examples of a Kadent Treblefuzz). 

Around 1970 Applied Audio would strike a deal with Guild Guitars; building their FW-3 Fuzz Wah, VW-1 Volume Wah, SP-5 Siren & Surf pedal, and the rare Dimensional Reverb System. Later in the decade they would connect with Hohner; building a full line of effects called the "Sound Modifier Series", which included the greatest Big Muff of all time, the Tri-Dirty Booster.

This Hohner line would take Jack Gentul and Applied Audio out of the 70s and into, what I believe was, their swan song. Which to me is the perfect way to end a long and super expansive career of working tirelessly in the audio engineering business and building fuzz pedals for the masses.

The Applied Audio Fuzz and Treble Booster, while not particularly known for it's "great sounding tone", is important for an entirely different reason. It's one of the few stompboxes that are truly a key to unlocking the history of fuzz, and even more importantly, some of it's most obscured and previously hidden parts. And while this post was a bit long, I promise that we barely scratched the surface with how interconnected all of these brands actually were...

But we can save that for next time. :)

So if you happen to have more information about Jack Gentul or anything else we discussed here, please feel free to send me a message via Email or Instagram.

thanks for reading,

-ed 

Jujiya FB-1 Fuzz Box (New Grail Unlocked)

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Last month, friend of the blog Marcelo (of Guitar Restos) reached out to let me know he had purchased a handful of old Japanese music magazines, and in the stack was an issue of Music Life from June of 1968. He very graciously pulled a group of scans from it, sending me anything even remotely pedal-related. In those scans was a mysterious fuzz I had never seen or heard of before, from a Kyoto based instrument shop...

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.

This is a super specific observation, but the first detail that stood out was that footswitch. And while 99% of even the nerdiest of nerds would have overlooked this, it doesn't seem to be the same type of switch you usually see on almost ALL pedals built in Japan during the 1960s (or 70s for that matter). Funny enough, it does look like a handful of replacement footswitches I have seen🤔. Additionally, those knobs are quite interesting! They're like the inverse of the classic Sato knobs, but more importantly I can't think of any other vintage Japanese pedals that use anything like them. Lastly, the graphics seem to be from one of those old label-maker guns you used as a kid to make sure everyone knew exactly which Trapper Keeper was yours.

So what does this all mean?

*here comes the complete speculation part of the article - What I think this means is that we can, most likely, rule out the option that the Jujiya Fuzz Box was built by any of the usual suspects (Shin-ei, Maxon, Royal, etc.). It's possible that they were actually built right there inside of the Jujiya Musical Instrument store (now known as "Jeugia", and is still very much around today). It's also possible that it was a local builder hired for such things. Unfortunately that part may stay a mystery. 

As of now, I have never seen an FB-1 Jujiya Fuzz Box outside of the advertisement above. I'm left wondering tons of things like; How many were made? What circuit was it based on? Were there any other Jujiya effects or gear? And the biggest question; How can I find one?! 

So if you have any additional information at all, even fading memories of different advertisements, please feel free to reach out to me via Email or Instagram. Any info helps, as I now have a new mission, and it's finding a Jujiya Fuzz Box. 

thanks for reading,

-ed

Wah-What? The Univox Uniwah is Weird

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In 1967 Unicord Incorporated, by way of their previously acquired Amplifier Corp. of America brand, entered the effects market with a simple Maestro FZ-1A copy they called, the "Fuzz King". Just a year and a half later they would seek to expand their reach, but this time under the Univox line, with the 108-5 Super Fuzz and the UW-2 Uniwah. The Super Fuzz would go on to receive the majority-share of attention between the two, and rightfully so, as even back then the poor Uniwah had an uphill battle; it was considered to be neither innovative nor a particularly good sounding wah. Regardless, it would go on to have a long life despite being taken for granted. And until recently, I'll be honest, I don't think many/any of us cared enough to even do the most basic research on its history.

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 :)

One thing we know for sure is that from the very beginning the Uniwah was given the model number of "UW-2". And unlike the Super Fuzz, this designation would carry over through the Honey bankruptcy to its final catalog reference in the late 1970s. 

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.

But what we do have are these two surviving photos of original Uniwahs still with their boxes and manuals! And when we look at the images below the first thing I notice is that the box is quite a bit different from the bright orange design of the Honey-era Super Fuzz, instead opting for a more "USPS Priority Shipping" style. 

The next thing that stands out is the pedal itself seems nearly identical to later units from the 70s; same shape, size, and even uses what appears to be the same white sticker in between the jacks. And while the 1968 catalog image confirms that it always used three "C" batteries, we now have pretty clear photo evidence that it even came with said batteries included!

After finding these photos I was happy to at least have a baseline for the "early run" units. But one thing bothered me; in the 1968 and 69 catalogs, in addition to the image used on the original manual, you can clearly see that the word "Univox" is either white or some type of cut-out showing a reflective chrome finish (see image below).

So I wondered if these particular pedals even went with those boxes. Or was there another option (that was fairly common back then), that a special unit was made specifically for marketing purposes; where the graphics were modified in some way to photograph better (famously EHX did this with the Big Muff, and Honey did this with the Psychedelic Machine).

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. 

And if you expand the photo, zooming in on the white logo, you quickly realize what happened here. They simply painted the letters white! Right overtop of the rubber grip-tread so that the logo would easily stand out in a photo; it was as simple as that. lol

Ok so now we know, at least based on the outside of the pedal, that the Uniwah remained unchanged for its entire life. And this is a pretty big deal because it's the only Univox effect that didn't have at least a minor cosmetic adjustment over the years. But what does this mean? And is there more we can learn from taking a look inside the pedal?

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.

But I'm sure there are some clues worth digging up.

The first thing I noticed was that (other than what are probably replaced electrolytic capacitors) the mixture of caps all appear to be the same (my only real concern is that middle pedal with the black caps. They could be early replacements I suppose). Which is also similar to the mixture you will find on Uni-Drives and big box Super Fuzzes. Next, the transistors are interesting because they're almost certainly the same brand used in those later Super Fuzzes (same number designation as well, 2SC537), and similar "top hat" silicon transistors can also be found in Uni-Drives. Lastly, the diodes and resistors are another mix that you will find in those later Super Fuzzes as well.

From everything we see here, it feels safe(ish) to assume that the same builder made all three pedals. And why that's important is both the Uni-Drive and the big box Super Fuzz didn't show up until 1970 (with previous Super Fuzzes using a different set of components), suggesting that Unicord struck a new deal with a currently unknown manufacturer after the Honey bankruptcy in 1969. And if any of the above gut-shots are from Uniwahs dated to 1968 or 69, then it would also suggest that whoever was responsible for them was, by extension, most likely the manufacturer of all other Univox pedals throughout the 70s.

Ok, so I feel like we're making some progress here, but if manufacturer "X" did build the Uniwah, was there only a single version during its lifespan? Sure there were a handful of component changes over the years, but was anything else different?

The PCB/layouts seem to be the same from unit to unit. And pretty much every other part, including the footswitch and that weird "C" battery compartment seem to remain unchanged.

But one thing I did notice was that two of the gut-shot sets had photos of the trace-side of the PCB. And printed on both was the label "Uniwah 3". So does that mean there was a "Uniwah 1" or "Uniwah 2" board as well?

If we jump back out of the pedals and look at the packaging, we see a few more details pop up. The pedal below shows the type of crossover that we would expect to see if the same manufacturer had made the pre and post-Honey Uniwahs.

The blue box clearly indicates a 1970-or-later release date, but the instruction manual is exactly the same as the one they included with the original units. And then we see at some point they changed over to a newer manual (see example below) that used the graphic and font introduced with the 1970 line. I have yet to find a third version of the owner's manual so I'm curious if they ever changed the graphic on the front page to fall more in line with the Univox advertisements (like you see above)?

Going back just a little bit, another part of this story involves our old friends at Lafayette Radio Electronics (LRE). In the Summer of 1968 they introduced an "LRE" branded Super Fuzz. And because of the connection to Univox, the LRE gear typically came from the same manufacturers who were making the Univox products (amps, guitars, microphones, effects, etc).

In the following catalog (presumably Fall of 1968), they ran an ad for their own version of the Uniwah, simply called the "Wah-Wah Sound and Volume Control". Although the photo is taken from the opposite side, and it appears as though there is no visible logo, it definitely seems to be the same pedal.

So what's up with that lack of a logo? Judging only from the somewhat poor scan of this 1968 catalog it almost looks like the "Univox" could have been blacked out during the printing process. But I did find a quality scan of a newspaper advertisement from November of 1970 (see below) and it clearly shows that the wah has a completely blank tread. And while the angle is different, I believe these were both the same photo in 1968 and 1970, with the 1970 image being rotated for the sake of space.

So is there an "LRE" labeled Uniwah?

The Univox effects have a bit of an interesting history with Lafayette Radio Electronics. We know for sure that there was an early gray version of the LRE Super Fuzz, but as of now we have never seen an LRE "Super Drive" (Uni-Drive), an LRE "Roto Sound" (Uni-Vibe), or an LRE big box Super Fuzz.

So I question what would happen in 1970 if you ordered the "Wah-Wah Sound and Volume Control". Would you just receive a Uniwah but with LRE packaging and paperwork? Sure, it is definitely possible that these versions do exist and somehow we've never seen one and no one has ever mentioned their existence online. But it is not very likely. And in fact just last year I came across the photo below, showing a big box Univox Super Fuzz, with Univox Packaging and paperwork, but with a receipt from a Lafayette Radio Electronics store in Middletown, NY!

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".  

So for now, and until we physically see an example of a non-branded Uniwah, it's probably safe too assume they were never made? But we'll leave at least a 5% chance to appease all you pedal lawyers out there ;)

Well, what do you think? 

Was there an earlier version we have yet to see? Is the pedal in those 1968/69 catalogs the same as the ones from 1970, onward? And is the Univox Uniwah the secret key to finally unlocking the mystery of who manufactured their pedals post 1969? Or is it all just a classic red herring...

I have a guess about who the true builder of these effects was (*hint, it's NOT Shin-ei), but to be honest, there's still a lot to learn before I make it permanent with a blog-post... 

That being said, if you have any additional insight into this, or anything Univox related, please feel free to reach out to me via Email or Instagram..

thanks for reading,

-ed

Manny's Fuzz 1968 (Clark, Orpheum, et al.)

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A while back we posted a rather large article on the mystery of East Coast Fuzz (aka, Manny's Fuzz), and with everything we covered, and were able to uncover, one bit of evidence still managed to elude us; and that was WHEN the pedals were actually released...

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. 

Another thing to consider is that this is a classified ad, meaning the seller had theoretically bought the Orpheum Fuzz brand new, used it, and is now putting it up for sale with the rest of the gear. So in terms of a timeline, I feel pretty confident that it was probably available well before September of 1968.

The next one here is another classified ad, but this time for the Clark Fuzz. Until finding this I had only ever seen the Clark printed in a magazine from 1970. And because the enclosure is a bit different, I had always assumed it came after than the Manny's and Orpheum. But here we are, October 5th 1968 (Syracuse Herald Journal) with a for-sale advertisement of a used Clark Fuzz.

To be honest, after going through the process of writing the last article, I was pretty happy to see this ad, as I believe Clark was at the epicenter of the East Coast fuzzes, potentially supplying the enclosures (if not even more involved). So seeing this 1968 evidence is a bit validating to my pedal nerd ego. ;) 

I saved my favorite one for last! First, this is just a cool advertisement on its own; with DiFiore's Music House highlighting their fuzz selection. Also from 1968, it's pretty amazing to see that you could walk into a local shop at the time and have your choice between a Maestro Fuzz Tone, a Kent Distorter, a Mosrite Fuzzrite, a Fuzz Face, (presumably an Ace Tone FM-1) Fuzz Master, and a Manny's Fuzz. 

What's cool about this ad, in terms of the Manny's Fuzz, is that it was published on Jan. 18th of 1968. Which leads me to believe that most likely it was available at least by the end of 1967. The other thing to consider is that unlike the last two clippings, this is a legitimate shop advertisement for new gear.  

And probably the most surprising thing I found about this is that it appears in The Plain Dealer, a newspaper based out of Cleveland! So not only do we have a store that is NOT the New York City-based Manny's Music clearly selling a Manny's Fuzz, but it's a store that's over 450 miles away! I think we can safely infer from this that the Manny's Fuzz (and probably other "Manny's" labeled gear) had real domestic distribution. 

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!

I had actually forgotten that little factoid when I found the advertisement, but I remembered he did say he got it while living in Cleveland. So after rechecking our emails, sure enough! DiFiore's was the spot. *side note: I'll do a whole post just on this pedal in the future. It's a unique little oddity in the East Coast Fuzz lore.

A quick one today, but I felt like the main article needed this little add-on post for accuracy-sake. It feels like we're close to this one, so as always if you have any additional information (like, you bought a Manny's Fuzz in Nebraska or something) please feel free to reach out to me via Email or Instagram.

Thanks as always for reading,

-ed

Guyatone FS-3 - The Other Super Fuzz

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If you're tied into the vintage Japanese pedal market whatsoever, you may already know that the Guyatone FS-3 Fuzz is one of the most sought-after effects in the scene. It's famous among nerds for being extremely rare and sounding particularly awesome/gnarly. 

But what's the story with it? And what's going on inside that familiar looking enclosure?

A good internet scouring on the Guyatone FS-3 will typically find you little, and what you will find theorizes that it's possibly from the late 60s, and has some relation to another classic Japanese fuzz...

So the first myth we can work on is the "late 60s" part. It's funny, I've noticed specifically with vintage Japanse pedals, the default guess is that they were made "sometime in the late 60s". And while that's obviously true for some of them, the vast majority were actually made in the 1970s.

We did a whole video on the history of the Companion FY-2 a while back, where we discovered it actually hadn't been released until 1970, even though it's often considered to be one of the classic 60s fuzzes. And in that same video we briefly discussed the history of its big brother, the FY-6 Fuzz Master; another one thought to have been from the "late 60s", when in reality the Companion/Shin-ei version hadn't been released until 1970 as well.

So what about the Guyatone FS-3?

There are luckily an abundance of old Guyatone catalogs online, which have definitely helped me in my quest for supreme pedal knowledge! But there are a few glaring misses too, so I'll try to put it all together the best I can.

Above you see a 1973 Guyatone catalog that features three effects; the FS-4 Wah-Wah, the FS-5 Wah-Fuzz, and the FS-3 Fuzz. The next earliest catalog I have is from 1969, where they introduced the FS-2 Buzz Box. So we can probably guesstimate that the FS-3 was released some time between 1970 and 1973.

*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.

So what happens when we compare the two pedals? I apologize for the awkward angle of the above FS-3 photo, it's not quite that long. So when we take that into account, the enclosures look pretty close, even using the same style of graphics badge! Obviously one has been pressed/drilled out differently for switches, pots, and jacks, but many of the other details seem to check out.

Luckily for us, at least one person has already made this comparison in real life, and did so in a photo essay of sorts, on the legendary Cult pedals blog; Check it out HERE.

I reached out to him to confirm the sizing, and he said that while they are close, the Special Fuzz was notably wider and shorter than the FS-3. Which is odd because with all things considered, I would have expected the enclosures to be exactly the same size. I say this because of what we find when we look INSIDE the Guyatone...

photo by: Cult Pedals Blog

So after looking at the all-important gut shots above we see some things that tell an entirely unexpected story, and simultaneously spawn a whole new crop of questions. The component-side of the board shows the exact layout you see on many of the pre Shin-ei Super Fuzzes (Honey, Univox, LRE, etc). And while that is a bit weird to see in a Guyatone pedal, there were others from this era, like the Royal Fuzz Box, that also copied the Super Fuzz PCB layout, so it's not unheard-of. But when we take a look at the bottom of the board, we see that it is in fact an original Honey-labeled PCB! 

So what the hell is going on here???

Through my long obsessive searches online I have found at least two other examples of "Super Fuzz" style pedals that use the Honey PCB, but were otherwise completely different when it came to the components used. And knowing the FS-3 didn't come out until 1972 (at least 3 years after Honey went out of business) the only conclusion that makes sense to me, is that old parts stock was sold off at some point, and these brands (including Guyatone) purchased it and released as many pedals as they could make out of them.

I don't think it's a coincidence that both the enclosure and the circuit board are Honey related. And while I write this, another possible version of the story just came to me. It could also be that a currently unknown third-party was responsible for building the Honey pedals. And while Honey itself went out of business, this particular manufacturer did not. It's also possible then, that Guyatone (and these other brands) contracted this company to build a new fuzz pedal, and they simply used parts they had left over from the Honey days?

Obviously this is just me speculating out loud, trying to make sense of it all, but I do find it interesting that apparently a handful of seemingly unrelated brands somehow acquired these PCB's (and who knows what other parts?) and made their own version of the Super Fuzz. It's also kind of funny to know that the legendary, extremely rare and sought-after Guyatone FS-3 is basically a Univox Super Fuzz with different components inside (not to diminish how awesome it is or anything. trust me, I still want one ;)

Guyatone's entire pedal history is still quite hazy to me. I have never been able to confirm that they built any of their pedals in-house (60s-70s). Each one is a bit different, construction-wise, and looking back at the 1972 catalog, right next to the FS-3 we also see two pedals confirmed to have been made by Maxon (what Guyatone has called the "FS-4 Wah-Wah" and the "FS-5 Wah-Fuzz").

Well we definitely know that this was a business practice they followed (it was also how the vast majority of Japanese guitar brands functioned at the time). And while we don't know the builder of the FS-3, or the FS-2, or the FS-1, or even the FS-6 actually, the most confusing part is figuring out if each of them was built by the same manufacturer or not. I truly have no idea.

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.

There are a few demos online, but most of them really don't do it justice. The one that is pretty good, and what I usually send to people when they ask about the FS-3, is this classic banger by Effeken//

So the background of the FS-3 isn't quite as cut-and-dry as we would hope (and just expect from vintage Japanese pedals at this point), but we at least have more to go off of than usual. It's also kind of relieving to know that even though the last one sold for over $4K, at its heart, the Guyatone FS-3 is a Super Fuzz. A very cool, and rare Super Fuzz... but a Super Fuzz nonetheless. :)

If you happen to have any additional information we missed here, or happen to have an FS-3 yourself, I would love to hear from you. Send me a message via Email or Instagram. 

thanks for reading,

-ed

Ideal Fuzz Master - A Mystery Solved!

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In 2023, after rediscovering some old photos buried deep in the recesses of an ancient portable hard drive, I decided to feature one of those photos right here on the blog. Pictured was a mysterious wedge-shaped pedal simply called the "Fuzz Master". I didn't have much to go off of because the image was insanely small and pixelated, but what I could see was that it had labels for "Attack" and "Volume" on the front, probably had knobs on either side, and that those knobs were very similar to ones used on other Japanese wedge fuzzes built in the late 60s.

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. 

So there's a pretty good chance these were made by the same people. One thing I still haven't been able to determine is if the FZ-1A style of Sekova fuzz was built by the same manufacturer who built the more Fuzzrite(ish) 9v version. Regardless, there's enough similarities between these two, and the odd one we highlighted in this article a couple of months ago, to say they all (probably) came from the same factory.

No doubt this "Fuzz Master" was another OEM situation, and probably exists under a few different brandings (hence the unbranded version I found photos of back in 2003). But to get a little closer to its history we still have to answer the question; who was Ideal? 

After a tiny bit of research it looks like they were manufacturing guitars as early as the 1930s and based in New York City. Not only that, but by the mid 30s they were either a division of, or distributed by Epiphone. (there was also a completely different "Ideal" guitar manufacturer from Chicago, but I have ruled them out)

At some point in the 50s it looks like they existed in name only, and instead had begun importing guitars from Japan. Some online sites state that they were made by Guyatone while others have stated it was Matsumoku. It's very possible both of these are true, but after looking over photos of more Ideal guitars, from what I believe to be the mid-late 60s, it seems very likely that this era at least was made by Matsumoku, as they appear to be identical in style to some others they were known to have manufactured at the time.

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!

I do have a bit more research to do before I can confirm this, but as of now it does seem like three important details were true when it comes to unraveling this story; 

1. A lot of Matsumoku guitars from 1967-1969 seem to use these knobs.

2. Matsumoku also used Nisshin Onpa (Maxon) pickups in many (if not all) of those same guitars.

3. Of those guitars, a certain number of these brands also had Sekova style wedge fuzzes in their catalogs.

My working theory, and I know it's a bit flimsy, is that either Matsumoku, or Teisco, or Fujigen (or one of the other big Japanese guitar factories of the 60s)  had clients reaching out to them, most likely though a distributor, wanting a fuzz box for their brand (because it was 1967 and fuzz was HOT!). So the distributor asked these manufacturers to build fuzz boxes for the clients, and in turn they contacted a third-party (possibly a company like Maxon/Nisshin Onpa) who were adept at electronics and circuit design, to see if they would be up to the task. And the rest, is history! :) 

Again, totally and completely a guess, based on the info I currently have. But it's also totally plausible that it could have happened like this. So as of now, who knows?

At least we do know one thing, whoever built these pedals made multiple variations and they were built specifically for OEM contracts with mostly foreign distribution. Almost all of the brand logos you find on these wedge style pedals can be traced to an imported Japanese guitar made under the same branding. So if it didn't happen exactly like how I have speculated above, then I feel like it was some sort of package deal; 

"Buy a guitar from us, and for an extra $3 we will make you a fuzz pedal with your logo on it!" 

or something like that...

It's possible these companies, like Sekova, Greco, and Apollo, didn't even know who was involved in building their pedals. Apollo is actually a great example because by 1970 they had sold effects made by Honey, Shin-ei, Maxon, and (possibly) Melos. 

So there's a good chance that their Japan distributor simply handed them an order form full of effects to choose from, they checked some boxes, paid their dealer, and couple months later an order of guitars, accessories, and effects arrived via cargo ship?

 

However this all went down, finding the Ideal Fuzz Master does show how prevalent the mystery wedge fuzz maker really was. I do find it interesting that the odd variations we've found over the last year have all been different takes on the eyelet board/FZ-1A version of the pedal, as opposed to the 9v version.

So are we seeing an evolution of the pedal in chronological order, or were these all being made at the same time in a purely chaotic fashion? Whatever the answer, hopefully as we continue to go deeper we'll get closer to the truth. 

And with that, we'll end as we usually do... If you happen to own one of these "Fuzz Masters" please feel free to reach out via Email or Instagram. Additionally, if you know how these brands made their orders back in the 60s, I would love to hear all about it! 

Thanks for reading,

-ed