Ibanez FZ-7 Fuzz
IBANEZ FZ-7 FUZZ
By Ernesto
Features
The Ibanez FZ7 is part of the Ibanez 7-series of affordable stomp boxes. It is slightly larger than the standard Boss form factor and the Ibanez Classic series pedals, has an all metal housing, a lever switch with a latch release for easy battery access, and a Boss-like electronic actuator. It’s a sturdy pedal with “Tone Lok”, meaning the tweaking knobs can be push-clicked down flush with the facial plate in order to prevent accidentally undoing a setting or breaking a knob while stomping, very nifty feature. The unit has three controls, gain, tone and level, the gain knob adjusts the amount of fuzz, the tone knob the treble cut-off, and the level the volume of the output signal. Furthermore, there is a small 3-position “damage” switch. It’s powered by 9V battery or standard DC supply.
Sounds
This pedal is to be seen as a “modern” fuzz pedal, no effort has been made to make this pedal sound vintage, it has a sound of it’s own, and it becomes immediately clear that it is a silicon fuzz.
However, this does not mean that it doesn’t sound right, it packs a serious punch, and is much more useable in a live band situation than most vintage pedals or pedals modeled thereafter. The primary use of this fuzz pedal like other fuzz pedals is for a lead part, chords do not fuzz up nicely, they become muddy and get lost in the mix.
With the gain below 11 o’clock, it sounds a bit like a modern fuzz face, a gritty raw fuzz that will muffle treble but explode with treble when you’re strumming hard. A nice and original sound for a heavy blues solo. With single coils, it is very reactive to playing dynamics. With the gain above 11 o’clock it becomes a “violin-like” fuzz like the EHX Muff fuzz boxes, thus making it ideal for rock leads. The gain on this thing is quite enormous, and with a high gain setting it’s very creamy, without losing the nice tonal texture. Unlike many fuzz pedals, this pedal actually allows pulling harmonics at a higher setting, which indicates that Ibanez – true to it’s reputation – has aimed this pedal primarily at the ’shredder’ market, but doing so also offers versatility for other uses.
The bass frequencies are very present, but still balanced, and although it’s a fuzz, the mid frequencies are still coming through more than enough to be heard above bass guitar and drums, unlike most other fuzz pedals.
Which brings us to the “damage” feature. The pedal has 3 damage positions, 0 %, 10 % and 100 %. The damage control emulates the typical “dying fuzz” sound, more damage adds grit and texture, much like vintage germanium pedals, but without the softness of germanium transistors and more importantly without the downsides of germanium transistors (unreliable, radical sound changes with temperature and operating conditions, etc…). 100 % damage is extreme, think industrial metal or odd indie, basically the sound is chewed up and puked out by the pedal, but it still is surprisingly musical and there are no interruptions like with many gritty fuzz pedals, the added sustain of the fuzz pedal stays, 10 % damage is what I would consider the “standard setting”, because it offers a little breakup and texture like one would expect from a good fuzz, plus adds a bit more treble grit, so that the pedals doesn’t go in “Theremin mode” too eagerly, and the 0 % damage setting allows for Theremin- or violin-like creamy sounds without puke factor, very musical and articulate on a higher gain setting, for a very rich sustain and a full and warm lead sound.
The pedal shines with modern high output humbuckers. I makes the Seymour Duncan Hot Rails for Tele, that sounds very middy and even nasal at times like many ceramic magnet high output humbuckers, sound full and warm, ideal for a soft and expressive lead with a twist, and the sustain is incredible, without too much compression, and without sounding artificial, the sound of the guitar still comes through much more than with most fuzz pedals.
I mainly use it with classic single coils, for an original blues lead setting, with the added benefit of the pedals “modern” approach to sustain, and the consistency of the 10 % damage grit without the downsides of germanium transistors.
The pedal responds to guitar volume settings, has a low noise level for a fuzz, and is a buffered pedal.
Overall
For a very low price, you get one of the most exciting pedals for those that want to experiment with new sounds, really dig fuzz, don’t want to be bothered with the downsides of vintage pedals, and still want to be heard in the mix while enjoying their fuzz tones. It’s a modern fuzz pedal, has a sound of it’s own, and is not very widespread, so the sound you get from this pedal is an eyecatcher, because very little people will be familiar with the sound. I had someone ask me how I got that sound, and he was speculating I used my lehle mixer to mix the sound of the dry signal, a vintage germanium fuzz face and a big muff, … an educated guess that’s in fact not a bad description of one of the sounds of this pedal.
Fuzz is not an easy effect to use in a band situation, and although this pedal makes it easier, it’s still not suitable for everyone, but I think it might later become “one of those pedals” like the Arion SCH-1.
Rating
8.5 For the afficionados of fuzz that like to rock out modern style mainly, but versatile enough for traditional players looking for an original sound at low cost. If it’s your thing, it’s a great piece of kit.
The Ibanez FZ-7 Fuzz is available worldwide, probably in your local music store. Check out the Ibanez site for a list of dealers and distributors.
http://www.ibanez.com
Sources: www.ibanez.com
