Most modelers don’t let you load your own IR files, though you can do so using dedicated software plug-ins such as Audio Ease’s Altiverb and Space Designer in Apple’s Logic Pro. And now you can add this technology (also known as convolution reverb) to your pedalboard, thanks to Logidy’s EPSi—the first load-your-own IR stompbox.
EPSi reads IR files from an SD memory card, and ships with a 1 GB card containing hundreds of shareware impulse responses. (Many more are available online.) Quality varies, but with searching and a bit of patience, you can assemble a fine IR library at no cost. (And if you have an IR-making utility, like the ones included with Logic and Altiverb, you can make and load your own IRs.)
Ratings
Pros:
Brings DAW-level sound design to your pedalboard.
Cons:
Tough to switch sounds on the fly.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$199 (direct)
Logidy EPSi
logidy.com
EPSi is a solid 4" x 4" stompbox with minimal controls: just a terse, three-character LED, a data knob, an enter button, and a bypass footswitch. To select a new sound, simply scroll to the desired IR number and press enter. Same with altering the reverb time or adjusting the wet/dry mix: scroll and enter. This system works fine, just don’t count on changing tones mid-song, or even mid-set. But hey, even if you use only one IR per show (a nice juicy spring to soak the sound of a no-reverb amp, maybe?), you may find EPSi useful in performance.
But the studio is where EPSi really shines. You have access to hundreds of sounds at once, or even thousands with a larger, pricier memory card. You can also swap between cheaper cards. (You can buy 1 GB cards for less than five bucks each.)
Swapping cards may be a good strategy. There are two versions of the latest EPSi software, which the pedal reads from the SD card along with the IR files. One is optimized for reverbs of up to six seconds, and the other is geared toward mimicking speakers and cabinets. (Yes, you can plug your amp’s direct audio output into EPSi, record direct, and clone the tones of countless cabinet/speaker/mic combinations with startling realism.) To switch software, just power up with the appropriate card inserted. Like most powerful digital effects, EPSi requires AC power, but thankfully an adapter is included.
To learn more about using IRs in the studio, check out the recent PG article "Impulse Control: Mastering Fake Spaces." It covers some extreme sound-design scenarios and includes a link to download some cool and free IR files.
A Little Rolling Thunder
The Fuzzolo’s microscopic size did not deter ZVEX from indulging their customary flair for the visual. And though the pedal isn’t even 1.5" wide and barely 3.5" long, ZVEX still managed to cram a raging, snorting buffalo, and the flames of some fuzz-driven prairie fire onto a fire engine red enclosure that shows up bold and bright on an overflowing pedalboard. There’s a knob for volume level. But the second knob, which on most 2-knob fuzzes would be a gain control, is a pulse width control that changes the waveform from a square wave to a wave with narrow peaks and wide valleys. The fractured sounds from this control are the key the Fuzzolo’s brutish-to-curious sonic range.
Lest you think that small size means less horsepower, let us say right out of the gate that the Fuzzolo is loud. Unity gain is somewhere just left of the noon setting on the volume knob, and the pedal gets significantly bigger and badder beyond that.
At the full square-wave setting, which is essentially the “purest” version of the fuzz, the Fuzzolo has a complex, deep, and brawny voice—present and growling in the low-mid zone with a trace of octave-up content. The sum is the kind of sassy but muscular tone that silicon Fuzz Face and Big Muff devotees could agree on.
Paired with a neck position humbucker, it’s a slice of stony desert-rock heaven—all wooly, rotund and robust with just a hint of Davey Allen biker fuzz on top. Sustain is superb at this setting, especially when a humbucker is in the mix. Cutting through a loud band means cranking the output a bit and using your bridge pickup. But in smaller ensembles—even a loud power trio—the Fuzzolo has enough gas to rise above the fray regardless of your pickup setting.
Grinding Sabbath-oid power chords and punky eighth-note barrages sound delectable at pure square-wave settings. They brim with just enough high-mid content to add detail and display a purring low end that nestles nicely with a loud, driving bass line.
Move the wave shape control to nine o’clock and you start to hear a little clipping in the high and high-mid frequencies. Here, the low-end output becomes a little more compact and you hear a narrower harmonic spectrum in general. This setting still works great for chords—especially if you’re a fan of Graham Coxon’s lo-fi fuzztones or the sputtering muscle-car grunt of early Dead Meadow.
Ratings
Pros:
Burly sounding and versatile fuzz voice. Microscopic dimensions.
Cons:
None
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$129
ZVEX Fuzzolo
zvex.com
Up around noon, the effects of the pulse width knob become more pronounced and a bit more hectic. In general, the output’s bandwidth is thinner and more compressed sounding. You’ll also hear less of the low-frequency drone that defines the full-on square-wave setting. But fast lead lines take on a hip, sputtering, exploding-amp quality that adds a taste of controlled chaos, attitude, and a succinct, quick responsiveness that rules for Jimmy Page blues flurries, and adds clarity to pull-offs and hammer-ons.
Like any fuzz that gets spitty and gated at high volume, the Fuzzolo produces smoother output from a neck pickup. But if you’re clever with your guitar’s volume and tone controls, you can effectively manipulate the fuzz voice even further. Reducing guitar volume really enhances the gating effect—especially when the wave shape control is in the third of its range that favors the pulse shape.
With one pickup in the mix you can create fast decaying, near-synth-like tones that add a demented touch to doubled bass lines. But two pickup guitars with four-knob setups (like a Les Paul or Telecaster Custom) let you craft even cooler lead tones with the Fuzzolo. Pairing a wide-open bridge pickup with a neck pickup that’s rolled back a notch generates lead tones that sing in the high end while the low end sputters out—a sort of inverse, mirror image of the pedal’s gating effect that sounds awesome with a little delay. While these settings have predictably filth-ifying (but very cool) effect on double-stops and power chords, they can sound quite precise and controlled if you’re careful with your picking technique.
The Verdict
The Fuzzolo is one bossy and mean little dude. And the small size is an obvious benefit, whether you’re trying to manage an overpopulated pedalboard or just travel light. But what’s most striking about the Fuzzolo is how great is sounds regardless of its size. It’s responsive, versatile, and sonically varied enough to be the only fuzz you need. And at around 130 bucks, it’s a cool way to spice up your sounds with some demented Z.Vex magic at the price of many more ordinary and much less space-efficient stompboxes.
Watch the Review Demo: