The 21st century guitarist wants endless amp/effect/cabinet options in a sardine-tin-sized package at the cost of a dinner for two at Applebee’s. (Yes, we know some purists still plug their ’57 Strat into an original tweed Fender Twin with a coil cable.) That said, it’s always fun to take a look at vintage effects that paved the way. In 1967, long before the current multi-effect-Maxwell-Smart craze, the Japanese company Honey launched the dual-purpose Psychedelic Machine. The briefcase-sized unit combined two of the world’s most unmistakable sounds for the first time— the fuzz and chorus/vibrato. A year later, Shin-ei took over manufacturing for Honey and decided that these effects would fare better as stand-alone offerings (Univox was Shin-ei’s U.S. distributor). In 1968, they unveiled two separate stompboxes—the Super-Fuzz and the Uni-Vibe.
These pedals were taken to Mt. Olympus-heights by two heavy hitters— Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix. The Super-Fuzz was deified after Townshend used it throughout the Who’s 1970 Live at Leeds performance, but most notably during the rambunctious opening in “Sparks” and the grisly, snarling solo in “Young Man Blues.” The Uni-Vibe helped Hendrix mystify guitarists and listeners with its swirling chaos in the Band of Gypsys’ “Machine Gun” and the more silky, waving textures in “Izabella” off of First Rays of the New Rising Sun. Today, the Super-Fuzz still breathes fire in Dan Auerbach’s speaker-eating tone, playing a central role in Black Keys cuts like “Thickfreakness” and “’Till I Get My Way.”
The following year, Shin-ei developed the U-250 Uni-Fuzz, which was an AC-powered brother to their Super-Fuzz. As seen here, the Uni-Fuzz is housed within a brick-sized enclosure resembling a military- ammo canister. Its minimal controls are balance (volume) and expander (fuzz), a 2-way tone switch, and an on/off switch. The tone switch engages a 1 kHz filter that scoops the mids creating a robust, bass-y tone. The on/off switch kicks on the circuit that produces both an upper octave and a slight, lower octave—giving the Uni-Fuzz some compression and a mild ring-modulator effect.
Photo courtesy Univox Corp
“Like many purveyors of fuzz, my interest had primarily been focused on Fuzz Faces and Tone Benders, but after sampling a late-’60s Super-Fuzz at Rivington Music in NYC, I realized designer Fumio Mieda caught magic in a bottle,” says Mark Hunter, owner of this ’69 Uni-Fuzz. “I have a few other fuzzes and have spent some time with a Super-Fuzz, but there’s nothing quite like the Uni-Fuzz I found on eBay. Its sound is very intense and fat, but still is responsive to how your guitar volume is set—lots of shades of fuzz and destruction to be had.”
Unabashedly so, Hunter admits to dropping a small chunk of coin on his vintage dirtbox, but says the Uni-Fuzz has repaid him by way of woolly inspiration and musical journeys.
“Whenever I get in a rut or just need something to perk a few new ideas out of my fingers, I can always count on the Uni-Fuzz to break things up [laughs],” says Hunter. “The ring-modulator aspect of it inspired me to write some music based specifically on that sound. To me, that’s worth the investment in itself.”
A special thanks to Mark Hunter for the opportunity to feature this fine piece of gear and its story.
Got some gear that would make a great Gear of the Month? Then email pics and its story to us at gotm@premierguitar.com.
Revv G3 Purple Channel Preamp/Overdrive/Distortion Pedal - Anniversary Edition
The Revv G3 revolutionized high gain pedals in 2018 with its tube-like response & tight, clear high gain tones. Suddenly the same boutique tones used by metal artists & producers worldwide were available to anyone in a compact pedal. Now the G3 returns with a new V2 circuit revision that raises the bar again.
If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
