Some fuzz players are so mired in pursuit of classic tones they forget that, above all, a fuzz should be able to scream like a banshee and stand out like a rabid, fanged rhino on jet roller skates. This forgotten knowledge—the loss of the essential fuzz spirit, some might say—has found us swimming in a Great Lakes’ worth of same-sounding fuzz riffs while a panoply of dirty, unique fuzz tones goes largely ignored.
The coolest thing about Crazy Tube Circuits’ Pin Up octave fuzz is how readily it sends you down those less-trodden paths. But the other best thing is that there are copious classic tones on tap, if you want them. The Pin Up does fuzz a lot of different ways. It’s not the most outlandish, radical, or deviant fuzz out there, but its ability to accommodate weirdoes and classicists equally—and so effortlessly—makes it a very powerful tool when you’re trying to quickly carve out a fuzz sound that’s not so run-of-the-mill.
Petite But Powerful Presence
Crazy Tube Circuits has fast garnered favor among some very dedicated and adventurous tone hounds. Players as varied as Bill Frisell, Brad Whitford, Nels Cline, and Lee Ranaldo use Crazy Tubes wares, and it doesn’t take too much time with the Pin Up to understand why—it sounds great, but the design is also very smart.
The Pin Up is compact for a two-switch fuzz. Some players might complain that the footswitches are too close together, but I never had a problem finding the switch I needed—even in a dimly lit rehearsal space with the Pin Up in a pretty busy pedalboard. In fact, I found the economy of size a real virtue and the interface intuitive. Any seasoned fuzz player can navigate the Pin Up with ease. The volume, gain, and tone controls all work the same way they would on a Big Muff or similar fuzz. Much of the Pin Up’s additional flexibility comes from a fourth voicing control that scoops or boosts the midrange. The icing on the cake, though, is the octave function—a bold-sounding octave-up function that expands the Pin Up’s vocabulary exponentially.
Sounds from a Looker
One real plus is how deftly the Pin Up stands in for distortion pedal along the lines of a Pro Co Rat, MXR Distortion+, or Boss DS-1. Set it up for unity gain, dial up relatively neutral tone, voice, and gain settings, and the Pin Up deals punchy, super-rich ’70s-style dirt. Adding volume and gain to taste adds ripsaw attitude to Johnny Ramone- and Steve Jones-style downstroke onslaughts and Grand Funk-like riffs.
With volume and gain wide open, the Pin Up has a tight, boxy, compressed fuzz character that rules for hot leads. Note definition is excellent, and yet it still retains that distortion-box-like articulation. The single-coils in my Jaguar and Stratocaster couldn’t quite coax the amount of volume you’d get from a higher-gain pedal, but the Pin Up was still tighter and more responsive to picking dynamics than something like a Big Muff.
The Pin Up’s voice and tone controls are huge assets if you tend to move between different pickups and guitars over the course of a set or session. Midrange boosts from the voice control add low-mid emphasis as well as a little presence, so cranking the voice control clockwise to its limits can make output more harmonically cramped, especially with chords. But it can also make a thin-sounding rig sound more massive, and it’s great for getting hazy, stoner-rock lead tones out of otherwise anemic-sounding instruments. If the lack of high-end definition gets you down, you can kick on the octave section, at which point the Pin Up spits out a rotund, snarky, almost cocked-wah-sounding lead tone that’s a pure shot of desert rock.
I tended to use the voice control’s scooped, counterclockwise settings with 6V6 amps, but those settings can also make a Twin or mid-watt, blackface-style circuit crackle with lively distortion. The voice control can just as easily tame the shrillness of a Stratocaster through a Marshall.
Ratings
Pros:
Seemingly infinite fuzz voices. Smart, economical design. At home with big or small amps.
Cons:
Somewhat pricey.
Tones:
Playability/Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$269
Crazy Tube Circuits Pin Up
crazytubescircuits.com.com
The tone control has an wide, useful range, too. Ease back on the volume while opening up the gain and tone, and the Pin Up spits out a menacing, ’67-style psych/biker fuzz. Throwing the octave on top generates a paint-peeling fuzz that will cut through anything while remaining notably resistant to feedback—a great asset in a recording session. Less trebly settings are great for fattening-up lead tones and filling harmonic space in an overdub. They tend to cloud the output of mid-scooped single-coils, but a hot humbucker generates burly, cutting lead tones and greasy, grinding power chords. In general, humbuckers are very much at home with this fuzz.
The octave-up function is basically smooth and tuneful. It’s also highly reactive to tone and voice knob adjustments. The octave can be very hairy—especially with a big amp—but between the extra control you get via the tone and voice knobs and the basic singing quality of the octave voice, the Pin Up is pretty easy to tame. With mids boosted, a neck-position single-coil yields one of the snorkliest, most focused and playable octave tones around. And while the Pin Up isn’t quite as thrillingly chaotic as a SuperFuzz, its more reserved voice works better for chords than any other octave fuzz I can recall—it can impart an almost horn-section-like set of overtones to power chords.
Home-recording fans who work with smaller amps and lower volumes are bound to treasure the Pin-Up’s civilized and brutish capabilities. It’s a dastardly little monster with a Blues Jr. or Champ—readily dispensing filthy ’60s garage-trash buzz and grinding chord tones. Interestingly, the voice and tone controls feel especially reactive and versatile when cranked through a small amp, making it easy to dial in a perfect (or perfectly nasty) fuzz tone before you ever hit tape or your digital interface. The octave function ups the insanity just as readily with small amps, too.
The Verdict
You can make a lot of fuzz racket with the Crazy Tube Circuits Pin Up—from barbaric and skanky to more familiar classic-rock sounds. The combination of a clever, powerful EQ and a separate octave footswitch make it a fuzz of many very colorful personalities. And if your pedalboard is bogged down by a fuzz surplus, the Pin Up can very capably replace a fuzz or two and a distortion pedal. That versatility makes the fairly steep price tag look a lot less painful. It also makes the Pin Up a pedal any fuzz-inclined touring or session guitarist must investigate.
Announced at the 2025 NAMM show, Cory Wong’s new collaboration with Ernie Ball Music Man scratched an itch—namely, the itch for a humbucker-loaded guitar that could appease Wong’s rock-and-R&B alter ego and serve as complement to his signature Fender Strat. Inspiration came from no further than a bandmate’s namesake instrument. Vulfpeck bassist Joe Dart has a line of signature model EBMM basses, one of which uses the classic StingRay bass body profile. So, when Wong went looking for something distinctive, he wondered if EBMM could create a 6-string guitar using the classic StingRay bass body and headstock profile.
Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay II ReviewErnie Ball Music Man StingRay II ReviewDouble the Fun
Wong is, by his own admission, a single-coil devotee. That’s where the core of his sound lives and it feels like home to him. However, Wong is as inspired by classic Earth, Wind & Fire tones and the pop-punk of the early ’90s as he is by Prince and the Minneapolis funk that he grew up with. The StingRay II is a guitar that can cover all those bases.
Ernie Ball has a history of designing fast-feeling, comfortable necks. And I can’t remember ever struggling to move around an EBMM fretboard. The roasted maple C-shaped neck here is slightly thicker in profile than I expected, but still very comfortable. (I must also mention that the back of the neck has a dazzling, almost holographic look to the grain that morphs in the light). By any measure, the StingRay II’s curves seemed designed for comfort and speed. Now, let’s talk about those pickups.Hot or Not?
A few years ago EBMM introduced a line of HT (heat-treated) pickups. The pickups are built with technology the company used to develop their Cobalt and M-Series strings. A fair amount of the process is shrouded in secrecy and must be taken on faith, but EBMM says treating elements of the pickup with heat increases clarity and dynamic response.
To find out for myself, I plugged the StingRay II into a Fender Vibroverb, Mesa/Boogie Mark VII, and a Neural DSP Quad Cortex (Wong’s preferred live rig). Right away, it was easy to hear the tight low end and warm highs. Often, I feel like the low end from neck humbuckers can feel too loose or lack definition. Neither was the case here. The HT pickup is beautifully balanced with a bounce that’s rich with ES-335 vibes. Clean tones are punchy and bright—especially with the Vibroverb—and dirty tones have more room for air. Individual notes were clear and articulate, too.
Any guitar associated with Wong needs a strong middle-position or combined pickup tone, and the StingRay II delivers. I never felt any significant signal loss in the blended signal from the two humbuckers, even if I could use a bit more midrange presence in the voicing. The midrange gap is nothing an EQ or Tube Screamer couldn’t fix, though. And not surprisingly, very Strat-like sounds were easy to achieve for having less midrange bump.
Knowing Wong’s love for ’90s alt-rock, I expected the bridge pickup to have real bite, and it does, demonstrating exceptional dynamic range and exceptional high-end response that never approached shrill. Nearly every type of distortion and overdrive I threw at it sounded great, but especially anything with a scooped-mid flavor and plenty of low end.
The Verdict
By any measure, the StingRay II is a top-notch, professional instrument. The fit and finish are immaculate and the feel of the neck makes me wonder if EBMM stashes some kind of secret sandpaper, because I don’t think I’ve ever felt a smoother, more playable neck. Kudos are also due to EBMM and Wong for finding an instrument that can move between ’70s George Benson tones and the hammering power chords of ’90s Blink-182. Admittedly, the nearly $3K price could give some players pause, but considering the overall quality of the instrument, it’s not out of line. Wong’s involvement and search for distinct sounds makes the StingRay II more than a tired redux of a classic model—an admirable accomplishment considering EBMM’s long and storied history.
Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay II Cory Wong Signature Electric Guitar - Charcoal Blue with Rosewood Fingerboard
