Since hitting the scene in 2007, Wampler has consistently made some of the better overdrive and distortion pedals on the market. Interestingly, though, other than 2013’s Levithan fuzz and its brazen sibling, the Fuzztration, which is a fuzz/octave pedal, Wampler’s product line didn’t feature many fuzz pedals. Since then, Brian Wampler has evolved as a pedal builder, and Wampler’s new Cryptid reflects a unique take on what a fuzz can be—employing a newly designed circuit with NPN and PNP transistors, and FETs.
Wampler has described the Cryptid as a “fuzz for those who don’t like fuzz.” And certainly, it’s a versatile pedal that covers much more sonic ground than conventional fuzzes. In addition to delivering variations on familiar classic Fuzz Face, Tone Bender, and Big Muff sounds, the Cryptid can move into light overdrive or even chiming clean territory.
A Fun House of Fuzz
The Cryptid, despite the implied mystery in its name, is pretty forgiving. You could just set all the knobs at noon and you’d be good to go for any number of fuzz tasks and roles. But this is a fuzz of impressive potential, and every knob and switch—particularly the character knob and the tight and chime switches, and the way they interact—can profoundly reshape the pedal’s performance and feel.
The character knob is a bias control that can shift the mood and responsiveness of the pedal significantly. When the character knob is fully counter-clockwise, the Cryptid is well behaved and focused. As you turn it clockwise, though, things get crazier. Once the character knob is around 2:00 you’ll start to hear sputtering textures that evoke tired, voltage-starved vintage units and more deliberately designed glitch fuzz.
The tight switch lets you regulate how much bass is present in the signal and has a pretty significant impact on the tone. In the down position, it adds in a fair amount of bass. The middle position offers the least bass content and tightens up the sound, which brings out more overdrive-like colors. The up position is the ticket to maximum bass, and even with the fuzz knob set conservatively the Cryptid really is explosive and massive.
The chime switch adds high end. The down position gives a little bit of chime, the middle position is relatively chimeless and has a darker quality, and the up position yields the brightest sounds. The less fuzz you apply to the signal, the more noticeable the chime effect will be. With the fuzz knob all the way counter-clockwise and the chime control switch in the up position, you get delicious, pronounced near-clean tones that fit the bill for Hendrix double stops and Stevie Ray Vaughn blues escapades.
Brian Wampler’s ambitions in putting together the Cryptid—essentially encapsulating the character and tonalities associated with Big Muffs, Tone Benders, and Fuzz Faces, while leaving room for airy, cleaner tones and picking dynamics—were far-reaching. But there is ample evidence that he achieved his aims. Cryptid may not serve many purists searching for classic clone sounds, but it offers the chance to create more original sounds that have all the fire of those classics, and more polite tones to boot.
