A fuzz-forward take on late-'60s octave-fuzz flavor opens up unique—and menacing—tone territories.
Octave fuzz with a little more fuzz presence. Responsive to guitar volume attenuation. Killer handcrafted vibe. Nice build quality.
Some players might find the tone palette limited for the price.
$180
Hilbish T-Fuzz
hilbishdesign.com
It's always impressive to hear buttery smooth, full-spectrum fuzz—the kind that sustains and sings eternally, that captures and magnifies every overtone, and makes '90s-era David Gilmour fans rapturous. But a true distortion maniac cannot live by fuzz foie gras alone. Sometimes you need a little more scuzz in your fuzz, and a filthier fuzz than the Hilbish T-Fuzz would indeed be hard to find.
Much of what makes the T-Fuzz sound so dirty is its ample but not overbearing octave content. There's a clear sonic relation to classic late-'60s octave fuzzes like the Octavia, Ampeg Scrambler, and Dan Armstrong Green Ringer. But the Hilbish tucks the octave content just a bit further back in the fuzz/octave blend than any of those pedals, making it a touch more practical for power riffing and lending most settings a little extra sustain—especially when you dial your amplifier up to saturated extremes.
Red mode can turn any bonehead garage-psych lick into a thrill ride.
The T-Fuzz is not trashy to the point of absurd. Its "red" mode, which is activated via the low-profile push button, lends force and focus to power chords and coaxes cool, buzzy biker-fuzz textures that can turn any bonehead garage-psych lick into a thrill ride. The green mode is even more focused and piercing in the mid- and high-mid range but turns splattier in the low and high-frequency ranges. Neither mode is going to flatter a barred minor 7th chord played around the middle of the neck, but they can make the simplest lead positively menacing, and both modes can produce complex, less-aggressive textures with a little guitar volume attenuation. At $180, the T-Fuzz can feel a bit specialized for the money. But it's a beautifully made little monster, and for many players, its distinct scream—and the unique tone spaces you can carve out with it—could make it worth every penny.
Test Gear: Fender Telecaster, black-panel Fender Tremolux, Universal Audio OX with Vox 2x12-, Marshall 4x12-, and Fender tweed Deluxe-style speaker/cabinet simulations
Buzzo’s signature squish machine is surprisingly subtle. The PG Hilbish Compressimiser review.
Recorded via Shure SM57 and Apogee Duet to Garage Band with Rickenbacker 370-12, Fender Jazzmaster, and Fender Vibro Champ.
Electric 12 string track features a arpeggiated loop and lead through the Compressimiser at 70-80% squish and 30% level.
The lead track is run through a Strymon Flint ’60s reverb and then through the Compressimiser at 70-80% squish and 30% level.
RatingsPros:Transparent, sensitive, subtle compression. Rangey controls. Awesome enclosure. Cons: Can be noisy. Street: $225 Hilbish Compressimiser hilbishdesigns.com | Tones:  Ease of Use:  Build/Design:  Value: |
I don’t know about the rest of you Melvins fans, but when I consider the guitar sound of the mighty Buzz Osborne, compression isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Travis Beans? Sunn amps? For sure. But even if you did know Buzz used MXR Dyna Comps, there is little in the Melvin’s recorded output that would compel you to run straight to Big Al’s Guitar Hut to score one. As it turns out, though, King Buzzo considers pedal compression essential—so much so that he now has a compressor designed and built in his honor: the Hilbish Compressimiser.
Apart from the image of a cartoon fawn mischievously weaponizing its flatulence, the Hilbish looks as classic and utilitarian as an old Craftsman tool chest. It feels sturdy and substantial like one, too. In further affirmation of Buzzo’s absurdist sense of humor, perhaps, the circuit board takes up a small fraction of the enclosure’s space. The Compressimiser may be unnecessarily huge, but it looks incredible. And if you don’t like it, you can go talk to Buzzo about it.
As the diminutive board suggests, the Compressimiser circuit isn’t complicated. Like a vintage Ross compressor or its close relative, the MXR Dyna Comp, it utilizes a simple control array—just output volume and compression. A control layout isn’t all the Compressimiser shares with Ross-derived compressors. There’s an audible resemblance, too. The Hilbish, however, relies on a Voltage Controlled Amplifier to generate compression, like some outboard studio comps. The Hilbish also feels more direct and less complicated than a Ross—if that’s possible. Consider a car analogy: If a Ross is a ’64 Ford Falcon, fresh off the lot with with all the extras, the Compressimiser is a Falcon stripped-down for drag racing, where the only concern is translating piston spark to horsepower in the straightest possible line.
Pillow of Winds
Though streamlined and uncluttered, the Compressimiser is not barbaric or lacking cultivation. On the contrary, the Hillbish’s VCA compression feels smooth, warm, and quite transparent. Compared to the pretty decent sounding old Dyna Comp I have, the Compressimiser is much more open and oxygenated at aggressive compression levels. It’s often felt rather than heard. This might confound a few expectations, given the Melvins associations, but sometimes the best word to describe the Compressimiser is “gentle.”
The fact that the Hilbish doesn’t beat you over the head with dynamic-flattening squish doesn’t mean it lacks potency. The extra sustain is considerable and silky, and applying it liberally never seems to suck the air from your signal. The output volume control, meanwhile, puts a lot of extra kick and headroom at your toe tips. At the lowest compression levels, it’s a fantastic boost, lending body and thickness to clean tones and exciting high-mid harmonics. The Compressimiser can be a bit noisy—a trade-off for the unconstricted, straight-line circuitry, perhaps. And if you play in mostly mellow settings, the Compressimiser’s occasionally high noise floor may preclude using high compression or output levels.
Built to Bolster Buzz
The Compressimiser sounds fantastic with fuzz and distortion. And, just as with clean tones, it doesn’t excessively or negatively color the output of a fuzz. Paired with a silicon Fuzz Face, it highlighted the pedal’s most exciting tones while corralling the saggier aspects of its output. Alongside a Civil War Big Muff clone, it added welcome and perceptible focus—stripping back strident, sizzling overtones, and adding punch in the pedal’s midrange without inducing tone claustrophobia.
The Compressimiser’s high output and capacity for transparency also means you can boost fuzz tones without dulling their livelier side. Adding clean boost to fuzz usually generates extra amplifier compression, which can rob you of dynamics anyway. But if you tend to use a high-headroom amp like a Fender Twin or Hiwatt (or a solid-state unit, like Buzzo), boosted settings give you acres of extra room to roam.
The Verdict
You may not equate subtlety with the world of the Melvins. But the Compressimiser has it in spades. It’s classy sounding, fairly linear, and does the things most folks want a good vintage Ross or Dyna Comp to do: enliven buried harmonics, generate smooth sustain, and lend focus to fuzz and distortion without blunting color or excitement. It probably won’t be the quietest compressor you meet. But in exchange the Hillbish delivers compression that sounds and feels unfettered, transparent and, at times, even thrilling.
The limited-edition pedal is limited to 150 units and is based on the Sunn amps that Red Fang have used throughout their career.
Lynchburg, VA (September 25, 2020) -- Hilbish Design, in collaboration with Red Fang, releases the limited edition Night Destroyer Preamp pedal based on the legendary Sunn amps used by Red Fang throughout their career.
Extremely limited, 150 units worldwide, the Night Destroyer captures the searing tone of riff masters Red Fang. Hilbish Design took the the Sunn Beta series amplifiers that Red Fang is famous for using and stuffed them into a 8x6 heavy duty pedal sized enclosure. Whether you are on stage, or in your bedroom, you can shred with the same amazing tone.
As a preamp, the Night Destroyer can be plugged into any line level source such as a power amplifier, effects return on a guitar/bass amplifier, or mixing console.
The individual channel outputs can be run into a stereo power amplifier for the ultimate Bi-Amp rig. For example, run Channel A set up with an overdriven dirty tone into a 4x12 guitar cabinet and Channel B clean with lows boosted into a bass cabinet. This will give a gritty bass tone that maintains low-end with maximum control!
The instrument level output turns the Night Destroyer into a highly versatile drive pedal. You can easily get overdrive, distortion, and fuzz tones out of it, and use one channel to blend in clean tones, or switch between two different drive tones. The possibilities are endless!
The Night Destroyer also includes a balanced TRS output for DI applications. There are two footswitches for channel control, one for switching between channels A and B, and another to combine them in parallel. The third switch is used to bypass the preamp when using the instrument output, and mute the preamp when using any of the line level outputs.
The folded 14 gauge powder coated steel enclosure was designed to survive just about anything you can throw at it. This pedal features exclusive artwork by graphic designer Aaron Draplin, make sure the pedal stands out on stage.
Specs:
- Two identical channels that can be run independently or in parallel
- Each channel features a Drive control that can go from squeaky clean to completely fuzzed out
- Active 3-band EQ allows for maximum tone sculpting
- Extensive IO includes instrument and line level outputs, independent outputs for each channel for BI-AMP rigs, and a balanced output for DI applications
- Three footswitches allow for complete control over channel switching
The Night Destroyer is available for $365. They can be purchased directly from Hilbish Design.
For more information:
Hilbish Design
