*Recorded with an Eastwood Sidejack Baritone DLX with Curtis Novak Jazzmaster Widerange pickups into the RetroZoid and an MXR Reverb routed to a Jaguar HC50 miked with a Royer R-121 and a Fender Rumble 200 miked with a Shure SM57, both feeding an Apogee Duet going into GarageBand with no EQ-ing, compression, or effects.
Clip 1: Bridge and neck pickups, with volume at 9 o’clock, tone at 10 o’clock, and fuzz fully clockwise (thin).
Clip 2: Bridge pickup, with volume at max, tone at minimum, and fuzz fully clockwise (thin).
Clip 1: Bridge and neck pickups, with volume at 9 o’clock, tone at 10 o’clock, and fuzz fully clockwise (thin).
Clip 2: Bridge pickup, with volume at max, tone at minimum, and fuzz fully clockwise (thin).
RatingsPros:Fantastic range of vintage fuzz flavors—enough to shame many larger, more expensive stomps—via a remarkably simple control array. Excellent deal. Cons: Plastic pot shafts might worry some. Street: $149 SviSound RetroZoid Germanium Fuzz svisound.com
| Tones:  Ease of Use:  Build/Design: Value: |
This year’s Premier Gear Award winners are, as usual, an eclectic set—full of old-school vintage homage, leading-edge digital developments, and imaginative meetings of those worlds. Dig in and dig it as we revisit the gear that fired the enthusiasm and wonder of our editors and contributors in 2017.
