Boss Fuzz FZ-3

A great retro 60's style fuzz distortion.

Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $149.50

Boss

Submitted by Gordon from Asheville, NC (2 points) on Apr 9, 2010
When i got it stock, it was kind of useless. there are tons of mods that can be done to this pedal, the easiest is to remove C9, it's just a high pass filter. now it's all squealy and shreiky like any good fuzz should be! beyond that, it's in a Boss box and all the components are discrete so it will last literally forever. recommended, but only if modded.
Good Points: Boss box tons of mod possibilities no ICs
Bad Points: stock it's a piece of crap.
Price Paid: US$40.00
Purchased At: noiseguide.com/board
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Submitted by Pablo from Derry (12 points) on Jan 29, 2009
I bought this accidentally thinking it was the FZ-5 for around Ž£20 (Note: Never buy pedals at gigs when you've had a few brews) In fairness though, I love this pedal, with the tone rolled-off and the fuzz low it gives a clipped, more percussive (and tastily lo-fi) bark. Works very well with whatever I've thrown at it so far. The casings on these are friggin' tough too- At a festival I played over the summer I was bedding down for the night and heard something clanging outside, I peeped outside and found a guy hammering in tent pegs with an old DS-1, needless to say he went and played his set the next day with the pedal too, in other words- the build will not (ever) let ye down :D
Good Points: Nice skanky lo-fi sound. Relatively cheap.
Bad Points: Silver paint looks a bit unfinished.
Price Paid: US$20.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by kinetic turtle from Oakland, CA (166 points) on May 22, 2005
This pedal is basically the Boss DS-1 in a shiny box with a slightly tweaked (even perhaps slightly weaker) distortion circuit. It's a waste of time, money and metal. It only works at high volumes.
Good Points: Boss construction.
Bad Points: Only works at high volumes. Minimal effect.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by Marco from Brescia (138 points) on May 18, 2005
Not as useful as the FZ-2: with the FZ-3 you can only obtain a gritty distortion, very lo-fi. It's good as a dirty volume booster. I like the variety of tones of the fuzz (similar to a Big Muff, but without a long sustain).
Good Points: -good gritty sound for one of the smallest fuzz...
Bad Points: -not as useful as others (FZ-2 for ex.)
Price Paid: US$50.00
Purchased At: e-bay
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