Valco FX BloodBuzz Fuzz Guitar Effect Pedal
The Valco BloodBuzz is our modern tribute to the legendary Lovetone Cheese Source™ pedal but with some modern tweaks to improve the overall EQ and expand its versatility. Those familiar with the original will feel at home instantly, those not familiar can now discover it for themselves without taking out a bank loan.
The BloodBuzz can be seen as TWO completely separate FX pedals housed together in ONE enclosure. Due to the input/output options, the BloodBuzz can be configured in ANY way you want. Fuzz into Drive. Drive into Fuzz. Fuzz out to your Wah, back into Drive. All simple to achieve.
Power: The BloodBuzz can be powered by a standard 9V center‐negative AC adapter (not included) or internal 9V battery (not included).
Along with the Fuzz, Tone and Volume controls, a 4-Way Voice Switch enables the BloodBuzz to cover a huge array of fuzz textures. Although most famous for the gnarly/gated sound of Voice 3, the other voices offer their own unique and highly-usable fuzz tones too.
Experimentation with the volume and tone controls on your instrument will reveal the BloodBuzz is highly sensitive to the slightest change. Not only does the fuzz clean up quickly, it contains some of its sweetest tones with your volume between 2 and 6.
Controls
- FUZZ - controls the amount of Fuzz.
- TONE - controls the tonal voicing. Tone is modified by the 4‐position rotary switch, bypassed completely when Voice is set to OFF.
- LEVEL - controls the overall output volume of the BloodBuzz Fuzz section. Increased output headroom so you’ll never go unheard!
Voice Selector
- OFF- 'Tone Bypass’. Acts as a ‘2 Knob’ fuzz, using FUZZ and LEVEL controls only.
- 1- ‘Mid Scoop’. Introduces a 1Khz EQ dip, giving a ‘Muff’ style fuzz.
- 2- ‘3 Knob Mode’. A more neutral EQ curve with increased mid focus. Great for both rhythm and lead fuzz tones.
- 3- ‘Gated’. Using the same EQ circuit as Voice 2, Voice 3 configures the fuzz section to enter deep bias saturation with the introduction of an extra input drive stage. The more you drive, the more gnarly and gated the sound becomes. The classic Cheese sound.
The BloodBuzz Drive works from being an ultra-transparent boost/OD through to a full saturation singing OD/Distortion, with some of the most useful tone-shaping options you will find on ANY Overdrive pedal.
The ‘secret sauce’ in the DRIVE section is in the VOICE controls in conjunction with the TONE control. Between them it is possible to sculpt your tone however you need to… clean up Humbuckers, fatten up Single-Coils, clean boost, full drive, however you want it, it’s there. It also interacts with the FUZZ section like a 60s psych dream, allowing you to create the sounds you hear.
Controls
- DRIVE: Adjusts the amount of input gain (boost) before the overdrive and tone sections.
- TONE: Adjusts the audio tone, with clockwise being more “trebly”. Tone effect is modified by the four position rotary switch. In Voice 2 and 3 modes, bass frequencies are reduced as the tone control is turned clockwise.
- LEVEL: Adjusts the output level of the drive section from zero to full.
Voice Selector
- OFF- 'Tone Bypass’. DRIVE and LEVEL controls only.
- 1- Introduces the TONE circuit
- 2- As Voice 1 with the introduction of a Shelving EQ to roll off bass end.
- 3- As Voice 2 with a higher frequency shift to increase the bass roll off.