3XFX V1 Buzz Bomb Review

[mike_v_s]

I’m not normally an effects guy. I’ve always loved distorted/fuzzed/overdriven bass and thanks to an early affinity for Metallica, I love a good wah thrown in there, too. I don’t play out and I haven’t been in a band in recent memory that welcomed either, so keep that in mind.

I purchased the 3XFX V1 Buzz Bomb several months back after wanting something loud and obnoxious and bouncing between the Fatman and this. I did look at other pedals, but the photo-sensor on the 3XFX pretty much sold me as a possible alternative to the wah pedal I saw myself buying in the near future.

The ordering process was directly with the builder and painless. Although it appears his site has since changed, I had the opportunity to choose from about 5 different fabric coverings. I went with the black pleather. The pedal arrived in the allotted timeframe and appeared to be well constructed but I’m not sure I could identify a poorly built pedal unless it was falling apart in my hands. Although I’m not a fan of the fabric covering or the folded and glued corners, I had the opportunity to go with bare metal and passed, so this is on me. His newer stuff appears to be painted now.

For those of you not familiar, the Buzz Bomb is a fairly over-the-top fuzz pedal. In addition to the regular fuzz it offers, you can add a “stutter” effect to the fuzz for a different sound. The Buzz Bomb’s control layout isn’t overly complicated, but I’m a moron so it took a little while to get straight with the knobs and switches. The three knobs are as follows: Gain, Frequency (of the stutter effect) and Volume. The switches are 1: effect knob/photocell 2: normal fuzz/effected fuzz and 3: bass cut. Switch number 3 is both stupid and dead to me. The photocell rounds out the usual controls. It should be noted that when I told the maker that I would be using this with bass, he mentioned that the “stuttered” fuzz setting loses a bit of lowend. For $15, I had him add a blend knob.

The frequency that is “stuttered” can be controlled by either the middle knob (which sets it to a particular frequency, depending on the position) or the photocell. The photocell changes the affected frequency based on how much light it “sees”. With your foot (or hand) fully covering it, the effect is virtually unnoticeable. As you pull your foot away, the predominant frequency goes higher, working much the opposite as a wah pedal with a similar sound. The “pedal travel”, or relative distance of your foot from the photocell before you reach maximum annoyance is usually quite small. I say “usually” because the character and responsiveness of the photocell is variable, depending on the light source and intensity.

Sound. I’m not good at describing sound. I was hoping this review would survive on the merits of my grammer. The manufacturer notes that this pedal will work with both active and passive basses, and I’ve found he’s right. In fact there is virtually no change in sound from one to the other. I also don’t find a huge difference when I’m adjusting my basse(es). When it’s on, it’s on and you know it. As to the sound….Well, it’s a fuzz pedal. I find the youtube videos fairly representative of its sound. To my ears, the normal setting sounds similar to a Big Muff, only more, but I haven’t owned one in over a year and I drank a lot in the interim. I’ve not played another pedal that sounds life the effected fuzz, but I again refer you to the video(s). In either setting, I find the gain knob not very useful. It seems that the last ¼ turn is where it needs to be and beyond that it “gates” (if that’s the right word) where you have to really dig in to get the fuzz to engage, and it does so very abruptly. This characteristic might be useful for some. The volume knob should be approached very cautiously. I’ve found the blend knob I had added to be very useful and would recommend it to anyone considering this pedal.

Despite the number of available controls, I don’t find it the most versatile pedal. This isn’t so much of an issue for me as I didn’t expect a jack-of-all-trades fuzz. I think Tech 21 has that covered.....and in spite how this review might read, I really like the pedal and would definitely buy from 3XFX again

Mike

[gnasher1993]

Great review, thanks alot...

Any chance of a few pictures?

Also...what are the chances of soundclips?

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by gnasher1993

Great review, thanks alot...

Any chance of a few pictures?

Also...what are the chances of soundclips?

Not a problem. Pics are possible before the day is out. Soundclips aren't likely. Sorry. I'd like to reiterate, however, that the manufacturer's videos are (in my opinion) pretty accurate.

Mike

[CliftonBonney]

Very nice review. I agree Justin is great to deal with.

I just checked out his new website. I still prefer the fabric covering to the regular old paint job. I do dig the Noise Reduction switch he put on the Fatman though. I wish mine had this.

Dang!!! I just read a bit further and the Fatman now has a blend control. I want that too.

Sorry to stray from the original thread.

[Chronicle]

I've always wanted a Fatman...I need to get one before he calls it quits...

[CliftonBonney]

Originally Posted by Chronicle

I've always wanted a Fatman...I need to get one before he calls it quits...

It doesn't look like he's calling it quits anytime soon. It appears as though he's greatly improving the Fatman. He's added a blend control as well as a limiter of sorts on the noise.

[DosiYanarchy]

really? thats great! the fatman was one of the only fuzz/distortions that i've used that my guitarist actually wanted to buy from me, but i felt that it was noisy and lost alittle low. I'd be really keen to see the new version, hopefully with an LED for the OSCILLATION also (that could be annoying if you didnt know it was still on when activatitng the pedal)

[CliftonBonney]

I wonder if he can modify the older versions of the Fatman. I'll check with him.

[warwick.hoy]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

I was hoping this review would survive on the merits of my grammer.

Mike

Oh the irony.



Nice review though Mike.

[mike_v_s]

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

Oh the irony.



Nice review though Mike.

You hang out in OT enough....does my humor not translate here? I went back and forth on that line, too.

Mike

[kugelspot]

So he got rid of the oscillator on the Fatman? In a way, I'm kind of disappointed, but then again I rarely use it. It gets overpowered by active basses too easily (and most of my basses are active).

[Mudfuzz]

I keep almost buying this pedal. It always looks so cool, but it's never really what I need and I always skip it for something else.

Good review though.

[warwick.hoy]

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

You hang out in OT enough....does my humor not translate here? I went back and forth on that line, too.

Mike

I get it,...that's why I pointed it out,...and included the "" smiley.

So he got rid of the oscillator on the Fatman? In a way, I'm kind of disappointed, but then again I rarely use it. It gets overpowered by active basses too easily (and most of my basses are active).

Without checking his site; I thought there were two versions of the Fatman,...one with and one without oscillation. I'm sure he'd put Oscillation on if you requested it.

[CliftonBonney]

The oscillation option is still there. That's the standard for the Fatman.

Edit: I take that back. The website says nothing about the oscillation. Maybe it is gone.

Edit Again: The oscillation is back. It looks like the website has been updated. The Fatman is just the distortion. The Fatman/V2 is the distortion and oscillation.