Graham wrote:Mine is the "normal" grey not chrome but (I think - it's a bit buried) is missing its front label. They were definitely only built in small numbers. Mine is an interesting enough sounding pedal but nothing to shout about - saying that my memory gets worse all the time so tomorrow I'll dig mine out and give it a spin - add some more.
On fuzz wahs - I have been solidly into CS fuzz wahs all my playing life (i.e since they were new!) and have dozens (probably) and I am still a sucker for them - But for me the very best of them all is the 3 knob version as it just gives you so may more options - Yes I have particular examples of the regular wide bodied yellow WFS that are sublime - similarly a few of the 3rd party branded ones are wonderful - I have a CMI that is mega - also I could pick out a really good wah fuzz straight - and probably a fine wide bodied "blue" -another cool Carlsboro - I think what I'm saying is that - from a perspective of owning multiples of all the regular versions, it's a bit like fuzz faces in that you get good, great and brilliant with the occasional dog - sometimes you'll find one that is genuinely outstanding and those are simply amazing.. Unfortunately the switching arrangements often left a bit to be desired - and they also have a nasty habit of getting a bit "noisier" with age. Not that you can't get them fixed up - but then you reduce value on resale particularly if the pot or switch has been replaced.
What I can say is that the 3 knob versions I have (currently around 3 or 4 yellows a grey and a chrome or two) are pretty uniformly great sounding pedals and the added flexibility lets you dial in the sound you really want - OK on some of the less fancy models you get a trimmer to play with - I have rarely bothered myself - all in all the 3 knobbers do it for me - maybe their being a different fuzz build (they use the exact same board as found in all the 3 vertically set 3rd party "Fuzz Units" B&M, GB, CSL etc) means they develop less problems as they get older - maybe its just that those boards were a few years later built??
Anyway - my distillation of owning and playing many of them including what must have been just about every version of them since the 70's (saying that I got an oddity the other month I'd not had before box and all - a "Trucker Side" I think it was called, had a wah but not the combo -- Basically sounds like all the rest but must have been built in small numbers!!
Graham
Hi Graham, I think I've seen pics of some of your "little stash" of gear...
Were you doing a book on Colorsound too,or something like that?
I've mostly had a few Fuzz+Wahs and Fuzz-Wah-Straight, four of those in total... A seventies and an eighties Fuzz-Wah-Straight ,and two different versions of the orange Fuzz+Wah. Plus a really early grey wah (or wah/swell?)
I just sold the latest modified F+W after I bought the Supremo.
I had a wide-case yellow Fuzz Wah Swell that I sold too. It had the three trimmer fuzz circuit similar to the boards in the seventies Vox Fuzz Wah Swell, but the mini-trimmers and the fuzz circuit were all on the one circuit board( with the wah circuit).
A friend of mine has a couple of vintage BMPs,Univox Super Fuzzes, and more than a few Mk3 TBs and Supas... And I'm not really into that sound so much, as it turns out. Or there are other things that seem to work better with my guitars and amps & playing.
I'd prefer a crunchy Mk.2/ Supa Fuzz or the Mk. IV/ Park Fuzz type of sound, a little bit 'tighter' in the bottom end,& not as hissy in the high treble.
( there's a F-zz S--nd
in my future..., But I'd consider some drastic maneuvering for a FleshHead too
) I bought an EH Muff Fuzz wah that I got well set-up and was going to pair that sweeping in reverse with a modded Colorsound,but the Supremo is probably the most compact & usable of the 'oddball' 70s wah/fuzz-wah/ synth/octave type pedals. And the reverse switch is foot-switchable on the Colorsound.
The IC "fuzz" in the Muff Fuzz wah isn't bad..., this is the second one of those I've had too, but I'm selling it to a friend.
Going to replace that with something that will hopefully be a good (cheaper) replacement for the Super Fuzz I sold off... I just can't get friendly with IC distortions or the Big Muff for some reason. Haven't tried a genuine Ram Head or triangle Muff, the Sovtek army green one was probably the best sounding version I've heard & used personally. Or maybe one of my friends' seventies TBs, but he also has an OC82D DAM Mk 2 that I want to steal first.
That same friend is interested in the Fuzz Phase (I think that's the one with the three knob fuzz on board?), which is also pretty rare from what I gather.
While I've got this thread/ topic open & current, has Graham or anyone else seen or heard the Dipthonizer? I know they're some kind of bow-yoy/dipthong device (speaking in basic terms), but are they any more 'vocal' sounding or 'vowelly' than a good wah pedal?
I'm aware the Dipthonizer usually sells for a bit, but I was curious how it might compare to say, an EH Talking Pedal? Which I found to be a bit of a one-trick pony, and not very usable while I owned one. And what exactly was the Colorsound Vocaliser??