Been jammin' with the FZ-673

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cubba
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Been jammin' with the FZ-673

Post by cubba »

Got the FS-673 on loan from another D*A*M forum brother.
First off, it's definitely unique amongst Dave's work. It's got less gain than most (tho' it's not short on gain at all),
it's got a little more treble bite (tho' never shrill) and it's really good at blending in with your existing tone.
Many of us buy fuzzes 'cause they make this rad, wicked sound, but to be honest, that sound is often a real game-changer.
Plug into Dave's Fuzzrong or maybe the Meathead and you get this glorious but transforming fuzz experience.
The FS-673 doesn't do that. Instead, I think it takes your base tone and seamlessly blends itself into what you've already got going on.
I mean there's no doubt you stepped on a pedal and there's no doubt that pedal isn't packed with character and depth of it's own,
but it does so in a way that doesn't upset the balance of things.
The tone is slightly compressed and bears subtle hints of the MKI/1965 kind of grit, but without the uncontrolled element.
It''s got the treble bite of the 1965 too, but with a beefy lower-mid content that preserves your original tone.
What also sets it apart is that the gain knob works anywhere you set it on the dial.
It gets thicker as you turn it up, but it still has plenty of beef, crunch and consistency at 12 o'clock, and you can clearly hear the differences.
A lot of the more primitive fuzzes (that we all love) don't always offer much with the gain set low that you can use in a 'normal' way.
This pedal is refined for sure and shows that Dave either got really lucky or put some time into making something different.
Too bad it's unobtanium because I think (short of it's size) it's one of the most gig-friendly pedals Dave has ever made.

OK, I could go on for a lot longer, but I gotta' get out and enjoy the sun ... Spring has finally arrived here! :dance:

What gets me is all the tweaking,
just crank that bitch and be done with it! -- duende
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Philip
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Re: Been jammin' with the FZ-673

Post by Philip »

Nice review!

I'd add that the Swell knob changes it's character some. It's quite a mellow, warm sounding pedal till you crank it. I usually have mine full up or nearly full and add extra dirt via fuzz knob as required.

Mine is on loan to Steve at the moment. I miss it!!! :errr:
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psycho*daisies
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Re: Been jammin' with the FZ-673

Post by psycho*daisies »

wow, nice description, cubba :tu:

makes me wanna try this new beastie --i'm into mk1, lowgain, overdrive, treble...so this pedal sounds
right up my alley...i've always kind of wished that the old Maestro
and Mk1's could have an even lowering of usable gain.
Apparently Dave was thinking along the same
lines. The difference is he can make it happen!

Dave Main at Mainway® Toys really knows his stuff!!
Very fun & very safe :hihi:

:party:

If you struggle baby,
It only tightens up...
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cubba
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Re: Been jammin' with the FZ-673

Post by cubba »

"Mr. Mainway, you are a flagrant offender...!"
Thx for the video Dave, good stuff.

I wouldn't say the FS-673 is low-gain, just less gain. :hihi:
I mean you get a lot of crunch, it's just less than say the MKI, which is kinda' all out (for better or worse of course).

Yeah Philip, the Swell knob does change things as you turn it up and not just the volume. that's actually one of the things I like about Dave's pedals:
as you turn up the volume knob, the character changes a bit along with it.
All that interactivity makes for many more subtle tones to be had.

The Filter (tone) knob is quite unique too. Don't expect the ordinary. It doesn't really raise or lower the treble but seems to focus the midrange more as you crank it up.
Depending on where the gain/volume is set, the Filter knob will compliment that setting. Very useful.
What gets me is all the tweaking,
just crank that bitch and be done with it! -- duende
paine
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Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:07 am

Re: Been jammin' with the FZ-673

Post by paine »

Yeah, this pedal is everything you wished was different bout your MkI, which is not to say that anything bad about the MkI (MkI's are the shit) just that if it could be inproved upon these would be the changes most would want :paranoid:

And yes The FZ-673 is verry gig friendly :tu:
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redeyeflight
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Re: Been jammin' with the FZ-673

Post by redeyeflight »

I don't think I could have said it much better than Cubba although I just thought I would add my two cents in here as well, as I have been lucky enough to jam out with the FZ-673 for a couple of days here as well thanks to a very generous loan. :tu: :cheers: It's really is a fuzz pedal at heart but reacts and works much like a really great overdrive would. It cleans up very well and the fuzz knob really tightens up the character of the pedal when turned down. Like Cubba said, the range of the controls is entirely useful across the full range and also quite subtle. I find it to be a somewhat darker pedal, in a good way, much like a nice tubescreamer. I initially was playing my strat into it through my gibson scout amp, which is very clean...when I switched to my friends vintage gibson es-330 (which has hotter P-90 pickups than the strat) into my little supro super (which basically has no headroom) the FZ really really came to life!! :badteeth: It really works best in this application IMO, hotter pickups (well, still single coils in my case) into an amp that's already cooking a bit, really wonderful sound. The filter control is subtle and totally reminded me of the filter control on the drag n fly in that it adds a bit of gain on the bassier end and it's quite subtle although again, completely useable across its entire range. Basically this is a really great build, as if anyone needed convincing!! :lol:

How does it compare to other pedals? Well since it's design is a MK I/Zonk at heart I threw it up against my Jerms MK I and my Stu 3-knob MK I supa (this time back to the gibson scout for more critical listening). The FZ is definitely darker and lower gain than both of those pedals but man does it clean up great when you roll back your guitar's volume, again, this is where the "overdrive" character of the FZ comes through. The Jerms MK I gates and sputters like a motherfucker when you turn down the guitars volume (something which I personally love) and the Stu Supa really compresses the initial attack of the note and kinda "blooms" when the guitar is down (again, pretty cool) but the FZ really just tightens up and clears out, no gate, no sputter, just a very "amp-like" clean out which is pretty wonderful! :party: I also compared it to the grease box, sine that was designed with an overdrive sort of tone in mind. The grease has a bunch more midrange boost and quite a bit more gain than the FZ, they definately have their own sonic signatures and are pretty different overall, I'd say the grease way more on the "fuzz" side of things than the FZ. So to sum up it's a fuzz/overdrive pedal really like no other. The captain I think was very clever in basing a pedal of a vintage design and really tweaking it until he had something fresh, unique, and completely useable!! Something he's obviously done before many times but it really stands out in this circuit incredibly well. :party:
(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")
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pothole
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Re: Been jammin' with the FZ-673

Post by pothole »

^^ Not that I'll ever get the chance to try one most likely, but great write up on that.
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cubba
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Re: Been jammin' with the FZ-673

Post by cubba »

redeyeflight wrote:I don't think I could have said it much better than Cubba
I think you just did :phpslayer:
pothole wrote:^^ Not that I'll ever get the chance to try one most likely, but great write up on that.
Yeah, no one talked about it yet so I figured let's get some information out there to the rest of us groundlings! :fu: :cheers:
What gets me is all the tweaking,
just crank that bitch and be done with it! -- duende
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Cado
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Re: Been jammin' with the FZ-673

Post by Cado »

Awesome, can't wait to hear it!
paine
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Re: Been jammin' with the FZ-673

Post by paine »

Yeah those are some great descriptions, much beter than I would have come up with :hihi:

And I will an a big +1 on the topic of it going into an overdrivin amp, quite spectacular :crackjam:
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