T-Rex FuzzTopia review – an unorthodox combo of raw fuzz and smooth distortion
€149/$189/£129, t-rex-effects.com
Wouldn’t it be nice if every two-for-one deal turned out to be a three-for-one? This isn’t really possible with chocolate bars, tragically, but it is with guitar pedals: two circuits in one box with separate footswitches means instant access to three sounds: left, right and both at once.
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That’s the first appealing feature of the T-Rex FuzzTopia dual dirt machine. The second is that it’s a genuinely compact Danish-built unit from a company with serious pedigree in the world of overdrive and distortion.
What is it?
The FuzzTopia follows the overall design scheme of the TwinBlaze distortion and RoomMate D’Luxe reverb, but with one key difference: it isn’t valve-powered. That immediately knocks 20 per cent off its hipness quotient, but brings one significant bonus in that it can run off a standard 9v power supply.
We’re promised “a meeting point between nostalgia and new sonic ground”, courtesy of high-gain retro fuzz tones on one side and something with a lot more warmth and clarity on the other. And of course, when it comes to stacking gain, high plus low does not equal medium – it equals even higher, sometimes to the point of ear-shredding anarchy…
Image: Adam Gasson
Build quality and usability
For the most part, this is a smartly designed pedal: it’s small enough to be a real space-saver yet the soft-touch footswitches are plenty far apart, the metal enclosure feels rugged, and the knobs are recessed to protect them from your clumsy hooves. But the grey/brown finish is a bit meh, plus it really doesn’t set off the soft blue of the FuzzTopia logo… and if you like the psychedelic yellow swirls of the control panel, remind me never to take you wallpaper shopping.
The controls themselves are easy enough to navigate – each circuit has gain, tone, clean blend and volume, with backgrounds that light up when the relevant channel is engaged – but wouldn’t it have made more sense to have fuzz on the left and distortion on the right, like the footswitches, rather than lining them up in rows?
You also get a push-button on the back for ‘individual/both’ switching – this lets you turn both circuits on and off simultaneously with either footswitch.
Image: Adam Gasson
Sounds
The room is locked down in preparation for hazardous levels of feistiness, but there’s no harm in starting on the lower-gain side with the distortion and blend both set extra-low for almost no dirt at all. And it actually sounds really nice – dare I say it, almost Klon-like. What’s more, it doesn’t get drastically less nice once you start pushing things, heading fast in the direction of Marshall-style drive with the emphasis on those classic biting mids.
Jumping from that to the high-gain circuit delivers something of a shock to the system, just because it’s so much more abrasive – if this really is “retro fuzz” then it’s more gnarly Maestro FZ-1 than purring Tone Bender. The blend knob can tame things to an extent, but sadly the tone control can’t: turning it down softens the midrange but does absolutely nothing with the piercing treble.
The one thing you can do to balance that tone is hit the other footswitch. There’s a huge amount of gain available with both effects running together – and a huge amount of background noise, inevitably – but it’s surprisingly un-chaotic, and that’s because the distortion’s midrange focus does a great job of taking the sting out of the fuzz. Who’d have thought you could make something less raucous by adding more rage?
Image: Adam Gasson
Should I buy one?
The only downside to getting two for the price of one in a stompbox is that you really have to love both halves, otherwise you’re stuck with a passenger. And for me, the left side of the FuzzTopia just doesn’t sound nice enough to earn its place.
However, that is offset by the fact that the other side of the pedal sounds great – and yes, there are some worthy super-powered sounds available with both circuits on together. So while it doesn’t quite live up to that three-for-one potential, this pedal is still a solid twofer.
Alternatives
Why aren’t there more dual dirt pedals with fuzz on one side and overdrive/distortion on the other? The Frantone/Orange-inspired Crazy Tube Circuits Orama (€279/£245/$305) is one, and the rather more extreme Old Blood Noise Endeavors Pardner ($239/£249) is another. See also the Great Eastern FX Co. Focus Fuzz Deluxe (£299/$379), which does a bit of everything.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
