Who among us doesn’t love a good Fuzz Face? If there’s one pedal that captures the soul of classic rock, the Fuzz Face is probably it. For those unfamiliar with Fuzz Face lore, as germanium parts fell out of vogue due to reliability issues, Dallas-Arbiter shifted to silicon parts. Both versions were used extensively on thousands of records.
The If 6 Was 9 pays tribute to all the players who contributed to the pantheon of rock, with specially selected components to get your mojo working. Solid Gold FX put two BC183 devices in each one, which is widely regarded as a happy medium between the potentially mushy compression of germanium and the brash sawmill-like fuzz of silicon. The tone of the If 6 Was 9 is just that—smooth and refined without falling apart on chords, and with loads of sustain on single-note work.
The specially-selected BC183 parts gives you a thick balanced bass response and a tight fuzz tone—just right. And there is a two-way tone toggle switch that adjusts the fuzz character to match with the rest of your rig.
Fuzz Face tone has been whittled down to such a precise science that players now know what voltage at which they prefer their Fuzz Face to be run. Eric Johnson famously kept a box full of batteries drained to various degrees. Now you can harness this power with an external Bias control—set the voltage to whatever you wish for full-bodied fuzz or ripping splatty tones that explode when you dig in.
The Fuzz and Bias controls work in beautiful synchronicity with your guitar’s volume control, bringing all kinds of flavors to the table. Anything from mild overdrive to almost envelope-like snarl is available with just a couple turns. Set the onboard controls just how you like and leave the heavy lifting to your guitar.
