FRANTONE
ELECTRONICS
PEACHFUZZ
REVIEW BY YOEL KREISLER
STREET PRICE $295.00
Frantone is somewhat
of a poster child for the
boutique movement of the
early ‘90s. Her all-original
designs have achieved an
almost mythical status since
her disappearance from
the industry around 2009,
but she is now back in full
swing, producing her classic
pedals in all of their original
girth and glory. I had the
opportunity to review the
return of her flagship pedal,
the Peachfuzz, which is still
the same hairy beast it was
before Frantone went on
hiatus. What was once a
pubescent Peachfuzz has
grown into a full on beard
by now, so let’s dive in to
what makes this classic
58
GEAR REVIEW
//
circuit so great.
FROM
ADOLESCENCE
TO MANHOOD
For those of you who don’t
know, the Peachfuzz has
been commonly associated
tonally with the Big Muff,
because of its wide and
girthy sonic structure.
Circuitwise, the Peachfuzz
sits somewhere in between
fuzz and distortion, utilizing
three op amps as its main
gain generators. The tone
sits somewhere between
a Big Muff, a Pete Cornish
G-2, and a Klon. It’s got the
girth and swathing lows of a
good Triangle Big Muff, with
the low and low-mid butter
and weight of a G-2. What
Frantone Electronics Peachfuzz
the problem is with both of
these pedals is the high end,
which on certain settings
with the Tone knob can be
a bit congested or unclear.
The Peachfuzz’s high end
sounds almost Klon-like,
and reacts in the same way
to your dynamics. Klons are
known for their top end air,
and touch-sensitivity. The
Peachfuzz’s tone control
seems specifically tuned to
not only cut out highs (like
the filter circuit on a Big
Muff), but to maintain clarity
at almost every setting,
which is an incredible feat.
Even at further ends of
the pot which would be
eardrum piercingly bright
with a Big Muff or a Klon