Astro Tone Fuzz...Way Cool!!!

[Jumblefingers]

I have not posted here is along time as I have severely reduced my pedal ownership and use over many months having sold everything except a Vexter USA Fuzz Factory to use with my Kelly Esquire equipped with a Don Mare Bakelite Hot (not hot) pickup.

I got a little gas when I saw the black/gold version of the Astro Tone fuzz from Analog Man having owned many Sun Face's, Sun Lions and tons of other high end fuzz from DAM and many others.

I am amazingly impressed with the Astro Tone for a lot of reasons.

1) The overall tone of the fuzz really adds to the tone of my guitar without any shift in the basic tone of the sound...it sounds the SAME only with more hair.

2) The Tone control is great as it allows you to tailor the low end response as that can be boosted depending on guitar and amp and again, you can get it to sound virtually exactly like your clean tone but with hair.

3) The clean up is amazing, very much like a germanium fuzz but in some ways better...a LOT of in between tones with the shift of guitar volume and tone.

4) NO SPUTTER as the note decays...a real pet peeve with most OD's and fuzz that I have tried where the decay of the note at the end of the decay separates from the distorted tone and sputters as it dies out...the Astro does not do this.

Those are some of the specific items that make me love the pedal but the main one is the "classic" tone of the fuzz which is in between fuzz and OD. Cranked all the way up you get decent sustain for leads and rolling the tone on the axe back gets you a woman tone. However, backing the Fuzz off a little gives an amazing 70's classic rock sound...Stones, Who, AC/DC chords all "feel" right and there is a lot of dynamics to be had based on how hard you play.

It is also very quiet even when maxed and the Kelly/Mare combination is NOT quiet with most od's...it will squeal with really high gain. This is NOT a high gain pedal but I imagine hitting it with a booster with some quiet (humbucker) pick ups might be totally cool.

I also like the top mounted jacks, something I wish ALL pedal makers did...you save real estate on a board. So after about 10 years of buying and selling I think this is a real keeper especially for the $$$. I am digging it in a big way and I am well past the honeymoon period.

Hope this helps...

[Heady Jam Fan]

This might be my next pedal. I am kinda out of the buy and sell thing too, but I have one pedal I may not keep and I am definitely thinking about a fuzz/od for rhythm playing.

[analogmike]

Wow you wrote the perfect ad for the pedal, really explains it, glad you like it and let me know if you want a copy writing job!

[JP~)]

you forgot one....it draws very little power and you don't have to worry about unplugging it to conserve battery life....I still have the battery it came with 5 months later

[Bobby D]

i have to agree with the OP -- i was really blown away by how good the Astrotone sounded. i was lucky to spend a few days with one demoing it, then that darn Scott Auld came by and took it away because he fell in love with it

it's a fuzz that i would recommend for any players who don't like fuzz -- or anyone tired of fuzzface/tonebender style fuzzes.

BLACK GOLD.......texas tea

[charless]

I second totally what the OP wrote! And I have a black/gold Astro Tone also!

It's on my board now as my main OD .. why? Cause it really is more or less your sound, uncompressed with just that wonderful edgy OD/fuzz it imparts on your signal. And like previously mentioned, it allows you take full advantage of your volume knob on your guitar and run the gamut from clean to OD to fuzz.

What I found out that, for me, it works great being boosted by a TS mid-hump pedal for leads. It just adds that much more versatility to your sound. I use a Keeley modded OD808 with the tone knob rolled all the way down and the gain low,balance high for that. Sounds killer into the Astro Tone.

Astro Tone ... love it!

[cajone5]

I love mine -- I had the white one and picked up a black and gold one when those came out. It's been on my board for several months and is one of the few pedals I have no intention of ever selling -- works like a charm. It's a great swiss-army fuzz that can give you all shades from hairy cleans through gritty warm fuzz.

Killer work Mike and a great review Jumblefingers

[playthecray]

I also have a black and gold Astrotone. It is the most usable fuzz pedal that I have tried, especially with humbuckers. I prefer the Astrotone over the Sunface NKT275 that I previously owned.

[L_Totti]

I'm buying one in november. Mike will keep production until then , right?

[Hulakatt]

Honestly there is one thing about mine that really pisses me off! I ordered mine before the black and gold one was available and it is way too cool in that color scheme! Now my white and black one just looks lame in comparison.

edit: And yes, that is the only thing I can find to complain about with mine. Truly a stellar jack of all trades and master of dirt

[orogeny]

Originally Posted by Jumblefingers

I have not posted here is along time as I have severely reduced my pedal ownership and use over many months having sold everything except a Vexter USA Fuzz Factory to use with my Kelly Esquire equipped with a Don Mare Bakelite Hot (not hot) pickup.

I got a little gas when I saw the black/gold version of the Astro Tone fuzz from Analog Man having owned many Sun Face's, Sun Lions and tons of other high end fuzz from DAM and many others.

I am amazingly impressed with the Astro Tone for a lot of reasons.

1) The overall tone of the fuzz really adds to the tone of my guitar without any shift in the basic tone of the sound...it sounds the SAME only with more hair.

2) The Tone control is great as it allows you to tailor the low end response as that can be boosted depending on guitar and amp and again, you can get it to sound virtually exactly like your clean tone but with hair.

3) The clean up is amazing, very much like a germanium fuzz but in some ways better...a LOT of in between tones with the shift of guitar volume and tone.

4) NO SPUTTER as the note decays...a real pet peeve with most OD's and fuzz that I have tried where the decay of the note at the end of the decay separates from the distorted tone and sputters as it dies out...the Astro does not do this.

Those are some of the specific items that make me love the pedal but the main one is the "classic" tone of the fuzz which is in between fuzz and OD. Cranked all the way up you get decent sustain for leads and rolling the tone on the axe back gets you a woman tone. However, backing the Fuzz off a little gives an amazing 70's classic rock sound...Stones, Who, AC/DC chords all "feel" right and there is a lot of dynamics to be had based on how hard you play.

It is also very quiet even when maxed and the Kelly/Mare combination is NOT quiet with most od's...it will squeal with really high gain. This is NOT a high gain pedal but I imagine hitting it with a booster with some quiet (humbucker) pick ups might be totally cool.

I also like the top mounted jacks, something I wish ALL pedal makers did...you save real estate on a board. So after about 10 years of buying and selling I think this is a real keeper especially for the $$$. I am digging it in a big way and I am well past the honeymoon period.

Hope this helps...

Originally Posted by analogmike

Wow you wrote the perfect ad for the pedal, really explains it, glad you like it and let me know if you want a copy writing job!

agree and agree.

one thing. . .

while i really do love it with my strat and tele. . . . . (LOW output pickups)

this thing is total classic rock with a fookin les paul.

. . . .also

. . . what amp?

i run pretty clean most times. . . and ahve the same results. . .

[Jumblefingers]

Originally Posted by orogeny

agree and agree.

one thing. . .

while i really do love it with my strat and tele. . . . . (LOW output pickups)

this thing is total classic rock with a fookin les paul.

. . . .also

. . . what amp?

i run pretty clean most times. . . and have the same results. . .

For the recent use I've been using an older little Fender G-Dec transistor amp running totally clean. I "assume" that through a clean tube amp the results would be even better, warmer and more alive.

That was one of the things that I loved: through a totally clean amp I got truly realistic classic rock mid-hair/medium gain tones. So for someone with a one channel clean amp this is a great pedal to get you two/three channel like response with the pedal and your guitar volume.

Based on this test, I also assume that running it into a slightly dirty amp would sound wonderful and when cranked up and run into say a dirty Tweed might provide Neil Young sounds.

I should also mention that the volume knob has a really perfect scaling and at say 1 o'clock you are about unity gain with the fuzz fully maxed and above that the overall output increases. As I don't have a tube amp at home right now I am not sure how much additional gain is on tap but clearly there is some.

[erksin]

Originally Posted by Jumblefingers

Based on this test, I also assume that running it into a slightly dirty amp would sound wonderful and when cranked up and run into say a dirty Tweed might provide Neil Young sounds.

It definitely has enough whoop ass to get my 6G2 sagging. It won't rip and gate like some fuzzes when they are maxed, but thats part of the appeal of it for me - that it holds together so well even with the controls maxed.

And the white/blue case is still the best one!

[kwaping]

I really gotta stay away from this forum... I have been looking for the One True Fuzz, but now I'm pretty convinced that I need this and another more standard fuzz.

[apeape]

I love mine but I hated it at first. It needs abit to get used to and has a learning curve, and now its a keeper. But i should pose a question to Mike; how many black and gold finishes are you going to make? I thought there were only a hundred?