Buzzing Bugs launches BB01 Fuzz Pre-Amp, its first production model

March 1, 2023 · 3 sources

Buzzing Bugs launched its first production model, the BB01 Fuzz Pre-Amp, in 2023, after four years of building one-offs and limited runs¹. The UK firm was founded in 2019 in the shed of Daniel Goldberg¹.

The BB01 is a three-knob pedal designed to capture the cooking tones of a Vox AC30, emulating the warm crunch of that amp's Normal channel rather than its Top Boost tones². Its gain range runs from a gritty boost through smooth overdrive to full-blown fuzz, and its central knob is a hi cut, a nod to the AC30's cut control, which works in reverse so more cut means less treble². Reviewer Richard Purvis called it "spookily good at turning an American combo into a British one" and rated it 9 out of 10, while noting that the right half of the central knob felt like a bit of a waste².

The BB01 was one of Purvis's favorite pedals of 2023, and he described it as a Vox-voiced dirt machine³. Three pedals followed it within about 12 months, including the BB04 Full Range Drive, a saturated overdrive with four op-amp gain stages and a Body switch¹. The BB04 is available directly from Buzzing Bugs¹. No US list price is given for the BB01.

Buzzing Bugs describes its approach as one of simplicity, creating effective and inspirational pedals while steering clear of hard-to-navigate controls and sub-menus¹. The BB01 sits alongside a fuzz, a lo-fi chorus and a pre-amp pedal in the firm's lineup¹.