Cornerstone releases Nero Fuzz, its first fuzz pedal
September 16, 2024 · 2 sources
Cornerstone released the Nero Fuzz, the Italian builder's first fuzz pedal, Delicious Audio reported on September 16, 2024. Guitar Pedal X had published a review of the pedal on April 3, 2024.
The Nero is a hybrid fuzz/overdrive. According to Delicious Audio, the signal is split and fed separately to a fuzz circuit and to a Dumble-style overdrive rather than running in series1. That overdrive is derived from the company's Gladio, described by Delicious Audio as its bestseller and as "an amp-in-a-box inspired by the rare line of Dumble amps"1. Guitar Pedal X describes the circuit as "mostly opamp-based" and combining a Gladio SC circuit with a largely opamp-based Fuzz Face-style fuzz2.
The Comp knob acts as a volume for the Gladio side, while the fuzz volume stays fixed, per Delicious Audio1. The larger Volume, Gain and Tone knobs affect only the fuzz1. Two voicings are switchable via the Voice footswitch, each with its own bias knob1. Guitar Pedal X lists the controls as Volume, Gain, Comp, Tone, Bias 1 and Bias 2, plus a remote Bias 1/2 switching port, and says the two Bias knobs set two voicing presets, moving from gritty fuzz to smooth overdrive2.
"the Nero is a pedal featuring a fuzz circuit running in parallel with a Dumble-style overdrive pedal, which means that your signal is split in two and fed separately to both circuits, rather than proceeding in series"
Guitar Pedal X gives the price as $299 and reported that the first batch was mostly sold out2. It says Emilio Massari and his designer spent about two years on the project2. Delicious Audio's report gives no price or availability details1.