Fender adds Kevin Shields Blender fuzz to mainline pedal range

September 5, 2023 · 3 sources

Fender announced on September 5, 2023 that the Kevin Shields Blender is joining its mainline range of pedals¹. The fuzz pedal was first released in June 2023 as a limited edition of 700 hand-signed units, which sold out worldwide pretty much immediately². The standard model is now in full production².

The standard version shares the same two-channel setup as the limited edition, with the same tweaked Blender circuit offering two footswitchable channels of blendable fuzz: one with a conventional fuzz signal, the other with a wholly wet fuzz sound that applies a monophonic sub-octave effect¹. Guitar.com describes channel one as blending the fuzz voice with the original clean signal, and channel two as removing the clean signal and blending the fuzz with a monophonic sub-octave fuzz². The circuit was made by hand tracing the circuit from Shields' personal vintage 1970s Fender Blender². According to MusicRadar, the design was four years in the making and ups the control count from four knobs to eight¹.

A footswitchable Sag circuit allows the player to tailor the pedal's response to the guitar¹. Guitar.com describes it as a sag circuit that uses dynamic sensing circuitry to create "imploding fuzz tones"². The signature back plate is gone from the standard enclosure¹, and Fender has done away with the Shields-signed backplate².

The limited edition was priced at $499¹. The sources disagree on the standard model's US price: MusicRadar gives no dollar figure for it¹, while Guitar.com gives $299 and says the price came down to that from the original $499². A Guitar.com review published September 15, 2023 lists $299 for the non-limited version and describes it as identical bar the pen-scribble, made in China, and $200 cheaper³.