MXR launches Hybrid Fuzz with germanium and silicon transistors

June 6, 2023 · 4 sources

MXR has launched the MXR Hybrid Fuzz, a compact Fuzz Face-inspired stompbox that combines germanium and silicon transistors in a single circuit, MusicRadar, Guitar.com and Guitar World reported on 6 June 2023¹²³.

The pedal has two controls, Volume and Fuzz, plus a footswitch to engage and bypass the effect and a red LED to show when it is engaged¹. It has a 1/4-inch input on each side of the enclosure¹. MXR says the germanium transistor yields "smooth, shaggy warmth" and the silicon transistor supplies "snarling, high-gain aggression"¹. Guitar.com describes it as delivering "a broad range of Fuzz Face Distortion tones with just Output and Fuzz controls"². MusicRadar and Guitar.com both report that the pedal cleans up as the guitar's volume is rolled back¹². It can run on a 9V battery or a DC pedalboard power supply and draws 2.5mA¹. The finish is by design studio One Horse Town¹²³.

Guitar World notes that germanium transistors were used in the first Fuzz Faces made between 1966 and 1968, with silicon used after that point³. Gearnews reports that in the Hybrid Fuzz both transistor types are always active at the same time⁴.

The sources differ slightly on price and naming. Guitar.com and Gearnews give $169.99²⁴; MusicRadar gives $169 street¹; Guitar World gives $169³. Guitar.com and Gearnews call it a Custom Shop model²⁴. Guitar.com reports it is available for preorder now, with shipping beginning on 26 June²; MusicRadar and Guitar World also give 26 June¹³.

MusicRadar compares it with the EarthQuaker Devices Hoof, which it says offers a similar platform with an added Shift control for shaping mids, and the Vemuram Myriad, a Japanese-made boutique pedal with a brass housing and Feel and Tone controls¹. Guitar World notes that boutique firms including Spaceman and Wren and Cuff have combined germanium and silicon circuits before³.