Big Joe Stomp Box Co. B-312 Freakshow Fuzz (Silicon)

The Big Joe Stomp Box Co. B-312 Freakshow Fuzz (Silicon) is a fuzz pedal built around silicon transistors, made by Big Joe Stomp Box Company. It is one of two Freakshow Fuzz models: this silicon version and a germanium counterpart, the B-313 Freakshow Fuzz (Germanium), both built from the same basic fuzz design¹².

Where the germanium model is warmer, the silicon B-312 is the brighter, more aggressive of the pair. Big Joe describes it as the choice for players who want a fully saturated sound: "The Silicon version is the way to go if you're after a totally freaked out fuzz." The maker says it is brighter, has a more modern sound and more gain, "so it's sure to deliver that high-gain ferocity you've always been after"¹. Pedal of the Day's review agreed, calling it "a more modern, brighter sound" than its germanium sibling and pointing to "that signature bite only silicon transistors can provide"³².

The controls

The top row of knobs is the familiar trio: Tone, Fuzz and Output. Pedal of the Day described these as "offering up just what you need to get an excellent base fuzz sound"². Below them sit the controls that set the Freakshow apart from a basic three-knob fuzz.

The Bias and Trim controls are the deep end of the pedal. Big Joe says both Freakshow models carry these external controls, "offering flexibility with symmetry, gain structure, and clipping"¹. For a player, that means the character of the fuzz itself can be reshaped from the outside of the box: symmetry affects how evenly the signal is clipped, and the gain structure and clipping point together determine whether the fuzz is tight and even or loose and ragged. Pedal of the Day noted the same pair of controls in its review².

The buffer and input impedance

The Buffer switch engages a selectable input impedance buffer circuit. Big Joe says it "gives you a brighter sound, but also helps remove high-end roll off and oscillation" when the fuzz is not first in the signal chain¹. Pedal of the Day described it the same way: a selectable input impedance buffer circuit offering a brighter sound while helping to remove high-end roll off².

This matters for placement. Traditional fuzz circuits with low input impedance often sound dull or unstable when another pedal sits in front of them, which is why players are usually told to put fuzz first on the board. The buffer switch is Big Joe's answer: it is a selectable input impedance buffer circuit that gives a brighter sound and helps remove high-end roll off and oscillation when the fuzz is not first in the signal chain. Players who want the traditional interaction with the guitar's volume knob can simply switch the buffer out and run the pedal first¹².

Silicon and germanium Freakshow models

The Freakshow Fuzz comes in two versions built from the same design, and the choice between them is a choice of transistor flavor. Big Joe puts it simply: "Be it Germanium or Silicon, we've designed a fuzz box to suit your preferred tonal flavor"¹.

Pedal of the Day called the silicon B-312 "a completely different animal than its big brother, the B-313 Germanium Freakshow Fuzz"². In its review of the germanium model, the site described that pedal as "a bit warmer, without quite as much gain and bite as the Silicon version"³. The one control difference is the Temp knob: it appears on the germanium version only, and Pedal of the Day noted it is "not available on the Silicon version"³. Both models share the Bias and Trim controls and the selectable buffer⁴.

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day reviewed the B-312 in October 2019 and came away impressed, calling it "a killer pedal" with ample fuzz sounds and a wide array of controls offering many options and combinations². The review also praised the hardware itself, crediting the pedal with "the rugged good looks and hard-as-nails builds we've come to know and love from all Big Joe Stomp Box effect" pedals².

On sound, the reviewer's verdict was blunt:

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