BOSS FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz

The BOSS FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz is an analog fuzz pedal released in 1993 and discontinued in 1997. Its fuzz stage is a near-exact replica of the Univox Superfuzz, the octave-up fuzz circuit known for thick distortion, and Guitar World's fuzz buying guide calls the Boss FZ-2 "a sturdy, excellent-sounding Univox Super Fuzz clone beloved of stoner rockers"¹². It ran for only a few years, but it found lasting success in the stoner rock and doom circles, and Coda Effects notes it "is not produced any more"³.

What it does to your sound

Griffin Effects describes the FZ-2 as attempting "to create a fuzz sound reminiscent of the 60's and 70's" while also being able to push toward a grunge direction⁷. Under the hood it is an enormous circuit, which Aion FX breaks into four distinct parts: boost, fuzz, filter and tone¹. The Univox Superfuzz lineage shows in the two tone modes, which Aion FX says are similar to the FZ-2's filters¹.

The pedal's three modes cover different jobs⁵:

• Fuzz I: the standard fuzz voice
• Fuzz II: the scooped-sound mode, the one Guns N' Roses guitarist Richard Fortus said he tended to use⁸
• Gain Boost: no added distortion, usable purely as a gain booster⁷

That third mode makes the FZ-2 more flexible than its name suggests. Producer Tom Dalgety, speaking to BOSS about sessions with Ghost, Pixies, Royal Blood and The Cult, described using it that way: "But in that session, we used it mainly for chordal work. It's amazing in the boxy-sounding mode with the Gain knob backed off"⁹.

History and status

Guitar.com's review of the Manson Supermassive Black Fuzz, a pedal built as "a clone of the long discontinued (change this please Boss) FZ-2 Hyperfuzz," reflects how sought after the original remains¹⁰.

Related pedals and successors

The FZ-2 sits in a wider BOSS fuzz family and has inspired a number of later builds:

• The Boss FZ-3 is a later BOSS fuzz, and the Boss FZ-1W is BOSS's Waza Craft take on vintage fuzz with an original circuit¹.
• Aion FX's own Hypercube project is an adaptation of the FZ-2 from 1993¹.
• Griffin Effects offers the Hype-R Fuzz PCB and PedalPCB the Hyped Boost, the latter based specifically on the FZ-2's Clean Boost EQ mode⁷¹¹.
• The Life Is Unfair Bad Machine, reviewed by Guitar Pedal X, is described as a weapons-grade Hyper Fuzz evolution with independent boost and HM-2 and MT-2 accents, built around "that Boss pedal's 3 modes - Fuzz I, Fuzz II, and Gain Boost"⁵.
• Guitar.com has also reported on a BOSS Waza Craft combo pedal pairing the FZ-2 with the HM-2 Heavy Metal, noting the FZ-2's gray enclosure alongside the HM-2's black one⁶.

For the broader picture of where the FZ-2 fits among fuzz designs, see the site's Fuzz Pedals page, and for the gain-boost side of its character, Boost Pedals.

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