The Celestial Effects Aquarius Fuzz is a fuzz pedal built around silicon-based transistors, aimed at players who normally find fuzz too thick or too colored. Pedal of the Day's 2016 review described it as a pedal "gears specifically towards fuzz-haters," combining the characters of germanium and silicon fuzzes in one box while "only using silicon-based transistors"1.
How it sounds
The pedal's circuit is unusual for a fuzz: the Gain stage features two pairs of parallel transistors, and the Imp knob adjusts the input impedance of that first gain stage. Turned one way it gives more germanium-style tones, and the other way more biting, silicon-sounding tones, which is how a silicon-only circuit covers both classic fuzz characters1.
Pedal of the Day's reviewer found the pedal keeps your own guitar audible through the fuzz1:
"This unique fuzz has an excellent transparent quality to it, too, letting your true original guitar signal come through"
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Imp | Adjusts the input impedance for the first gain stage, giving either more germanium or more biting, silicon-sounding tones depending which way it is turned1 |
| Fat | Adds in bass/low-end as you need, with a nice range to get the sound just perfect1 |
| Fuzz | Sets the fuzz amount1 |
| Volume | Sets the output level1 |
The Volume and Fuzz controls work as you would expect; the reviewer put it plainly: "The Volume and Fuzz controls don't take a 180 IQ to figure out"1.
Bypass and signal integrity
The Aquarius is true bypass. Pedal of the Day noted that "the true bypass nature of the Aquarius makes it quiet and un-coloring throughout," which matters on a pedalboard where fuzzes often stay on all the time or sit in front of other effects1.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day's verdict was strongly positive, crediting the Imp control with the pedal's range1:
"the Aquarius Fuzz is the best of both fuzz worlds, with a ton of sounds and a ton of control available as well"
Celestial Effects has also made multi-effect fuzz designs, including the Cancer Wah The Fuzz2.
Videos
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Questions
Is the Celestial Effects Aquarius Fuzz true bypass?
Yes. Pedal of the Day's review describes the Aquarius as true bypass, and notes that this makes it quiet and un-coloring when it is switched out, so your clean signal passes through without being altered.
Does the Aquarius Fuzz use germanium or silicon transistors?
The Aquarius Fuzz uses silicon-based transistors only. Its Imp knob, however, lets you adjust the input impedance of the first gain stage so the pedal can lean toward germanium-style tones or more biting, silicon-sounding tones depending on which way it is turned.
What does the Imp knob do on the Aquarius Fuzz?
The Imp knob adjusts the input impedance for the first gain stage. Turning it one way gives more germanium-like tones, and the other way gives more biting, silicon-sounding tones, so one knob covers the character of both classic fuzz transistor types.
What does the Fat knob do?
The Fat knob adds in bass and low-end as you need it. Pedal of the Day's reviewer described its range as nice for getting the sound just right, which is useful for keeping a fuzz full-sounding on thinner pickups or smaller amps.
Sources (2)
- Celestial Effects Aquarius Fuzz, Pedal of the Day, 2016-06-08
- Celestial Effects Cancer Wah The Fuzz?, Pedal of the Day, 2016-10-03
