The Barnes and Mullins 70s Fuzz is a vintage fuzz box made by Colorsound, the British effects maker. It was produced for the music retailer Barnes & Mullins, usually shortened to B&M, and it is built on the Jumbo Tonebender circuit, which Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio describes as "similar to a Big Muff circuit"1. It belongs to the same family of Colorsound fuzzes as the Supa Tonebender.
What it does
As a fuzz box, it takes the guitar's signal and clips it heavily into the saturated, sustaining distortion the fuzz family is known for. The Jumbo Tonebender circuit it is based on is a multi-stage design in the same territory as the Big Muff, so it sits closer to that thick, compressed style of fuzz than to the thinner, spittier one-knob fuzzes of the early 1960s1.
Where it came from
Colorsound sold the same circuit under several names, and it also produced the circuit for Barnes & Mullins as the B&M Fuzz Unit2.
| Name it sold under | Who sold it |
|---|---|
| Tone Bender Mk. IV | Colorsound2 |
| Supa Tone Bender | Colorsound2 |
| Jumbo Tone Bender | Colorsound2 |
| B&M Fuzz Unit | Barnes & Mullins2 |
Fuzzboxes.org notes that "the short period during the 1960s & 1970s when B&M were involved in the fuzz boxes trade makes up a very small chapter" in fuzz history, which is part of why the pedal is less often written about than its Colorsound-branded siblings3.
What it costs used
Because it was made in small numbers for a retailer rather than sold widely under the Colorsound name, the pedal is a collector's item. In June 2023, Delicious Audio reported it "currently selling used on Reverb.com for just under one grand USD"1.
This is a discontinued vintage pedal, not a current production item. Prices on the used market move, and the figure above reflects June 2023.
Modern takes
The circuit has surfaced again in recent years. In 2023, Delicious Audio reviewed the Redbeard Effects Hairy Squid, describing it as a modern take on the Barnes and Mullins 70s Fuzz. What the review says about it:
- It is based on the Barnes and Mullins 70s Fuzz circuit1
- It adds three clipping modes to the original design1
- The circuit it draws from is "similar to a Big Muff circuit"1
For players drawn to this style of thick, Big Muff-adjacent fuzz, the fuzz pedal field also includes the Colorsound-named designs such as the Supa Tonebender and the Wow-Fuzz.
Videos
charge651
Josh Hanford
blondegraemey
Sources (3)
- Readbeard Effects Hairy Squid, Delicious Audio, 2023-06-13
- Zeta Distortion / Sustainer, Aion FX, 2022-04-08
- Exel Shatterbox • Fuzzboxes, Fuzzboxes.org, 2022-02-15
