The DS Custom Blender Octave Fuzz is an octave fuzz made in Bavaria, Germany, built on the circuit of the Fender Blender, one of the rarest and most distinctive pedals in fuzz history. Delicious Audio describes it as born to popular demand, a way to get that circuit back in production form.1
The Fender Blender heritage
The original Fender Blender is an octave fuzz from the late 1960s, partially inspired by the Octavia circuit, and Guitar World describes it as renowned for its uniquely vicious, dynamic octave fuzz.2 Guitar.com's Samuel Roberts called it "the one effects pedal in the company's history that can truly be called a cult classic: the Fender Blender octave fuzz".3 The same site has also referred to "the amazing Fender Blender octave fuzz of the late 60s".4
One feature the DS Custom Blender inherits from the original is the clean/wet blend knob. The Blender was one of the first fuzz pedals, if not the first, to feature one, which lets you mix unaffected guitar signal against the fuzz for clarity and body.1 For more on the original, see the Fender Blender page.
Controls and footswitches
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sustain | Controls the amount of Fuzz |
| Tone | Controls the amount of Treble/Bass |
| Volume | Controls the Output Volume |
| Blend | Clean/wet blend, inherited from the original1 |
The pedal carries two footswitches:
- On: switches from bypass to effect sound. If the LED is active, you hear the effected sound of the pedal.
- Tone Boost: enhances the equalization of the Tone control. Note that this disables the Tone knob while engaged.1
Engaging the Tone Boost footswitch disables the Tone pot, so the rotary Tone control has no effect until Tone Boost is switched off again.1
Germanium diodes
The clipping in the DS Custom Blender comes from hand-selected and matched NOS Soviet germanium diodes, chosen by the maker for the circuit.1 Germanium clipping is central to the character of vintage-style octave fuzz designs like this one.
Related pedals
Players looking at octave fuzz with blending options may also want to compare the Spaceman Effects Nebula: Fuzz / Octave Blender, which Spaceman describes as centered around a dual-mode IC fuzz circuit with independently blendable high octave and clean signal layers.5
Videos
DS Custom Audio Electronics
DS Custom Audio Electronics
Philip Czarnecki
Questions
What is the Fender Blender fuzz?
The Fender Blender is an octave fuzz pedal from the late 1960s, partially inspired by the Octavia circuit. Guitar World describes it as renowned for its uniquely vicious, dynamic octave fuzz, and Guitar.com has called it the one effects pedal in Fender's history that can truly be called a cult classic. The DS Custom Blender is built on that circuit.
What does the Tone Boost footswitch do on the DS Custom Blender?
The Tone Boost footswitch enhances the equalization of the Tone control, giving a stronger tone shaping effect than the knob alone. Note that engaging it disables the Tone knob, so the pedal's fixed Tone Boost equalization takes over from the rotary control while it is on.
Does the Tone knob work when Tone Boost is on?
No. Delicious Audio's product page notes that the Tone Boost footswitch disables the Tone pot, so once Tone Boost is engaged the rotary Tone control stops having an effect until you switch Tone Boost off again.
Where is the DS Custom Blender Octave Fuzz made?
The DS Custom Blender is an octave fuzz made in Bavaria, Germany, according to Delicious Audio's product page for the pedal.
What diodes does the DS Custom Blender use?
The pedal uses hand-selected and matched NOS Soviet germanium diodes for its clipping, as described by Delicious Audio. Germanium clipping is a defining part of the classic octave fuzz character this circuit is known for.
Sources (5)
- New Pedals: DS Custom Blender Octave Fuzz, Delicious Audio, 2023-05-01
- Fender and Kevin Shields make history with the firm's first ever signature fuzz pedal, Guitar World, 2023-06-13
- The Big Review: Fender Hammertone Pedals, Guitar.com, 2022-07-21
- Fender Effects Pedals Review, guitar.com, 2018-05-21
- Nebula: Fuzz / Octave Blender, Spaceman Effects
