The Electro-Harmonix Axis Fuzztone is a two-knob fuzz pedal from the company's early days, and it holds a particular place in the brand's history: according to Kit Rae's history of OEM Big Muffs, it "was the first E-H branded product"1. It is a close relation of the fuzz family that grew around the Big Muff Pi, and E-H itself has long been known for "a line of pedals that broadly speaking do one thing, and do it well," as Guitar World's Alex Lynham put it2.
Same circuit as the Guild Foxey Lady
The Axis was not a unique design. Kit Rae's history records that E-H "also marketed the pedal under the name Axis Fuzztone," and that it was "the exact same circuit and enclosure, just different graphics and knobs" as the Foxey Lady1. The pedal-building site Guitar FX Layouts, which published a verbatim layout of the circuit in October 2013, agrees: "The circuit is exactly the same in Electro Harmonix Axis fuzz and Guild's 2-knobbed Foxey Lady"3.
For a player, that means anything said about the two-knob Foxey Lady applies to the Axis. It is a simple early fuzz: two controls, a discrete transistor circuit, and no tone stack31.
The circuit
The layout work on Guitar FX Layouts spells out what the circuit asks for, and what a modern builder or repairer needs to know:
- Transistors: the original spec calls for 2N5133s, which the site warns "may and will be very hard and expensive to source" today3.
- Capacitors: the original values are 50µ and 4µ, with 47µ and 4.7µ suggested as practical substitutes3.
- Additions in the layout: polarity protection and a pulldown resistor were added, both omissible "to make it verbatim with the original"3.
- Fuzz control: the builder noted that "it seems to me that FUZZ POT works backwards," worth knowing if you are wiring one up3.
As for the sound, one builder who populated the layout with easier-to-find transistors reported: "I used 2N222 trannies with this and then we had thick fuzz to blast with!"3. That is a builder's report rather than a reviewer's verdict, but it gives a fair picture of what the circuit delivers: a thick, straightforward fuzz in the early E-H manner.
Questions
Is the Electro-Harmonix Axis the same pedal as the Guild Foxey Lady?
Yes. According to Kit Rae's Big Muff history, E-H marketed the pedal under the name Axis Fuzztone, and it used the exact same circuit and enclosure as Guild's two-knob Foxey Lady, differing only in graphics and knobs. The Guitar FX Layouts project reaches the same conclusion, stating the circuit is exactly the same in the Axis fuzz and Guild's two-knobbed Foxey Lady.
What transistors does the Axis fuzz use?
The circuit calls for 2N5133 transistors. The Guitar FX Layouts write-up notes that the 2N5133 can be very hard and expensive to source today, and one builder who put the layout together reported getting a thick fuzz using 2N222 transistors as substitutes.
Sources (3)
- The Big Muff History, Kit Rae (kitrae.net), 2012-01
- Electro-Harmonix Effects Interface review, Guitar World, 2026-03-12
- Guitar FX Layouts: EHX Axis / Guild Foxey Lady 2-knob, Guitar FX Layouts (tagboardeffects.blogspot.com), 2013-10-23
