Electro-Harmonix Satisfaction Plus

The Electro-Harmonix Satisfaction Plus is an analog fuzz pedal released in 2023 by Electro-Harmonix. It builds on the company's earlier Satisfaction Fuzz, a 2014 pedal designed as an homage to the tone of the early fuzz pedals of the '60s¹². Where that original circuit was a focused tribute, the Satisfaction Plus treats the classic tone to a wider range: Electro-Harmonix says it delivers "a wide palette of tones from classic '60s snarl to creamy lead tone to thick, earth-shaking sludge"³.

It arrived in EHX's Nano-sized chassis at a US street price of $99.00¹, and the maker's current list price remains $99.00³.

What it does: '60s-style fuzz with more range

The circuit is inspired by early '60s fuzz pedals³, the era when fuzz first hit the market. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio described the pedal as an evolution of the original that "can produce the specific vintage tone of the original but also go beyond that"⁴.

The extra range comes from the controls the original never had. Gearnews reported that the Satisfaction Plus "adds a modern control set that includes a FAT/NORM mode switch, Bias control and Tone" alongside the original's Attack and Volume knobs⁵. In practice that means one pedal covers the vintage snarl of the 2014 Satisfaction plus heavier, darker territory. Gearnews' Jef, judging from the official demo video, called it "a worthwhile update, as it now offers more extreme fuzz tones and more variations on that classic '60s-style fuzz," noting it "can get quite sludgy and doomy"⁵².

The controls

Four knobs and one switch shape the sound. Here is what each does, per Electro-Harmonix and the press coverage:

The Bias control is where the vintage behavior lives. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley wrote that it "changes the character of the fuzz from open and organic to more spluttery and gated," and that it helps you find the sweet spot⁶. Delicious Audio summed up its range as "sweet spot smooth to voltage-sag snarl"⁴, the kind of starved, sputtering character players associate with a dying battery in an old fuzz.

The footswitch engages or bypasses the effect, with a status LED that lights when the fuzz is on and goes dark in bypass³.

FAT and NORM modes

The FAT/NORM switch is the headline difference from the original pedal. In the NORM position, the Satisfaction Plus has the same overall circuitry as the original Satisfaction pedal; pushing the switch to FAT gives a bigger, bassier fuzz sound that Electro-Harmonix says still cuts through a mix³.

Press descriptions of the FAT mode line up with the maker's. Delicious Audio called it "bigger and warmer than the NORM mode for woolly leads and giant wall-of-thunder riffs"⁴, and Gearnews echoed that FAT mode features a tone bigger and warmer than NORM⁵. Premier Guitar described the switch simply as toggling "from the original circuit to a circuit with a bigger, warmer tone"¹.

For a player, the practical split is straightforward: NORM for the focused vintage voice of the 2014 pedal, FAT when the mix needs more low end and body³¹².

What a tilt-shift tone control does

The Tone knob is not a simple treble roll-off. It controls an active tilt-shift EQ, a design that adjusts treble and bass in opposite directions at once³. MusicRadar described it as "a tilt-shift EQ adjusting both treble and bass"⁶, and Delicious Audio noted it "inversely controls both the treble and bass of the fuzz for broad tonal shifting"⁴.

At noon the EQ is flat, which matches the original Satisfaction pedal exactly³. Turn it clockwise and the fuzz gets brighter and leaner; turn it counterclockwise and it gets darker and thicker. Because both ends of the spectrum move together, one knob covers a wide tonal range without the mid-scoop or muddiness a passive tone control can introduce.

Satisfaction vs. Satisfaction Plus

The original Satisfaction Fuzz came out in 2014 as "a modern re-creation of the classic fuzz sounds of the 1960s"², packaged in Electro-Harmonix's compact, rugged Nano-sized chassis⁷. It carried just Volume and Attack controls⁴. Electro-Harmonix has since discontinued it².

The Satisfaction Plus, in its NORM mode, reproduces that same overall circuitry³, then adds the Tone, Bias and FAT controls the original never had. Delicious Audio called the Plus "a full modern redesign" at under $100⁴. So a player who liked the original gets its sound intact, plus the option to go beyond it.

Power and setup

The Satisfaction Plus runs on a 9V battery, which is included in the box, or on an optional 9V DC center-negative power supply connected to the power jack³. Current draw is a very low 5mA³, light enough that it is easy on any isolated power supply and easy on a battery.

With true bypass³, the pedal leaves your clean signal alone when disengaged, and the LED-off bypass mode makes its status easy to read on a dark stage³.

Videos

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Questions