The Euthymia Crucible Fuzz is a fuzz pedal built on a modified silicon Fuzz Face circuit, the design Dave Fox and Crest Audio introduced in the late '80s, but with considerably higher gain than those units. It carries a $125 retail/street price and a deliberately retro presentation, with a baked-on Hammerite finish and Bakelite Daka-Ware knobs1.
What it does
The Crucible takes the silicon Fuzz Face formula and pushes it harder: Guitar Player's Barry Cleveland wrote that it "boasts considerably" higher gain than the late-'80s Fox and Crest Audio units it is based on. Players looking for the Fuzz Face family of sounds will find the same two-knob layout here, Volume and Fuzz, with no tone control1.
Design and controls
The pedal leans into a vintage look. Cleveland noted that "The Crucible's baked-on Hammerite finish and Bakelite Daka-Ware Volume and Fuzz knobs add more than a dash of retro flas[h]". In keeping with the original, there is no status LED1.
Power and switching
Two departures from the '60s original matter on a modern board:
- True-bypass switching, which the Fuzz Face did not have1
- 9-volt battery power, accessed by removing four screws; there is no AC adaptor socket, though one may be added as a $10 option1
The Crucible has no status LED, as with the original '60s Fuzz Face, so it is worth checking the pedal's sound rather than a light to confirm it is engaged1.
Videos
Marc Franzolino
Francisco Sánchez de la Vega
daCod77
Sources (1)
- FUZ-1 | Guitar Player (October 2005) | Demeter Amplification, Guitar Player, 2005-10
