The Fjord Fuzz Kvasir is a fuzz pedal built around a power transistor, in the vintage manner of the old Fuzz Face and Tone Bender designs. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio described the result as "a thick, velcroy musical fuzzbox with a great lead tone that cleans well with your guitar's volume," which points to the way players actually use a circuit like this: roll the guitar volume back for rhythm, dig in for lead1.
Controls
The Kvasir keeps things simple, with two controls that shape the character of the fuzz:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Bias | A wide-ranging bias control that alters the character of the transistor fuzz circuit1 |
| Thiccness | A thiccness knob found on many Fjord Fuzz pedals, shaping the body of the tone1 |
Bias is the control to reach for if you want to move between a fuller, healthier fuzz and the spittier, starved sounds a transistor circuit makes when it is leaned on. On a vintage-style design like this, it is the main voicing tool beyond the guitar's own volume knob1.
Where it came from
The Kvasir was, in Delicious Audio's words, "Born from a random discovery made while Daniel was working on the Berserk," the earlier Fjord Fuzz fuzz pedal. It is its own pedal rather than a Berserk variant; the Berserk line itself was later redesigned as the Fjord Fuzz Berserk V21.
Thornhill launched the pedal with a video collaboration with the Portland indie band Unknown Mortal Orchestra1. The Kvasir sits in a Fjord Fuzz range that has since grown to include fuzzes such as the Thor, the SOL Fuzz-Vibe and the Midgard, alongside the Midnattssol fuzz and vibe workstation. For more on the effect type, see Fuzz Pedals.
Videos
Fjord Fuzz AS
R.J. Ronquillo
Sasha Ivantic
Questions
Who designed the Fjord Fuzz Kvasir?
The Kvasir was designed by Daniel Thornhill, the Norwegian pedal builder behind Fjord Fuzz. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio described the pedal as another chapter in Thornhill's love affair with fuzz, and the pedal's launch video was made in collaboration with the Portland indie band Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
What does the bias control do on the Kvasir?
The Kvasir features a wide-ranging bias control, which lets you starve or open up the transistor fuzz circuit to change its character. Alongside it sits a thiccness knob, a control found on many Fjord Fuzz pedals that shapes the body of the fuzz tone.
How is the Kvasir related to the Fjord Fuzz Berserk?
The Kvasir was born from a random discovery made while Daniel Thornhill was working on the Berserk circuit. It is a separate pedal rather than a version of the Berserk, which Fjord Fuzz later redesigned as the Berserk V2.
Is the Kvasir like a Fuzz Face or a Tone Bender?
Delicious Audio describes the Kvasir as a rather simple, vintage-style transistor-based fuzz circuit, similar to the ones found in old Fuzz Faces and Tone Benders. It runs on a power transistor rather than an integrated circuit, in the manner of those classic designs.
Sources (1)
- New Pedal: Fjord Fuzz Kvasir, Delicious Audio, 2022-03-18
