The fOXX Ibanez Tone Machine is an Ibanez-branded version of the fOXX Tone Machine, a vintage fuzz pedal with a built-in octave-up effect. It was not built by Ibanez: TONEHOME describes it as an "Ibanez" branded fOXX Tone Machine, made in USA, produced by fOXX in California probably in 1975 to 19761. Only very few samples were made, and five existing Ibanez Tone Machines are known to the author of the TONEHOME page1.
The pedal underneath the Ibanez name is the fOXX Tone Machine, a fuzz octaver that debuted in 19722. Delicious Audio describes the original as having offered "a warm and thick-sounding fuzz with a controllable octave-up effect"3, and a mode switch that goes from standard fuzz to an octave-up fuzz4.
An octave-up fuzz from Foxx
The fOXX Tone Machine is listed in RockBoard's PedalPedia as a "FUZZ OCTAVER"6, and TONEHOME calls it a funky, fuzzy coated fuzz pedal4. What sets it apart from a plain fuzz is the octave-up mode: a switch moves the pedal from standard fuzz to an octave-up fuzz4, and a control sets the amount of the octave effect. On the Ibanez-branded version, that control is labeled "Octive," TONEHOME's spelling of the octave control1.
Delicious Audio's buying guide to Tone Machine clones and evolutions describes the original as having offered "a warm and thick-sounding fuzz with a controllable octave-up effect"3. In Guitar Player's history of the pedal, Dave Hunter wrote of the octave-up effect:
"This was itself a major bonus that performed better than many other octave and octave-fuzz units on the market"7
Guitar Player's Top 50 stompboxes roundup lists the fOXX Tone Machine's debut as 19722.
The Ibanez-branded versions
Two Ibanez-branded Tone Machines exist, and both trace back to fOXX in California15.
| Version | Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ibanez Tone Machine | Probably 1975 to 1976 | Made in California by fOXX; five existing units known1 |
| Ibanez No. 91 Tone Machine | 1974 to 1975 | Made by fOXX in California; very rare, listed as a regular production model5 |
TONEHOME describes the Ibanez No. 91 Tone Machine as a Steve Ridinger Associates made fOXX Tone Machine with a mere OEM branding, and says the enclosure identifies the stomp box immediately as such5. The same page notes that the Ibanez Tone Machine and its siblings, the Fuzz & Wa and the Wah & Volume, are as rare as hens' teeth these days5.
The Ibanez Tone Machine is not an Ibanez design or an Ibanez-built pedal. It is a fOXX Tone Machine circuit, made in California by fOXX, sold with Ibanez branding15.
Gearnews has also reported on Ibanez-branded fOXX Tone Machine prototypes, described as special Octave Up Fuzz effects, with pedals labeled with the Ibanez brand instead of Foxx8.
Clones and reissues of the Tone Machine
Alongside the Ibanez-branded Tone Machine itself, Ibanez built sibling effects in the same family. As one writer puts it, "the Ibanez Tone Machine as well as its siblings Fuzz & Wa and Wah & Volume are as rare as hens' teeth these days"5.
- Ibanez Fuzz & Wa: a sibling of the Ibanez Tone Machine, and like it very rare today5
- Ibanez Wah & Volume: another sibling effect from the same family, equally hard to find5
- Ibanez PT-909 Phase Tone: a variant line from Ibanez, with a pictured example from Japan dated 1981 (v7)9; it has had no re-issue10
For a player who wants the Tone Machine sound today, these recreations cover the same ground as the original: a fuzz circuit with a controllable octave-up effect, in the case of the Danelectro and Orange units with the octave switching made footswitchable.
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Questions
Did Ibanez make the Tone Machine?
No. The Ibanez Tone Machine was made in California by fOXX (Steve Ridinger Associates) and carried Ibanez branding as an OEM product. TONEHOME describes it as an Ibanez-branded fOXX Tone Machine, and the Ibanez No. 91 Tone Machine as a fOXX Tone Machine with OEM branding.
How many Ibanez Tone Machines exist?
TONEHOME reports that only very few samples were produced in 1975/76, and that five existing Ibanez Tone Machines are known to the author of that page. The Ibanez No. 91 Tone Machine is likewise described as very rare, listed as a regular production model.
What does the Octive control do?
The Ibanez Tone Machine features fuzz and octave, with the octave control labeled Octive. On the fOXX Tone Machine, a mode switch moves from standard fuzz to an octave-up fuzz, so the control sets the level of the octave-up effect.
Where was the Foxx Tone Machine built?
In California, USA. TONEHOME states the Ibanez Tone Machine was made in California by fOXX, probably in 1975 to 1976, and the Ibanez No. 91 Tone Machine was made by fOXX in California in 1974 to 1975.
What pedals recreate the Foxx Tone Machine?
The Tone Machine was reissued in the 2000s. Modern recreations include the Danelectro 3699 Fuzz, the Warm Audio Foxy Tone Box, the Orange Fur Coat, the Diamond Pedals f-Octave, the Greer Super Hornet and the AS Pedals OCHOfuzz.
Sources (10)
- TONEHOME, TONEHOME - the World of Vintage Guitar Effect Pedals
- The Best Guitar Effects Pedals of All Time, GuitarPlayer (www.guitarplayer.com), 2021-06-25
- Best Foxx Tone Machine Fuzz Clones And Evolutions In 2025, Delicious Audio, 2024-12-31
- TONEHOME, TONEHOME - the World of Vintage Guitar Effect Pedals
- TONEHOME, TONEHOME
- Tone Machine by Foxx, RockBoard (rockboard.de PedalPedia), 2026
- The Foxx Tone Machine Was the Fuzz of Choice for Peter Frampton, Billy Gibbons, and Adrian Belew, GuitarPlayer (www.guitarplayer.com), 2021-11-15
- Ibanez 'Foxx' Tone Machine, gearnews.com, 2019-01-26
- TONEHOME, TONEHOME
- Danelectro 3699 Fuzz, Delicious Audio, 2020-10-20
