Fredric Effects Unpleasant Companion MKII

The Fredric Effects Unpleasant Companion MKII is a fuzz pedal built as an improved version of the classic Shin-Ei FY-2 Companion Fuzz, an early 1970s silicon transistor fuzz that was sold under various brand names¹. Fredric Effects describes it as "a harsh transistor fuzz unlike any other!" and says it "accurately captures the sound of the original, but also adds a bit more".

The biggest additions over the vintage pedal are practical ones. Where the original FY-2 suffers from a volume drop, the MKII carries a volume boost circuit to avoid it, and a Scoop control lets you shape the midrange character that defines the Companion Fuzz sound².

What it does to your sound

The Companion Fuzz circuit the MKII reproduces is known for a scooped midrange character, which Aion FX describes as the defining trait of the FY-2³. Guitar Pedal X's reviewer, Stefan Karlsson, characterized the MKII as having "a gated, scratchy, starved and spiky silicon fuzz character"⁴.

Fredric Effects positions the MKII as an evolution of its earlier FY-2 variants rather than a straight clone. The company says the pedal "accurately captures the sound of the original, but also adds a bit more," with the volume boost circuit and the Scoop control doing the adding².

Controls and switching

Guitar Pedal X lists the full control set from the maker's page⁴:

The bypass switches matter for players chasing the vintage sound: the original FY-2 had none of this shaping, and bypassing the tone and blend circuits gets you closer to it, while the reorder switch changes whether the scoop acts on the raw fuzz or the tone-shaped signal⁵.

From the Shin-Ei FY-2 to the MKII

The Shin-Ei FY-2 Companion Fuzz was an early 1970s silicon transistor fuzz, available under various brand names, and DIY builders have reproduced its layout with transistors including 2N3904, 2SC828, 2N2222 and 2N5088³¹⁶. Its weakness was level: Aion FX notes that "the original unit suffers from excessively low volume"³.

Fredric Effects has built a whole family of pedals around this circuit:

• The Unpleasant Companion, the standard FY-2 clone with the volume boost circuit
• The Deeply Unpleasant Companion, a bass-oriented version with a clean blend, announced in December 2015⁷
• The Super Unpleasant Companion, which combines the FY-2 with the FY-6 Superfuzz in one enclosure⁸⁹
• The Nouveau Super Unpleasant Companion, now discontinued and superseded by the Petite Super Unpleasant Companion

The MKII sits at the extended end of that family. Premier Guitar reviewed the earlier Deeply Unpleasant Companion with its "dials for volume level and fuzz tone," and the MKII builds outward from that base with the gain, blend, tone and scoop shaping¹⁰⁴.

What reviewers said

Guitar Pedal X reviewed the MKII in March 2025 and was positive about the design⁴:

Stefan Karlsson, Guitar Pedal X⁴

The same review credits designer Tim with designing the pedal "so smartly," pointing to the bypass and EQ-order switching as the features that make the extended format workable⁴.

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