The Fuzzrocious Anomalies is a lo-fi delay pedal from Fuzzrocious, and the company's first entry into the delay category. It is built around the PT2399 delay chip, but not in the usual way: Fuzzrocious chopped the circuit down to create a lo-fi, dirty delay voice rather than a clean, conventional repeat.1
Its signature feature is a momentary footswitch. Holding it instantly shifts the delay time to either about 4x slower or about 4x faster than the set time, producing octave-up chirps or almost suboctave groans. A toggle switch selects which direction the shift runs, fast-to-slow or slow-to-fast.1
The PT2399 circuit, chopped down
The PT2399 is a delay chip widely used in compact pedals, and the Anomalies takes an unusual approach to it. As Fuzzrocious put it in the announcement, "It's not the normal take on the PT2399 delay chip. This time around, the circuit is chopped down to create a lo-fi, dirty delay."1 For a player, that places it among the dirty, degraded-sounding delays rather than the pristine digital ones, despite running on a digital chip.
The board itself turned out to have a second life. Premier Guitar's review of the Blast Furnace Gated Fuzz noted that "Blast Furnace uses the same board as Fuzzrocious's Anomalies delay. Its heart is a PT2399."2 The two pedals are different effects, a delay and a gated fuzz, built on shared hardware.
Momentary time-shifting
The Anomalies' headline control is the momentary footswitch, which works alongside the toggle1:
- Momentary footswitch: while held, shifts the delay time instantly to about 4x slower or about 4x faster than the current setting1
- Toggle switch: selects the direction of the shift, fast-slow or slow-fast1
The two directions give very different sounds: slowing the repeats down produces almost suboctave groans, while speeding them up produces octave-up chirps.1 Because the shift is on a momentary switch, the effect only lasts as long as the player holds the switch, which suits stabs, swells and accents rather than permanent settings.
Release, price and build
Each unit is handmade by Fuzzrocious in-house. The enclosures are either handpainted by Fuzzrocious or screenprinted and powdercoated locally by JuxtaPrints.1
The Anomalies was announced for release on April 15, 2016, and the price and availability given here date from its release.1
For where the Anomalies sits among delay designs generally, see the site's Delay Pedals page.
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Questions
Is the Fuzzrocious Anomalies analog or digital?
The Anomalies is built around the PT2399, a digital delay chip that many lo-fi and dirty delay pedals use. Fuzzrocious chopped the circuit down from a normal PT2399 delay design to create a lo-fi, dirty delay voice, so it is a digital-chip delay voiced for degraded, characterful repeats rather than clean digital clarity.
What does the momentary footswitch do on the Anomalies?
Holding the momentary footswitch instantly shifts the delay time to either about 4x slower or about 4x faster than the set time. Slowing the repeats produces almost suboctave groans, while speeding them up produces octave-up chirps. A toggle switch lets the player choose which direction the shift goes, fast-to-slow or slow-to-fast.
What does the toggle switch on the Fuzzrocious Anomalies do?
The toggle selects the direction of the momentary time shift: fast-slow or slow-fast. In one position, pressing the momentary footswitch drops the delay time to about 4x slower; in the other, it raises it to about 4x faster, giving octave-up chirps or suboctave groans depending on the setting.
Where is the Fuzzrocious Anomalies made?
The Anomalies is handmade by Fuzzrocious in-house. The enclosures are either handpainted by Fuzzrocious or screenprinted and powdercoated locally by JuxtaPrints.
How much does the Fuzzrocious Anomalies cost?
At its 2016 release, the Anomalies sold for $155 USD, both direct from Fuzzrocious and from stores and dealers.
What does the Anomalies share with the Blast Furnace?
The Anomalies shares its circuit board with the Fuzzrocious Blast Furnace gated fuzz. Premier Guitar's review of the Blast Furnace noted that the fuzz uses the same board as the Anomalies delay, with a PT2399 at its heart.
Sources (2)
- Fuzzrocious Pedals Announces the Anomalies and Feed Me, Premier Guitar, 2016-03-07
- Fuzzrocious Blast Furnace Review, Premier Guitar, 2017-08-06
