Hiwatt Fuzz King

Hiwatt describes the Fuzz King as capable of the full range of standard fuzz effects¹. Both pedals in the range were announced as hand-crafted by Hurst in a rugged enclosure¹.

What it does

The Fuzz King is a vintage-inspired fuzz, and per Hiwatt it covers the full range of standard fuzz effects¹. That claim positions it as a general-purpose fuzz rather than a pedal voiced for one narrow era or artist: the maker's own description suggests it can move across the territory from lighter, spitting fuzz textures through to heavier, sustaining saturation, all set from the front panel.

As a stompbox it sits in the signal chain like any other fuzz pedal, placed wherever the player wants the saturated, sustaining character to be generated, before any later time-based effects.

Its three controls shape the sound:

The filter control is described as offering a broad tone range, so it can be turned to tame harshness or to push the sound brighter and thinner². The fuzz sustain control sets how much saturation and sustain the pedal generates, and the output level control matches the volume to the rest of the pedalboard².

Where it came from

The announcement also marked a relaunch of the Hiwatt brand under new Canadian ownership, with the Hurst fuzz pedals presented as part of that reboot².

How it differs from the Octa Fuzz

The Fuzz King's sibling in the range is the Octa Fuzz, announced at the same time². Where the Fuzz King is described as covering the full range of standard fuzz effects, the Octa Fuzz is the octave-fuzz half of the pair, and the two were presented together as reproductions of two classic fuzz pedals¹². A player choosing between them is choosing between a general fuzz and an octave-up design.

Hiwatt later continued in the fuzz vein with the limited Filter Fuzz MKII, released in 2023.

Questions