Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone

The Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone is a fuzz pedal that Gibson launched in 1962 under its Maestro brand name¹. It is widely described as the first fuzz pedal and the first commercially successful stompbox: a two-knob box that etched its place in history thanks to Keith Richards' use of it in 1965 on the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"²³⁴. Inside its wedge-shaped enclosure sat a simple three-germanium-transistor circuit, and its distorted, sustaining tone gave guitarists a sound no riff had had before⁵⁶.

The FZ-1 was originally marketed to make your guitar achieve tones similar to those of a brass instrument⁵. That marketing pitch is exactly how it found its way onto Satisfaction: Richards used the FZ-1 for temporary sax tones on the demo, and ended up keeping the fuzzed riff instead⁷.

The first commercially successful fuzz pedal

Gibson introduced the FZ-1 as the first mass-market fuzz pedal⁵. Guitar.com calls it "the first ever commercially successful stompbox," launched in 1962⁴, and MusicRadar describes it as arguably the first commercially available distortion or fuzz pedal⁴⁹. A 2005 Guitar Player retrospective dates its introduction to 1963¹⁰, while most other histories place it in 1962¹⁰¹¹¹².

The pedal's origins trace back to engineer Glenn Snoddy, who recreated a distorted bass tone from a failed mixing board channel strip on the Marty Robbins session for "Don't Worry"¹³. Snoddy worked out the details of the Fuzz-Tone with Revis Hobbs, and their patent application was filed on May 3, 1962¹.

Commercially, the pedal started slowly. Guitar.com notes that the floor pedal version was initially a commercial failure¹⁴. But dealers responded by snapping up all 5,000 units produced in 1962¹, and after Satisfaction hit in 1965, the FZ-1 became the first fuzz effect to gain widespread popularity¹⁵¹¹. The germanium-driven box quickly made its way into the rigs of some of the most prominent guitar players of the time¹⁵.

Not every prominent player was sold on it. Roger Mayer recalled that Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck went up to a music shop in Shaftsbury Avenue to look at a Maestro FZ-1, but it didn't have enough sustain for them¹⁶:

History and versions

The FZ-1 line went through several redesigns over its first decade, each changing the transistors and power supply⁵.

The FZ-1 and FZ-1A used largely the same circuitry with three germanium transistors, and both carried controls for Volume and Attack¹. The FZ-1A revision kept the familiar wedge-shaped enclosure but moved to a single 1.5-volt battery⁵. DIY builders note that PNP transistors with some leakage work best in FZ-1A builds, with SFT323 transistors verified in one build¹⁷.

In 1968 the design changed again: synthesizer engineer Robert Moog crafted a circuit using a nine-volt power supply that powered two or four silicon transistors, depending on the date of manufacture⁵. Then, in the 1970s, the FZ-1S Super-Fuzz updated the decade-old design with a different look and a distinctly different sound; it was designed by Tom Oberheim⁵⁸.

Who used it

The player most associated with the FZ-1 is Keith Richards. He used a Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone on the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" in 1965¹⁸, originally for temporary sax tones on the demo, and ended up keeping the fuzzed riff⁷. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley wrote that Richards used it "to give his riff something that no riff had had before"¹⁸.

The FZ-1's low operating voltage is part of its character. Premier Guitar groups it with lower-voltage vintage fuzzes⁸, and the original ran on 3 volts from AA batteries⁸. That low headroom is one reason the pedal's attack and sustain differ from later nine-volt designs like the FZ-1B.

Did the Fuzz-Tone inspire the Tone Bender and Fuzz Face?

The FZ-1's influence runs through the two most famous British fuzzes. According to the Tone Bender's maker history, Gary Hurst's modifications of the FZ-1 led him to design his own circuit, which became the Tone Bender¹⁹. Delicious Audio adds that after the FZ-1's 1965 success, "the Fuzz Face and Tone Bender pedals would emerge, and fuzz claimed its place atop the pantheon of guitar effects"²⁰.

For a player today, the FZ-1's legacy is available two ways: the 1990s FZ-1A reissue, now discontinued⁵, and Gibson's own 2022 FZ-M revival⁵.

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