MXR Custom Shop Sub Machine

The MXR Custom Shop Sub Machine is an octave fuzz pedal that puts two voices in one box: the fuzz circuit of the MXR Custom Shop La Machine, complete with its octave-up mode, and an old-school sub-octave circuit with its own level control¹. The result is a pedal a player can set as a straight fuzz, a fuzz with an octave-up scream on top, a fuzz with a growling octave-down underneath, or a sub-octave effect on its own.

Premier Guitar's reviewer found the fuzz side held up at quiet volumes too, describing "how buzzing, full, and sustaining it can sound at low pedal, amp, and guitar volume levels when you crank the fuzz"². The pedal launched on February 13, 2015 at a US street price of $149.99¹.

An octave fuzz with a sub-octave circuit

The Sub Machine combines two effect paths in one enclosure. The mechanical heart of the pedal is MXR's La Machine fuzz, an octave fuzz inspired by the Foxx Tone Machine of the 1970s²³. On top of that, the Sub Machine adds a sub-octave circuit that generates a note one octave below what you play, with its own level knob so you can set the mix of fuzz and sub¹.

That makes it a three-voice pedal in effect terms:

• Fuzz: the La Machine circuit on its own, with Volume, Tone and Fuzz controls¹
• Octave up: the La Machine's octave-up mode, which adds an octave-up tone to the fuzz signal for a raw, searing sound⁴
• Sub octave: an old-school octave-down circuit with its own level control, usable alone or blended with the fuzz¹

The pedal sits in MXR's wider range of octave fuzzes, alongside pedals like the MXR Octavio Fuzz and the MXR Blue Box, but the Sub Machine is the one that puts octave up and octave down in the same box as the fuzz.

The controls

The control layout carries over the La Machine's knobs and adds two things: a sub-octave volume knob and a series/parallel switch²¹.

The sub-octave volume knob is the key to the pedal's flexibility. Premier Guitar's reviewer noted it "can be dialed back to zero octave content or up to Jabba," and that with the fuzz volume off the sub-octave works on its own². That means the pedal can serve as a straight octave-down effect, which most octave fuzzes cannot do.

The octave switch is also a change from the La Machine. On the original La Machine, the octave function was a small push button, which Premier Guitar listed among that pedal's cons as "octave bypass button is small"³. On the Sub Machine it is a footswitch, which the reviewer called "vastly improved from the original La Machine simply by making it a footswitch rather than a minuscule button"².

The series/parallel switch

The fifth control is the series/parallel switch, and it changes how the two halves of the pedal interact²:

• Parallel: the sub-octave and fuzz/high-octave signals run independently and are summed at the output, so each keeps its own character²
• Series: the sub-octave signal is fed into the fuzz circuit, so the fuzz shapes and drives the octave-down sound²

In parallel mode you get a clean blend of the two voices. In series mode the sub-octave goes through the fuzz, which stacks the effects for a heavier, more saturated octave-down tone².

From the La Machine to the Sub Machine

The Sub Machine's story starts with the La Machine, which Jim Dunlop introduced at NAMM 2014 as an MXR Custom Shop fuzz pedal⁴. The La Machine is an octave fuzz inspired by the Foxx Tone Machine, with a control set virtually identical to the Foxx's except that a small push button stands in for the Foxx's side-mounted octave toggle³.

The MXR Custom Shop itself is the small-batch wing of MXR's operation. Dunlop describes it as "a testing ground for the MXR team's most ambitious and adventurous ideas"⁵, and the Sub Machine fits that description: it takes an existing Custom Shop pedal and extends it with a circuit the standard MXR line did not offer.

The Sub Machine Fuzz, announced February 13, 2015, features the La Machine's circuitry and all of its functions, from its Volume, Tone and Fuzz controls to its octave-up mode, and adds the sub-octave circuit with its own level control¹. It shipped in a sturdy, road-ready housing with components to match¹.

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar reviewed the Sub Machine and came away positive on its range and value. The review's pros list reads: "Surprisingly versatile and full of tone-shaping possibilities. Good value. Killer basic fuzz voice."²

The same reviewer had covered the La Machine earlier and found that pedal "smooth and forgiving for an octave fuzz," with a "fuzz voice is huge and versatile by itself"³, qualities that carry into the Sub Machine since the fuzz circuit is the same.

For context on where the Custom Shop line sits, MusicRadar's review team wrote that "MXR's custom shop is slowly but surely getting itself something of a reputation"⁶, and the Sub Machine's combination of two octave circuits in one true-bypass box at a $149.99 street price is the kind of release that reputation was built on¹.

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