MXR La Machine

The MXR La Machine is an octave fuzz pedal from the MXR Custom Shop, introduced by Jim Dunlop for the 2014 Winter NAMM Show¹². It is a homage to the Foxx Tone Machine, a vintage fuzz circuit favored by guitarists across genres from blues rock to psychedelic funk¹. The pedal packs two voices into one purple box: with the octave disengaged it is a thick, shaggy vintage fuzz, and with the octave engaged it adds an octave-up tone to the fuzz signal for a raw, searing sound¹².

A fuzz and octave-up fuzz in one pedal

The La Machine's core is its Octave control. MusicRadar described it at launch as a switch that "toggles between a thick shaggy fuzz and a searing octave up fuzz"¹, and Guitar World described the same function as adding "an octave up tone to your fuzz signal to create a raw, searing sound"². With the octave off, MusicRadar's reviewer found "a thick, Muff-like fuzz that's just as menacing for riff workouts," a side of the pedal he called "a little dark"⁶. The pedal as a whole serves up "thick, shaggy retro fuzz that's tailor made to drive the raw sounds of '70s-style hard rock and modern garage rock," in Guitar World's words².

Premier Guitar's reviewer found the two effects together "monstrous," and called it "one of the smoother pairings of octave and fuzz you'll encounter too," noting smoothness on chords and touch sensitivity⁵. His verdict was that the La Machine suits players who find classic octave fuzzes overwhelming:

In other words, where an Octavia or Super-Fuzz style pedal can be shrill and hard to control, the La Machine leans smoother, more Muff-like, and more modern in its touch⁵. MusicRadar also included the pedal in a roundup of great blues-rock fuzz pedals, calling it an "all-powerful octave fuzz" that "delivers a thick, mid-scooped dose of high-gain dirt"⁷.

History: a homage to the Foxx Tone Machine

The La Machine's name is a nod to its ancestor. As Premier Guitar put it, "As the name coyly suggests, La Machine is inspired by the Foxx Tone Machine," the company's "homage to the unsung but awesome Foxx Tone Machine"⁵⁸. The original Foxx Tone Machine dates to 1971, made by Ridinger Associates Inc of Chatsworth, California, and was produced from the early to mid 1970s before being reissued in the 2000s⁹¹⁰. GuitarPlayer's history of the Foxx notes it was the fuzz of choice for players such as Peter Frampton, Billy Gibbons and Adrian Belew, and that it has been cloned or near-cloned many times since¹¹.

The La Machine's control set is "virtually identical" to the Foxx Tone Machine's, with one difference: where the Foxx used a side-mounted toggle switch, the La Machine carries a small push button for the octave function⁵. Premier Guitar's review of the Foxx-derived Orange Fur Coat lists the La Machine among the circuit's subsequent incarnations, alongside the Prescription Electronics Experience, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, Greer Super Hornet and many DIY clone kits¹¹.

The pedal's purple finish has its own story. MXR's Jeorge Tripps told MusicRadar that the design started from a specific player's tone³:

He explained that "we painted it purple in honour of Ernie Isley, and brought it out as kind of a Custom Shop deal"³. A separate Billy Gibbons version of the pedal was worked on for three years but never brought out³.

Availability and what to know before buying

The La Machine was shown among Jim Dunlop's new pedals at the 2014 Winter NAMM Show⁴, and it launched in the UK at an SSP of £139¹. It is not a standard catalog item: Premier Guitar reported in 2021 that it is in limited production and that "word is, they aren't making many," so a player wanting one should not assume a run will sit on shelves indefinitely⁵.

For a player comparing it against other fuzz pedals, the practical summary from the press is this: it is a Foxx Tone Machine-style circuit with true bypass, a smoother and more modern feel than an Octavia or Super-Fuzz, a thick Muff-like fuzz on the octave-off side, and a searing octave-up fuzz on the octave-on side¹²⁵⁶.

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