Retro Mechanical Labs Electron Fuzz

The Electron Fuzz is a fuzz pedal from Retro Mechanical Labs, a maker whose pedals Pedal of the Day has featured several times over the years. The original Electron Fuzz keeps its control set deliberately small: a footswitch, OUTPUT, PAIN and HURT knobs, and a toggle labeled X1000¹. Reviewer Coe S, writing at Pedal of the Day in July 2015, summed up its range this way:

"From slightly overdriven to sonic mayhem, this thing covers it all."

Coe S, Pedal of the Day¹

The controls: Output, Pain, Hurt and X1000

The four controls give the pedal its shape, and the reviewers' descriptions of them line up across the original and the Custom versions¹:

Control	What it does
OUTPUT	Sets the pedal's volume, but also interacts with the other knobs, for either a lower-gain fuzz sound or an all-out fuzz when cranked up²
PAIN	Adjusts the amount of fuzz, getting stronger and louder as you turn up the dial³
HURT	Essentially a treble boost control, adding more bright crunch into the mix³
X1000	A footswitch that blasts your fuzz sound into the outer reaches of space²

The X1000 footswitch is the standout. Mike B, reviewing the Electron Fuzz Custom at Pedal of the Day, called it "the big whammy on this pedal"². On the original, the same X1000 toggle sits alongside the knobs as part of the four-control layout¹.

Can it cover overdrive sounds?

Yes, according to the published review. Coe S found the Electron Fuzz could cover overdrive-style sounds and go beyond them, getting creamy and compressed in the process³¹:

"I pitted it against an ever-popular overdrive that people use compulsively, and found I can achieve a lot of the same"

Coe S, Pedal of the Day¹

That puts the low end of its range in territory familiar from overdrive pedals, before the Pain knob pushes it into full fuzz²³.

The Custom and the Mini

The family grew beyond the original. The Electron Fuzz Custom adds two controls the original does not have³²:

Low/Cut switch: adds or takes away the low end spectrum, for a higher-frequency fuzz tone²
FB Noise knob: controls the feedback for the pedal, making crazy octave sounds as it increases²

Mike B called the Custom "an entirely different beast than most fuzzes I've heard to this point" and said it "really rocked our faces overall"³. In February 2016, Pedal of the Day reviewed a special, potentially one-off version called the Mini, which carries the same Pain, Hurt, Output and FB Noise controls and the Low/Cut switch, and adds a gorgeous wooden enclosure and a rare, vintage voltage meter³.

The Electron Fuzz Custom Mini is described as a special, potentially one-off version of the Custom, so it is not a standard production model³.

Videos

**Retro Mechanical Labs Electron Fuzz Distortion Pedal**
Retro Mechanical Labs

**Retro Mechanical Labs Electron Fuzz Demo**
Coolpapabear

Questions

What do the Pain and Hurt knobs do?

On the Electron Fuzz Custom, Mike B of Pedal of the Day describes the Hurt knob as essentially a treble boost control, adding more bright crunch into the mix, while the Pain knob adjusts the amount of fuzz, getting stronger and louder as you turn it up. The Output knob sets the pedal's volume but also interacts with those two controls, shaping everything from a lower-gain fuzz to an all-out fuzz when cranked.

Can the Electron Fuzz be used as an overdrive?

Reviewer Coe S, writing at Pedal of the Day in 2015, found it could cover overdrive-style sounds and go beyond them. He pitted it against a popular overdrive and said he could achieve a lot of the same tones, with the pedal getting creamy and compressed, before it moves on into heavier fuzz territory.

What is the difference between the Electron Fuzz and the Electron Fuzz Custom?

The Electron Fuzz Custom adds a Low/Cut switch that adds or takes away the low end for a higher-frequency fuzz tone, and an FB Noise knob that controls feedback, making octave sounds as it increases. Pedal of the Day's Mike B called the Custom an entirely different beast than most fuzzes he had heard, and it later appeared in a special, potentially one-off Mini version.

What does the FB Noise knob do on the Electron Custom?

According to Pedal of the Day's review of the Electron Fuzz Custom, the FB Noise knob controls the feedback for the pedal, making crazy octave sounds as it increases. The same control carries over to the Electron Fuzz Custom Mini, where the reviewer called it quite a fun addition.

Sources (3)