Rotosound 1960s fuzz pedal

Rotosound is a name players mostly associate with strings, but in the late 1960s the UK-based company also made a fuzz pedal. Originals are now very rare: MusicRadar's Chris Vinnicombe notes that Jimmy Page was photographed using a Rotosound fuzz on several occasions in 1969, but originals were few in number¹. The pedal returned to the market decades later as the Rotosound Vintage Fuzz reissue, and today lives on as the Rotosound RFB1 1960s Fuzz Pedal Reissue, one of several fuzz designs covered on the site's Fuzz Pedals page.

From rare original to reissue

The original pedal was never a normal shop item. Guitar World reports that the original prototype pedals were only available in limited numbers and were never released for general sales, though the company described it at launch in the UK as one of the easiest effect pedals to use³. A product listing did exist: MusicRadar's reviewer located one complete with the 1968 purchase price of 12 guineas¹. Guitar World also notes that these prototype pedals were found all over the place, and that there is even a picture of Jimmy Page playing one³.

The story did not end in the 1960s. The original pedal had a reputation that outlasted its years on the market: Rotosound describes it as "renowned as one of the easiest effect pedals to use when first launched in the UK"³. The pedal's original price has also survived: a product listing records the 1968 purchase price of 12 guineas¹.

The RFB1 reissue

The Rotosound RFB1 is the current expression of that circuit. MusicRadar's review notes that Rotosound's original 1960s fuzz pedal is so rare that even the firm itself did not have one to call its own, and that the company obtained an original model to base the reissue on¹. Jason How believes the original was most likely designed by Gary Hurst¹.

The controls are simple. MusicRadar found that the RFB1's volume, fuzz and treble pots are simple to use but allow a broad range of tones to be sculpted¹. One omission is deliberate to the vintage design: there is no LED power indicator on the pedal¹.

As for where it sits tonally, MusicRadar's reviewer offers a rough guide: think somewhere between the frying-pan sizzle of a Fuzz Face and the fat sustain of a Sovtek Big Muff, without the Muff's tendency to go missing in a live band mix¹. His overall verdict listed amazing vintage and contemporary sounds and robust construction among the reasons to buy¹.

The fuzz in Rotosound's wider pedal range

The RFB1 became the foundation for more. In 2013, MusicRadar reported that Rotosound's new pedal additions follow the design of the original RFB1 Fuzz and aim to replicate the sounds of the '60s with their hand-wired build⁴. MusicRadar later described the company as branching out after the success of the fuzz pedal reissue, teaming up with electronics guru John Oram for a new range of effects⁵. That range has since grown to include designs such as the Rotosound Germanium Fuzz.

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