SolidGoldFX Imperial MKII

The SolidGoldFX Imperial MKII is a fuzz pedal inspired by the JEN Jumbo Fuzz, a rare 1970s Big Muff clone from Italian manufacturer JEN Electronica. SolidGoldFX describes it as "a ripping, royally raucous fuzz, with impeccable manners," built on a discrete Big Muff architecture with a high impedance, low-noise JFET preamp retained from the original Imperial¹.

The JEN Jumbo Fuzz was JEN's spin on the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff that swapped the knobs out for sliders and added a germanium noise gate. The Imperial MKII carries that idea forward: four retro sliders instead of knobs, textured black paint, bold red graphics, and a noise gate, but with silicon devices in place of the Jumbo's germanium transistors¹².

A Big Muff-style fuzz after the JEN Jumbo Fuzz

The Imperial line traces back to the JEN Jumbo Fuzz, which SolidGoldFX calls "one of our personal favorite vintage fuzzes"¹. The Jumbo was itself a variant of the EHX Big Muff, replacing the usual knobs with sliders and adding a germanium noise gate to control feedback¹². Delicious Audio's buying guide describes the original Imperial as "based on a rare Muff clone from the 70s, the JEN Jumbo Fuzz," and notes that both the original and the remake feature sliders instead of knobs⁵.

The original Imperial was SolidGoldFX's own version of a 3-knob, 4-transistor Muff, according to Premier Guitar's reviewer⁶. The MkII keeps that lineage but changes the gate: SolidGoldFX swapped out the Jumbo Fuzz's germanium transistor design for silicon devices and gave it an improved envelope generator¹. Guitar.com's coverage noted the same move, "using a silicon transistor rather than a germanium one"⁷.

The high impedance JFET preamp carries over from the original Imperial, which Delicious Audio says gives "the low noise floor detail and definition you would expect from" the design²⁸¹.

The controls: four sliders

The Imperial MKII's controls are four retro sliders, a direct homage to the JEN Jumbo Fuzz¹. Gearnews pointed out the practical advantage: "it's easy to see where the sliders are set" at a glance on a dark stage⁹.

The Contour slider is the MkII's main control change. It replaces the mids switch of the original Imperial, and Premier Guitar's reviewer described it as "the addition of a contour control that scoops or bumps the mids"⁶. Because it is a slider rather than a switch, the midrange voicing is continuously variable instead of a fixed setting³.

A true bypass footswitch handles on/off duty, with two LEDs: one indicating gate status and the other indicating bypass status⁴.

Power and connections

The pedal runs on a regular 9V DC power supply, center negative, with a 2.1 mm barrel connector and a current draw of about 10 mA¹. That draw is low enough that it shares comfortably with other pedals on most isolated supplies.

Connections are top-mounted jacks, paired with the true bypass switching "for ease of pedalboard mounting"¹.

What changed from the original Imperial

The MkII is the successor to the original SolidGoldFX Imperial, released earlier in 2021³. The changes are focused:

• Gate design: the Jumbo Fuzz's germanium transistor noise gate is replaced with silicon devices and an improved envelope generator¹
• Contour slider: replaces the original's mids switch, changing the high-pass filter frequency in the tone stack so mids can be boosted or scooped³
• Retained: the high impedance JFET preamp and the tone stack from the original design³⁸

Delicious Audio's fuzz roundup summarizes the MkII as retaining "the high impedance JFET preamp for low noise floor detail and definition but adds a new Contour slider in place of the mids switch"¹⁰.

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar's reviewer, writing in 2023, found the pedal delivered the Big Muff-based tones of a coveted vintage unit, but flagged one behavior worth knowing: the gate cuts sustained notes short. "Sustained notes sound huge and smooth, until they don't. And if you attempt an operatic two-step bend you will invariably" hear the note collapse into silence⁶. That is the trade-off of a gated fuzz: feedback stays controlled, but long sustains and big bends can fall off a cliff.

Pedal of the Day's reviewer took a broader view: the pedal "looks like it was made in the 80's, sounds right out of the 70's and has a modern feel that makes it a perfect fuzz all-around overall"⁸.

Price and availability

At launch in March 2021, the Imperial MKII was available for $199⁴. UK pricing was listed at £199⁹.

Where it sits in the SolidGoldFX range

The Imperial MKII is a fuzz pedal that updates the original SGFX Imperial: it is true to the earlier pedal, retaining the high impedance JFET preamp that gives the circuit its low noise floor detail and definition, while the MKII adds the new Contour slider in place of the original's mids switch¹. SolidGoldFX backs the pedal like the rest of its products: a three-year warranty against failure resulting from defective parts or faulty workmanship, for the original owner only and not transferable, with the warranty voided by tampering, modification, unauthorized repair, or use of an improper power supply¹.

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