Teaching Machines FuzzBillion

The Teaching Machines FuzzBillion is an all-analog dirt pedal that covers boost, overdrive, distortion, fuzz and octave territory in one box. Instead of knobs, its gain shaping is done with 11 rotary switches, each numbered 0 to 9, and the brand claims the result is "quite literally billions of possible permutations and combinations"¹. Guitar.com's reviewer Ed Oleszko called it "a totally unique and totally analogue dirt pedal"¹.

What it does: fuzz, overdrive, boost, distortion and octave

The FuzzBillion is built around combination wheels rather than variable potentiometers. Each wheel ranges from 0 (often Bypass) to 9, with 5 frequently acting as a neutral stage⁴. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson counted 11 billion combinations overall, adding that "probably only 10 billion of those are properly usable"⁴.

The signal path runs from clean boost through fuzz to octave fuzz and PLL harmonizing. Wheel #1 handles boost: 0 is bypass, 1 to 4 give incremental clean opamp boost, 5 to 8 move to a fuzzy single mis-biased transistor boost, and 9 is a double fuzzy transistor boost². Wheel #2 sets fuzz loop gain from minimum to max across the same 0 to 9 range².

The octave fuzz section sits on Wheels #6 and #7. Wheel #6 is the drive control for the core octave fuzz components, from least to most drive, and is supposedly only audible if Octave Fuzz Intensity on Wheel #7 is above 0². Wheel #7 runs from least octave fuzz to most². Wheel #8 is a PLL (phase locked loop) fuzz-harmonizer with ten settings:

• 0: Bypass
• 1: Slow PLL
• 2: Fast PLL
• 3: Slow Glitchy PLL
• 4: Fast Glitchy PLL
• 5: Cronky PLL
• 6: Cronkier PLL
• 7: Very Slow PLL
• 8: Ring Modulation PLL
• 9: Slow Ring Modulation PLL²

The 11 component wheels

Each rotary controls different types of diodes and amplification devices, from germanium to silicon and light-emitting diodes¹. The full set of wheels:

Wheels #3 and #4 shape the two halves of the waveform independently. On Wheel #3, position 0 is a germanium diode for relatively soft clipping, 1 is a silicon 1N60P diode for a louder, harsher firm clip, 2 is a silicon 1N4148 for a higher-voltage, sharper hard clip, 3 is LED diodes for harder clipping with more sustain, 4 is a capacitor in the feedback loop that cuts treble a touch, and 5 is no clipping at all, opamp only, at max volume; 6 to 9 repeat the same types with more of each². Wheel #10, at the output, offers back-to-back diode pairs ranging from blue and green LEDs with slight clipping up to germanium diodes described as the most clip, quietest, and with the most sustain².

Wheel #9 is the bias offset: positions 1 to 4 give negative bias with 5 the most negative, 6 the most positive, and 7 and 8 decreasing positive bias. It moves the waveform up and down so the extremities get clipped².

The pedal itself is a rugged steel chassis with old-school plastic switches to control the rotaries, plus a big metal knob and footswitch¹. Inside, it is an SMT circuit, dual layered, built up from left to right like a breadboarding device on rails⁴.

Line-level use and connections

A button near the bottom of the right edge of the pedal switches between Guitar and Line input⁴. Guitar.com noted that "studio musicians will rejoice at the transformer-isolated switchable line-level ins and outs"¹. The audio connections are TS in and TS out².

How it compares

Guitar Pedal X found the FuzzBillion "slightly reminiscent" of the Joe Gore Gross Distortion, which uses two 12-position combination wheels of different diodes for a total of 156 combinations⁴. The FuzzBillion takes the same wheel idea and scales it up to 11 wheels and billions of claimed combinations.

What reviewers said

The review awarded the FuzzBillion a 9 out of 10 overall rating¹, and its verdict on value was that "It's not cheap, but the unique things rarely are."¹ The reviewer also characterized it as "a totally unique and totally analogue dirt pedal"¹, and noted that Teaching Machines describes the FuzzBillions as the "last distortion pedal you ever need"¹.

He noted it is rare to find one pedal that covers so many bases¹. Teaching Machines describes the FuzzBillion as the "last distortion pedal you ever need"¹.

Guitar Pedal X's reviewer rated it 9 out of 10, calling it "a totally unique and totally analogue dirt pedal"²¹. On value, the reviewer's verdict was that "it's not cheap, but the unique things rarely are," noting it is rare to find one pedal that covers so many bases¹. The reviewer also measured the current draw at 12 to 14 mA idle, rarely above 20 mA when active, below the 30 mA specification³², and observed that with no manual yet published there were no official technical details or specs to consult².

Price and availability

The FuzzBillion opened for preorders at £435 excluding VAT and delivery on 1 October 2025⁴. For UK buyers, adding VAT and at least £10 delivery brings the total to at least £532². By December 2025 Guitar Pedal X listed it at £522 / $580³.

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