VS-Audio Pandora Fuzz

The VS-Audio Pandora Fuzz is a fuzz pedal built on the Fuzz Face circuit, the two-knob, high-gain design many players associate with 1960s lead tones. VS Audio describes it as "a highly modified, dual gain, analog Fuzz Face-style pedal," and the modifications go well past the original layout: it adds active tone shaping and a second footswitch that works independently of the fuzz¹. Delicious Audio's buying guide lists it among Fuzz Face-style pedals worth a player's attention¹.

What it does

At its core, the Pandora is a germanium fuzz. It uses a hand-selected NOS (new old stock) AC125 germanium transistor, and Delicious Audio's Griffin Jennings writes that this choice "allows for a much broader sonic palette than the original" Fuzz Face design². Where a stock Fuzz Face gives you a fuzz knob and not much else, the Pandora adds active Bass and Treble knobs. As Jennings puts it, "The active Bass and Treble knobs can sculpt the tone subtly or radically with their +/- 20dB of boost," which means the pedal can be dialed from light shaping to dramatic EQ swings, something the original circuit cannot do².

The second footswitch, labeled More, runs a separate clean boost circuit. It can add volume into the fuzz for louder, pushing leads, or it can boost the clean signal when the fuzz is switched off, so the pedal doubles as a boost on its own². That dual-gain, two-switch arrangement makes it a more flexible pedalboard option than a straight Fuzz Face clone.

Where it sits among Fuzz Face-style pedals

Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio groups the Pandora with Fuzz Face-style fuzzes in his guide to fuzz types, alongside other heavily modified takes on the circuit¹. VS Audio builds several pedals in this territory; the VS Audio Fuzzytale is another of the maker's fuzz designs, and the Pandora is also listed on the site as Vs Audio Effects PANDΩRA. What sets the Pandora apart within that family is the combination of active +/- 20dB EQ, a dual gain stage, and the independent clean boost footswitch².

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load