The Way Huge Conquistador Fuzzstortion is a gated fuzz pedal from Way Huge, the maker better known for the Swollen Pickle family of fuzzes. It combines fuzz and distortion in one box, and its defining trait is gating: the fuzz collapses and re-fires in an on-and-off, spluttering way rather than sustaining smoothly. Premier Guitar's review noted that "Conquistador's gating is a feature throughout the pedal's range," so the gated character follows the player at every setting1. The pedal is discontinued, according to Premier Guitar's 2025 news coverage2.
What it does
Way Huge's own product page describes the pedal in blunt terms: "Even at extreme settings, the Conquistador Fuzzstortion remains musically pleasing in its onslaught of destruction"4. The gated fuzz sound sits at the torn, spluttering end of the fuzz family, closer to a dying battery or a damaged speaker than to a smooth sustaining fuzz wall.
Pedal of the Day passed along the description the maker itself used: "Described by founder Jeorge Tripps and Way Huge as 'a giant Velcro strip being torn apart with great vigor'"3. That Velcro image is the standard shorthand for this kind of gated, ripping fuzz texture, and it is the sound the Conquistador is built to produce.
Controls
Premier Guitar's reviewer found the layout immediately familiar: "Conquistador uses a completely familiar control scheme: fuzz, volume, and tone"1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fuzz | Sets the fuzz amount, behaving as it would on any fuzz apart from the gating1 |
| Volume | Sets output level1 |
| Tone | Shapes the treble character of the fuzz1 |
What reviewers said
Reactions to the pedal split. Pedal of the Day's 2017 review leaned into the character of the sound, calling it gated, explosive and full of personality5. But the same publication's later look at a pedal inspired by the Conquistador was blunt about the original's limits: "The gate was too tight. The tone was too narrow. It had a voice, sure, but not much of a vocabulary"5. Players considering a used unit should expect a strongly voiced gated fuzz rather than a flexible one.
The Conquistador is discontinued. Premier Guitar's July 2025 coverage of the Berserker Electronics Velcrow describes that pedal as "Inspired by the beloved and discontinued Way Huge Conquistador"2.
Videos
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Rabea Massaad
Questions
Is the Way Huge Conquistador still in production?
No. Premier Guitar described the Conquistador as discontinued in a July 2025 news item about the Berserker Electronics Velcrow, a pedal inspired by it. Players looking for a similar gated fuzz from Way Huge's current range would need to look at the company's other fuzz designs rather than the Conquistador itself.
What kind of fuzz is the Conquistador?
It is a gated fuzz. Premier Guitar's review noted that the Conquistador's gating is a feature throughout the pedal's range, meaning the fuzz characteristically breaks up in an on-and-off, gated way rather than sustaining smoothly. Way Huge described it as remaining musically pleasing even at extreme settings.
Sources (5)
- Way Huge Conquistador Review, Premier Guitar, 2017-09-11
- Berserker Electronics Launches the “Velcrow”, Premier Guitar, 2025-07-31
- Way Huge Electronics Conquistador Fuzzstortion, Pedal of the Day, 2017-08-18
- WAY HUGE® CONQUISTADOR™ FUZZSTORTION, Dunlop (jimdunlop.com)
- Berserker Electronics Velcrow Gated Fuzz, Pedal of the Day, 2025-07-11
