Z Vex Fat Fuzz Factory

I know this thing is a legendary fuzz pedal...which is why I bought it. This is yet another of the spoils of my hours spent combing the internet for deals on pedals. Most of them come from Guitar Center's (say what you will about them--they're big, but it is hard to beat their prices) Used Gear section. This particular pedal was $100.

Many of its best qualities are well documented: its craziness, its unpredictability, its ability to make synth-y oscillation and tone generator sounds. You can--using the "stab" (short for "stability") knob to dial in precise feedback tones, so that the gaps in your playing become this bizarre kind of in-tune feedback. You can also dial this in as a bitcrusher and get Nintendo sounds out of it pretty easily. It's the kind of pedal that you'll probably never figure out entirely. I'm never entirely sure what's going to happen when I step on this thing, which is why I pretty rarely use it the stuff I play live--worship music. Self-oscillating fuzz pedals don't come in that handy for that, but, at home...oh man.

It's abrasive, creamy, fizzy, incredibly loud, horrible sounding, shrill, and totally awesome. This is one of those "desert island" pedals. If the island had 9v power supplies.