Wattson Classic Electronics EFY-6 Fuzz

Wattson Classic Electronics EFY-6 Fuzz

The Wattson EFY-6 Fuzz is an enhanced version of the circuit used in the Wattson Classic Fuzz FY-6, based on requests we've received since we began building the FY-6 more than five years ago.


The most visible differences are that the Wattson EFY-6 Fuzz has four knobs, whereas the Wattson Classic Fuzz FY-6has two knobs just like the original Shin-ei FY-6 pedal it's modeled after. Two of the four knobs are directly inherited from the FY-6. The FY-6 Expander knob has been renamed Fuzz, and the FY-6 Balance knob has been renamed Gain. These names more accurately reflect the function of these controls.


The original FY-6 pedal includes a special 3-transistor
circuit that doubles the frequency of the guitar signal before sending
it into the clipping and filtering circuits, effectively raising the
tone by a full octave. For this reason, the FY-6belongs to a class of effects known as "octave fuzz" pedals.
The clipping circuit grinds the signal into a thick fuzzy soup, so you
don't really hear the octave step up directly. What you do hear are the
additional high frequency harmonics that the octave circuit adds. These
harmonics are especially noticeable when you play on the neck pickup
above the 12th fret. In this range the harmonics are so intense that it
almost sounds like a synthesizer.


Unfortunately, while the octave step up adds a lot of character to
individual notes, it can make chords of more than two or three notes
sound like mush. Because of this, one of the things our FY-6 customers
have frequently asked for is a switch that can turn the octave circuit
off, taming the high frequency harmonics and allowing chords to sound a
bit more organic. We went a step beyond and provided an Octave knob. The Octave knob controls the level of half of the cycles coming out of the octave circuit. When the Octave knob is fully cranked then the EFY-6 sounds just like the original FY-6. When you back off the Octave knob then the bottom end begins to sound more full, the high end has less bite, and chords sound less washed out. Turning the Octave knob
all the way down completely eliminates the octave effect, and only the
original guitar frequency goes through the clipping and filtering
circuits. Even though the frequency is the same, the waveshape is still
substantially changed by the other half of the octave circuit, so the
guitar signal still has plenty of character.


The original FY-6 had a two position switch called Tone. Position "2" of the Tone switch
added a mid-scoop filter after the clipping circuit, while position "1"
selected the unfiltered signal. One request we received frequently was
to move theTone switch to a footswitch. Another request
was to eliminate the switch entirely, and provide a knob that could be
used to blend between the two tones. We went with the latter suggestion.
When the Tone knob is turned all the way down then the EFY-6 sounds like an FY-6 with the Tone switch in position "1". When the Tone knob is turned all the way up then the EFY-6 sounds like an FY-6 with the Tone switch in position "2". In between the two limits, the Tone knob produces a blend of the two tones.

Wattson Classic Electronics EFY-6 Fuzz Features:

3 transistor circuit doubles the frequency of the guitar (octave up)
Octave knob
2 posiction tone switch mid scoop or unfiltered





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