30 Pedals in 30 Days 2015: AmpTweaker TightFuzz Pro
Marc Johnson | Nov 01, 2015 | Comments 0
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Some of you might’ve heard of this guy James Brown. Yeah. If you’re a fan of TheToneKing.com, you’re probably sick of hearing about how awesome he is. I mean, the guy has worked with only the greatest guitar players of all time—Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Synyster Gates just to name a few. And, he’s on the speed dial of every amp manufacture that needs to build a killer amp. The company that he founded, AmpTweaker Pedals, is the culmination of everything that he has learned throughout the years working with the biggest manufacturers and biggest musicians. And, he’s got this new pedal to show us. For 30 Pedals in 30 Days 2015, we here at TheToneKing.com had a chance to check out AmpTweaker’s TightFuzz Pro.
Amptweaker’s Pro series is for players who are looking to get the most out of their pedals. With a list of features as long as my arm, the TightFuzz Pro is the “Game Over” pedal for fuzz distortion. It would be easier to list the sounds that this pedals doesn’t do, but that’s not what they pay me for.
Tonal options begin with a Germanium/Silicon switch. Are you tired of hearing the arguments about Germanium vs. Silicon? Me too. You can wave a gigantic middle finger to the endless forums by getting your hands on a pedal that does both. Stack on top of that a Smooth Edge switch, a 60’s/70’s tone switch, and a 3 Band EQ and you’re already well on your way to covering nearly the entire fuzz filled tonal spectrum.
Of course, we are talking about James Brown here. So, yes. There’s a mega shit ton more packed into the TightFuzz Pro.
Amptweaker is adamant about having a boost come before the distortion stage and after. What that gives you a choice to have a boost in the amount of fuzz that’s in your signal and the amount of volume. Which is killer because every time I get a pedal where the boost increases just the gain or just the volume, I can never get it to level out with the rest of my sound and have to throw another goddamn boost pedal in the line anyway. Guess what? Amptweaker just saved me $60 bucks!
Then, there are three effects loops. Why? Because not even most amp manufacturers have the balls to put in more than one! We’ve talked about Amptweaker’s loops before, but the gist of it is:
Universal loop
The name says it all.
Active loop
Activates when the boost is activated.
SideTrack Loop
Activates when the pedal is OFF. Or it can be used like an A/B switch between the TightFuzz Pro and another distortion pedal. Or can be used to drive another amp.
So, what does the TightFuzz Pro sound like?
Everything and nothing you’ve ever heard before.
What I mean is that you can get the sounds of classic fuzzes as well as new tones that really push the boundaries between gnarly fuzz and gritty distortion.
I guess it’s not surprising that James Brown would build a fuzz pedal that threatens to make many others completely obsolete. For players who are looking for options when it comes to their pedals, nobody does it better than AmpTweaker. The TightFuzz Pro is a killer addition to anyone’s rig and the possibilities with this pedal are nearly endless.
Check out these damn features!
- Dual Lit Boost controls via Boost footswitch
- 3 Band EQ, w/ Smooth Edge to help tame the fuzz
- 60’s/70’s tone switch and Germanium/Silicon transistor switch for different gain and tones
- 3 effects loops….Universal, Boost with Pre/Post switches, and the SideTrak loop that works when the pedal is OFF! Patch in clean effects
- Fuzz control automatically adjusts bias for more range and better clean tones.
- Amptweaker exclusive Tight control adjusts attack and helps tame the fuzz
- Noise Gate switch, with internal adjustment
- Octave switch adds Octave-Up effect to Boost FTSW
- Internal More Fuzz switch for low output pickups, or just MORE FUZZ all the time!
- LED lit knobs when using a power supply
- True Bypass switching – with special input circuitry, works great with active pickups or wah pedals in front!
- Battery disconnect switch with red indicator
- Runs on 9V to 18V batteries or supplies–9V sounds heavier, more compressed, while 18V is more open and less distorted.
- Current: 22mA with 1 or 2-9V batteries, 24mA with 9V adapter, 28mA with 18V adapter(adapters add knob LEDs….internal switch disconnects 1-9V battery clip
- DC Adapter jack, standard 2.1mm X 5.5mm, center ground(-)
- Magnetic Battery access door opens w/o tools
- Weight: 3 pounds, Dimensions: 5.625″W X 5″D X 2.125″H
- Handmade in the USA
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWEGEEU4zjQ
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About the Author: Marc published his first novel Becoming in 2010. It’s a kick-ass book with monsters and dreams and stuff, and you should buy it. Since then, he’s written thousands of articles for TheToneKing.com, many of which have been picked up for circulation by manufacturers and other news outlets. His next book, Drugs and Pancakes, should be available early 2014 if his alcoholic editor can find time to work on it in-between destroying his liver and screaming about punctuation. He graduated from Roosevelt University with honors, which means that he’s not as dumb as he looks. He’s been playing guitar for over 25 years, which is almost twice as long as most of his students have been alive.