MXR M173 Classic 108 Fuzz Pedal Reviews

In my review of the MXR Classic 108 Fuzz, I misname the Ibanez OD-850 Overdrive reissue as a Distortion.

The Dunlop site says: "The Classic 108 Fuzz features the guts of our BC-108-loaded Fuzz Face® Distortion with modern MXR upgrades and a Buffer switch so that it plays well with wahs."

My other Fuzz is a Muff inspired Ibanez OD-850 Distortion reissue. These two pedals sound, as expected, quite different. I prefer the MXR Classic 108 Fuzz. The buffer switch brightens the tone; and I like this Fuzz, buffer on or off, into a low gained Tumnus Deluxe. I have the MXR first in line after my Peterson Strobostomp HD tuner; I don't use a wah pedal. My amp is a Marshall Origin 50 through a Marshall 1936 Lead cabinet (two 12s at 16 ohms each) upgraded with Celestion G12H-75 Creambacks, and my guitar is a 2016 fixed bridge Ibanez RG Prestige with its two stock DiMarzio humbucking pickups. The MXR does indeed clean up when the guitar volume is turned lower, more quickly on some pickup combinations than others. I played the MXR in the pedal chain and alone, outside of it, directly from the guitar to the pedal to the amp. I couldn't hear any difference. As for the buffer, I don't know if it works only when the fuzz is engaged or independently from the fuzz. The buffer light does come on when you push the buffer switch when the fuzz switch is off.

I have been using a germanium Fuzz Face for the last few years, the sounds it can make when the temperature is right are incredible. I got sick of having to constantly deal with how temperature sensitive it is, so I began to look around for a Fuzz Face circuit with silicon transistors. I ended up deciding to give this a try and I don't regret it in the slightest. To me, this sounds better than the Ge Fuzz Face I have, it cleans up surprisingly well (nearly as well Ge Fuzz Face), and so far at least it has consistently sounded good regardless of temperature. I would have given this pedal more than 5 stars if I could have. This is my new favorite pedal.

Quite amazed on how good this pedal sounds! (Makes sense when you take into consideration the regular Fuzz Face is one of MXR's bread and butter products)

Its that classic silicon fuzz face we have all heard on countless records.

Before you buy this pedal understand the difference between Silicon and Germanium fuzz. And how one usually uses a fuzz face pedal.
(In general…). You run a fuzz first in your pedal chain…(they can react negatively when a buffer comes before it) and dime the fuzz knob, while using your guitar's volume knob to coax a plethora of tonal sound scapes ( from gravely cleans that chime, to volcano erupting single note lines) Silicon fuzz is more aggressive, tighter and brighter than germanium, yet still can get fizzy and woolly. The MXR 108 displays the best qualities of a silicon fuzz. Imo… Silicon Fuzz tends to cleans up better than Germanium Fuzz (more detail in the higher frequencies) All that said…. Germanium fuzz usually is known as more organic in tone (possessing a natural sounding warmth and being smoother)

With a Quality Silicon Fuzz Faces one can approximate a germanium warmth by dialing back the the fuzz to about 90% and then work the guitars volume knob as to suite… Yes the MXR 108 does exactly the above, slight rollback on the fuzz knob.., tone gets pretty organic

The buffer is also a cool feature allowing placement in the chain usually not available to a fuzz… the buffer is almost not needed because the MXR 108 is very quite pedal. (For a Silicone Fuzz Face)

Its Built like a tank!.

Well worth the $$ … measured and found equaled to most boutiques.

The best pedal on my pedal board! Chewy, Gooey Goodness from blown-out with sputter to rolled back volume clean tones. Hendrix in a stomp box! This pedal is a must have!

if you are looking for 60/70'2 fuzz this is it!!!! sounds like a classic fuzz face...built the same way as i understand it. this pedal will never leave my pedalboard, ever. You can go muddy as hell or you can hit the buffer and it smooths out quite nicely... awesome pedal.....mxr does it again at a fraction of the price of other pedals....simply a perfect pedal...

Well built pedal. Sounds great in my small rig.

Like most MXR Pedals, this just sounds great. Simple to use and dial in a nice fuzzy gnarl, crank it and get a tight fuzz, dial back to get some sputter and break up. Buffer button was designed for a specific purpose, but also changes the fuzz characteristic, ever so slightly. Again, not a crazy over the top fuzz machine, but a classic sounding tone monster for sure. Of course it's built to withstand a neutron bomb, and looks cool with the finish and oversized classic pedal design...just different enough to stand out from the crowd.

I didn't purchase this through sweetwater, but I do own one. This is a good sounding fuzz pedal alone, but I find its true glory stacked with my other overdrive pedals. I have an EHX OD Glove and Soul food (glove at 9 and SF at 12 gain) before the fuzz and with the buffer switch on and wow! This guy roars! It's going to stay on my board for a long time, as I have yet to find another fuzz to work well with my rig.

Nice and simple. Good fuzz tones and volume. I like to also use it as a boost for bright but dirty leads. It brings shine at solo levels and kicks dirt in your ear. Grimy, I love it.