Boss FZ-5 Vintage-style Fuzz Pedal Reviews

It's got a few dead-spots, especially in the Maestro Fuzz, but overall its a great pedal. The Octavia setting is great for leads and the Fuzz-face is a great all around Hendrixey fuzz. Once the pedals boost setting is activated, the fuzz becomes quite extreme and more than suitable for Pixies like leads. Great value for 3 Fuzz's in one.

This is the first Fuzz pedal of any type that I've owned and I've been playing 52 years. After going through the processor phase of my life, I'm going back to the basic, analog foot pedals. Combined with the other pedals I use, BOSS and MXR/Dunlop, I opted for the more basic of the pedals. After getting it into my rig, and it did matter where I placed it in the signal chain, I simply asked myself " how'd I never have this pedal before ?". Go ahead and laugh, I still do. I probably only have about 12 hours of playing time with that pedal engaged. I'm nowhere near saying I have it figured out but it's instantly improved the sound of my playing with respect to what I'm playing. I suppose some artists play every song with some amount of fuzz. I don't need it for everything I play but it certainly expanded my catalog on things to play and sound much more like the original version. I'm just having fun with it and if a Fuzz pedal isn't in your arsenal yet, check one out. It certainly doesn't break the bank and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Buying it through Sweetwater just sweetens the deal a little more. My salesperson Colton treats me like a rock star and the follow-ups after the sale just don't exist anywhere else. Rock on !

I have a Boss ME-80, which has some of the most interesting sounds, but the Fuzz mode was a little lacking. Enter the Boss FZ-5! The three modes are just what I wanted, I'm playing it more than my ME-80 or my EH Big Muff Pi (which is a wonderful pedal in it's own right!)

Dustin, my Sales guy, did an outstanding job getting this pedal to me, I'm very happy with the level of customer service provided by Sweetwater.

Compared to other fuzz pedals I have tried, this one offers something truly unique in its versatility. I'm not even talking about having three very different "classic fuzz circuits" in one standard BOSS enclosure, though that's pretty cool too. (Yes, it's digital modelling wizardry at work here. If that's not your thing, I'm not here to convert you.)

What makes this so unique is 1) how well it blends with other drive pedals, and 2) maximum flexibility with placement in your signal chain. Most fuzzes demand special consideration in placing them, usually first, in your chain. This one doesn't care. Put your dynamic overdrive in front of it and it will reward you with a really nice alchemy of fuzzy tones that you can dial in with your volume knob. You can also use an OD on either end of the FZ-5 to coax some mids back into it. Put a reverb in front of it and it will get gaze-y like a champ. Honestly, I've yet to try it anywhere in the chain that doesn't work.

I keep it on the Fuzz Face setting 99% of the time. The Maestro setting is cool, and it's nice to know it is on my board and just a knob click away if I want some quick novelty. (Not sure I'll find much use for the Octavia setting, but it's cool it's there if I want it.)

The only significant CON I can think of is that by itself it just doesn't have *that* "punch"/"feel" of a more memorable Fuzz when you're PLAYING it. (I'm skeptical anyone could HEAR the difference in a live mix or on recording) Still, that's my one legit knock against it, because sometimes you just want to FEEL it and be inspired. So for that reason alone, I'm not sure I would recommend the FZ-5 as your one-and-only stand-alone Fuzz. But pair it in any number of configurations with a good overdrive, and you've got something great.

One more helpful tip buried in the owner's manual: The Gain knob on the FZ-5 is intended to be a faithful recreation of each classic circuit all the way up to 12:00. Past that is "boosted" with gain levels beyond the capabilities of the original circuits. The Fuzz Face gets kinda ridiculous with the gain too far past noon. The Maestro sounds pretty glitchy and busted (ya know... like an actual Maestro) until you turn up the Gain pretty far, and actually benefits from a boost for some applications. Not sure what kind of person would dial the Octavia into the "boosted" range, but I'm not here to judge.

I use & have used many boss pedals over the course of my playing career-in my opinion they are affordable,durable,reliable,dependable and in general have great usable sounds.I checked out some demos of the fz5 and decided to try it - for me it's a keeper. The fuzz face mode and Octavia mode for me are the most usable - havn't found a way to use the Maestro setting that I like. Using the volume & tone controls on the guitar along with the level & fuzz controls on the pedal I have found a variety of cool usable sounds with both single coils & humbuckers. Thanx to Josh & Sweetwater again for excellent customer service and support!

The Boss FZ-5 is a great Fuzz pedal. If you"ve never owned a Fuzz pedal before, this is a great place to start. It will give you a very clear idea of what Fuzz is all about. It"s very versatile and offers the possibility of choosing between three different types of renown and legandary Fuzz pedals (Maestro FZ-1A, Fuzz Face and Octavia) which it recreates through its Cosm technology. The latter is also convenient if you don"t know what type of Fuzz you really want. Easy to use. Very well worth the money.

The Boss Fuzz is a great pedal. The middle setting, Maestro, is a great effect.... Hi Pass filter, extremely fast gate and super compressed. I wouldnt use it for a whole song but it works perfect for introducing a new riff into the song and then switching off to a more all around overdrive (Rat, Big Muff, amp overdive, Boss Super Overdrive, Etc.) I flippin love it.

This fuzz took a long time to learn to play to. It's immensely useful in creating unusual tones though. With experimentation I found a setting to make my strings really fry and discover uses for it. Works best in front of the amp. Still like forming an alliance with a wolf pack to hunt.

I like it . Perfect if you just like a little fuzz for fun.
3 modes is pretty cool.
And like all boss pedals built like a tank.

My first fuzz pedal. Just getting around to my review (+-3 weeks). I liked the idea of 3 modes (Fuzz Face, Maestro & Octave) like three for the price of one (great deal!). I liked the Fuzz Face right away, but the Maestro sounded extremely thin and ear-piercing. The Octave was just OK for chords, best for lead, which I'm not. The Fuzz Face is slamming with powerful lows (but still defined notes). Variations in intensity, via the Fuzz Knob, gave me a good range of sounds (light to roaring), perfect for metal (chunky), lots of sustain,too.
Back to Maestro Mode...after lots of tweaking with amp and guitar's vol. & tone (used single coil & hum- bucker guitars), got it to a level I could live with, but still thin and sharp. The "dying battery" sound (like varying voltage) was good. A tone control, especially for Maestro Mode, would have made it a 5 pointer.
With Sweetwater, there was never a fuss about returning it (30 days). The sales staff was great - "plenty of trial time to mess around and return it if it doesn't work out." I hate the idea of returning anything, but it's nice to have that option. I did keep the pedal and I'm enjoying it.

I feel like this is the best all around fuzz for the money. Great tones and a variety of fuzz options.

This was my first fuzz. Didn't really like it when I hooked it up. Still don't like it. I tried the FZ1, much better. Don't waste your money on the FZ5.