This is my homage to the GREAT Companion/Shen-ei FY2 using 2 old stock C945 transistors. This pedal was THE original Japanese fuzz pedal also sold as the original Univox Superfuzz in the US in the metal wedge shaped enclosure.
This effect would be on more recordings than it is given credit for. It was an early full bodied transistor fuzz that gave way to the AWESOME 6 transistor Shen-ei/Superfuzz of the early 70′s but this is still a GREAT fuzz in it’s own right.
Being an early fuzz it has a "nasty" edge that was smoothed out as time went along with fuzzes eventually moving into "creamy" territory with the advent of the Big Muff.
This FY-2 circuit still has the nasty sixties edges and odd harmonic distortion that real sixties fuzzes have.
While keeping the heart and soul of the original fuzz intact I have added a toggle switch for “Mothra” or “Gamera” which goes from std FY2 with a slight boost to bring it up to bypass volume (the original dropped in volume like most early fuzzes) to an FY2 with more bottom end and more boost. Volume and gain are the only other things you’ll need.
The artwork is done by Tony at GuitarNerd and pays homage to the great Japanese monster movies of the sixties. He actually came up with the name too. My pedals wouldn't look or "feel" like they do without Tones genius and he never ceases to amaze me with new designs. They are in my hand made custom built stainless steel enclosures with an LED and 9V adaptor plug that takes standard BOSS style voltage.
Here's a story about a special Fuzzilla model.