Ezhi & Aka’s Brom is glitchy, noisy and weird fuzz in the best possible way.
The lack of labels encourages experimenting with it and to just set it to a weird sound that makes you feel funny. After some experimentation, I think deciphered this little box of wonder:
The bottom 3 knobs are just volume knobs for the 3 independent fuzz circuits inside the brom.
AMP FUZZ: Volume controlled by the first knob from the bottom. It’s an overdriven and starved IC amplifier. High gain, open, dying decay but quite a bit of sustain with little noise. This is the most “normal” sound from the Brom and I like to use it to mix with the other weirder modes. That way, your riffs stay in musical and the weirder circuits can be used to blend in crazy textures.
TAPE FUZZ: Volume controlled by the second knob from the bottom. This adds proper weirdness. The bottom toggle let’s you choose 3 modes for this circuit. Up gives you random glitches, middle seems to add just a tiny delay. Mixed with AMP FUZZ, tih makes for a sweet doubling effect. Down transforms it into a fuzzy auto swell.
NOISE FUZZ: Volume controlled by the third knob from below. This is a ring-mod kinda thing. The upper toggle makes this into either a tremolo, upper or lower ring-mod/harmonics. The first knob from the top controls the modulation rate.
All in all, the Brom is the fuzz I reach for if I want something different. It’s quirky, aggressive and yet musical. You don’t need to study this pedal to get good sounds.
It’s the one pedal everyone will ask you about after a gig: “What was that sound?”
Signal Chain
Fidelity Guitars Stellarosa Lite II with Lollar Firebird pickups (bridge pickup)
