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What is the Best Velcro Fuzz Pedal?

Apr 5, 2024

If there is a specific tone that I crave for my personal setup, it’s velcro fuzz.

What is velcro fuzz? It’s hard to describe and one of those things where you know it when you see it. You could throw adjectives at it like gated, spitty and splattery, but still somewhat controlled.

There is this weird kind of release when you play a note and then mute the strings. I think that’s where the name “velcro” comes from. It’s like the sound is sticking to the strings and you’re ripping it off when you mute the strings.

It’s great for live situations. It cuts through a mix pretty well. There is a feeling of your amp going bad in a good way. Due to the gated circuit, noise is pretty low when you don’t play anything. Fantastic for rhythm parts. And most of all, it provides a very distinct character to your tone.

The demo above features 11 fuzz pedals that I identified as being able to produce a velcro fuzz tone. Each pedal has its own character and some are more versatile than others.

So how did the pedals perform?

Fairfield Circuitry Unpleasant Surprise

The Unpleasnt Surprise has his very raw and unconventional sound. It feels very garage rock. It reminds me of hitting a recording console really hard but in a good way. It does the velcro thing but a little more subtle than some of the other pedals.

Links:

Fairfield Circuitry Unpleasant Surprise
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Walrus Audio Eons

The Eons is designed to be extremely versatile. It offers 5 different fuzz voicings/clipping modes, has a powerful EQ section and a dedicated voltage control that unlocks the velcro in this pedal.

I couldn’t get it to do that ripping release/attack thing. There is more of a spitty/gated sound going on that can be lovely as well.

Links:

Walrus Audio Eons
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Old Blood Noise Endeavors Alpha Haunt

Just like the Walrus Audio’s Eons, the Alpha Haunt is OBNE’s take on a super versatile fuzz pedal – but from a different angle. You get some extra toggles, a 3-band EQ section with fancy sliders and a gate control.

The Alpha Haunt does the velcro sound easily. That ripping feel as if the amp is going to implode is very prominent here. One of my favorite contenders in this shootout.

Links:

Old Blood Noise Endeavors Alpha Haunt
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Keeley Electronics Fuzz Bender

The Fuzz Bender has become almost a classic in the world of fuzz. You get all the vintage mojo of a Tone Bender circuit with modern features. You get a powerful active EQ section as well as a bias control.

Like the Eons, this has more of a spitty/gated vibe and the velcro part is more subtle.

Links:

Keeley Electronics Fuzz Bender
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ZVEX Effects Fuzz Factory

Who doesn’t know the Fuzz Factory? This might be the most unique sounding pedal in this shootout. With the stab knob, you can dial in this weird self-oscillating sound that can be very musical.

So not only do you get that velcro-ish feel, but some cool artifacts when you mute the strings in between chord strokes.

Links:

Zvex Effects Fuzz Factory
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ZVEX Effects Mastotron

I just recently stumbled over the Mastotron and knew that I had to include in this shootout. It has this DI-ish attack, there is somewhat of a fast auto-swell going on. I believe it produces the velcro-texture a little differently than the other pedals. You can control the velcro-ness with the PW (pulse width) knob.

Links:

Zvex Effects Mastotron
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Smallsound Bigsound Mini

Technically, the Mini is more an overdrive than a fuzz. But it can get pretty gnarly and velcro-y. Sadly, it’s not being produced anymore and you have to be lucky to find one for a reasonable price. I just had to include it here for reference because it is one of my favorite pedals.

Links:

Mask Audio Electronics Black Math

I really like Big Muffs and the Black Math is a great take on that circuit. If you slam the living hell out of it with the internal boost, you enter velcro territory. The Black Math has a distinct feel to it when you play it and it’s very satisfying.

Links:

Vaderin Pedals Colossus

The Colossus might be my favorite pedal in this shootout. Not only does it do the velcro thing effortlessly, it just sounds freakingly good overall. It’s perfectly voiced to cut through in a mix but also feels massive when you play it alone.

It’s based on a Tone Bender circuit. It’s not a versatile pedal but it does what it does extremely well.

Links:

Wonderful Audio Technology Fuzz Lands

The Fuzz Lands is another no-nonsense fuzz that makes it impossible to dial in a bad sound. The toggle switches cleverly offer you a variety of tonal options. Even though you don’t have a whole smorgasbord of controls, you can get a lot of different sounds out of it and the velcro sound is one of my favorites in this shootout.

Links:

Spun Loud Shuksan Fuzz

The Shuksan has long been one of my favorite overall fuzzes. The velcro is a little more subtle but noticable. The input and sustain knob allow you to tweak the sound and feel a little, so you can go from smooth-ish to velcro-y.

Links:

Signal Chain

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