MXR might have just made the most versatile Fuzz Face ever – and it only has two controls

MXR has unveiled the Hybrid Fuzz, which combines two classic Fuzz Face circuits in one pedal.

Fuzz Faces come in many varieties, but the biggest differentiator is which transistor crops up on the famed fuzz pedal’s circuit board. Germanium transistors are considered warmer and found in the first Fuzz Faces produced between 1966 and 1968, while silicon transistors featured after this point, and are considered spikier and higher gain – both variants are currently available to purchase from MXR parent company Dunlop.

The Hybrid Fuzz includes both transistors, and promises to span tones from ’60s psychedelia to stoner riffage. And boy, does MXR lean into the psychedelia in its trippy promo video above. We need a coffee after that to sober up.

Although the pedal only has controls for Volume and Fuzz, it retains the Fuzz Face’s sought-after ability to clean right up with a guitar’s volume knob.

Now, MXR isn’t the first company to combine germanium and silicon circuits – a number of boutique pedal firms have done the double in the past, including Spaceman and Wren and Cuff, but these all-encompassing efforts tend to veer towards the upper pedal price bracket.

Where the Hybrid differs is in its billing as a Fuzz Face variant, specifically – and its price tag comes in at a reasonable $169.

Decked out in a far-out finish from design studio One Horse Town, the Hybrid Fuzz is available to preorder now ahead of its release on June 26. Hit up Jim Dunlop for more info.