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A 1965 Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1A, one of the first commercially available fuzzboxes.

A fuzzbox (or fuzz box) is a type of effects pedal comprising an amplifier and a clipping circuit, which generates a distorted version of the input signal. As opposed to other distortion guitar effects pedals, a fuzzbox boosts and clips the signal sufficiently to turn a standard sine wave input into a waveform that is much closer to a square wave output. The sound of almost creating a square wave gives a "Rough around the edges" effect that creates the classic Fuzz tone. This gives a much more distorted and synthetic sound than a standard distortion or overdrive. Fuzz sounds also tend to have lower Mid frequencies than other distortion types. The term "fuzz box" is often used generically to refer to any effect pedal that produces a distorted sound.

As clipping is a non-linear process, intermodulation will occur, leading to the generation of an output signal rich in extra harmonics of the input signal. Intermodulation distortion also produces frequency components at the various sums and differences of the frequency components of the input signal. In general, these components will be not be harmonically related to the input signal, leading to dissonance. For this reason, power chords are often used when using fuzzboxes to reduce dissonance.

In 1960, a Nashville session musician, Grady Martin, accidentally stumbled upon the fuzz sound during a recording session for Marty Robbins' "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", due to a faulty guitar amplifier.^{[citation needed]} The fault soon reproduced by an electronic circuit, which was first marketed as the Model FZ-1 under the "Fuzz Tone" brand name.^{[citation needed]}

Early fuzzboxes used germanium transistors. By the end of the 1960s, these were replaced by silicon transistors. Silicon transistors are desirable for a number of reasons. They are generally less affected by changes in temperature and offer more reliable performance than germanium ones. Warm conditions (such as the heat generated by stage lights or sunlight in outdoor performances) can adversely affect the tone of germanium fuzzes. Also, fuzz boxes that employ germanium transistors do not work well when placed after another effect pedal that uses "buffered bypass."

This is because the buffer on effect pedals converts the guitar's signal from high to low impedance (to retain high frequencies and signal strength). Low impedance signals that pass through germanium-equipped fuzzes tend to suffer from a pronounced drop in volume and bass response. In the 2000s, some boutique fuzzbox builders offer pedals with germanium transistors. Additionally, some units employ both silicon and germanium transistors.

Fuzzboxes gained wider popularity after a distorted sound was popularised by Dave Davies of British Invasion band The Kinks. He played through a small amp whose speaker cone had been slashed with a razor blade, distorting the signal. In 1964 he plugged the doctored amp into a Vox AC30 to record You Really Got Me, the band's first No. 1 single and the first popular rock 'n' roll song using a distorted power chord riff(Walser 1993, p.9). Fuzzboxes became popular as a much easier way to create a distorted sound.

Clean and fuzzed guitar

Several power chords: 1) "clean" (without distortion), 2) with bass-heavy fuzz, and 3) with treble-heavy fuzz.

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Examples of fuzzboxes include the Maestro Fuzz-Tone, the highly-sought Mosrite FuzzRITE, the Fuzz Face (originally made by the Arbiter Group) used by Jimi Hendrix, the Big Muff Pi (made by Electro-Harmonix) and the Vox Tone Bender. Colin Greenwood of Radiohead uses the Shin-ei Companion FY-2 and a Lovetone Big Cheese.

• Distortion (guitar)
• Overdrive (music)
• Guitar effects
• Effects pedal
• Guitar amplifier

For the 1980s rock band see We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It

• History and Photos of Vintage Fuzz Pedals.
• Tons of Tones !! : Technical site with information on distortion stages in Guitar Amplifier Models and Effect boxes