Death By Audio Fuzz War

The Death By Audio Fuzz War is, unsurprisingly, a fuzz pedal that has been influenced by the Civil War muff.

What can you say about this simple yet effective pedal with its volume fuzz and tone controls – it’s just a great fuzz pedal.

Having said that, it is very much its own person, not just a clone. For example, the fuzz control at full anti-clockwise settings act almost as a boost, adding fuzz as it’s turned clockwise

What Is the Death By Audio Fuzz War like In use?

With just three controls it creates amazing fuzz, boost and overdrive. This pedal creates a really thick sound.

But … It’s not just a one-trick pony as it can also be a precise and detailed if needed.

The Fuzz War covers more ground than most fuzzes. With the Fuzz control at minimum, it’s like a tone shaper. The Tone control takes on a different character at low fuzz settings, opening up parked wah and filtered sounds that have nothing to do with conventional fuzz. Worth experimenting with before you reach for the Fuzz knob.

Turn the fuzz up and it sweeps from clean boost, through crunchy overdrive, to saturated full on fuzz. The Tone control is an active multi-curve filter rather than a standard Big Muff-style tone stack. This is why it can go from deep bass sludge to screaming highs across the range, not just cutting or boosting frequencies in a narrow band.

The sound is also less scooped in the mids than a standard Muff, giving it more presence in a band mix.

Can you use it with a bass?

It is excellent with bass guitar and retains a very coherent fuzz at quite extreme levels.

If you are a bass player , take a look at at the Bass War (the Fuzz War inspired this one). It’s the same circuit lineage rebuilt specifically for bass, with a Mix control for blending clean low-end underneath the fuzz.

Artists such as Ty Segall, John Dwyer (Oh Sees), Chad Ubovich (Meatbodies), Charles Moothart (GØGGS & Ty Segall), and Cory Hanson (Wand) have used the Fuzz War, which is been described as the sound of garage across a decade.

Key Features

• Three controls — Volume, Fuzz, Tone
• Active multi-curve Tone control — deep bass sludge to screaming highs
• Fuzz sweeps from boost through overdrive to full saturation
• Works on guitar and bass
• True Bypass
• Lifetime warranty
• Handmade in New York, USA

Death By Audio Fuzz War Controls

As we said, it’s got the classic three Muff style controls:

• VOLUME: Adjusts the overall pedal output. – no Surprises here
• FUZZ: Drives the fuzz circuits,, transitioning from a subtle tone shift, to a booster, then overdriven, then thick full-blown fuzz
• TONE: A uniquely designed filter that shapes the tone, giving a really wide spectrum of sounds.

See The Death By Audio Fuzz War In Action

Specification

• Type: Fuzz
• Input: ¼” Jack
• Output: ¼” Jack
• Stereo: No
• Midi: No
• True Bypass: Yes

Power

• Voltage: 9V
• Current Draw: 1 mA
• Plug: 2.1 mm centre negative
• Can be powered by battery: Yes
• Adapter included: No

Manufacture

• Country of Origin: USA
• Manufacturers Warranty: Lifetime

Founded in 2002 by Oliver Ackermann, Death By Audio has become a beacon in the world of handmade effect pedals. Situated in a New York warehouse, the company originated in Williamsburg before relocating in 2014. Oliver is also the singer-guitarist for A Place To Bury Strangers, and brings his experience as both musician and technician in creating these amazing pedals.

FAQs