Boss has unveiled the latest addition to its Waza Craft pedal roster—the FZ-1W, a fuzz stompbox delivering vintage and modern voicing using a pair of operating modes.
Like other Waza Craft units, the FZ-1W Fuzz comes with a dual-mode switch that alters its sounds. But since it’s not a clone of a vintage Boss pedal, the two modes are labeled as “Vintage” and “Modern,” instead of the usual “S” (stock) and “C” (custom) seen on other Waza Crafts.
According to Boss, Vintage mode is “a retro fuzz experience with aggressive tone, dynamic touch response, and extreme sensitivity to input volume,” while the Modern serves up “a fatter sound and more mid focus to suit a wider range of music styles.”
Either way, the Tone dial provides extensive EQ characters, giving a dramatic effect to each mode’s bass and treble content. Other control knobs include Fuzz and Level.
Regarding the FZ-1W’s origins, Boss revealed: “While developing the limited-run TB-2W Tone Bender, we explored and analyzed many vintage fuzz pedals and gained deep knowledge along the way. This experience inspired us to reimagine the classic fuzz effect with our unique Waza craftsmanship and expertise.
“Unlike previous Waza Craft models, the FZ-1W does not provide a reproduction of a past design. This pedal is our modern interpretation of vintage fuzz, and it carries the number ‘1’ in its name to show our great respect for the classic circuits that helped shape the sound of rock guitar and launch the effect pedal industry that we all love today.”
The Boss FZ-1W Fuzz is available for $199.99.
