Tuesday, January 14, 2020

FUZZ- AZOR AP-303 & the AP-310 classic Fuzz sounds, high quality and $20.00 USD ea.

$20.00 USD
 AZOR FUZZ AP-303 

Azur are a line of mini pedals made by Biyang. 
Biyang have been making pedals for years. They made
real clones of popular pedals. Their Big Muff circuit was very accurate. They even copied the brushed bent metal cases.

Their FZ7 sold for $25.00 USD It had a sound and build that made it a steel. Keep in mind that the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff is built in NY but the circuit board comes from China completely finished as a 'part'.
Biyang is only cheap to us because it is made in China.
In China Biyang is considered high end and is expensive relative to 90% of other Chinese product. In short if you are a Chinese player you want a Biyang because they make a true pro product. I can attest to owning the old Biyang and can tell you that Biyang know how to make a good Fuzz.

...the AP-303 is based off of the FZ-7. 


 AZOR FUZZ AP-310 
$20.00 USD
The early Fuzz pedals used Germanium transistors. The first pedals had one but following that came the classic pedals that had two.Germanium transistors are fat and warm.They are also unreliable and can overheat and simply quit until they cool down.They also react to minor feed back from pedals on either side of the chain.
I had some beauty's that I no longer use (I kept them but they live in their boxes)
The Fuzz Face pedal used them until the Silicon came along and simply were problem free. Hendrix used both. 
When Hendrix got a Wah he never had the Wha and Fuzz on at the same time until he got the Silicon Fuzz Face.
Bottom line the Germanium is a pain but a bit of good design has
got rid of the problem. Has it affected the sound? Yes but only those
that are anal get crazy about it because change is minor and compared to the best pedals in a blind fold test you could easily choose the problem free Fuzz.



CONCLUSION
How do they compare to the gourmet stuff. Well when they first came out dealers took on the line and prices were as much as $80.00 USD. No one complained because when put along side of other products they simply had a better sound.
These pedals are aimed at two basic classic designs so they do not include all the bells and whistles of the gourmet jobbies. They may have only one or two sounds you like but those 2 sounds still have the same quality of tone as the big guys.
Bottom line if you would like to add a Fuzz to your rig or even cover both the transistor sounds you are only into spending $20.00 USD for each one. If you buy direct from China on AliExpress that includes shipping.
On a final note ...they are small enough for nearly any pedal board ...they even look cool!

NOTE: I bought the AP-303 ...the silver silicon transistor jobbie!!!
I love it! Stack any dirt pedal on it to fatten that pedal up.
 Like magic POOF ...instant massive sound. 
I have 29 dirt pedals I can stack so I use more then all the others.
It is almost invisible because your ears here mostly what you stacked on it!!!


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