ModTone Buzz Boy

I've tried.  I actively tried to find a "boutique" hand-crafted, American- made Fuzz Pedal that truly meets the need. Here's what I've found-
1. Most boutique pedals are made for a one use gimmick. Yes, I said gimmick. Devi Ever, Dwarfcraft, Earthquaker Devices, etc- a lot of the hip names? I could find one setting on any given pedal that was cool, but it was only good for a certain application. For example- I tried out the Earthquaker Devices " Tone Reaper"- I could get a great upper mid boosted, treble rolled off sound, Like a trumpet, and it was great for if I wanted to do a fanfare, trumpet type single note line. Which even blue moon or so, I want to do. Similarly, The Devi Ever Soda Meiser?  Smashing Pumpkins tone. Done. That's it. I never want that. You get the idea.
2. Hand Crafted is a great bit of marketing, but this isn't Whittling, nor framing. Electronics actually are better made by machine- except for the soldering, and here's the deal with that- absolutely every pedal, most amplifiers, most radios, basically everything but video games, phones, and Mp3 players, is hand soldered already. In that respect, there is no difference between your Klon and a clone.There is no artistry in putting together a PCB- only in selecting components, and quite frankly, the mass-made stuff quite often- but not always- has better components.
3. American made- I'm no longer certain that's a virtue. We're incarcerating at Chinese and Russian rates. We're top three, for pollution. Our social net is terrible, our politics are corrupt, most of our businesses are criminal- I'm struggling to find a reason, here. I've heard the "jobs" argument, but show me the booming boutique instrument, effect pedal, or "craft" item maker that employs more than 5 people. There are things to buy American, and good reasons to buy food locally ( transportation is a big one) but I really cannot think of a truly good reason to think that buying a Klon Centaur is necessarily a better thing than buying an Electro Harmonix Soul Food.

Now, certainly there are exceptions- most notably Matt, with Noisemaker Effects, is a good human being, who is bringing well made products into the marketplace, and isn't trying to rip you off. Likewise, PureSalem guitars are trying to bring something heartfelt into the marketplace- even if I can't say they're truly "American Made". But, as a rule, I think a lot of this is trying to conflate the really good indie business model- like Jon Wye with simple snobbishness,  trying to justify the rip off of paying 20 times or more of the  material costs ( seriously, the components to make a muff style Fuzz will set you back less than 10 dollars. Buying a Fuzz pedal for over 200 dollars is like a Government Contractor Pork Barrel scam ).

So, enter Modtone. I've been digging the way a lot of their stuff looks ( just look at this pedal. Look at it!) and I've been thinking that the design seems like a good middle ground between Boss and Electro Harmonix, and MXR/Dunlop. You've got the solid footswich and small footprint of MXR, with the pretty graphics and warmth of EHX, with the super-solid construction of Roland/Boss.
But, 100 bucks for a Chinese pedal, seems a bit much, to me, when Joyo and Donner, etc can do just about as good, for half or less.
That changed- from Youtube clips, and pictures, The Buzz Boy was bar none my favorite pedal of their stuff- and it got dropped. Now, it was showing up on clearance and discount sites. So, for 30 bucks, I got one.Let me just say- HELL TO THE YES!!!!- this is a great fuzz pedal, exactly the opposite from my complaints regarding the boutique stuff- I'm able to dial up everything from sustain boosted overdrive to buzzing, crunchy kill-fuzz- and it fits! I never hear a musically displeasing tone, I can use it for a variety of styles from stoner to garage, to noise, and it works. I think that's because it's not a pure Fuzz tone- more like a Distortion/ Fuzz hybrid. Furthermore, it plays extremely well with other pedals- so, I can add a mid-cut in a separate overdrive, and I get Metal-style distortion, or I can add reverb with a slight treble boost, and get garage madness, no problem.
So, while "Change my life" might be a little strong, here- it's definitely crystallized a thought for me- screw 99.9% of that trendy boutique bull- I'm sticking with the stuff I like, and I think the stuff getting downvoted is better- I think the Chinese stuff, like Joyo, Donner, Hotone, Mooer and Moen is innovative in the form factor, and competitive in the sound category. I think the mass market stuff- Boss, Digitech, and MXR kicks the butt of finicky, unreliable stuff like   Dwarfcraft and Catalinbread. I think a lot of people are falling for hype, and I'm done with it. Look, there are some boutique folks making quality stuff- you'll note I've not bad-mouthed Wampler, or Z Vex, or TC Electronics, but the price point on that stuff is still pretty high, and quite frankly, I'm not going to spend 250 bucks to get inches further towards some sound I like, when 50 bucks gets me most of the miles- I don't think there's enough utility in that. I mean, for example- My Biyang baby Boom tri-reverb doesn't sound 100% as good as the TC Electronics Hall Of Fame. But, I'd put it at 90%. So, is it worth the extra 100+ dollars? I don't think so. I could( and did) run the Biyang with another reverb, and I hit that 100% mark, and still spent less. Or, the big example- my Joyo Ultimate Overdrive might not be able to hit that dark, clear overdrive sound that the Fulltone OCD does- but it gets so close that a minor goose on the Amp's EQ gets me the rest of the way- and it cost about one quarter as much. But, I will put my Donner Yellow Fall delays up against any delay on the market, and I bet none of them will get that voice that they have- an analog, low-mid boost that sounds like a well-used tape echo, with a patina of wear- I actually prefer their sound to just about any delay ( the only exception is a vintage early 80's Memory Man) - and how can you argue that the design is great?
Likewise, the Modtone Buzz Boy. I think it looks better than anything Earthquaker has made, and it's more ear-pleasing than anything Devi Ever has made, and it's more usable than any fuzz pedal- save for the Z Vex fuzz pedals- and here's something novel- if it ever breaks- I probably could find a one-to-one replacement. Think about that, the next time you're tweaking your Tym's stompbox.

Breaking a promise, but hear me out.

So, I bought more guitar gear. It's still this year, so, yes, that violates my promise to ease up and buy no more gear, this year.
BUT- I bought a guitar that went to my wife. Then, I bought a guitar that kinda matches, for me.
Both of them are First Act. Now, I wouldn't say they're top quality. Not even close. However, my wife's is a prototype one-off from the custom shop, and it shows- much higher quality cut of wood for the neck- a really good chunk of maple, with a decent rosewood fingerboard. The frets need a little dressing, and I've done that for her. The tuners are comparable with a decent Squire- meaning they're workmanlike, but not horrible. I'll replace those for her, but it's not crucial. I can't tell the body wood, but it feels pretty lightweight , so I'm guessing poplar or basswood. The single pick up is actually pretty sweet, and sounds more like a Fender humbucker than a midrange heavy Gibson. The Tone and volume controls are good, solid speed dials. The hardtail bridge is decent, along the lines of a Korean Strat copy, as opposed to Chinese.  The paint job is fairly thick, with a couple of flaws, and the pickguard, though purely ornamental is pretty chintzy. Adding all that up- I'd say I feel good about giving this lavender beasty to my wife as a first guitar.
So, I went out and bought a First Act ME1980 to go with it. It's a righty, so, yes, mods must happen to make it playable. But, again, the neck is really good, the hardware is a downgrade from my wife's, and so must be replaced, I was expecting to replace the pick up, but it's got a nifty zing- I've not heard a hot humbucker voiced in this range before- it's got tons of upper mids- like a Japanese Hot Humbucker- put through a treble booster. The pickguard is so terrible that I removed it immediately- it's a piece of plastic that feels like packaging, not part of the instrument. I can see from the screwholes this is a very cheap light wood for the body, but heavier than my wife's so I suspect it's a plywood body. So, call it a Korean made Danelectro take on a Melody Maker, and you're not far off . It will be changed, mark my words. So, here's a Pic of my wife's and a link to mine. Yes, that's a Toys R US link. Deal with it.Oh, and I spent less than 100 bucks for both.