Fish Circuits Explorations #2 Fuzz "Free Shipping In The USA"

The Fish Circuits EXPL #2 is a mids-focused fuzz with three Form settings. For this second design in our Exploration series, we’ve embarked on a quest to highlight what we believe is an often underappreciated portion of the guitar frequency spectrum: the midrange. Too often, treble and bass are the only controls on guitars, pedals, or amps. Or worse, a single tone control with treble on one side and bass on the other. Disgusting.

The stoner world has a ubiquitous fuzz circuit that is notably guilty of this neglect of the midrange, so much so that we decided to intervene.

With the EXPL #2, we took one of the most common variations of this circuit, stripped it down to its clipping section, removing anything remotely related to a tilt EQ, and rebuilt it with mids as the sole focus. The hegemony of treble and bass is over. Welcome to the rise of the middle powers. The mid frequencies are amplified twice in this circuit, both before and after clipping. The result being a stubborn guitar tone that earns you a clear place in a band mix, right where the guitar belongs: in the mids.

“Level” is the main volume control. There is enough output in this pedal to significantly drive whatever comes after it, and you have our blessing if that’s your intention. In fact, it’s encouraged. If you prefer to run the pedal at unity with the bypassed signal, it can do that too. I mean, it’s a volume control.

“Form” lets you choose what kind of listening experience you want to create, what form will the EXPL #2 take, and how much space do you want to occupy. You might think you’d want precise control over everything, a way to fine-tune every detail. We’ve decided you don’t.

The three positions of the Form control adjust overall gain, pre-clipping mids, post-clipping mids, and a touch of treble. Here’s how they break down:

Left position: Similar to the aforementioned classic stoner rock fuzz. While this circuit differs from the original, you’ll find a familiar, heavier low-end presence, caused by the mids being mostly pulled back, with high frequencies providing most of the definition. We’d describe this setting as thick, messy, mischievous, and melancholic.

Center position: This is where the main course, the mids, comes forward. Most of the gain comes from the mid boost before the clipping section, which trims just the right amount of bass. The pedal retains some of the character of the left position but is now more focused around the frequency range where the guitar naturally sits in a mix. There’s a bit more aggression and bite here, though it remains relatively controlled and clean, all things considered.

Right position: This is where you step over the fence and stop following the rules. Even more mid boost is applied, both before and after clipping, unchaining the midrange completely. This pulls out another portion of the low end while making the top end more assertive. Probably best suited for lead roles, this attention seeking setting will cut through any mix like a hot knife through butter and will solicit a careful control of your playing, seeing as it just wants to run off and do its thing.