E.W.S. Little Fuzzy Drive

Man, I have been digging these space-saving pedals lately! I’m constantly floored by how much gets packed into such small enclosures, and they seem to keep getting better and better. Case in point: the Little Fuzzy Drive from E.W.S.

Now, this little grey box might look small, weak, wussy, whatever you want to call it, but I am here to tell you you’re wrong. Dead wrong. There are some great fuzz tones to be had from the Little Fuzzy Drive, as it has a nice, retro-fuzz kinda feel to it, with a couple of cool options and loads of surprise sounds. The biggest knob here its the Gain knob, which you can use on-the-fly to adjust the level of distortion, if you practice at it a bit! It’s not a HUGE knob, by any means, but in relation to the other controls found here, it’s a giant. Two smaller knobs are directly to the right of the Gain: Tone and Volume, which both do precisely what you think they do. Good tonal range from the Tone control, and plenty of output Volume as well, no worries about being buried behind your over-the-top drummer using this pedal.

There’s a small toggle switch, too, that allows switching between 2 modes of fuzz. The Fuzzy Drive mode takes on characteristics of this pedal’s older brother, the Fuzzy Drive, and seeks to emulate it’s elder sibling. The Fat Fuzz mode is a bit harsher, more distorted with more gain on tap, but still sounds smooth and crunchy, with no low-end loss or high-end squeak. Apparently, E.W.S. did some fancy wiring inside, and don’t have to rely on the wacky unstableness of a germanium transistor, making for near-perfect tones night in and night out.

This pedal has great dynamics, and individual notes chime and sparkle, even at higher gain settings. A very useful, small, powerful pedal, the Little Fuzzy Drive is built to last. Thanks again to E.W.S. for sending yet another pedal over for us to try – if this is the path they’re currently on as far as products looking towards the future, then I’m excited to see what else they come up with next!