Review: smallsound/bigsound Team Awesome! Fuzzmachine

The smallsound/bigsound Team Awesome! Fuzzmachine is a versatile germanium fuzz that works equally well on bass as it does for guitar thanks to it's clean blend and heaps of low end. Read on to find out more about this absolute monster of a fuzz pedal.



Hardware
The TAFM is a dream come true for those with limited pedalboard space. The power plug and both jacks are top mounted and even though it has 5 knobs and two switches on its surface, it's still pretty small. Everything about the TAFM looks and feels great, Brian did one on hell of a job constructing this fuzz machine. The controls consists of knobs for input gain, fuzz, shape, fuzz volume and clean volume. Most of those controls are pretty self explanatory, the shape knob is like a tone control but actually increases the mids a bit as you turn it clockwise. The shape control paired with the mids and boost switches give you a plethora of tonal options.

Sounds
The Team Awesome! Fuzzmachine can do anything from sharp, cutting fuzz to scooped-mid muff tones to swampy and bass heavy and pretty much everything in between. The clean blend feature also allows not only for bassists to retain their low end but for guitarists to make some noise while still retaining definitions in their chords. Stacking the TAFM with boosts and overdrives only leads to more insanity, this thing gets really thick and heavy. The TAFM is one of the few fuzz pedals I have tried that could easily please doom-bringers and indie guitarists alike and I'll demonstrate this in the sound clips below.



Team Awesome! Fuzzmachine Clean Blend by Mike Fetting
Here I demonstrate how well the  TAFM sounds using the clean blend with chords. I recorded this using my telecaster's neck pickup with the fuzz at about half and the fuzz and clean volume each at twelve o'clock. The shape was pushed clockwise almost all the way.

smallsound/bigsound Sparkle Motion+Team Awesome! Fuzzmachine by Mike Fetting
This clip demonstrates the TAFM's excellent ability to stack with other boosts. Recorded using my telecaster's bridge pickup in drop D.

Team Awesome! Fuzzmachine Drop B by Mike Fetting
In this clip I played my Schecter in drop B to show off this pedals dark and heavy tone

  Final Word
The smallsound/bigsound Team Awesome! Fuzzmachine recently has become my favorite fuzz pedal. It takes anything I throw at it and makes it sound bigger, better and fuzzier. The tone shaping options along with the clean blend options make this thing a must have for guitarists and bassists alike, no matter what styles they might play, the TAFM will do the job. So head on over to the smallsound/bigsound website and find out how to get one near you, or email Brian to whip you up a custom one! You're either on Team Awesome, or you're not...