Digitech DOD Carcosa Fuzz

DOD’s Carcosa fuzz began when a cross-country tone quest, that saw Tom Cram, the man behind DOD, traversing the country to explore the lost fuzz annals of the ‘70s—a time when so many brands were producing fuzz pedals that it was tough to keep track. Silicon transistors were relatively new (and cheap), and everyone wanted in on the action.

Maestro’s FZ-1 was a hallmark in fuzz, and though the company produced a ton of fuzzes after it, none gained as much acclaim. Tom Cram thought this was shameful and delved into the catalog. He returned from his pilgrimage with many spoils, among them an FZ-1S, a stout wedge enclosure billed by Maestro itself as a new fuzz sound that stood out from the mire of inferior ‘70s fuzz tones.

This adventure serves as the inspiration for the Carcosa—a dual-mode fuzz that does it all. Two modes—Hali and Demhe—serve as the heart and soul of this homage to vintage fuzz.

Hali mode gives players a lighter fuzz tone for amps that are already running hot, giving a gentle push not unlike a treble booster. This mode strengthens the highs and tightens them up to lend a little juice to darker pickups and amps.

Demhe mode is a raw, unbridled fuzz tone that pounds the front end of a whistle-clean amp. In this mode, the low-mids are accentuated and your guitar tone will stand head-and-shoulders above the mix in all situations.

Once you select the mode, the Carcosa is your oyster. The Before and After knobs work in tandem to coax all kinds of fuzz sounds from the Carcosa, while still staying true to its mode. The Before and After controls work as bias knobs which delivers a wide-reaching palette of tones in either mode. Both knobs are extremely interactive, with a near-infinite number of sweet spots throughout. When the After control is turned up higher than the Before knob, interesting textures leap out of the pedal and into your inspirational bank.

With every vintage-style fuzz, there are concerns of the tone becoming to “ice-picky” and the Carcosa takes care of that with a handy Hi-Cut knob, a powerful tone shaper with a deep and generous filter. This helps run the Carcosa alone without any tonal mismatches or as a makeshift EQ to prepare the signal for any pedals that follow it.

The "After" control commands a nifty biasing circuit that adjusts feedback and transistor bias simultaneously. When turned, a bit of white noise enters the signal but stops immediately when the knob is set. One might say that the crackling sound is ok—there's nothing wrong with the pedal.

The Carcosa’s Volume control has tons of output on tap, so don’t be afraid to use it to push your amp or other pedals. Don’t be afraid—let the fuzz envelop you.

DOD Carcosa Fuzz features:

• Based on vintage silicon fuzzes of the ‘70s
• Two distinct modes with two different frequency responses
• Unique Before and After controls deliver several different fuzz tones
• Hi-Cut knob tames any spikes in treble, prepping the signal
• Loads and loads of output volume
• Standard 9v center-negative power operation (adapter not included)