Double Fuzz...
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Fredric Effects' Super Unpleasant Companion Nouveau is a celebration of 2 classic fuzz circuits designed by Japanese company Shin-Ei in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Shin-Ei licensed its designs out to several companies, and perhaps the most famous version of its FY-6 is the Univox Superfuzz, as used by Pete Townshend on the Who's Live At Leeds masterpiece.
This pedal packs the Shin-Ei Companion FY-2 and Shin-Ei Superfuzz FY-6 circuits into a single compact mini-wedge pedal enclosure. You can switch between the circuits with a handy toggle switch.
The 'Nouveau' moniker refers to a recent redesign, packaging the fuzz into a smaller enclosure and moving the controls to the top surface.
The Companion FY-2 is a nasty, raspy chainsaw of a fuzz. It's not super-musical but has plenty of impact, and can be heard in all its glory on The Jesus And Mary Chain's Psychocandy (incidentally, The Jesus And Mary Chain now use Shin-Ei fuzzes modded by Fredric Effects!). Tone 1 setting is mid-dominant with a dense textural edge. Tone 2 mode is like putting a blanket over your cab, but brings a more focused bottom end and a grinding edge to the mid and high notes.
The Superfuzz FY-6 is a richer style of fuzz but can get really bright thanks to the Expander control (this doesn't work in FY-2 mode). The FY-6 provides a 'wall of sound'. Tone 1 mode is what founder Tim Webster describes as 'garagey' and is slightly muddy, while the second tone mode is more expansive in scope but with a more scooped mid-range.