Rich_S
HomeGrownToneBrewologist
With all my distortion-pedal-swapping lately, I started thinking back to the old days. Back when I started playing in about 1974, I worshipped the Lafayette Radio & Electronics catalog. My first amp came from there: a 3-watt solid-state Tempo.
I spent hours comparing the descriptions of the two fuzz boxes they carried, but why? The expensive, fancy one was the name-brand Univox Super Fuzz - at $29.95 it was out of my league. Their less expensive model was the LRE Fuzz Sound - priced at a more-managable $14.95. I saved my allowance and then got my Dad to drive me to the nearest Lafayette store one Saturday. Such a proud moment - Junior's first fuzz box!
Thirty-plus years later, I have no idea what it sounded like - probably like poo-poo caa-caa, but what did I know then? I remember clearly what it looked like, and that I performed on it my first pedal mods. New, it had a hardwired input cable and an output jack. However, you were nobody if you didn't have a curly cord running to your guitar. So, I at first swapped the cable and jack. I rewired it so I could plug into the jack with my curly cord, then connect the built-in cord to the amp. Later, I replaced the built-in cable with a second jack like any normal pedal.
Several years later, I replace the LRE with a proper MXR Distortion+. The LRE was gutted when my keyboard player needed a stompbox enclosure to some homemade project.
Anyway, I couldn't remember the exact name of this uh, classic, so I did a little web search. Found a little bit about it, and lo and behold - there was actually one for sale on eBay last week. Really nice condition, too. It was sitting at about $25 last week, so I saved it in my watch list. Saturday, I checked my email, and found a reminder, "Watched auction ending soon." Oh, crap! I almost forgot! I got into eBay quick and found it, with 12 minutes left, sitting at $99, where it stayed until the auction closed, with no bid from me. I'm nostalgic, but I'm not nuts. But ain't she a beauty?
eBay Link
That's right - powered by a single AA battery. Forget arguing about the merits of 12 or 18 volt power vs. the traditional 9 volts - this baby was packin' a whopping volt-and-a-half. I wish I could have it back just for fun, but not for $99. Sheesh.
I spent hours comparing the descriptions of the two fuzz boxes they carried, but why? The expensive, fancy one was the name-brand Univox Super Fuzz - at $29.95 it was out of my league. Their less expensive model was the LRE Fuzz Sound - priced at a more-managable $14.95. I saved my allowance and then got my Dad to drive me to the nearest Lafayette store one Saturday. Such a proud moment - Junior's first fuzz box!
Thirty-plus years later, I have no idea what it sounded like - probably like poo-poo caa-caa, but what did I know then? I remember clearly what it looked like, and that I performed on it my first pedal mods. New, it had a hardwired input cable and an output jack. However, you were nobody if you didn't have a curly cord running to your guitar. So, I at first swapped the cable and jack. I rewired it so I could plug into the jack with my curly cord, then connect the built-in cord to the amp. Later, I replaced the built-in cable with a second jack like any normal pedal.
Several years later, I replace the LRE with a proper MXR Distortion+. The LRE was gutted when my keyboard player needed a stompbox enclosure to some homemade project.
Anyway, I couldn't remember the exact name of this uh, classic, so I did a little web search. Found a little bit about it, and lo and behold - there was actually one for sale on eBay last week. Really nice condition, too. It was sitting at about $25 last week, so I saved it in my watch list. Saturday, I checked my email, and found a reminder, "Watched auction ending soon." Oh, crap! I almost forgot! I got into eBay quick and found it, with 12 minutes left, sitting at $99, where it stayed until the auction closed, with no bid from me. I'm nostalgic, but I'm not nuts. But ain't she a beauty?
eBay Link
That's right - powered by a single AA battery. Forget arguing about the merits of 12 or 18 volt power vs. the traditional 9 volts - this baby was packin' a whopping volt-and-a-half. I wish I could have it back just for fun, but not for $99. Sheesh.
Last edited:
(Unless you're not a fuzz guy anymore) Heck I just bought a Skreddy Zero that will probably be worthless in 15 years for $200+. At least the vintage Muffs I GAS for will appreciate in value.
