Build Your Own Clone Message Board

After being unable to find an available clone of one anywhere, I just purchased a nice-condition Maestro Fuzztain. I'm actually very surprised that this isn't a more popular pedal as it's a unique great-sounding fuzz that I think was made for only 2 years, and also is one of the secrets to classic Smashing Pumpkins studio tone from the Siamese Dream and MCIS eras. I think it is a part of the iconic MCIS tone such as can be heard in this studio take (though it's probably stacked with something else):




It can be seen in MCIS studio pictures, like these:






The prices on these things are steep. I got a decent deal at $280 USD for a nice condition one with all new caps. And, to my surprise, the Maestro MFZ-1 Fuzz-Tone goes for a good $100 more than the Fuzztain can be had for. I'm surprised by that because, to me, the Fuzztain sounds better, and also has a lot more to it with the compressor, light, and hard fuzz modes, compared to the MFZ-1's simple one fuzz mode.


The chips used in the Fuzztain are all still available. I looked them up and NOS stocks for the larger one must be plentiful because there's tons of them on eBay available for pretty cheap.

I did see a cheap clone of the MFZ-1 for sale online, but the only clone I spotted of the Fuzztain is a one-off prototype take on it that was sold on Reverb in 2017: https://reverb.com/ca/item/6130009-eae- ... clone-2017