Pete’s Gear: Shaftesbury Duo Fuzz

The fuzz pedal originally thought to be the otherwise identical U-1093 Univox Super-Fuzz, which was made for the U.S. market, was likely instead a Shaftesbury Duo Fuzz fuzz pedal.

The fuzz pedal represents a key part of Pete Townshend’s classic stage sound. While he later used the reddish die-cast Univox Super-Fuzz starting 1971, and may have used the original grey version earlier, stage images from 1968 to 1970 clearly show the rectangular badge of the Duo Fuzz.

The Duo Fuzz was made in Japan by Shin-ei, and badged for Rose-Morris for import to the UK. While the U-1093 Univox Super-Fuzz was otherwise identical and made for the U.S. Both are essentially a re-branded Shin-ei FY-6 Super Fuzz.

The original version of the pedal was made by a company called Honey Co. Ltd., which went bankrupt in 1969 and was taken on by Shin-Ei. Shin-Ei sold the pedal under its own moniker as well as many other labels.

You can hear the effect clearly in recordings from this era — the signature “buzz saw” sound during leads and rave-up outros.

Pete began using the Duo Fuzz in late 1968, likely November or December, with the first documented occasion being the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in Wembley on 11 Dec. 1968, which also represents Pete’s and John’s first known use of their Hiwatt-badged Sound City stacks.

Prior to this, he used a variety of fuzz pedals in his setup, including the Sola Sound Tone Bender in 1965/66, Marshall Supa Fuzz in 1967–68, as well as employing a Grampian spring reverb unit for distortion in 1967–68, and, most recently as the August 1968 U.S. tour, the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face.

He used the Duo Fuzz, and possibly the first version of the Univox Super-Fuzz, the metal grey version, on stage from late 1968 to mid- to late-1971, when he switched to the reddish-orange die-cast Super-Fuzz version with the large pedal surface. He used this version until 1978, where the last use of the pedal was 15 May 1978, at the Shepperton show filmed for The Kids Are Alright.

In 1979, he switched to the MXR Dyna-Comp compression pedal to fulfill the need for added boost on leads and outros.

Timeline

First known use:

11 Dec. 1968 – Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, Wembley (appears in the The Kids Are Alright film).

Last known use:

Mid- to late-1971

Duo Fuzz features

The controls on the Duo Fuzz and U-1093 Univox Super-Fuzz are identical, with an on-off switch — toggle type — and two controls, “Balance” and “Expander,” plus a tone switch.

Signal chain

Pete used the Duo Fuzz effect pedal in line from the guitar to the amplifier. The unit was always placed right next to the drum kit, just in front of the guitar amplifiers, often taped down to the stage with gaffa tape.

Quote from Pete Townshend

From April 1980 issue of Sound International article, courtesy Joe G’s site.

I always had a fuzzbox but that was always just to make a loud noise at the end when I started smashing things up.

Resources and Information

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the following for assistance with this page:

• Justin Harris (thehiwattsband.com)

Manufacturer

• Univox.org: univox.org (offline)
  • Contains schematics and history of Univox/Unicord.
• Shin-ei
• Coda Effects: Univox Superfuzz History

Information

• Fuzz Guts (Uzzfay Utsgay): members.fortunecity.com/uzzfay/superfuzz1/superfuzz1.html (offline) (black/grey style)
  • Photos and schematics of classic fuzz pedals.
• Effects Heaven Schematics: schematicheaven.com/effects.htm