Sofort, Si Fort is a dual channel, 2-in-1 fuzz born of unlikely pairings, discoveries in sonic textures and a desire to create an alchemy of sounds, the result of which is stronger than the sum of its parts.
Part of a new series of effects that will be released over the course of this year, Sofort, Si Fort is our first instalment exploring the age old question that I’m sure we have all asked ourselves, “What would happen if I plugged A into B?”. Some pedal pairings are well founded and the sounds have remained benchmarks for what is generally agreed upon as sounding good, but then there are other, less explored ideas. The kinds of ideas that are often left to chance, late night musings or purely concepts left unpracticed. Stumbling on this alchemy of sound can often times feel like a well kept secret, an ah-ha moment that is often hard to describe in simple terms.
Over the years, an ever growing pile of old fuzz pedals has led me to ask this question constantly and while often fruitless, there are some pairings that I have stumbled on that create undeniably potent and inspiring new textures.
So, I was looking at this old Ampeg Scrambler from the 1960s that I have never quite made work for me on its own wondering, “how could I make this sound as massive as possible?”. I always loved its low gain, spitting octavia sounds but I wanted it to feel bigger, louder and all together bolder. The answer to that was boosting it with a Russian Big Muff, apparently! Its such a cool sounding fuzz combination, that I had to make my own version of them both and offer them to you as one pedal, in classic giant Mile End Effects fashion that is not and never should be pedalboard friendly! Somehow, this pairing worked so effectively in hurling the Scrambler into an aerial assault, screaming through the air like a precision guided missile, while feeling all of the jaw dropping volume and low end ground support of a Russian tank. In turn, the otherwise mellow and smooth sounding Big Muff benefits from some of the wild, splatty octave edge and harmonic richness of the Scrambler, something that I have always found the big green box lacking.
Some modification and tinkering had to go into these two circuits to honour their foundations while making them behave perfectly together, dialing them in to a sound that I have found to be endlessly inspiring. The result is nothing short of that ah-ha moment and I am thrilled to share it.
A bit more about the Sofort, Si Fort
Two modified classic fuzz circuits paired specifically to compliment eachother’s shortcomings can be used in tandem, or separately to offer a world of exciting tones
Switchable mid-frequency shift to accentuate or dull certain harmonic textures
Octave and Blend controls to mix in the amount of upper octave overtones. This delivers anything from a mild overdrive boost to a splatty, screaming mess of ring modulated sound
Tons of volume on tap. If your amp can handle it, this pedal will deliver it with nearly 30dB of boost
Rich low end and thrilling, character drenched 3 dimensional high frequencies making for an incredibly effective tool for bass, guitar and anything else you can imagine using it with
Lovingly hand-made in Montréal, Québec with high-quality components.
STANDARD 2.1mm CENTRE-NEGATIVE 9vDC POWER SUPPLY. This pedal requires 100mA.
Sofort, Si Fort is a dual channel, 2-in-1 fuzz born of unlikely pairings, discoveries in sonic textures and a desire to create an alchemy of sounds, the result of which is stronger than the sum of its parts.
Part of a new series of effects that will be released over the course of this year, Sofort, Si Fort is our first instalment exploring the age old question that I’m sure we have all asked ourselves, “What would happen if I plugged A into B?”. Some pedal pairings are well founded and the sounds have remained benchmarks for what is generally agreed upon as sounding good, but then there are other, less explored ideas. The kinds of ideas that are often left to chance, late night musings or purely concepts left unpracticed. Stumbling on this alchemy of sound can often times feel like a well kept secret, an ah-ha moment that is often hard to describe in simple terms.
Over the years, an ever growing pile of old fuzz pedals has led me to ask this question constantly and while often fruitless, there are some pairings that I have stumbled on that create undeniably potent and inspiring new textures.
So, I was looking at this old Ampeg Scrambler from the 1960s that I have never quite made work for me on its own wondering, “how could I make this sound as massive as possible?”. I always loved its low gain, spitting octavia sounds but I wanted it to feel bigger, louder and all together bolder. The answer to that was boosting it with a Russian Big Muff, apparently! Its such a cool sounding fuzz combination, that I had to make my own version of them both and offer them to you as one pedal, in classic giant Mile End Effects fashion that is not and never should be pedalboard friendly! Somehow, this pairing worked so effectively in hurling the Scrambler into an aerial assault, screaming through the air like a precision guided missile, while feeling all of the jaw dropping volume and low end ground support of a Russian tank. In turn, the otherwise mellow and smooth sounding Big Muff benefits from some of the wild, splatty octave edge and harmonic richness of the Scrambler, something that I have always found the big green box lacking.
Some modification and tinkering had to go into these two circuits to honour their foundations while making them behave perfectly together, dialing them in to a sound that I have found to be endlessly inspiring. The result is nothing short of that ah-ha moment and I am thrilled to share it.
A bit more about the Sofort, Si Fort
Two modified classic fuzz circuits paired specifically to compliment eachother’s shortcomings can be used in tandem, or separately to offer a world of exciting tones
Switchable mid-frequency shift to accentuate or dull certain harmonic textures
Octave and Blend controls to mix in the amount of upper octave overtones. This delivers anything from a mild overdrive boost to a splatty, screaming mess of ring modulated sound
Tons of volume on tap. If your amp can handle it, this pedal will deliver it with nearly 30dB of boost
Rich low end and thrilling, character drenched 3 dimensional high frequencies making for an incredibly effective tool for bass, guitar and anything else you can imagine using it with
Lovingly hand-made in Montréal, Québec with high-quality components.
STANDARD 2.1mm CENTRE-NEGATIVE 9vDC POWER SUPPLY. This pedal requires 100mA.
