THE MUTHAFUZZA

The original Maestro MFZ-1 went on sale in 1976 as part of the TFC (Total Foot Control) series that included the equally legendary Parametric Filter, Stage Phaser and Fuzztain. With design duties ceded to Moog Music, innovation was always going to be high on the agenda; from the novel enclosure design (with illuminated, foot-operated control knobs and the whole pedal exterior acting as bypass switch - imagine a giant Mac mouse!), to the use of then space-age IC op-amps in the distortion circuit. It must have very much looked like the future back in the mid-70s (indeed, the op-amps + clipping diodes design went on to power countless classic overdrives), but the MFZ-1 was discontinued in 1978 just two years after it was introduced. Originals are therefore scarce and attendantly expensive.