Deeply Unpleasant Companion MkII

The Fredric Effects Deeply Unpleasant Companion MkII is an evolution of our popular Shin-Ei FY-2 Companion Fuzz variant. The Deeply Unpleasant Companion started out as a modified Companion Fuzz optimised for bass guitar, but has become a versatile fuzz that's equally at home on standard electric guitars.

Following requests from bass players, we modified this circuit to preserve more of the low frequencies and added a clean blend function. So you can mix the clean signal with the fuzz according to taste. The buffers used in the blend circuit also have the added bonus of bringing a touch more clarity to the fuzz than the standard Unpleasant Companion, while retaining its uncompromising character! Like the Unpleasant Companion, this pedal also features a volume boost circuit to avoid the volume drop characteristic of vintage Shin-Ei FY-2 pedals. Although designed with the bass player in mind, this pedal also sounds great on electric guitar - especially when used with distortions and overdrives.

The MkII Deeply Unpleasant Companion adds gain, tone and mid-scoop controls. Below these are a series of push-buttons to allow the tone and blend circuits to be bypassed completely, along with a further button to switch the order of the tone and scoop circuits. The result of which is a truly versatile fuzz with endless opportunities for sonic experimentation.

Demo

Many thanks to John Scott for this demo. Listen to his experimental project Stereocilia.