Bigfoot Engineering Octo Puss Prime review

Transform your tone with this octave/fuzz

  • £149
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An octagonal octave… fortunately, the tone is no joke

MusicRadar Verdict

Full-on octave fuzz that's more than meets the eye...

Pros

  • +

    Great for Jack White tones. Tracks chords brilliantly. Build quality.

Cons

  • -

    Not a lot.

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If you appreciate a Transformers pun enough to sacrifice pedalboard real estate for it, the large, octagonal Octo Puss Prime from UK pedal firm Bigfoot Engineering is for you.

"The sounds are less inspired by Autobots and more by Jack White"

The sounds are less inspired by Autobots and more by Jack White, however, and can nail that White Stripes vibe, delivering a raucous, ripping, harmonically rich fuzz on the low strings that will make you want to keep riffing all day long. It also tracks fantastically on chords, giving you a big thick rhythm sound.

Don't think you need an extra octave? Then this pedal could make you think again. It's octave fuzz of the vintage variety, where the octave manifests itself more as a high harmonic embedded in the fuzz rather than a distinct higher note - basically, fuzz with enhanced tonality.

In actual fact, it's surprisingly versatile whether you aspire to be Jack, Jimi or just yourself. From mild to raucous, and with a full range of frequencies, once you've heard it you'll find plenty of places to use it.

Trevor Curwen

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.