A good fuzz pedal. There’s just something about how they transform your guitar's sound, and each one does it in its way. A Fuzz Face has that fat lead tone that responds to every touch. The Tone Bender circuit took things a stage further (literally) and added even more grunt. The “Big Muff” style circuit is a legendary successor to both of these. The Wampler Velvet Fuzz was one of my early takes on an improved fuzz circuit, but with a twist - it was designed to be easy to dial in for folk who just didn’t get on with regular fuzz pedals.

Wampler, wanted to put all of those classic tones into a single compact guitar pedal. I wanted the ability to dial in glassy cleans by backing off your guitar's volume like a Fuzz Face while also retaining the sparkling tonality and usability of the Velvet Fuzz. I wanted to create something that could be stacked with other pedals or played on its own, something that wasn’t just another clone. So, the Cryptid. It is a unique circuit designed to give you Wamplers favorite aspects of all of those classics while also offering up unique new tones and inspiring you to find your new sound.

Tweaking your tone is easy. The Cryptid's Volume, Tone, and Fuzz are pretty self-explanatory. The Character (bias) control goes from distorted fuzz sounds, similar to what we did with the Velvet Fuzz, all the way through to other classic tones, including muff, bender, and even steps into “Fuzz Factory” territory. The 3-position Tight switch shapes the pedal's low end for anything from doom-approved sub-sonics to a tight, distortion-esque vibe. Finally, the Chime toggle adds a bit of extra harmonic air on top without any harshness.

Vintage Sensitivity Meets Modern Versatility

The Cryptid is extremely sensitive to a guitar’s electronics. Place it before any buffers — just like a great vintage fuzz — and roll back the guitar’s volume control a bit. With the right settings, the tone won’t just be “less fuzzy.” It’ll be clean, clear, and extremely responsive – perfect for stacking with other drives..